Analyzing A Starless Clan (Part 1) by Wolfgaze

Wolfgaze takes a closer look at A Starless Clan.

Hi there, it’s Wolfgaze. It’s been a while since I wrote an article but here we go again. I’m writing an article series about the current Warriors arc that is being written. This article is going to be about the beginning plots and me analyzing it and how have the Erins improved and what they could improve on. WARNING: There will be many spoilers in this article. Please read up to Thunder. You have been warned.

Side Note: This article might be a little long. Just letting you guys know ahead of time and this article will probably be released after Wind comes out so just to let you know.

Overall, I’m really excited for this series. Like many other people I talked to, we all agreed that The Broken Code was a little too spiritual.

Insert Quote: ‘“According to Kestrelflight and Willowshine,” Puddleshine replied, “Mistystar and Harestar both had . . . spirited discussions with their deputies and their most trusted warriors.”
Crowfeather let out a snort of wry amusement. “Spirited, hmm? So how much fur was flying?”’
Pg 232, Veil of Shadows

And the last two books were like: I NEED TO GET IN THE DARK FOREST NOW and then HOW DO GET OUT THE DARK FOREST NOW motif. So, it’s nice to start in the normal Warrior cat world. Now I’m going to analyze Flamepaw, Frostpaw, and Sunbeam’s parts in the storyline.

Flamepaw’s main problem is that ThunderClan or mostly his kin, doesn’t see Flamepaw as the true warrior he wants them to see. He had to take his warrior assessment three time which according to Flamepaw, had bruised his pride. Another paw-blem (hehe, cat pun) that Flamepaw has is that he does like being compared to his famous ancestor, Firestar. This is the part where I don’t particularly understand. Flamepaw’s kin or at least in the books, never showed any unwanted pressure from living up to Firestar’s name. If they did, their personality hid their struggle. An example would be Squirrelflight who had a LOT of personality when she was younger. Now this the part I kind of understand, it’s natural for not wanting to be like someone else, especially when you look nothing like them, but Flamepaw attitude makes his situation more complicated than it has to be.

Insert Quote: “His sister heaved a heavy sigh and shook her head, rising to her paws. “If you’re really so immature that you believe that,” she told him, “then maybe it is the right thing that you’re still an apprentice.”’
Pg 119, River

I kind of wished we get more talk of Flamepaw’s father, Larksong. Maybe it have could smoothed the situation in some way. And it’s not Sparkpelt’s fault that Flamepaw felt neglected. When reading Squirrelflight’s Hope, it only sounded like Sparkpelt’s depression lasted for a moon or so. That gives like five moons to bond with Flamepaw. Like I’ve said, his attitude made his story a little rocky.

Now it’s Frostpaw’s turn! A lot of fan were really excited to finally have an actual RiverClan POV. Now, I am a bit disappointed because with all the problems in RiverClan, we don’t see much of its real Clan life like we usually see in ThunderClan or ShadowClan. I’m also disappointed to have another insecure medicine cat POV. First Alderheart, then Shadowsight, and now Frostpaw. I’m not saying I dislike Frostpaw as a character, but I wish the Erins could have made her a bit different. But the way the Erins set her case up makes it perfect to spell disaster upon RiverClan, so, I have to give them a point for that. The key ingredients for a disaster in RiverClan:

1. A full trained medicine cat with no connection to StarClan
2. A half-trained medicine cat apprentice who has somewhat of a connection to StarClan
3. The oldest leader in Warriors history
4. A few cats that conspire to take over RiverClan’s leadership who want nothing to do with StarClan

Ta da! DISASTER! One last thing I want to about Frostpaw is that I wish she wasn’t under so much pressure in fixing RiverClan. I know that RiverClan’s situation is dire but Frostpaw hasn’t really been able to transform as much. She has transformed a little bit but the stress she’s under is making it slower than it should be. Maybe I’ll have to another article about that topic some time. That is my opinion then, it has changed since I continued reading the series.

Ok, now it’s time for Sunbeam’s spotlight or should I say sunbeam. Hehe! I was excited for this character because she is the younger sister of Needletail! I mean, who doesn’t love Needletail! Sunbeam beginning story a very similar to Bristlefrost’s beginning. They fall in love with a nice tom cat, the tom doesn’t feel the same way, so the she-cat ends up moping for a few chapters. Not very original I see. By the time Sunbeam and Flamepaw unofficial meet at the Gathering, it’s very obvious we have another forbidden relationship. I don’t know what to think of these cross-clan relationships anymore. At first, I was kind of getting sick of these relationships happening every series, but since the Warrior Code was changed to allow this to happen, I guess we will be seeing this happen a lot more, so, I can’t complain anymore. I do like having Berryheart in the spotlight and it shines more personality to her. I like how she tries to be the loving mother but her want to have control of making the life she’s in how she wants it clashes with it at the same time. There were so many times when I was reading the books when I’m like, “Well, that serves her right.” about Berryheart.

Now the last part I want to say is the situation between Bramblestar and Squirrelflight. The quarreling between the two is normal for them so that was no big difference there. I do like how they’re setting up for the change of leadership in ThunderClan. Bramblestar has been leader since the end of Omen of the Stars and ThunderClan a new a new leader. In Thunder, we finally get to see that. I’ll talk more about that in the coming articles. One more thing, I also like how Bramblestar is feeling unsure of himself and how Squirrelflight is stepping up more. It just gives me a little spark of happiness.

Ok I lied. Now this is the last part. I do think it’s interesting how the mothers of the three POVs are all different types of mothers. We have Berryheart who thinks she what’s best for her family and Clan but doesn’t listen to others because she’s too busy listening to herself. Then we have Curlfeather who gives comfort to her kits when something is wrong but has a devious side which I will talk about in a different article. Finally, we have Sparkpelt who feels awkward around Flamepaw because she wasn’t there for him when he was a kit and young apprentice. I just thought this was an interesting thought when I was reading the books.

Thank you for reading this article and I hope you enjoyed me expressing my opinion for a bit! Just to let you know that these are my opinions and you don’t have to think the same. If you have a different opinion about this, then I respect that and I hope you’ll respect my opinion. Again, thank you and have a wonderful day. Peace out!

{Wolfgaze}