The eighteenth Warriors Super Edition, StormClan’s Folly, was much anticipated to fill in the gaps of StormClan’s story. Released earlier this week on August 26th, I’ve had a rollercoaster of a time trying to make sense of my feelings about the announcement of this release, the preview chapters, and now the book itself. I’ve gone from cautiously optimistic, to excited, to disappointed.
It should be no surprise that this journey for Galestar and Stripestar is fraught with death and despair, considering “folly” means foolishness. And fools these two certainly are for what they put ThunderClan and WindClan through on account of their “love” for each other.
To avoid giving anything away, I’m jumping into my review.
The following article contains major spoilers for StormClan’s Folly, as well as some from Ivypool’s Heart and Changing Skies: The Elders’ Quest.
As a reminder, here is the book’s (lengthy) blurb:
Stripestar has always imagined a life beyond the forest, but, as leader of ThunderClan, he knows that his duty to his Clanmates comes first. When tragedy strikes and WindClan’s leader, Galestar, approaches with an offer of allyship, he swiftly accepts. But he and Galestar have history, a connection that only deepens as they continue to work together.
Galestar loves being a WindClan cat, but her relationship with Stripestar makes her question the strict Warrior code that forbids them from being together. Determined to build a family, she and Stripestar decide to combine their Clans into one: StormClan. However, StarClan refuses to approve and vows to punish them for breaking with Clan tradition.
Stripestar and Galestar decide to leave the forest and seek new land for their Clan. But they are soon faced with the reality of life without StarClan’s guidance, sending them down a path of peril, loss, and despair. Can these cats find the way forward without StarClan, or are they doomed to a grim fate that will echo for generations to come?
As with all the books now, I reviewed the prologue and first three chapters when the preview was released. I had to remind myself of the two big events they revealed: one, Galestar accidentally kills Fogdrift, Stripestar’s mate, and two, Galestar and Stripestar then immediately form an alliance against RiverClan to take back Sunningrocks. Chapter 4 picks up at the end of the battle of Sunningrocks.
Unfortunately, I’ve never been more angry in the first one hundred pages of a Warriors book until I read this Super Edition (excluding novellas). The dramatics of the preview sucked me in, but it became clear the story had no plans to develop the relationship between Galestar and Stripestar. They go from winning the battle, to telling readers they’ve been meeting in secret, to half a year later when they’ve fallen in love and are expecting kits. It’s frustrating to finally get a story as epic as two leaders falling in love and get no backstory on it, no journey to it. They don’t show them as young warriors or deputies or even blossoming leaders. The drama and yearning of them is what I craved. Even giving fifty to one hundred more pages in fleshing this out would’ve greatly improved the book. It also would’ve brought the size of this Super Edition to the scale of the older ones.
Growing up reading the beautiful, methodical storytelling of old Super Editions, like Bluestar’s or Crookedstar’s, makes these new supers feel like a slap in the face. Instead of taking their time with StormClan’s Folly, they skip every scene that could give character development. It’s boring and not worth investing in. Am I supposed to love Galestar and Stripestar because of one apprentice interaction and their alliance? Why should I care that Galestar’s sister doesn’t come with her; because of a promise readers are told about and not shown? Who cares about any of these cats when we barely spend time with them (beyond the general sympathy, of course)?
Plus, Galestar and Stripestar are just unlikable. They’re both incredibly selfish, understanding that they’re really only combining their Clans and then leaving the territories so they don’t have to split up. Yet, they convince themselves and their Clanmates that it’s for the greater good. Stripestar especially turned my stomach through a majority of the story. With a lot of the ideas coming from him, the fault lays most with him. Putting his entire Clan into jeopardy, then StormClan, and even Galestar when he doesn’t share his dream with her, made me want to throw the book across the room. I disliked how often he was dismissive or jealous of Galestar and how badly he wanted to be a hero with all the credit. Galestar wasn’t perfect either, but at least she was intelligent (always coming up with proper plans and bolstering the Clans when Stripestar faltered) and tried to understand and support Stripestar.
Plus, if he loved her so much, why did he give up so easily on her? Stripestar should’ve fought to stay longer, or stayed behind himself to find her. In fact, why did all of them leave so soon and easily? They didn’t give Galestar and the kits a chance at all. That was the most ridiculous part of the story.
The tragedy of the leaders’ relationship would’ve been more devastating if they’d let the characters soak in. I wanted to root for them, but I couldn’t. Not only did I have no reason to feel like they were in love, but as their relationship fractured with the many arguments over their direction and opinions, I was actively hoping for their downfall.
