The book opens in StarClan, with Heatherstar receiving her nine lives. Her eighth life, the courage to trust her instincts, is given to her by Thrushpelt, an ancient WindClan medicine cat. Her ninth life, a mother's love, is given to her by Daisytail, one of the creators of the Warrior Code. After the ceremony, Heatherstar decides to stay in StarClan for a little while. Her medicine cat, Hawkheart, disagrees with the idea and departs. Heatherstar meets Mothflight, the legendary medicine cat that discovered the Moonstone. Mothflight warns her not to demand the loyalty of her Clan. When Heatherstar protests, Mothflight tells her that one cat will stray from the Clan, and that she must let him or else he will never discover where he truly belongs.
Moons later, a WindClan kit named Tallkit is leaving the Nursery for his second time, along with his friends Barkkit and Shrewkit. Shrewkit takes him to visit the Hunting Stones, rocks that the kits jump across to test their skills. Tallkit falls off on his first attempt, causing Shrewkit to taunt him and give him the nickname "Wormkit". Shrewkit and Barkkit are going to be moor runners, one of the two classes in WindClan. Moor runners hunt and fight on the moor, as the name would suggest. Tallkit, meanwhile, is going to be a tunneler, cats that tunnel through the ground to find more prey and do reconnaissance work. Tallkit's father Sandgorse comes over and tells Tallkit the age old story of Shattered Ice, the first tunneler ever. He then gets Tallkit to practice his tunneling, which frustrates Tallkit because he secretly longs to be a moor runner. After Tallkit falls into the hole he digs, he runs off, proclaiming that he doesn't want to be a tunneler.
Tallkit runs back to his mother, Palebird. As she cleans him up, the queens discuss Tallkit's deceased sister Finchkit, who died moments after being born. After that, Sandgorse shows up and makes Tallkit practice moving rocks. This is interrupted by Heatherstar, who has decided it is time to make Ryekit, Stagkit, and Doekit into apprentices. The tunnelers start talking among themselves, and predict that one of them will be apprenticed to Woollytail, because he's a tunneler and WindClan is lacking in them at the moment. Ryepaw is apprenticed to Larksplash, a moor runner, and Doepaw is apprenticed to Aspenfall, also a moor runner. Shrewkit says that it looks like Stagpaw will be a tunneler, but Heatherstar surprises everyone by saying that his mentor will be Cloudrunner, yet another moor runner. This greatly angers the tunnelers, who claim that Heatherstar isn't respecting them. Sandgorse reassures his fellow tunnelers that Tallkit will keep tunneling alive.
Later, Tallkit injures his paw, but Barkkit helps him out with it. Barkkit explains that he wants to train under Hawkheart as a medicine cat. Tallkit then visits Flamepelt, an elder who tells a story about a misadventure he had when tunneling.
Eventually, the time comes for Tallkit to become an apprentice. Tallkit is worried, because he hates tunneling, but Heatherstar astounds everyone (again) by naming Dawnstripe, a moor runner, as his mentor. The tunnelers become extremely angry, but Heatherstar argues that Tallpaw is made to be a moor runner. After the ceremony, Sandgorse talks with Tallpaw, but grows angry with him when he says that he wants to be a moor runner. However, Tallpaw is too excited about being a moor runner to care. Dawnstripe takes him out for his first time around the moor, and shows him the Clan territory. Tallpaw nearly falls into the gorge, but his mentor saves him. When he returns to WindClan camp, Shrewpaw taunts him again, now calling him "Wormpaw" because of his status as an apprentice.
The next day, Dawnstripe and Hareflight take Tallpaw and Shrewpaw out to the final assessment of Doepaw, Ryepaw, and Stagpaw. For one stage of their assessment, the three apprentices need to hunt down a cat in the midst of a large heather patch. Tallpaw is chosen to be the hunted cat. After an action scene in which he tries to evade the attempts of his fellow apprentices to catch him, Tallpaw is caught at the last moment. Afterwards, Tallpaw hears Meadowslip and Brackenwing talking about a group of cats that come to stay with WindClan during Greenleaf. Intrigued, he asks his mother about it, but she tells him he'll find out about it later.
