This book could've easily been a hundred pages shorter. All the deaths seemed sudden and unnecessary, not to mention forgettable. Most of the time they were walking or arguing, with little of substance except for a couple of action-packed scenes. There were some inconsistensies or lack of information that could've been easily avoided. First is related to Shrewpaw's death. The only characters we see truly grieving were Shrewpaw's parents (Dustpelt & Ferncloud) and Whitepaw (Brightheart and Cloudtail's kid). Whitepaw sat vigil for him, and correct me if I'm wrong, but they never mentioned Spiderpaw grieving him, despite being his littermate. If I remember correctly, Spiderpaw was only mentioned in the very beginning and end of the book, almost as if they forgot about him during the main part. Another thing is related to Smokepaw's death, which I feel like they recovered from way too fast. Don't get me wrong, I like that they're not afraid to kill off characters, but I'd like to know more about him. There's barely any information about him on the website, and it seems like he was created just to die. And who was Nightwing, who confronted Blackstar about leaving Smokepaw after he fell to his death? Was that his mother? I'd like to see more of her and at least get some more basic information about Smokepaw, not just his death. The last thing is about Hawkfrost. He was a young warrior in this book, and his sister Mothwing was still an apprentice. When Mistyfoot disappeared, he became deputy. The warrior code states that a warrior has to have had an apprentice before they can be appointed deputy, and Hawkfrost seems way too young to already have apprenticed someone. On his wiki page, it says he never had an apprentice, so why did Leopardstar choose him as deputy?
I have to admit this book makes me dislike Firestar and like Blackstar more and more. I mean, Firestar is so unbelievably stubborn. He refuses to leave the forest while his whole Clan is dying because he feels like they should all leave together. He refuses to help Tallstar (who comes begging for help) for the same reason, and yet he acts as this selfless good guy. He's also starting to act a bit more like Bluestar was in her final moments, with him refusing to appoint a new deputy in their times of need (even just a temporary one) after Graystripe disappears. He witnessed first-hand how much damage Bluestar made to the Clan because of her paranoia and grief, and yet everything has to be the way he wants it to be and what he feels like instead of what's good for the Clan. He has this saviour complex and we’re supposed to like him for it? He’s a typical Mary Sue — no flaws, still a central character even after all those books about him. ALSO, can he stop talking about Spottedleaf as if they were married or something? He met her when he was an apprentice, and he knew her for like a few weeks before she died. Girl, that was several years ago, grow up. Now he's happily married with kids and STILL talks about her, even comparing his own daughter to her. I was glad to be rid of his POV after the first arc because he kept yammering on about how she was his true love and how much he misses her when there are bigger things going on AND Sandstorm is literally right there. Be so for real.
In contrast, I feel like Blackstar has had major character development. As deputy in the previous arc, he was one of the worst characters, following Tigerstar's orders blindly and even killing Stonefur as he was winning the fight against Darkstripe. However, he has always been one of the most loyal to the warrior code. He did what he was ordered to because of this, and he seems to have changed a lot since then. He acts like a great leader, doing everything to keep his Clan safe. I'll admit he can be stubborn and mean at times, but what can you expect. He reasons well for not leaving the forest, even apologising for not joining the others in the beginning. I'm looking forward to follow him in the next book, and I understand that this is a hot take, but oh well. Dustpelt has also changed a lot after he got together with Ferncloud, and I'm starting to like him more and more with each book.
On a positive note, I’m glad Stormfur decided to stay with the Tribe. This whole arc he has only been thinking about how hard it is to fit in when his father (they could never make me hate you, Graystripe) was from a different Clan (as well as how much he disliked Crowpaw). So good for him. Brook is very sweet, and I hope we’ll get to see more of them. Poor Graystripe when (YES WHEN) he comes back and his whole family is gone. 💔 But hopefully he’ll have a legacy now, so that’s something.