The Warriors Into the Wild Collector’s Deluxe Limited Edition finally released exactly one week ago on Tuesday, November 4th.
Revealed in March via Instagram, as I discussed in my article “Warriors Into the Wild Deluxe Edition,” this was a much anticipated first Warriors deluxe release.
Here’s a reminder of the book’s blurb and Instagram promo picture:
Now the book that began a phenomenon—the first volume of Erin Hunter’s #1 worldwide bestselling Warriors series—is available in a gorgeous package that includes a never-before-seen bonus chapter written by Vicky Holmes. With a foil case design, illustrated endpapers, and custom designed edges, this is a must-have for any true Warriors fan. Quantities will be limited, so preorder now!
For generations, four Clans of wild cats have shared the forest according to the laws laid down by their warrior ancestors. But now the ThunderClan cats are in grave danger, and sinister ShadowClan grows stronger every day.
In the midst of this turmoil appears an ordinary house cat named Rusty . . . who may yet turn out to be the bravest warrior of them all.
Ever since the first Warriors book hit shelves, readers have devoured these epic adventures. Now longtime and new fans can relive the excitement with this stunning deluxe edition–a must-have for any Warriors fan.
As expected, the combination of green, gold, and orange is good. I’m a big fan of gold and green as a combo in general (my wife and I used those colors for our wedding invites). The sprayed edges, which I thought would look goofy, are softer and less aggressive looking in person. I’m happy they decided to do tabby stripes instead of a straight color; it gives it more texture.
The entire jacket has a beautiful shine, too. Firepaw/heart’s eye in particular has so much depth and reflection of color. I spent at least a minute having it catch light. The back jacket design is one of my favorite parts. The constellation–StarClan–cats with the simple, epic statement of “FOUR CLANS. ONE DESTINY.” is perfect.
The real star of the show for me is once the jacket cover comes off. It’s gorgeous with gold cat faces, Clan symbols, and foliage. The spine especially makes me think of antique books you find in a used bookstore. My only disappointment is the lack of the gold design on the back. I feel it was a missed opportunity having it totally plain. Even a border continuation would’ve been nice.
Surprises don’t end there though. The inside endpapers are lovely and eye-catching, not something I was expecting. Even if I’m not the biggest fan of Owen Richardson’s revamped cover design, it’s nice to see it matte. I feel like I have a stronger appreciation for the lighting in this particular work of his.
“TigerClaw’s Story” is the bonus chapter at the back, fourteen pages of nostalgic writing. It takes place immediately before Rusty joins ThunderClan (and right AT that point too, though don’t expect to actually see the orange cat). To avoid heavy spoiling, I won’t go into details, but getting to read about Tigerclaw’s ambition and state of mind was interesting. Plus, there’s a small mention of him and Goldenflower I appreciated. Since fans barely got to see their relationship, I’ll take these kernels any day.
If anything, I’m sad it was so short! I would’ve loved to read more of his perspective.
I thought at first this was a chapter written long ago that was scrapped. Then, on the day I wrote my article, Vicky Holmes posted about the chapter on her Facebook page. She discussed how she wrote it originally for an example for a fan Short Story Competition. When HarperCollins approached her with the idea for a bonus chapter for this Deluxe Edition, she presented them with her already written work. It just goes to show Vicky still got it.
For a Warriors collector like me, this was a worthwhile purchase. Not only for the beautiful artistic creation it became, but also to be able to read the chapter in the back. It reignited my love for Warriors and reaffirmed my opinion that the old writing is my preference.
If you’re looking to purchase this book for yourself and a Warriors fan, it’s on sale on Amazon.
Check out next year’s releases on pre-order so far.
2026:
Warriors: Changing Skies #3: Chasing Shadows: March 31, 2026
Warriors Graphic Novel: The New Prophecy #1: June 30, 2026
Warriors: Super Edition #19: Darktail’s Judgement: (details to come)
AMAZING REVIEW AS PER USUAL!!! i was so curious about this release, though its slightly more disappointing to know that not only was this a reused “new chapter” that fans probably have already seen before, but a short and non consequential one at that. as much as Tigerclaw is cool, it wouldve been nice to have a completely fresh perspective in it’s place, perhaps letting Goldenflower herself have a perspective, even if it did mainly cover her relationship with him, or maybe someone else entirely like Redtail but written in a way that wasn’t absurdly out of character for every other cat involved. Still a beautiful cover release though, i hope they do something similar for super editions later on!
Luckily, the chapter wasn’t used in the contest! I should’ve added that in my article, thank you for pointing that out. But, regardless, it would’ve been nice to see a character we’ve never heard from before. I’m still begging for a Goldenflower novella that we will never get.