Later, Tallpaw goes on a patrol with the new warriors, Stagleap, Ryestalk, and Doespring. In the middle of the patrol, they are interrupted by Sandgorse and some of the other tunnelers, who boast about how they have nearly completed a tunnel into the gorge. This tunnel has been their prime project for quite a while. Sandgorse, taking advantage of Heatherstar's policy that each moor runner apprentice must spend one day underground, forces Tallpaw to go with him, hoping that Tallpaw will see the completion of the gorge tunnel. Tallpaw is terrified inside the tunnel, and he knows that the life of a tunneler isn't for him. As the cats continue digging, the wall before them starts gushing water, and the tunnel begins to flood. Tallpaw races out of the tunnel with the other cats. Everyone survives, but Tallpaw is shocked when the tunnelers talk about continuing the project. Sandgorse says that they'll break through to the gorge together and tries to force his son to become a tunneler, but Tallpaw tells him that he's a moor runner at heart, and won't be a copy of his father.
Tallpaw prepares to head to his first Gathering. WindClan is the first to arrive, and ThunderClan is the second. Goosefeather banters with Hawkheart, and then ShadowClan shows up. Moonpaw (who will grow up to be Bluestar's mother) gets irritated when Shrewpaw shows off, and it is implied that Stormtail is her mentor. Also, it's mentioned that Stagleap has a huge crush on the RiverClan she-cat Shimmerpelt.
When the WindClanners get back home, the visitors have arrived. They are Algernon, his mate Bess, their daughter Reena, and two other cats who joined up with them called Sparrow and Mole. Nests are arranged for all of them except Reena, but Tallpaw offers to let her sleep with him and Shrewpaw in the apprentice den.
The next day, Tallpaw goes on a patrol with Reena. During the patrol, Woollytail shows up and mentions the flooding tunnel. Tallpaw explains what happened to a shocked Dawnstripe, who tells Heatherstar. Heatherstar, realizing the danger, forces the tunnelers to abandon the gorge tunnel project. Sandgorse is angered, and he tells Tallpaw to stay away from him and the tunnels and to stop trying to ruin his life.
Tallpaw wakes up early one morning and goes to gaze out over the moor. Sparrow joins him, and points out that he controls his destiny, not Sandgorse. Tallpaw doesn't feel so bad about not being a tunneler now.
That morning, Tallpaw scents ThunderClan and warns his Clanmates about the intruders. However, it turns out to be Dappletail and Windflight taking Fuzzypaw and Robinpaw to the Moonstone. Tallpaw is embarrassed. He scents ShadowClan a few moments later, but assumes them to also be on the way to the Moonstone and doesn't mention it. A few minutes later, Stagleap scents the ShadowClanners and realizes that an invading force has come. The patrol rushes back to stop them, and finds Stonetooth, the ShadowClan deputy, leading an assault on their camp. They fight the ShadowClan cats and drive them off, but Shrewpaw's mother Brackenwing dies in the battle. Tallpaw says that it was his fault, because he scented the ShadowClan force, and Shrewpaw attacks him because he blames Tallpaw for his mother's death. The tunnelers return later, and they fight with the other WindClanners over whether they could have changed the result of the battle.
Meanwhile, Sparrow's interest in the gorge tunnel has been growing. He talks with Sandgorse, who agrees to take him to see the mouth of the tunnel. Tallpaw goes hunting with Dawnstripe, but when he feels the ground shake he runs off to check on his father. He finds Sparrow, who has barely escaped from the tunnel with his life. Tallpaw is enraged to discover that Sparrow left his father in the tunnels, and he runs in to attempt a rescue. However, the cave collapses on him and he awakens to find himself being dragged back to camp by his mentor. Tallpaw finds out that his father drowned, and is filled with fury. He spends many days nurturing his anger, and whispers to himself about his desire to punish the cat he deems responsible for his father's death: Sparrow.
Later, Meadowslip has her kits, Hopkit, Sorrelkit, and Pigeonkit. Hopkit's foot is a bit twisted, but Palebird says that he will be fine. Reena tries to talk with Tallpaw, but he angrily runs off. Flailfoot comes to comfort him, and starts telling him about his father. Sandgorse was a stalwart tunneler, but he hated worms and would always send others in to get them for him. Flailfoot also suspects that Sandgorse was proud of his son in his own way. After talking with Flailfoot, Tallpaw decides that he wants to become a tunneler. Heatherstar holds a ceremony where she talks about Tallpaw's desire to become a tunneler. However, instead of making him one, she declares that tunneling will be discontinued, and that the tunnelers will be reassigned to closing down the tunnels around WindClan territory. Shrewpaw predictably taunts Tallpaw over this.
