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A review by chamomiledaydreams
Hawkwing's Journey by Erin Hunter
3.0
I think that Hawkwing is a good character choice for a special edition, because he plays an important role in the main series, but we don't get to see too much of him. He wasn't a POV character, but he was closely connected to two (Twigpaw and Violetpaw), and learning about his childhood fills in some interesting gaps in the timeline.
However, anyone familiar with the main series will know the basic plot points, which can make this super edition a somewhat frustrating and tedious read. We know that Darktail is a bad person, so it can be hard to read the first half of this novel, where the cats of SkyClan have yet to make up their mind how they feel about it. It often leads to contrived scenarios, where the authors must explain why anyone trusted him in the first place. The question is not, "What would these characters do in this situation?" but "How can we get the characters to behave in the way our story demands?" This is a valid approach to story-writing, but from personal experience, I know that it can be difficult on writers and maybe not the best choice for crafting a believable narrative or relatable characters.
The pacing and overall narrative arc of this super edition leaves me feeling conflicted. On the one hand, I didn't feel like any scenes or time periods dragged on for too long, and I liked how Pebbleshine and Hawkwing started off as rivals (although I didn't fully understand their progression to mates). However, the ending was anti-climactic, since we know that SkyClan doesn't find a home until Twigpaw recovers them. I was curious to see if this book would end with her appearance, but as it did not, there was just an awkward, "Oh, well. Echosong is back, and we still have hope. SkyClan will never give up," which I didn't find very satisfying as a reader.
Still, as far as super editions go, this one wasn't half-bad. I read it in between the fourth and fifth books of the sixth series, which I thought worked very well, because it gave me additional context for a storyline I had already finished and helped me appreciate the new SkyClan characters. I would recommend other fans to read this super edition anytime after the third book of the sixth series, maybe even a little earlier than I did, because it would add a personal investment to Violetpaw's journey to the gorge with her father.
However, anyone familiar with the main series will know the basic plot points, which can make this super edition a somewhat frustrating and tedious read. We know that Darktail is a bad person, so it can be hard to read the first half of this novel, where the cats of SkyClan have yet to make up their mind how they feel about it. It often leads to contrived scenarios, where the authors must explain why anyone trusted him in the first place. The question is not, "What would these characters do in this situation?" but "How can we get the characters to behave in the way our story demands?" This is a valid approach to story-writing, but from personal experience, I know that it can be difficult on writers and maybe not the best choice for crafting a believable narrative or relatable characters.
The pacing and overall narrative arc of this super edition leaves me feeling conflicted. On the one hand, I didn't feel like any scenes or time periods dragged on for too long, and I liked how Pebbleshine and Hawkwing started off as rivals (although I didn't fully understand their progression to mates). However, the ending was anti-climactic, since we know that SkyClan doesn't find a home until Twigpaw recovers them. I was curious to see if this book would end with her appearance, but as it did not, there was just an awkward, "Oh, well. Echosong is back, and we still have hope. SkyClan will never give up," which I didn't find very satisfying as a reader.
Still, as far as super editions go, this one wasn't half-bad. I read it in between the fourth and fifth books of the sixth series, which I thought worked very well, because it gave me additional context for a storyline I had already finished and helped me appreciate the new SkyClan characters. I would recommend other fans to read this super edition anytime after the third book of the sixth series, maybe even a little earlier than I did, because it would add a personal investment to Violetpaw's journey to the gorge with her father.