The Final Battle

Survivors: The Gathering Darkness #6

by Erin Hunter, Laszlo Kubinyi (Illustrator), Julia Green (Illustrator)

The time has come for a traitor to fall.

Storm has discovered the identity of the traitor dog who was sabotaging her former Pack—but when she returned from her exile, she fell right into the Bad Dog’s waiting trap.

Now a prisoner in the Wild Pack’s camp, Storm is running out of time. This is her last chance to save the Pack…and to put an end to what the traitor began.

Genres: Fantasy, Animals, Fiction, Middle Grade, Dogs, Childrens, Animal Fiction

336 pages, Hardcover

Published February 5, 2019

About the author

Erin Hunter is the pseudonym of five people: Kate Cary, Cherith Baldry, Tui T. Sutherland, Gillian Philip, and Inbali Iserles, as well as editor Victoria Holmes. Together, they write the Warriors series as well as the Seekers and Survivors series. Erin Hunter is working on a new series now called Bravelands.

Erin Hunter is inspired by a love of cats and a fascination with the ferocity of the natural world. As well as having a great respect for nature in all its forms, Erin enjoys creating rich mythical explanations for animal behavior, shaped by her interest in astronomy and standing stones.

Reviews

[Liza · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well this was a thing.

Considering this was the last I was reading of Erin Hunter's books...well I couldn't end the final one without reviewing it right?

This book was a dang roller coaster. The beginning I hated. We were back to the same old abusive wild pack to Storm. However then we had...something else. The evil dog was found out and so Storm worked together with everyone to fix the problem.

That...that was great. It was amazing to be honest. THIS was the story I wanted. Characters working together without too much conflict. I was actually raising my opinion of this book...and then the final bit happened.

And I was soured.

First off, Lucky's behaviors were ATROCIOUS. Like how did this guy become a beta?A second in command. Yes he is worried and grieving but his decisions...like, this is not someone that should be in a leadership position at all. Hated him all throughout the last 1/3 of the book.

The second and bigger problem that soured me was the death of Bella. Because it felt like the authors wanted Storm and Arrow and the pups to be with the Wild Pack.

BS.

I was all about, Bella, Storm and Arrow having a pack of their own. This was an ABUSIVE pack to them. Like they were treated HORRIBLY and Storm even admits that she is more comfortable with those two than she was the wild pack. SHE WANTED TO LIVE WITH THEM AND NOT THE WILD PACK.

But then Lucky had to offer them the chance to return and Bella HAD to die because otherwise there would be a conflict right?

I hated this so much. The amount of crap Storm and Arrow faced is not worth it. I'm honestly still furious about this ending.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I spent half the book moved close to tears. The presence of good phantoms/spirits on the book was really moving for me.
I still think the series was a bit slow sometimes, but all in all it was a good read that I enjoyed.

[Michelle Kobus · Rating 1 out of 5]

Storm and Bella deserved better than this schlock. You know, I actually didn't love Bella in the first series; I thought she used Lucky and showed poor judgment on multiple occasions. But she grew as a character. She became more stable and came to deserve the trust of others, then settled down with a family. It felt like the role Bella was always meant for, she was such a loving mate and mother.

Storm mastered her instincts, protected her pack and was the alpha the pack deserved, but never got. She had good instincts and a sincere, brave, loyal heart. The actual Alpha, meanwhile, could never see beyond her own pups, though the whole pack were her "pups."

This series was abominable to its best characters. Good riddance to the whole thing.

[MacKenzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

AHHHH I FORGOT BELLA DIED

I loved her so much :')

I liked this book a lot, it felt a little repetitive at times but at others it was very high stakes so overall i enjoyed it a lot!

A lot of my problems with it stemmed from earlier in the series, such as Lucky's change in attitude towards Storm, and how Storm went back to the pack that discriminated against her. just eugh.

[Leilani Cordova]

Survivors The Final Battle by Erin Hunter is a very interesting book. Every time I stop reading this book I always wonder about what will happen next. Storm has finally figured out who the traitor dog is. When Storm went back to the Wild Pack's camp, she fell right into the traitor dog's waiting trap. This is Storm's last chance to convince the Wild Pack, but will they listen?

[piper · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was very good! I rated it five stars because the authors weren't afraid to kill of some beloved characters, or to change personalities. The ending was what made me fall in love with this book. AND STORM IS GOING TO BE ALPHA YAAAASSS

[Alaina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked the book. I cried when Bella fell off the cliff. :( Other than that wow, it is a really good book. I read the entire book the first day I got it. I tend to do that........

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

4🌟
A decent conclusion

[Charlotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in less then 24 hours. I hate to say it but it was a great ending to this arc. It broke my heart in more ways then one. But seeing storm having developed so much since the scared fierce dog she was in the first arc just fills my heart. The wild pack doesn’t deserve her. I’m just hoping that there is an arc after this since I don’t think I can last with just 2!