It also doesn’t help that I was disturbed by the StarClan interference and deaths in this book. I don’t know what has gotten into the new Erin Hunter team but they sure love their dreadful deaths. In previous books, when cats die via “monsters” (cars), they’re hit. In this book, an elderly medicine cat is smushed underneath one, with a description of fur and bones afterwards. Plus, Galestar miscarries her first litter of three kits after her nine lives are taken back from StarClan. Readers can only assume the trauma of that was the cause; their deaths were punishment. StarClan hasn’t done anything more vile than that. And this was the action of the founders.
By the end, I couldn’t decide if Stripestar was redeemed. I’m warmed by Galestar’s ending, seeing her find a place that feels like home and safety. Watching her kits fit into the wildcats was lovely, while Galestar finding a new mate that she felt loved all of her was heartwarming. Even though Stripestar stayed in ThunderClan, he arguably has a terrible ending. He apologizes for his mistake and seems remorseful. A part of me doesn’t believe it though, with how much arrogance he had. I think he went from egotistical to self-blaming. It all still revolves around him, his mistake, his decisions. Still, it takes courage to own up to it, and I can’t imagine Stripestar was ever truly happy again. Perhaps that is what he deserves, though I could see why other fans would defend him.
Still, I’m pleased that I got what I wanted most out of the story: how ThunderClan and WindClan integrated back into the territories. I’m not surprised that StarClan had a paw in picking the leaders, though it was interesting that both medicine cats made it back. If anything, maybe more cats should’ve died on this horrid journey. I did approve of how both Clans fought RiverClan or ShadowClan out of their territory. It was more authentic for them to struggle rather than every cat to bow out and allow them back. They earned it.
I like leaving reviews on the positives, and this book does have some of note. As I theorized from the preview chapters, Pebblenose and Thrushcall are now the second official gay couple in print for the Warrior Cats community (the first being Ravenpaw and Barley). Twice in StormClan’s Folly, they mention Thrushcall being Pebblenose’s mate. This is a huge step in the right direction for LGBTQIA+ diversity and inclusion in the series. I only ask now… where are the official female couples? I’d also like to point out that Pebblenose and Thrushcall end up joining the Tribe. So once again, the official gay couple isn’t actually part of the Clans. I can’t tell yet if that’s intentional.
And I know, I said I’d end positively. So, here’s the real plus for me: the wildcats. When Galestar and her three kits were rescued and brought into the wildcats’ lives, I read about their customs and livelihoods with relish. I loved their kindness and strength, their traditions were a breath of fresh air, and Bound Hunt was the perfect gentleman for Galestar. Seeing how nurturing he was to her kits was amazing, too. It was also a relief to see another group in Warriors be treated nicely and shown in good light. Other groups, like the Tribe or the Sisters, are often shown as “backwards” for not having Clan ways. As much as I found the wildcats a surprising addition to the series, I wouldn’t be mad to see them again.
Speaking of the continuation of the Warriors series, I’m still wondering what StormClan’s story has to do with Changing Skies. By the end of this book, my hopes of the Clans possibly merging feel dashed. It is clear that StarClan is vehemently against it, going so far as erasing it from their history. Sure, they regret the erasure in Ivypool’s SE, but does that mean they’d accept the Clans doing it now? I think it’s more likely that the Clans suggest it but “learn” from StormClan’s mistake that it’s not possible. If that’s not possible, I want the Clans to at least move from the lake territories to somewhere new.
At the end of the day, I struggled between giving this book 3.5 or 3.75 stars. Even with the generally good ending, I was so angry for most of it. I wanted to stay true to that feeling and not one that came about in the last fifty or more pages.
Don’t forget, StormClan’s Folly is available to order at any major retailer or Amazon.
With the year winding down, Warriors fans only have a few more books to enjoy! We’ll be looking ahead to next year’s releases soon.
Release list for 2025:
Warriors Graphic Novel: The Prophecies Begin #3: September 30, 2025
Warriors: Changing Skies #2: Hidden Moon: November 4, 2025
Warriors: The Prophecies Begin #1: Into the Wild Collector’s Deluxe Limited Edition: November 4, 2025
2026:
Warriors: Changing Skies #3: Chasing Shadows: March 31, 2026
Warriors: Super Edition #19: Darktail’s Judgement: (details to come)
PEAKKKK AS USUALL!! didnt read this one so not many thoughts but :’) its interesting to hear a more in depth opinion about Stripestar!! not so interesting how hes basically like every other brown generic tom character in this series :’) seriously what is their fixation with making these brown tabby tom cats just the most arrogant obnoxious A holes they can muster?? is there no other way to write a male protagonist in their minds?? :’) At least Gale’s part of the book wasnt as bad, but still
its a shame that they had all this potential and once again seemed to squander it by just focusing on the wrong things :'( was hoping for a good read this time around!! its such a shame that isnt the case here 🙁
All valid comments!! This book was simply not good, it’s so frustrating. I wish they would take a good concept and spin a good story from it for once.