I (re)read Sign of the Moon: Warriors, Omen of the Stars
I'm going to make this post pretty short. Because I don't like the book.
Sign of the Moon follows the four main characters we know:
Ivypool keeps training in hell
Dovewing is sad in the mountains
Lionblaze goes on patrols
Jayfeather goes back in time and founds the Tribe of Rushing Water because Rock told him to
Hilariously enough, even Jayfeather's segment is pretty meaningless in the grand scheme of things beyond him being more important (for no real reason. I love Jayfeather but he does way too much).
So it's time to talk about just a three things: Ivypool and Dovewing's new names, Jayfeather's time travel shenanigans, and... Blossomfall?
New names just dropped
It's time to discuss naming symbolism... kinda.
Dovewing's name is just meant to refer back to her past incarnation, Dove's Wing, in case it wasn't obvious enough. But I think it's also an ironic name, in a way. Dovewing's lack of autonomy in her decision making - highlighted later by her being forced on a journey to see the Tribe - is a centerpoint of her character. To me, the suffix "wing" implies a degree of freedom, something she doesn't truly have. Birds are often used to symbolize freedom, which is why her name (and Jayfeather's) is so incredibly ironic. Really though, the Erin Hunter hivemind probably just chose it to make sure you got the point of her being Dove's Wing reincarnated. More on that later.
Ivypool is much more interesting. Warrior names are meant to be a reflection of the character of the cat. Without going into it, think about the names "Fireheart" "Lionblaze" "Squirrelflight." All of their suffixes represent something about who they are. Within a narrative sense, the names aren't a reflection of who they are, but instead who their leaders believe them to be. Firestar sees Ivypool as an honest hardworking warrior. The suffix "pool" implies clarity, like with a clean pond or a... pool. Firestar thinks Ivypool is clear. He thinks he knows her, but she's hiding a lot. Similarly to Leafpool, her life is a lot muddier than Firestar thinks it is. In a way, I think Ivypool's character arc fits perfectly with the idea of her living up to her name. She wants to be the cat the clan thinks she is, but can't because she has to spy for Jayfeather and Lionblaze. Ivypool's name shows both who Firestar thinks she is and who she wishes to become.
Okay that's enough name talk for the day. I'm glad they're warriors now because everytime I would type, like, "Dovepaw" I would have to think through it to make sure I didn't accidentally say "Dovewing." But now I don't have to worry about that. Except I already caught one accidental "Ivypaw" in this post. The suffering never ends.
Jayfeather messes around in the past
Sign of the Moon centers on Jayfeather's trip to the tribe. He's going because Rock told him to go. In his group are Dovewing, Squirrelflight, and Foxleap (gotta have one background character). Dovewing doesn't want to go and spends all of her chapters being justifiably annoyed/sad about being sent off to the mountains just because "prophecy." The tribe isn't doing good (they never are) because Stoneteller is about to die and hasn't appointed a successor (he is sad and just wants the tribe to perish). So it's up to Jayfeather to save the day! After all, the tribe can't make decisions on their own.
I'm literally just going to skip over all of the Dovewing chapters. The only thing I remember is Foxleap accidentally getting a tribe cat killed, but nothing comes of that, somehow.
Jayfeather spends his chapters going back in time to see the ancient cats he met back in Long Shadows. He assumes the form of Jay's Wing and is tasked with getting the cats to stay in the mountains. Note: every single time we've seen the tribe, we've also seen that living in the mountains is absolutely unbearable. Jayfeather should really just let them leave but uhh... Rock said so also time paradoxes?
You may remember Jay's Wing actually being killed off at the end of Long Shadows.
It's very ambiguous, but the implication of Rock saying he doesn't come back is that he won't come back. Actually that's not an implication. That's the exact meaning of the words on the page.
Anyways he comes back and they're like "where'd you go?" and he says "uh idk I'm back" and then nobody cares. I think the writers never originally intended to go back in time again because everything feels like it's intended to double back on previous writing decisions.
One of the cats who is happy to see Jay's Wing is Half Moon, because she's in love with him. She doesn't do anything until she is forced into a destiny she doesn't want later. There's also Dove's Wing.
Dove's Wing is Jay's Wing's sister and is also proto-Dovewing. As a kid, I remember Sign of the Moon as the book where Dovewing is also able to go back in time. I mean why not? She goes to the mountains with Jayfeather and her prior form is there. I was wrong, though. Dovewing doesn't go back in time (even though it would've been cool). As a matter of fact, neither Dovewing nor Dove's Wing do anything at all in spite of them both being present for the same part of the story. Stupid book.
Also Jayfeather kind of assists in the birth of his brother which is really weird. Like it's his job but... weird. After that, Half Moon is like "I want to have babies," to which Jayfeather responds "no actually I will leave forever and you will stay in this cave and look at rocks and never leave the cave btw your new name is Stoneteller and you're healer hope that's okay with you bye bye." Stupid book.
