The Place of No Stars Spoiler Page

WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE PLACE OF NO STARS AHEAD!

Okay, I just finished The Place of No Stars and I have a lot to say. So, that is why I am writing this review. I’m going to try to organize my thoughts the best I can so this isn’t just me rambling, starting now.

First off, Bristlefrost. I’ve always liked Bristlefrost, and while I liked her in this book, I thought that Shadowsight and Rootspring really shone in this one. More on that later. Anyway, I felt like Bristlefrost’s character mainly revolved around Rootspring. Don’t get me wrong, I love BristleXRoot. It’s in my top ten tied favorites. I think that it was very developed on Rootspring’s side, but not so much on Bristlefrost’s. Darkness Within made up for that by developing it on both sides much more, but in The Place of No Stars, Bristlefrost stopped developing and was more like “I love Rootspring. I need Rootspring.” Her relationship with Rootspring was all who she was. Every act of bravery wasn’t for the Clans or for her family or her friends, it was for Rootspring. I’m fine with that, but I feel like there should have been more of a balance. I personally think that Bristlefrost’s character started out as strong and independent, but still wanting a mate and kits. There was a balance, and it made her character very… human, I guess? Which makes no sense because she’s a cat, not a human, but we’re going to roll with it. Anyway, now I feel like her strength and independence is gone, and it’s just her love for Rootspring. She is dependent on Rootspring, and the only reason she is still fighting is for Rootspring. Now, I still enjoyed reading Bristlefrost’s chapters. I’m not saying that I didn’t, this was just my observations and you might disagree with me. Moving on to some Bristlefrost moments that I loved. Every Shadowsight and Bristlefrost was amazing. We haven’t gotten many yet, and I loved seeing the cousins finally interact. I’m excited to see them journey to the Dark Forest together because that means we get more of the cousin interactions. Another part I found interesting was the Bristlefrost and Tree interactions. I like how Tree sees the code for what it really is: a bunch of rules that only seem to cause problems. I also found it interesting how attached Bristlefrost still seems to the code. Usually when we get the forbidden romance, both cats are like “the code is stupid.” But Bristlefrost loves the code. She doesn’t seem to want it to change, which gives her an internal conflict as she falls in love with Rootspring. Because how can she have both the code and Rootspring? She can’t, and that means she has to choose. I also loved that part at the end when Ivypool and her had that final talk. Was anyone else super disappointed that Ivypool didn’t go with her? I wanted Ivypool to return to the Dark Forest, this time with her daughter! I mean, it would suck for Ivypool, but still. Last Bristlefrost moment that I loved is that little acknowledgement that Fernsong was the one who stayed in the nursery. Small, but still great. Now some things I didn’t like. I already went over the whole “Bristlefrost’s thoughts all seemed to revolve around Rootspring” thing, so I won’t recap that. I think the only other thing that I didn’t like about Bristlefrost was the lack of family interactions. Thriftear didn’t even appear, I think, and the only time Flipclaw showed up was for his return in one chapter. Fernsong was only mentioned, and Ivypool was only there once. That’s all for my Bristlefrost review in The Place of No Stars, now onto Rootspring.

Okay. Rootspring. I don’t have too much to say about him other than he was amazing in this book. I could really tell how his character has changed since book one. He started out as a timid apprentice who was embarrassed by his father. Now, he is brave and venturing through the Dark Forest to stop Ashfur and bring back Bramblestar, a cat he hardly knew. He risks his life time and time again, and he is proud of his heritage. The only thing I was disappointed about with him was that whenever he was about to die, he thought of Bristlefrost. That makes sense, because he’s in love with her, but the problem was that he only thought of Bristlefrost. What about his sister, Needleclaw? Or his mother, Violetshine? Come to think of it, Needleclaw and Violetshine never even appeared once. Moving on. That ending with Rootspring… I mean I’m 90% sure he’s going to live, but still. I’m slightly terrified for his well-being. I’ve heard some theories that Ashfur is controlling him, but I think that he’s fighting so aggressively because he wants to make it out alive. I mean, he has two options. He can feel guilty about fighting Snowtuft and put half his effort into a fight to the death, which would probably result in him losing and being trapped in the Dark Forest forever, never to see Bristlefrost and his family ever again. Or he can fight with everything he has, probably resulting in Snowtuft’s double death. That wouldn’t be great for Snowtuft, and Rootspring would probably feel guilty because Snowtuft had tried to help them, but I mean Snowtuft has been dead for years, and it’s not like he has a body and a life to return to, while Rootspring does. So unfortunately, Rootspring knows he has to fight the best he can, even if that means double killing Snowtuft, if he wants to make it out alive and have even a chance of seeing his family ever again.

Alright. Now let’s talk about Shadowsight. Shadowsight hasn’t been my favorite in the past four books, mainly because he’s been separated from the other two protagonists, but he was fantastic in this one. I loved how he was finally interacting with Bristlefrost and Rootspring. I also love how Shadowsight actually has interactions with his parents, though I wish we could have seen Lightleap and Pouncestep. Anyway, I have something to say about Shadowsight’s character. So remember in The New Prophecy, how Leafpool had an extra special connection to StarClan, like it was almost like she belonged in StarClan more than the real Clans? Yes? No? Well I think that Shadowsight has that same thing, just not with StarClan, but the Dark Forest. I feel like Shadowsight is kind of like a dark version of Leafpool, in a way. Does anyone agree? I think that Shadowsight is going to start to lose himself to the Dark Forest, and maybe sacrifice himself to the darkness so Rootspring and Bristlefrost can escape? Maybe? It was interesting how he had to reach like a level of darkness in himself before he could make it to the Dark Forest, but Bristlefrost and Rootspring didn’t seem to have to do that. The Dark Forest seemed to take a toll on him that it didn’t take on the others. I don’t know. It was interesting.

Finally, other things I liked and didn’t like. Before I get into anything, I just want to say that I PREDICTED ASHFUR CONTROLLING THE GHOSTS AND BUILDING AN ARMY WITH THEM!!!! Okay. I’ll stop now. Seriously though, a few weeks ago I posted something on either the A Light in the Mist page or this page saying that I thought this was going to happen. Sorry. I like being right. Now I’m just waiting for Stemleaf to attack Spotfur and her kits and she has to double kill him to save her kits. I also LOVED that reveal that Willowshine was possessed the entire time. SO creepy! SO fun! I was very sad that she died, though. I loved her name and she always seemed so nice. The only overall thing that I didn’t like was that the entire book took place during the campout at the Moonpool, which was interesting, but we never got to see any of the background characters at all, or even supporting roles. I love Spotfur, but she hardly was in the story at all. I don’t think we saw Harestar, Mistystar, or Leafstar either. I get that there are a ton of characters, but even the bigger roles faded away just because they weren’t at the Moonpool.

That’s all I have, so I guess my review is done! I’m impressed if you actually read through this whole thing! I think TPoNS is now my favorite warriors book (maybe only beat by The Last Hope) and I can’t believe I have to wait until November to find out what happens next!