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Into the Wild
FROM OUR EDITORS
Cat fancier Erin Hunter spins a rapturous tale about four territorial feline clans who descend into sharp-clawed discord. In this first volume of a series, a rustic house cat named Rusty accepts a challenge that will transform him into a fiery cat warrior. A swift, graceful fantasy.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Fire alone can save our clan...
For generations, four Clans of wild cats have shared the forest according to the laws laid down by their warrior ancestors. But the ThunderClan cats are in grave danger, and the sinister ShadowClan grows stronger every day. Noble warriors are dying — and some deaths are more mysterious than others.
In the midst of this turmoil appears an ordinary house cat named Rusty . . . who may turn out to be the bravest warrior of them all.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
In the first exciting installment of the Warriors fantasy series, debut novelist Hunter creates a cat world shared by four tribal clans, drawing on the habits of feral animals and also inserting valuable themes regarding family, friendship and responsibility. Rusty, a young tomcat, forsakes the soft world of the "Twolegs" for the riskier life of the wildcat clans that rule in the woods, beyond the Twolegplace. When Rusty tries to snare a mouse in what proves to be ThunderClan territory, he meets Bluestar, the leader of the Clan, who invites him to learn "what it is to be a real cat. The strength and the fellowship of the Clan will always be with you, even when you hunt alone." Becoming "Firepaw," a warrior-cat-in-training, the once pampered pet adapts quickly to the tribal rules, bonds with his fellow apprentices and with the old she-cat Yellowfang, who is on the run from ShadowClan. When the merciless leader of ShadowClan drives out WindClan and demands to share ShadowClan's hunting territories, the stage is set for more action-packed adventure. (The second Warriors novel, Fire and Ice, is due out in June.) Certain to please any young reader who has ever wondered what dreams of grandeur may haunt the family cat. Ages 10-up. (Jan.)
Children's Literature - Kathleen Karr
Book I of the many-part "Warrior" series introduces its feline hero: Rusty/Firepaw/Fireheart, a "kittypet" who is seduced from his comfy "twoleg" existence into joining the Thunderclan of feral cats. What follows is the regulation training of a warrior and the hero's proof of his bonds of fellowship with the clan through the ferocity of battle. Fortunately, Firepaw is a well-set young fellow who adapts well. Also fortunately, he fulfills a prophecy granted to the clan leader, Bluestar, that "only fire can save their clan" from the onslaughts of the three other warring clans in the neighborhood. He just happens to be a fiery-furred ginger tom—and the results of the series is thus a fait accompli. The writing quality is another matter. The series is one of these "created by" affairs farmed out to writers willing to take on the task. Erin Hunter (if she exists) has done a yeoman's job of bringing life to the book, but don't expect any brilliant insights into the feline mind. This is a story that could have been told with any animal group substituted—or fantasy story, or inner-city gang story for that matter. It has a certain relentless pacing, but the "he mewed" and "she purred" and "the warrior mewled" which pass for cat talk grows old fast. Maybe less critical young readers won't notice they are being fed corporate pabulum. 2003, Avon, Ages 8 to 12.
