The Darkest Hour (novel) facts for kids
First edition cover
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| Author | Erin Hunter |
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| Cover artist | Wayne McLoughlin |
| Country | United States United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | Warriors |
| Genre | Children's literature Fantasy novel |
| Publisher | HarperCollins |
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Publication date
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1 October 2004 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 336 (first edition, hardback) |
| ISBN | 978-0-06-000007-3 (first edition, hardback) |
| OCLC | 54035392 |
| LC Class | PZ7.H916625 Dar 2004 |
| Preceded by | A Dangerous Path |
| Followed by | Ravenpaw's Path Firestar's Quest Midnight |
The Darkest Hour is a children's fantasy novel, the sixth and last book in the original Warriors series by Erin Hunter, featuring the fictional character Firestar, a cat. The series centers around a group of wild cats living in four Clans, ThunderClan, RiverClan, WindClan, and ShadowClan. It was published on 1 October 2004, by HarperCollins Publishers. The story chronicles the events directly after A Dangerous Path and leads to the final battle for the forest.
Plot
Firestar is now the leader of ThunderClan, following the death of Bluestar. He receives his nine lives at the Moonstone. During the ceremony, StarClan gives him a prophecy: "Four will become two, lion and tiger will meet in battle, and blood will rule the forest." He chooses Whitestorm as his deputy, an experienced warrior who is old but well-respected in the Clan. At the next Gathering, Tigerstar attempts to unify all four Clans, claiming that it would help the Clans to survive. While Leopardstar agrees, Tallstar and Firestar both refuse to join this alliance, which Tigerstar has named "TigerClan". Later, accompanied by Ravenpaw, who is on a visit to ThunderClan, Graystripe and Firestar go to RiverClan to investigate TigerClan, and find that Graystripe's kits, Stormpaw and Featherpaw, and Bluestar's kits, Mistyfoot and Stonefur, are being held prisoner because of their half-Clan heritage. Since they are all half-ThunderClan and half-RiverClan, Tigerstar accuses them of being traitors and abominations. Firestar, Graystripe, and Ravenpaw manage to rescue Mistyfoot, Stormpaw, and Featherpaw, but Stonefur is killed by two warriors of ShadowClan.
In an attempt to convince Tallstar and Firestar to join his alliance, Tigerstar brings in BloodClan, a dangerous group of rogue cats that lives in the alleys of the nearby human town. When both leaders still refuse, Tigerstar orders BloodClan to fight for him, but they do not do so, as they only listen to the commands of their leader, Scourge. Firestar publicly reveals Tigerstar's bloodthirsty history and asserts that he cannot be trusted to share power, leading Scourge to announce that there will be no battle. Enraged by Scourge's refusal to cooperate, Tigerstar attacks him, but Scourge slays Tigerstar easily by slicing him open from chin to tail with his claws, which are reinforced with dogs' teeth. This significant wound causes Tigerstar to lose all nine of his lives at once, bleeding to death. Scourge then gives all of the forest Clans three days to leave; otherwise, they will have to fight BloodClan for the forest. To face this threat, the four Clans unite, forming an alliance called LionClan. During the battle, Whitestorm is killed by Bone, BloodClan's deputy, but Bone is killed soon afterwards by a group of Clan apprentices. The battle is won when Firestar kills Scourge, though he loses one of his own nine lives in the process. Without its leader, BloodClan scatters. With the threat of BloodClan gone, the four Clans dissolve their alliance and become independent from one another once more.
