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A review by samdalefox
The Darkest Hour by Erin Hunter
adventurous
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
This is the final book (#6) in the first series of 'Cat Warriors'. I thoroughly enjoyed it and was delighted to find out that there are SEVEN further series I can read! With each series containing six books. I am so appreciative to my pen pal for sharing them with me.
The Darkest Hour continues on the story of the first series with the same style and pacing. The ending was tied up nicely and you could absolutely finish the series here and not continue on to read any of the subsequent books if you didn't want to.
I did find a few differences in this installment compared to the rest of the series. First, there seemed to be much more going on within the storyline. This isn't a bad thing it just means it might be a bit more confusing for younger readers who've not read the series' books back to back so you may need to take it slower. Secondly, this one was more violent. The violence is always within the context of nature, e.g., cats fighting like cats, cats hunting prey like cats, human road vehicles injuring cats as you would expect etc. However, in the 'big battle' scenes, there were defintiely a couple of descriptions that I thought were more violent compared to the rest of the books. On the whole there were more fights in this book, more blood, and one instance of killing without a good reason (explained below). One was where Tigerstar is killed, he bleeds out to death, and loses each of his nine lives sucessively. Another was when Scourge is killed, his throat is torn and he also bleeds out. Third there is a scene where Stonefur is killed as a prisoner by two other cats. .
Other highlights:
The Darkest Hour continues on the story of the first series with the same style and pacing. The ending was tied up nicely and you could absolutely finish the series here and not continue on to read any of the subsequent books if you didn't want to.
I did find a few differences in this installment compared to the rest of the series. First, there seemed to be much more going on within the storyline. This isn't a bad thing it just means it might be a bit more confusing for younger readers who've not read the series' books back to back so you may need to take it slower. Secondly, this one was more violent. The violence is always within the context of nature, e.g., cats fighting like cats, cats hunting prey like cats, human road vehicles injuring cats as you would expect etc. However, in the 'big battle' scenes, there were defintiely a couple of descriptions that I thought were more violent compared to the rest of the books. On the whole there were more fights in this book, more blood, and one instance of killing without a good reason (explained below).
Other highlights:
- The book makes a bold first attempt at showing unecessary and ethically wrong violence by the killing of one cat (see spoilers above) in horrible circumstances. The offending cats are undertaking ethnic cleansing of 'half-clan' cats from a charasmatic leader who beleives in 'purebloods', it is implied that some cats actively participate and that others feel peer-pressured. I think the authors here are trying to depict the wrongness of white supremacy, genocide, and fascism in an accessible way. It is only a small part of the book, but it is disturbing and is something I would expect adults to discuss with child readers to make sure they understood what was happening and ask them how they are feeling.
- Demonstration of the different responsibilities and relationships to kin leaders have e.g.,
through Firestar becoming clan leader . - How religion can be weaponsied by claiming that your actions are morally just because of divine rules. e.g.,
Tigerstar claiming the support fo Starclan to justify his horrible power-hungry actions . - I was so sad when
Whitestorm died! I would have loved for him to have lived longer, I think this was a convenient plot point to usher inGreystripe as deputy and he had more to give to the story than the authors allowed. - I loved the greater involvement of Barley and Ravenpaw!
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death, Death, Racism, Violence, and Blood
The book makes a bold first attempt at showing unecessary and ethically wrong violence by the killing of one cat in horrible circumstances. The offending cats are undertaking ethnic cleansing of 'half-clan' cats from a charasmatic leader who beleives in 'purebloods', it is implied that some cats actively participate and that others feel peer-pressured. I think the authors here are trying to depict the wrongness of white supremacy, genocide, and fascism in an accessible way. It is only a small part of the book, but it is disturbing and is something I would expect adults to discuss with child readers to make sure they understood what was happening and ask them how they are feeling.