The rogues finally decide that it's time to leave. Tallpaw is enraged at how Sparrow can simply leave after Sandgorse's death. Afterwards, Tallpaw and Shrewpaw are taken on their trip to the Moonstone. When they visit it, Tallpaw has a dream about the rogues, while Shrewpaw meets Daisytail in his dream. They return to the Clan for their final assessment. The fight between Tallpaw and Shrewpaw starts out well, but when Shrewpaw taunts Tallpaw over not being able to save his father, Tallpaw loses it. Imagining Shrewpaw as Sparrow, he brutally tears into him. When Tallpaw realizes what he's done, he's filled with remorse and says that he doesn't deserve to become a warrior. Back at the camp, Palebird reveals to Tallpaw that she's gotten together with Woollytail and will be having his kits. Tallpaw is furious that she could be moving on so soon after Sandgorse's death. Despite Tallpaw's doubts, Heatherstar makes him a warrior anyway. He gets the name Talltail, while Shrewpaw becomes Shrewclaw. Talltail and Shrewclaw bicker during their vigil, which makes Heatherstar annoyed when she comes to check on them.
Palebird later gives birth to Woollytail's kits, Wrenkit, Bristlekit, Rabbitkit, and Flykit. After the kitting, Talltail talks with Barkpaw and wonders if it's his destiny to leave WindClan, find Sparrow, and avenge Sandgorse. Afterwards, Talltail is hunting on the moor when he sees the RiverClan warriors Nightsky (called Brightsky in the rest of the series) and Piketooth catch some prey that ran over their border to WindClan. He lets them keep it, despite the protests of his Clanmates.
Barkface comes back to Talltail and tells him that he's had a sign about Talltail leaving the Clans. He explains that StarClan seems to approve, so Talltail talks to Heatherstar about it. Heatherstar allows him to leave the Clan, and despite Shrewclaw and Wrenkit begging him to stay, Talltail leaves.
Talltail does all the usual journeying things. He crosses a Thunderpath and hides from a ShadowClan patrol that catch his scent. He also has recurring dreams where Sandgorse calls out his name.
Eventually, Talltail runs into a dog, the hallmark of a Warriors journeying book. He easily gets away, only to see a ginger tom being attacked by another dog. He decides to help the tom, and he saves him from the dog. The tom introduces himself as Jake, and thanks Talltail happily after bantering with him. Jake asks if Talltail is from ThunderClan, and Talltail replies that there is more than one Clan, and he's from WindClan. Talltail leaves Jake and finds a dead rat. He hungrily devours it, only to collapse with belly pains. Jake shows up and blurts out that the rat was poisoned before Talltail loses consciousness.
He wakes up to find himself in a cat carrier in Jake's home. Jake explains that he got his housefolk to take Talltail to the Cutter and make him better. Jake explains the life of a kittypet to Talltail, who is perplexed and doesn't understand it.
Talltail is let out of the cat carrier, but with Jake's flap locked he has no way of escaping. He hangs out at Jake's place for a while, and thinks that he's no longer a warrior. However, Sandgorse shows up in his dream and tells him that he will always be a warrior. Talltail asks Jake how to get out of the nest, and Jake says he'll tell him if Talltail lets him tag along on his mission. Talltail agrees to let Jake come as far as the edge of Twolegplace, and Jake tells him that if he acts friendly the Twoleg will think he's better and let him out. Talltail tries it, and manages to get out with Jake. Quince, mother of Scourge, briefly appears to talk with the two cats after Talltail mentions that he's going after the cat that killed his father.
Jake takes Talltail to see Jay from Yellowfang's Secret, believing that she will know where the rogues went. However, they get attacked by Pixie and Marmalade, who present them to Jay. Jay is having trouble with a pigeon, so Jake opens it for her. She then shares her information with them, and they continue on their way.
