It comes as no surprise that Super Edition #18 for Warriors is StormClan’s Folly. After the previous Super Edition, Ivypool’s Heart revealed the existence of the disastrous StormClan, it was only a matter of time before the Hunter team focused on the story of Stripestar and Galestar. In an article about the development of Ivypool’s SE, it was hinted that a story focusing on these two would come, “‘And now that we have spent significant time in [StormClan’s] era of the series’ history, we hope it will not feel strange if we revisit it in the near future…'” I’m not surprised to find it being the next project.
Releasing next summer on August 8th, StormClan’s Folly joins the lineup for the 2025 books (falling towards the last of it, in fact, with only book 2 of Changing Skies coming out after in the fall). I’ve decided not to discuss the cover at length, considering my typical distaste of the work (it looks too much like AI, is inconsistent with character designs, etc.), but I do like the two blues they chose for the background and words at least. I can’t say I’m overly enthused by this news, but I’ll discuss it below.
The following article includes spoilers for stories that happened in Ivypool’s Heart.
The blurb, given in the exclusive, is below:
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. Determined to build a family together, she and Stripestar decide to combine their Clans into one. 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?
The part I disliked the most about Ivypool’s Heart (talked about in my review) was the story of Stripestar and Galestar. It wasn’t so much that the premise was bad, the idea of two leaders falling in love is super interesting, but the fact that the logistics didn’t make sense. I won’t go into detail now, since I did previously, but I hope this Super Edition will help make sense of what occurred.
I’m banking on this SE to be a dual-POV, with Stripestar and Galestar having chapters. If we only get one side of the story and conflict, especially when they inevitably lose each other, it’ll feel like something is missing. Since both cats are on the cover, unheard of for a Super Edition (even though SkyClan’s Destiny had a dual-pov and one cat on the cover), I am hopeful. Even the blurb makes it sound like we’ll be getting both perspectives.
Readers will want to see what becomes of Stripestar when she finds and joins the wildcats, but also how Galestar coped with losing him and how she acclimated back into the Clans. My biggest question about ThunderClan and WindClan returning to the forest territories was how they decided who would be leaders and deputies and medicine cats again. If this book can answer that, among other things, I’ll be happier.
Though I know this isn’t the most likely scenario, I would love to see pieces of both of their lives before they’re leaders. Since the blurb mentions they have “history,” I hope the writers show (what I suspect was) a fling when they were young warriors. I’m selfishly hoping we don’t linger too much in the two of them trying to find a new home with StormClan. I can only assume that’ll simply be chapters upon chapters of strife and death, typical for Warriors but boring to me lately.
I’m also wary about the continued theme of Clan cats being without StarClan. They’ve always harped on the cats’ starry religion, but the past several books have leaned on this faithlessness as the root of all evil. It’s getting a bit tiresome. The constant reuse of ideas in general has been an issue with Warriors.
Despite that, I am excited to see them try something different! The concept is intriguing, and it’s always good to get a story with a brand-new cast of characters. Though I’m not a fan of previous ones like Dawn of the Clans, I’m hoping this look into Clans’ pasts will provide some neat new characters to learn about.
I’m sure I’ll have more to say on this Super Edition when they inevitably release the chapter exclusives and for its actual release. Until then, I’m looking forward to the other continuing stories in new releases next year!
Warriors Super Edition 18: StormClan’s Folly can be pre-ordered on Amazon (though the release date shows August 12th instead of the 8th and a cover hasn’t been uploaded yet).
