The preview chapters for Warriors Super Edition #19: Darktail’s Judgement were released this week, giving Warriors fans a taste for what we’ll see on September 8th when the full book is out. The preview includes the usual prologue and three chapters, a perfect teaser.
The short of my review is this: I am stoked for this Super Edition. Of the most recent ones they’ve released, I’ve never been this pleased with a preview.
Spoilers ahead for Darktail’s Judgement, Onetar’s Confession, Hawkwing’s Journey, and A Vision of Shadows arc.
Check out the official blurb before hearing my full thoughts:
Explore the origins of infamous Warriors villain Darktail in this superlong stand-alone novel in Erin Hunter’s #1 nationally bestselling series!
Darkpaw is no ordinary kittypet. Raised in the Twolegplace by his mother, he eagerly awaits the return of his father, Onewhisker, a WindClan cat who promised to raise him as a warrior. But as the seasons pass with no sign of Onewhisker, Darkpaw begins to doubt that his father ever planned to come back for him.
Chafing against the boredom of kittypet life, Darkpaw’s hurt transforms into deep anger—at his father, at his Twolegs, and at the other kittypets who don’t treat him like the warrior he’s destined to become. When tragedy strikes, a hardened Darktail makes it his mission to hunt down the one cat responsible for all his misfortunes.
As a rogue, Darktail learns to use his influence—and strength—to recruit other cats in his pursuit of Onewhisker. But as his hunt intensifies, as well as the violence required to maintain his following, Darktail transforms into a villain who will haunt the Clans for seasons to come—and is forced to pay the ultimate price.
When this Super Edition was announced, I was skeptically excited. Other than novellas, we’ve never had a full-length novel in the point-of-view of a villain. As far as villains go, Darktail is one of the more interesting in the series. He is also, in my opinion, the most vicious of all the villains, with one of the highest personal kill counts.
To start, the “Allegiances” list is more interesting than I expected. I sort of understand why they chose the allegiances from his birth, meaning they’re in The New Prophecy timeline of characters. My problem is that those cats mean so little to his journey. By the time Darktail interacts with the Clans, they are three arcs beyond TNP.
SkyClan is also not included, which again, logically makes sense with the timeline of his birth, but doesn’t make sense with how his story goes. Though, I suppose that depends on where a majority of this book will take place. How long until we see him with SkyClan in the gorge, where he meets Hawkwing? With the track record of other Super Editions, I expect it’ll happen pretty quickly. My biggest gripe with most recent Supers is they rehash the same situations from other perspectives. I expect that Darktail’s perspective on Hawkwing’s Journey and A Vision of Shadows will be more interesting than others, but I hope to see more of what happened before then.
Other than that, I’m very pleased with the “Cats Outside Clans” section. I don’t think we’ve ever had one this long before (correct me if I’m wrong). I love that it has additional information about their status, like whether they’re a rogue or kittypet, as well as their relationships to each other. For example, it mentions that Stem and Peony are mates while Dandelion is their daughter.
One bit of information I find the most intriguing is a piece I might’ve missed: Sol. What is Sol doing in the allegiances?! I will be happy to see him in the story, but I want to know how. Will Darktail meet Sol right after he’s kicked out of SkyClan, or after he’s banished from the Clans by the lake? The timeline is already messed up in AVoS, so I won’t be surprised either way.
Now, onto the real meat of the chapters.
The prologue was perfect. I loved hearing the internal thoughts of Darktail’s final moments as he drowned in the lake with Onestar in his clutches. It was, pardon my lack of better wording, metal. Not only did he not regret that he was dying, he specifically mentions how it only mattered that Onestar did.
The moment after his final breath was just as good, too. Darktail seeing all the faces of his past, then having to watch Onestar realize Darktail was being sent to the Dark Forest… Wow. The descriptions themselves were on point, with the eeriness of the Place of No Stars pitted against the brilliance of StarClan.