Talltail and Jake grow into close friends as they hunt for the rogues, and eventually Talltail teaches Jake how to hunt. After having a dream where he kills Sparrow, Talltail wakes up and sees that they're on the right trail.
Talltail and Jake meet up with the rogues, and Talltail convinces them to allow him into their group. Talltail tells Jake that he will ambush Sparrow at the right moment, force him to confess to killing Sandgorse, and then kill him. They spend some time with the rogues and Talltail nearly falls off another cliff, but is saved by Reena. Talltail realizes that he can kill Sparrow by pushing him off the cliff. Just as he's about to put his plan into action, Jake comes to him and tells him not to do it. Talltail ignores his friend's pleas and asks Sparrow to go hunting with him. They go down to the cliff, where Talltail corners Sparrow and tells him that he will confess to killing Sandgorse, and then he will be killed himself. Sparrow reveals the truth to Talltail: Sandgorse gave his life to hold back the tunnel so that Sparrow could survive. Talltail decides not to kill Sparrow, but just then the ground collapses and Sparrow plummets to the Thunderpath below. Talltail rushes down to save him, and they are forced to navigate through a tunnel to safety.
Once they return to the other cats, Talltail tells Jake that he didn't kill Sparrow, but that he let his anger get the better of him. Jake replies that he didn't go through with it, and that means that he made the right choice. Jake and Talltail decide to depart, and Sparrow says that the rogues won't be returning to WindClan next Greenleaf.
Jake suggests that Talltail go back home, but Talltail says that he has no home, and isn't even sure of who he is anymore. Jake says that he knows who Talltail is: the best friend he's ever had.
The two head back to the Twolegplace, and Jake says that he wants to see the Clan territories just once before he goes back home. Talltail sneaks him into ThunderClan territory, and Jake says that he wants to see WindClan. Talltail takes him there, and Jake says that Talltail should listen to his heart and return home. Talltail begs Jake to come with him, but Jake says that he can't. So Talltail says that he will go and live with Jake. Jake replies that Talltail wouldn't be happy in the Twolegplace, and that he wants what's best for him. Talltail tearfully says farewell to Jake, wondering if they will ever see each other again.
On the way back, he sees Wrenkit and Flykit being attacked by a hawk. Talltail manages to catch the hawk and save them, before taking them back to the Clan. Heatherstar talks with him and accepts him back into the Clan. She also tells him about her nine lives ceremony, and how Mothflight told her about him.
Soon, the weather grows colder and Hopkit gets an infection. Barkface knows of a herb that could help him, but it can only be found on RiverClan territory. Talltail and Barkface head down to get it, and because of Talltail's act of kindness towards RiverClan earlier, they are gifted with the herb.
The cold weather continues, and hunger makes ShadowClan launch another invasion on the moor. Shrewclaw is filled with rage and attacks Cedarstar, but is mercilessly cut down. With his dying breath, he tells Talltail to avenge his mother for him.
The time for the apprenticeship of Meadowslip's kits comes, and Talltail asks Heatherstar if he can mentor Hopkit. She agrees, and when the ceremony comes she gives Hopkit the name Deadpaw. However, Deadpaw doesn't care about this name and says that his paw may be dead but the rest of him is a warrior.
A long time passes, and Talltail becomes deputy. Heatherstar dies of sickness, and the time comes for Talltail to take his place as leader of WindClan.
Heading to the Moonstone, he receives his lives. Mole, Palebird, Finchkit, Mothflight, Heatherstar, Woollytail, Dawnstripe, and Shrewclaw show up to give him lives. Finally, Sandgorse appears. Sandgorse tells Talltail that he was always proud of him, and that his death never needed to be avenged. After asking Talltail about his vengeance, he confirms Sparrow's story, and Talltail finally feels at peace. Sandgorse gives him a life for forgiveness, as vengeance need never be sought. Finally, as the cats of StarClan stand before him, Tallstar promises to protect WindClan with the fierce devotion of a father and the unyielding love of a mother. Remembering Jake, he says that every cat he has loved has shaped him into who he is now.
Sandgorse tells Tallstar one last thing. One day, he will meet Jake's kin, a young tom with fire in his heart. A dark time is coming, but if Tallstar guides Jake's son then the Clans will survive this storm. Tallstar promises to always remember.
