Warriors: The Power of Three #5 – Long Shadows

Warriors: The Power of Three #5 — Long Shadows
By Erin Hunter

The fifth book in the Warriors “Power of Three” series finally makes up for the lack of drama that plagued a good portion of the previous four. This one is jam-packed with intrigue, danger and mystery. Our three protagonists for this series – Lionblaze, Hollyleaf and Jaypaw – scheme to bring ShadowClan back to StarClan and the Warrior Code, while the whitecough that appeared near the end of Eclipse blossoms into a full-blown greencough epidemic and the remedy, catmint, is in short supply. Jaypaw is still searching for answers among his feline ancestors and finds a spirit group he has never met before. And finally we’re hit with a revelation about the three’s parentage (with more answers yet to come), and a shocking murder with suspects that include some of the most prominent cats in the series. Along the way the three grapple with the prophecy that hangs heavily over them. Although we see little of Sol and Tigerstar in this volume, it’s a given they will be back for the next book.

There is almost too much action going on in Long Shadows and I wonder if the group of authors who are behind the identity of Erin Hunter shouldn’t have spread some of it out through the earlier books, just to make them a little more dynamic. In any case, this book promises an even more exciting finale when Sunrise, the last of the “Power of Three” series, comes out in April.