I could talk about how this relates back to the running theme of autonomy in Omen of the Stars, but I'd rather just say "this sucks." Like really nothing in the time travel section is important to the narrative. It's the miserable anime beach filler episode of a filler warriors book.
I also want to talk about the Tribe. I know this is an ice cold take, but I hate how the Tribe is always dependent on the clan cats to do anything. Why do they need to be founded by a clan cat? How come the Tribe is always suffering until Squirrelflight shows up, like a reverse Ashfur. Well at least there's no more examples of them being reliant on the clans to a problematic extent?
So Jayfeather personally selects Stoneteller's successor on a whim. Yeah Stoneteller dies randomly and the Tribe of Endless Hunting tells Jayfeather to choose a successor. The ToEH doesn't have a rule about not choosing a new leader like StarClan does, and in fact seemingly tells Stoneteller who to take on as an apprentice. I wouldn't mind Jayfeather appointing the new Stoneteller if the Tribe ancestors had told him who to appoint. Instead we get a 300th example of the clans making decisions for the tribe.
That's it. Very dumb and annoying travel book. I liked Outcast more, which is saying something. The only important thing Jayfeather learns is that there's now a fourth prophecy cat. He's told this by The ToEH, which is meant to show that the prophecy is bigger than just one afterlife, I guess. Who cares.
Blossomfall joins the Dark Forest
My surprise favorite character in Sign of the Moon is Blossomfall. She enters the Dark Forest after being recruited by Hawkfrost which really concerns Ivypool. Until now, Ivypool has never had to deal with any of her clanmates being possibly hurt, but Blossomfall changes that. In her first training session, Ivypool has to save her from being killed by Ratscar.
Until Blossomfall, Ivypool's never had reliable waking access to her fellow Dark Forest trainees. On a patrol, Ivypool's conversation with Blossomfall gives a lot more insight as to how and why cats join the Dark Forest.
The "how" we already kind of knew. Hawkfrost used Blossomfall's anger towards Millie, who was obsessing over Briarlight to the extent of neglecting her other children (where is Graystripe throughout this btw). She wanted to stand out and be stronger and special and went to the Dark Forest to realize that vision.
I really like Blossomfall's dialogue here. Ivypool, Lionblaze, and Brambleclaw were all brought into the Dark Forest while unaware. They were all too young or too stupid(Brambleclaw) to realize what was happening to them. Blossomfall is well aware of where she is but doesn't care. The Dark Forest manipulates her because she doesn't feel like she has anything to lose. She's willing to throw away her afterlife just to have somewhere where she feels appreciated, even if she knows it's fake.
And she does know it's fake. When Ivypool and Blossomfall first talk, she specifically says, about Hawkfrost, "I bet he told you exactly the same thing." Blossomfall feels weirdly realistic as a character. Beyond just her style of speaking (which I can't screenshot all of), her way of handling her problems feels realistically unhealthy. She seeks a solution to her sadness desperately, with no regard for herself or her safety. But she truly seems to love her life when she gives herself the chance. She and Ivypool go into the tunnels because she just wanted to explore them with her new friend.
In the tunnels, they encounter Fallen Leaves. He's still hanging on by a thread. He makes sure to make the duo as uncomfortable as possible before giving them directions. Then Hollyleaf an unknown cat actually leads them out of the tunnels. Hooray.
Blossomfall and Ivypool's tunnel shenanigans were the only good part of Sign of the Moon. Their fun and light-hearted adventure makes anytime they risk themselves in the Dark Forest way more horrifying. Blossomfall isn't evil, even if she believes herself to be. I want her to make it out okay because of the silly filler chapters.
I also want Millie to apologize. Fuck Millie.
Conclusion
Before reading Sign of the Moon, Sunset was my easy pick for worst Warriors book, but there's now a bit of competition (probably still Sunset though).
Hollyleaf comes back soon! I'm really looking forward to that because I liked her character in Sunrise, specifically, and want to see how she is changed by being stuck in a hole with a ghost for, like, a year or so (which is about half her life, mind you).
What a waste of a book. I really think Warriors, as a series, should have 5 book arcs. Or just a variable amount. The six book requirement only makes for weak storytelling.
I really like Blossomfall now, though, so there's one upside.
If you are a rabid Sign of the Moon defender, come at me. But like not aggressively I'm not about that. Or if I missed something, which is very possible. I was definitely not reading the latter half of the book as closely because I wanted it to be over.
How did it somehow get WORSE? If it was a virus, why would you give them antibiotics? It's in the Goddamn Name! Are you kidding me. Are you actually kidding me
I really hate when a book tries to make something out of nothing for drama. A stupid problem that could be solved with conversation! I don’t even want to finish it.