The manga takes place during Starlight, after the Clans arrive at the lake. Tallstar reflects over his life. He knew almost instantly that Firestar was Jake's son, and has looked after him like his own son. As his time draws to an end, he envisions two possible futures. In one, Onewhisker becomes leader and creates peace with Firestar at his side. In the other, Mudclaw becomes leader and plunges WindClan into endless war. Tallstar names Onestar his deputy, and dies contentedly.
As his spirit heads for StarClan, he meets Jake again. His closest friend tells him that he cannot join him in StarClan, but they can be together one last time as he guides Tallstar there.
Tropes appearing in this book:
- Afterlife Welcome: In the manga at the end, Jake leads Tallstar to StarClan.
- Agonizing Stomach Wound: Brackenwing dies this way when ShadowClan attacks WindClan, and later her son Shrewclaw dies the same way while trying to avenge her death.
- Almost Dead Guy: Heatherstar gives a small speech to Talltail just before she dies.
- And This Is for...: When fighting the ShadowClan patrol toward the end of the book, Shrewclaw says to Cedarstar, "This is for my mother! Remember Brackenwing?"
- Attack the Tail: When Talltail and Jake fight a fox, Jake bites its tail, making it flee.
- Author Catchphrase: In this book, the sky is often described specifically as "peat-black".
- Back Story: This book serves as Tallstar's backstory.
- The Bully: Shrewpaw. Throughout their lives he never misses a chance to belittle Tallpaw.
- Buried Alive: The book mentions, though never shows, the death of Leafshine in a collapsing tunnel, and later Sandgorse is killed in a collapsing tunnel while trying to save Sparrow.
- Change the Uncomfortable Subject: While Tallpaw and Barkpaw are eating, Tallpaw is so grossed out by Barkpaw's descriptions of infected wounds that he decides to change the subject by asking about Barkpaw's mentor.
- Children Are Innocent: Subverted with Shrewkit; he is a bully who picks on Tallkit and calls him a worm.
- Comic-Book Adaptation: The manga at the end shows Tallstar's death scene from Starlight.
- Copycat Mockery: Shrewpaw taunts Tallpaw by mimicking Tallpaw's mother Palebird after she wishes him well before the Gathering.
- Cynicism Catalyst: Talltail fantasizes about (and almost goes through with) killing Sparrow as he believes Sparrow was the cause of his father's death.
- A Day in the Limelight: Tallstar's only POV.
- Deer in the Headlights: Shrewpaw freezes in the path of a monster on the Thunderpath.
- Dies Wide Open: Shrewclaw. His former mentor gently closes his eyes for the last time.
- Diving Save: Hareflight saves Shrewpaw on the Thunderpath by running into him and pushing him to the other side.
- A Dog Named "Cat": A few cats are named after animals: the Twolegplace cat Jay, and the rogues Mole and Sparrow.
- Doomed by Canon: In the prequels, we never heard in the main series about several of the characters, and of course the leaders have to be replaced by the ones we know later, so they have to die.
- Ear Notch: Marmalade and Pixie have them, and this lets Talltail know that they're fighters. Jake also has a nick in his ear from the tom next door to him.
- First Love: Sandgorse was Palebird's first love. After his death, she found comfort in his best friend Woollytail and ends up becoming mates with him.
- Follow Your Heart: Jake tells Talltail this to encourage him to go home. Heatherstar later tells Talltail that doing so made Talltail stronger, and in her last few moments she tells him to continue to do so.
- Hiss Before Fleeing: The ShadowClan deputy Stonetooth does this after ShadowClan's failed attack on WindClan.
- Hurt Foot Hop: When Tallkit steps on a gorse thorn, he hops on his other paws. Jake also does this when he steps on a bramble.
- Incompatible Orientation: Reena seems to like Talltail and is obviously flirting with him. The only problem is, Talltail is gay (per word of the author), so her advances don't even show up on his radar. Reena later complains to Shrewclaw about it.
- Ironic Echo: Talltail uses the harsh nickname "Wormcat" against Shrewclaw, the cat who always tormented him with that name.
- I Surrender, Suckers: An ambiguous example. When practicing battle moves for the first time, Tallpaw knocks Shrewpaw over, seemingly winning, but Shrewpaw then kicks him, with his claws out. Shrewpaw claims it was an accident, but Tallpaw silently doesn't believe him.