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book in one sitting. If anything I didn't like the series at first, but I was stuck after reading the first. I enjoyed the first with Lucky as the main dog we see and this series is from the view of Storm. A Fierce dog (She's actually a doberman).

I had a hard time trying to figure out what dog was what based on their description of what they called themselves. The only ones I knew for sure based alone on their description were the Rough dogs. (Rottweilers) That was easy to figure out.

I like that Storm has her own way of thinking and the book is very prejudice against her and the other Fierce dog Arrow. I think the book was trying to give human expeditions for the dogs, as much as Erin Hunter did for The warrior cat series. I don't know if dogs would act like this?

I think the flaw is here is that it felt like a lot of The warrior cat series was used in this, but with dogs. They gave dogs different gods/spirits who they believed in and also ghost of dogs with died, spirit dogs. We are never explained why Storm can see the dead, its left unexplained.

I also think that they didn't really have a bad guy to use. So they used Breeze as a bad dog simply explaining that she was mistreated and abused by her former long paws (humans.)
Its also seemed like the long paws were less then a threat, for instance one approached or tried to approach Twitch and the other dogs and showed them they didn't have anything to fear from the person. Yet Twitch attacked out of hate for them, as they killed her father-dog. I honestly wanted Twitch to be killed for her ignorance here and the fact she acted without thinking. As most dogs would do, they strike out of fear and bite if they are scared..

Its strongly hinted in the end that there could be a third series, but I don't know why. It seemed like this is the end of the series. I don't think it did as well as The warrior cat series of the bear one.. I think the other that's as bad is the one about the lion, elephant, baboon..

So yes its good and you can find some things that make you ask questions.

[Dezy Bear · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found the ending just... Upsetting, and there was so many opportunities to have a better send off. But all of them were wasted to poor writing. The characters personalities were too drastically changed, especially Lucky. There was no growing or development. He was the sweetest, most merciful dog that fostered Storm herself, but he did nothing when everyone was accusing her of the murders just because she was a 'fierce dog'. Also, why was Storm SENT BACK to the pack where nearly everyone turned their backs on her for the same reasons. Storm had many possibilities to find a new happy ending, that I think would have been more interesting. Storm herself doesn't want to have a mate, the reason being she fears having puppies, which I can relate, I'm terrified of being pregnant myself, but in this very series there was ways she could have had a mate and avoided that and left her pack she's now ensnared in. Storm was caught and was going to be sent to a vet to be fixed. Understandably, she didn't like that option, because she learned about what that meant for her and wanted to escape where she meets Rex who helps her. Rex liked her, and his owner liked her as well... Rex was fixed! She could have been with that family, sure with Long Paws, but that's SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER than the pack she was in!!! And she could have had a mate and not get pregnant like she fears. Storm, after leaving her pack, A WISE DECISION, meets with male wolf who aids her, Thoughtful. They had great chemistry! They could have been mates together, but Storm would be killed by his pack. There could have been something done where they both leave together, build a pack themselves. There's another ending!
EDIT: Nearly forgot to add, SHE FOSTERS BELLA'S PUPPIES, AT THE TERRIBLE PACK, WHEN SHE *DID NOT WANT TO BE A MOTHER* TERRIBLE ENDING -1/10

[Eden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book ever, ending made me want more

Wow, this book was absolutely stunning. I love Erin hunter so much and when I found out the last book was out, I freaked, and went on Amazon right away. I Loved the plot, but I grew to be mad at lucky. Poor Storm couldn’t get any peace with the wild clan. The clan says nice things to her, then when she’s gone, they turn their backs on her. I loved sweet being a leader, but why couldn’t lucky have explained the good in Storm?
Spoiler time (opinions)
1.) I was a bit creeped out that the dead pup was seen by the living pups of Bella and Arrow, and I stand by the fact that that should have been explained,
2.) Lucky was literally a father to Storm, and yet he does not trust her, if anything- she was kind and all she did was try to prove herself/ and that always got messed up by Breeze. (I knew the bad dog was breeze because it all pointed to her, and everybody ignored her and put her out of it because she was the pup sitter.) Even if Storm did bad, Lucky raised her, so it was technically his fault.
3.) I think it was a bad idea that the packs joined, knowing that they believed other beliefs, because that caused big conflicts and devides.
4.) We never did find out why Storm named herself Storm.
5.) The end points to Storm being next alpha- but does that mean she’s third dog? I think there should be another series with Storm as alpha.
6.) I think Whisper should never have died, then Storm could have a mate and pups if there was another series!
So that is where I stand. I do recommend this series, because I was up all night looking forward to reading every single book!

[CJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think survivors is kind of under rated ITS A REALLY GOOD BOOK. I liked the second series more because I felt like it had more of a storyline. I feel like they should make more survivor books. I mean THER ARE SOOO MANY WARRIOR BOOKS. I’m not saying I don’t like warriors I actually really do but I think survivors is such a great series but not a lot of people know about it. I am glad to see the survivors community starting to grow like there are a few YouTube channels starting up and there is a survivors game coming out on Roblox (I’m really excited for it).





I like Storm’s train of thought I feel like she thinks how I think. Also the book is really entertaining and fun. I like the second series also because well I think the murder was really unexpected. LIKE I THOUGHT BREEZE WAS GREAT. Breeze was my favorite dog until I found out Breeze was the bad dog. I really wish Bella didn’t die I really liked her and Nip and Scramble.

[Taco · Rating 5 out of 5]

"It was the life of the Wild Pack."

Oh boy, I suppose I can find it within myself to forgive these clowns for being downright awful towards Storm and Arrow. If only because their pathetic apology scene was hilarious and somewhat satisfying. Lucky and Sweet are a completely different story, those selfish idiots can go to hell.

And yet, despite its ups and downs, this was a wonderful series in it's own way. Breeze was a weird, psychotic, yet fascinating villain in her own right. And I loved all the new characters introduced throughout the series. Bella's birthing and death scenes were so sad to read. Storm becoming future Alpha was very pleasing to read, I know she'll be ten times better than Sweet ever could be.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was content with the ending of this book. It feels like this is probably the end of Survivors. This series was entertaining enough that I wouldn't mind another arc, but I don't know if there is anything more to really write about, but who knows?

I did enjoy the original arc more, mostly because I felt like the conflict in this arc could have been summed up in maybe 3 or 4 books, but since all Erin Hunter arcs have 6 books, it felt stretched out. It was still good, though, and the ending was satisfying enough for me.

[Véronique Laplante Grenier · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great ending to this arc and probably to the Survivors serie even if I truly wish for a new arc with the PoV of another caracters. Or of Storm again. Really love her. Was a sad also towards to end with the battle against Breeze. Readers who have love this serie will really love reading The last battle. I have read it in less than a day. Could not put it down as I want to know what to come next.

[Margie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yes, this title is action packed and at times will bring tears to the eyes of its readers. Will point out the writing is often awkward; there are some sentences which made little sense as they were oddly constructed. Where was the editing? I hate for young readers to experience writing such as this though I know they will want to read this concluding volume in the series.

[Jeyanlri · Rating 3 out of 5]

One thing that I noticed while reading through this series was that the first and second arcs had completely different vibes from each other; the first arc seemed more of an action based arc whereas this arc had a larger tinge of mystery to it. The story itself is pretty well written, and everything was wrapped up nicely.

[✨Rebel Fairy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I give the whole series a 4/5. Personally, it could have been done in 4 books. The story was still intriguing and the plot well thought out, and dragged a bit. Breeze was the perfect villian, sneaky, cruel and clever. Storm really grew as a character, the ending was subtle but nice and . . . maybe just maybe Storm will be mates with Thoughtful, even though he is a wolf.

[Teresa Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is really exciting! I like Storm and was glad she came back to protect her packmates. Storm has to work hard to stay out of a trap. For kids who like the Survivor series, they will like this book. (review by Justin, fifth grade)

[Ryleigh Sturman]

This book was amazing! I love dogs and thought that this might be a good book for me to read. My mom literally couldn't get me to stop reading! (unless if it was for food of course!) I would really recommend this book for any kid who may be interested in dogs like I am!

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

After 12 books spanning two arcs (Ok, 13, if you count the short story collection, Survivors: Tales of the Packs.) the story of the Survivor dogs has finally come to an end. And it was a great ending!

[Arianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was the best closing book for any of the individual arcs I have ever read! The epilogue was just as amazing as the end of the last chapter. This book was amazing it is the best book I’ve read all year!

[Christian Lenz · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a really great book !! I can't belive that I'm done with the series !! I didn't like when Bella died .
The pack has six cute pups that will make the pack strong in the furture!! Storm might get to be the leader too !! Wish they had more books in this series. It tought me a lot about dogs !!

[Scarlet Ingstad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Erin Hunter does it again. Great ending to such a wonderful series.

[Beth Rahn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved this series and the ending was appropriate albeit a bit sad. All in all, it was a good read and I wasn't disappointed.

[Dani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just yes. I hope there’s another arc. It would be cool to see a new alpha and to have the POV of one of lucky’s pups. Specifically Tiny.

[Melanie]

Such a good story.

[Darren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very exciting all the way through the book. I hate when the kill of a good character even though their were hints that it was going to happening. Good ending.

[Caley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very moving, as well as heartbreaking. But I think it was a good ending to this series.