I totally agree with you on the first book, but... just keep reading. Trust me, Character Development shines through here ~^

what are you talking about i have all the books thay are great!

Having read the second book as well, I would say that if it gets any better, it's later on than that.

Personally, I think the 6th book is the best. Highest density of CMO As.

How does the main character bother you? I never noticed his "Stuey-ness" myself. However, if you thought the first book had an Idiot Plot, It Gets Worse.

As for the speutering thing, I don't think it's made out to be that bad besides the obvious. I read it as the cats are given a choice to enjoy freedom but have to fend for themselves from a great number of dangers (predators, disease, starvation, territorial conflicts, fires later on), or live comfortably with humans and lose that freedom. It's like the difference between living with your parents and moving out.

Am I reading a kid's book too deeply here >.>

I enjoyed the book! Warrior cats are AWSOME

I'd have to say that Into the Wild is probably my least favorite book out of the series. I read it when I was nine, so I didn't know any better (besides, I was finally getting exactly what I wanted—cats living up to their true awesomeness). But later, it's completely worth it. The second book alone introduces us to two shocking twists, and the third book takes it to a whole new level. And if you're not madly in love by then, I don't know what to say.

There's a reason this series skyrockets straight to the top of the bestseller list each time a new book comes out. Just ignore the second and sixth reviews here—the sad part about having such a series with cats on the covers is that kids instantly attack them, are drawn to the internet, and this happens. But the fact that this troper managed to convince her mother to read the books (and she's still a fan) speaks volumes.

Speaking as a fan here, it gets better. For the rest of the series, plus a sequel series, it's pretty good. And then they do a third series, and it begins to suck.

I figure the somewhat Stuey nature of the main character is due to the series being directed mainly at kids half my age. He's the talented newcomer that is able to introduce the reader to a new world of wild cats. It's an old device, but it works. However, I didn't find him to outshine his peers too badly, and he did have his own issues to work through rather than finding everything easy.

Comparing the series to Watership Down is a little out of place, though. These are books with some great gems of good ideas and some cool characters, but they are just not on the same level overall. I could usually predict plot twists before they came, but I enjoyed their handling all the same. Overall I found it to be great for-fun reading, especially as a cat person. It's also one of those fun series to do concept drawings for, as if I were working on the film adaptation or something.

The second series if anything has more of a "Watership Down" type structure to it, though again the comparison is one best not made. I liked those books well enough too, though the third series slipped significantly for me. Too much forbidden love drama, and many intriguing hints of storylines I was interested in, only to have them go nowhere or resolve in anticlimactic or unsatisfying ways. I'll probably give the fourth series a shot, but if it's on the same path I think I won't be able to handle Warriors anymore, even as light reading.

Short version: Started out well as a fun read, but is suffering Series Rot. Pity.

I had no problem with the books starting out. It's actually when the new series happens, and the focus is taken away from Fire Star, that I start to feel irritated. I don't like how the writers treat other animals in the forest as mindless ruthless bloodthirsty killers,(if it isn't a cat or prey then we must assume it's evil) and the cats are always more intelligent and cunning. Like when it comes to Foxes. Foxes are always sly greedy bastards (but they are usually portrayed this way in any children's book so...) But what pissed me the most was what happened with badgers. If I'm reading correctly the cats move into the new forest and basically overcrowd the badgers out of their own homes. Well when the badgers try to reclaim there territory, of course, by killing the cats. The badgers are shown as the bad guys!Squirrelflight says she hates that she felt sorry for them. But they were just fighting for their territory.

I thought it was decent YA literature, but after several books, it just felt like Watership Down minus all the charm. It could have been so much more fleshed-out...

I think it really lacked the sense of alien-ness that made Watership Down so acclaimed. The characters aren't cats, they're basically a modern American's perception of tribal humans, in cat form.

I think I was twelve when I read the first one, but I couldn't help laughing at "medicine cats."

"The characters aren't cats, they're basically a modern American's perception of tribal humans, in cat form."

Actually, Victoria Holmes, Kate Cary, and Cherith Baldry are British.

Foxes/Badgers are evil because it's from a cat's point of view. They really don't have much time to reflect upon their other qualities.

The first couple of books aren't that good. It'll improve later on. The last part of Series 1 is awesomness incantate.

"Actually, Victoria Holmes, Kate Cary, and Cherith Baldry are British"

Still, that doesn't mean they can't have been influenced by the popular perception of tribes. Actually I wouldn't say that the cats act like tribals, but a simplified version of human societies in general. It just seems like a "tribe" because that's usually the result of trying to make a society of Intellectual Animals. I've noticed the same thing in all of those wolf comics on DA. The authors want them to be animals, but for whatever reason they end up giving them human motives. So they create an idealized "animal" society that resembles a generic tribe.

I'm getting linked to this review from the article on the film with the same name. It's kind of weird.

Same as Brontozaurus—I was looking for the film, and then started reading, and—what? cats? Wait a minute...

Actually, I have read this book—it was a big part of my childhood. I loved it, but I can see where you're coming from. It doesn't hold up all that well under criticism. Still, I'd recommend it, if only as something to read to kids.