- It's All My Fault: Said word-for-word by Tallpaw about Brackenwing's death; he thinks that if he mentioned smelling ShadowClan scent earlier then it wouldn't have happened.
- Kid Hero: Tallstar is a kit - the feline equivalent of a child - at the start of this book.
- Kids Are Cruel: Shrewkit constantly taunted Tallkit and called him names for being the son of two tunnelers. This continues into their apprenticeship.
- Legend Fades to Myth: In The Sun Trail, Shattered Ice and Jackdaw's Cry figure out tunneling after Gray Wing saves Rainswept Flower from falling into a rabbit hole and guess that it will work because Gray Wing told them about Wind's tunneling technique. By the time of Tallstar's Revenge, the story has been hilariously skewed so that Shattered Ice is an action hero who saves all of WindClan (which hadn't even been formed when tunneling was invented) from starvation by digging a hole in the middle of a blizzard.
- Looking Busy: Tallpaw pretends to be searching for a flea on his tail in order to eavesdrop on a conversation.
- Lost My Appetite: Tallpaw is having a meal with his denmate Barkpaw. Barkpaw starts talking enthusiastically about how he just learned how to treat infected wounds, and how he used it on an elder who had a nasty swollen tick bite. Tallpaw feels increasingly sick and no longer hungry at the descriptions and tries to change the subject.
- Malicious Misnaming: Throughout their lives, Shrewclaw calls Tallstar either Wormkit, Wormpaw or Wormcat, depending on what rank they are. He also, at one point shortly after he becomes an apprentice, calls him "tattlepaw". Tallstar, in that same incident, calls Shrewpaw "bug-breath", and in two later incidents after he has been especially mean to him, calls him "weaselpaw".
- Meaningful Name: Tallkit was named for his long tail.
- Meaningful Rename: Several cats are given their apprentice and warrior names. According to Heatherstar, Shrewclaw's is in honor of his skill at hunting and fighting, and Talltail's is for his long tail, since that's what Sandgorse wanted.
- Named After the Injury: When Hopkit becomes an apprentice name, he's given the new name Deadpaw after his crippled paw.
- Never Found the Body: Sandgorse; there was no way to recover him when the tunnels collapsed and flooded.
- No One Could Survive That!: Plumclaw says this about Sandgorse, and sadly she's correct.
- Not a Morning Person: Larksplash. (As Ryestalk puts it, "she's not a dawn cat".)
- Origins Episode: This book serves as Tallstar's.
- Past Experience Nightmare: Tallpaw was present when the tunnels collapsed, killing his father; he even nearly died himself trying to save him. Afterward, he has nightmares of being in the collapsing tunnels hearing his father call for help, sometimes dying before his very eyes.
- Perspective Flip: Since Bluestar's Prophecy, Crookedstar's Promise, Yellowfang's Secret, and Tallstar's Revenge all take place during roughly the same time frame, there are several scenes seen from a different point of view in each book.
- The Power of Love: One of the lives Heatherstar receives has the gift of the force of a mother's love. Daisytail, who gave the life to her, even says "There is no power stronger than love."
- Prequel: Bluestar's Prophecy, Crookedstar's Promise, Yellowfang's Secret, and Tallstar's Revenge all take place about two generations before the original series.
- Revenge: A theme of the novel; Talltail feels a burning desire for revenge against the cat he blames for his father's death, and eventually sets out on a journey to kill him. After learning that Sandgorse gave his life to save Sparrow, and realizing that taking his revenge wouldn't have changed anything, he lets Sparrow go. Shortly after his return to the Clan, Shrewclaw tries to avenge his mother's death, but ends up dying of the same wound that killed her.
- The Rival: Shrewclaw to Talltail.
- Second Love: Palebird becomes mates with Woollytail after Sandgorse's death. Talltail is initially upset about this because it's not long after Sandgorse's death, and Woollytail was his best friend.
- Series Continuity Error:
- There's an elder in RiverClan who was named Tanglewhisker in Crookedstar's Promise. This book renames him "Tanglefur" in the Allegiances. In Leopardstar's Honor, he's once again called Tanglewhisker.