Mapleshade being his Dark Forest greeting was neat. With how much the fandom loves her, it makes sense to continue to give her these little moments. Plus, we’ve seen enough of the other villains. It was especially amusing to hear her ask him, “What could you have done to deserve this?” as the segue into the story.
The spread of the first three chapters feels appropriately paced: Onewhisker’s rejection, Darkkit and Smoke get taken by animal control, and Darkpaw is disgruntled about being a kittypet and still waiting for his father.
I feel so sad for Darkkit in Chapter One. The innocence he exudes, how he’s tiny and hurt his paw but is trying so hard to look strong, kills me. All I want to do is give him the world. Darkkit blaming himself for not being enough is relatable to so many readers, I’m sure.
Is it valid for Onewhisker to be scared about bringing Darkkit as the Clans leave on the Great Journey? Sure. It is a dramatically scary time for the Clans. Their territory is being ripped up, cats are starving and dying, and they’re about to leave the only home they’ve ever known. However, do I think that’s the real reason he says no? Probably not. From what I remember about Onestar’s Confession, he cared more about his image and not wanting to anger or show his betrayal to his Clan and new mate than anything.
Otherwise, I love seeing the new perspectives we get from kittypet and Twoleg life. The animal control section was engaging. It was adorable to see how Darkkit and Smoke cuddled and purred around each other to get adopted together; plus, I loved Darkkit’s shelter friend. I really hope Wesley got adopted!
The irony of Darkpaw (he named himself an apprentice after their ploy to get adopted) running away from a toddler was hilarious. It’s refreshing to see so much of kittypet life even if he still hates it. I can see how well he’s being treated, how normal it all is from a “Twoleg” perspective, while this little puffball seethes. He has so much freedom still.
As he roams the Twolegplace and waits for Onewhisker, he runs into fan favorite cat Ravenpaw. Ravenpaw invites him back to his and Barley’s barn to share a rat and learn more about the Clans.
And this is the point I pause to rave about gay Ravenpaw and Barley!!!! Last year in June was the first time in text that Ravenpaw referred to Barley as his mate. This happened in the last graphic novel adaptation of The Prophecies Begin arc, Warriors Graphic Novel: The Prophecies Begin #3. It was HUGE news at the time (read my article “Ravenpaw and Barley are OFFICIAL”), but that doesn’t make this lesser than. This is the first time in a novel that Ravenpaw has said Barley is his mate!
That aside, the interaction with Ravenpaw and Barley was good. It makes sense that Darkpaw learned more about the Clans from them since they’re the last cats in the area that truly know the Clans. I liked that Ravenpaw was hesitant to fill Darkpaw’s head with hope for his father to come back or for him to go find the Clans himself. Considering Darkpaw is so young, Ravenpaw thinks it would be insane for him to go off on his own.
Darkpaw’s frustration at Ravenpaw’s reluctance is continuing evidence of how quick he is to anger. It is further proven and additionally added that he’s becoming bloodthirsty, with his reaction to Dudley’s bullying. I wish thoughts of how warriors fight for “what’s right” coincided with these first urges to draw blood. It’d be nice for his journey to being bloodthirsty was more gradual or triggered better.
The Erin Hunter team is smart for how it ended Chapter Three, giving an appropriate cliffhanger for all of us to grip onto. Darktail’s thoughts of “This isn’t over” is both on the nose and understated.
I hope the momentum of these preview chapters keeps up in the rest of the book. This preview also inspired me to pre-order Darktail’s Judgement, which I usually don’t do until closer to release!
Check out the pre-order list of future Warriors books:
Warriors: Super Edition #19: Darktail’s Judgement: September 8, 2026
Warriors: Changing Skies #4: Guiding Light: October 6, 2026
Warriors Graphic Novel: The New Prophecy #2: March 23, 2027
Warriors: Changing Skies #5: False Dawn: March 30, 2027 (no pre-order link yet)
