A Starless Clan

"Haven't I always been a loyal warrior, living my life by the code and leading my Clan accordingly?" This article contains major spoilers for the recently released book, River. Please proceed at your own discretion.

A Starless Clan
Release date
5 April 2022
Authors
Kate Cary, Cherith Baldry
Books
River, Sky, Shadow, A Starless Clan: Book #4
Chronology
Navigate to Warriors books for all arcs.
Preceded by:	The Broken Code

A Starless Clan is the eighth arc of the Warriors series. The series follows Sunbeam of ShadowClan, Nightheart of ThunderClan, and Frostpaw of RiverClan as they find their destinies while their Clan leaders deliberate on changes to the warrior code.

Concept development

"[...] RiverClan is demanding to be heard. We think that A Starless Clan will remind readers of RiverClan's strength and heart while revealing the weaknesses they have yet to overcome. No matter how they end up dealing with the troubles they will soon face, one thing is certain: This will not be the last we hear from RiverClan."

―"A Return to RiverClan" on the Warrior Cats website

The eighth arc was first publicly confirmed on Kate's Blog in late 2020, though no details were provided beyond an initial confirmation. In an email to James Noble, he confirmed that Cherith would be writing the untitled first book in the spring, and in April 2021, Kate revealed that she would be writing the untitled second book at the end of the summer of 2021. On May 11th, 2021, the official Warriors Facebook page hinted at the official reveal of the eighth arc's title with a fill in the blank guessing game. On May 13th, the official title was revealed to be A Starless Clan with a release date of April 2022 on the official Warriors Instagram. On May 14th, the title, blurb, and cover of the first book River was revealed on the official Warriors website. On June 28th, HarperCollins updated their 2022 catalog with a new blurb for River, hinting at a special power for Frostpaw and a tragedy striking RiverClan.

An article written by the Story Team on July 6th on the Warriors website detailed their inspiration for series protagonists, notably the first RiverClan point of view character. They noted a historical lack of a RiverClan point of view character in the previous arcs, suggesting it was due to RiverClan's isolation at the lake territories and Mistystar secluding her Clan following Darktail's reign and the impostor. However, the Story Team wanted to hear from a young RiverClan member during "a moment of serious upheaval" when "major decisions could fall into the paws of an apprentice, who isn't at all sure she is ready for that level of responsibility." The article hinted at troubles for RiverClan's experienced warriors and leaders that might coerce the Clan to uncharacteristically involve the others with their problems. On December 17th, the second book's cover and blurb were revealed on the Warriors website as Sky, hinting at disaster for RiverClan. As part of the website's Advent calendar, the fandom voted for the story team to write about one of the main protagonists, with Frostpaw being the winner. The article revealed Frostpaw's parentage, as well as a seemingly a brief summary of Frostpaw's early chapters with her becoming Mothwing's apprentice, her heavy expectations as the Clan's only connection to StarClan with Mothwing's lack of beliefs, and her meeting the other medicine cats at the Moonpool.

On May 5th, the third book's cover and blurb were revealed on the Warriors website as Shadow, and hinted at tensions rising in ThunderClan and ShadowClan.

Summary

Coming Soon

Books

River

Coming Soon

Sky

Coming Soon

Shadow

Coming Soon

Characters

Main characters

• Nightheart
• Frostpaw
• Sunbeam

Major characters

• Sparkpelt
• Curlfeather
• Mothwing
• Lightleap
• Bramblestar
• Mistystar
• Tigerstar

Supporting characters

• Spireclaw
• Fringewhisker
• Blazefire
• Shadowsight
• Lilyheart
• Reedwhisker
• Finchlight
• Squirrelflight
• Berryheart

Important events

Coming Soon

Publication history

Coming Soon

Trivia

Interesting facts

• This series is the first to feature a RiverClan protagonist in the main series.

Author statements

• When asked about the choices of protagonists for this arc, Kate stated the team "wanted voices that give a sense of continuity with the Warriors past, but also new voices which meant choosing unexpected cats. The cognation of traditional and fresh should give a beautifully wide perspective on the new storyline." They also need at least one male protagonist, referring to Flamepaw.

External links

• Exclusive Title and Cover Reveal: A Starless Clan #1 on the Warriors official website (backup link)
• A Return to RiverClan on the Warriors official website (backup link)
• Exclusive Title and Cover Reveal: A Starless Clan #2 on the Warriors official website (backup link)
• Exclusive Title and Cover Reveal: A Starless Clan #3 on the Warriors official website (backup link)

Notes and references

Author references