- There's also a warrior in RiverClan named Nightsky. The Allegiances call her "Brightsky". In the earlier published Crookedstar's Promise and the later published Leopardstar's Honor, she is also called Brightsky.
- Sparrowpelt of ThunderClan is listed in the Allegiances with his elder's name, Halftail. He does not receive this name until the very end of Bluestar's Prophecy, so he certainly shouldn't have it already at the start of this book, which starts before Bluestar's Prophecy.
- At the start of Bluestar's Prophecy, Dapplepaw is still an apprentice with Windflight as her mentor (while Robinwing and Fuzzypelt are warriors). At the start of this book, which starts before Bluestar's Prophecy, not only is she a warrior already, but she and Windflight appear to be Robinwing and Fuzzypelt's mentors.
- In the other prequel Super Editions, Shrewpaw is Redclaw's apprentice in the Allegiances. He becomes Hareflight's apprentice instead in this book, while Redclaw is his father.
- In Yellowfang's Secret, Talltail is a warrior when Shrewpaw is an apprentice. Barkface, meanwhile, doesn't become an apprentice until after Brokenpaw, Yellowfang's son, is already an apprentice. In Tallstar's Revenge, Barkface and Shrewclaw are littermates, slightly older than Tallstar, and Tallstar's a bit older than Yellowfang.
- In Goosefeather's Curse, Moonflower was made a warrior under Doestar's leadership. In Tallstar's Revenge, she's seen as an apprentice under Doestar's successor Pinestar.
- In Yellowfang's Secret, Nettlespot is mentioned as being old to have kits. In Tallstar's Revenge, about a year or so earlier, she's just become a warrior.
- In Starlight, Onewhisker states Tallstar has been leader since Mudclaw was a kit in the nursery. In Tallstar's Revenge, Mudclaw is already a warrior when Tallstar becomes leader (though Onewhisker himself is shown to have been a kit when Tallstar became leader).
- In Starlight, Tornear says Tallstar became leader before he was born. In Winds of Change it is established that Tornear and Mudclaw are littermates, so Tornear should have already been born before Tallstar became leader.
- Cedarstar states at Tallpaw's first Gathering that Silverflame has had three kits. This is despite Silverflame already being an elder, and too old to have more kits.
- Shout-Out: At one point, Talltail says, "You killed my father. Now I'm going to kill you." Vicky confirmed on her Facebook that Talltail was paraphrasing Inigo Montoya.
- Simultaneous Arcs: The four "prequel" Super Editions feature roughly the same timeframe from four different points of view. There are several direct scenes that the books share, sometimes featuring the characters talking to (or at least noticing) one of the others.
- Smells of Death: Hawkheart uses herbs to mask the scent of death when Brackenwing dies.
- Someone to Remember Him By: Ryestalk is pregnant with Shrewclaw's kits at the time of his death.
- So Proud of You: A couple cats say this to Tallstar during his nine lives.
- Sore Loser: Shrewpaw. Every time Tallpaw outperforms him in training, he either insults him or outright hits him.
- Strong Family Resemblance: In the manga at the end, Tallstar mentions that Firestar looks exactly like his father Jake.
- Tactical Withdrawal: Cedarstar calls his patrol to retreat when they're outnumbered and losing.
- Technicolor Eyes: During Talltail's warrior vigil, it's mentioned that Heatherstar has purple eyes.
- Tell Me About My Father: Tallpaw asks the elder Flailfoot to tell him about what Sandgorse was like as a tunneler.
- Theme Twin Naming: Two of Mistmouse's kits are named Doekit and Stagkit. The suffixes of their warrior names are -spring and -leap, both ways to move.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: Tallstar after his father Sandgorse dies. He's so upset and angry about it that he takes it out on the rogues... especially Sparrow, whom he blames for Sandgorse's death. Fortunately, Sparrow tells him the entire truth, and Talltail apologizes.
- Tunnel Network: WindClan's tunnel system.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Tallpaw feels bad about not living up to Sandgorse's hopes of him being a tunneler.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Sandgorse felt this way about worms.
- Your Tradition Is Not Mine: Tallpaw's family has always been tunnelers, and he knows that his father is eager to train him and patrol with him. Tallpaw dreams of being a moor-runner, however - which Heatherstar senses, and assigns him as - but Tallpaw can't help but feeling bad for disappointing his parents.
