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Series · fantasy
Warriors
The Warriors series by Erin Hunter has 52 books and is best read in publication order, starting with Into the Wild (2003). The next book, Guiding Light, is due 6 October 2026.
- Books
- 52 books
- First published
- 2003
- Status
- ongoing
- Last checked
Start here: Into the Wild (2003) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The order the books were released — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
Into the Wild
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Into the Wild - Book 2:
Fire and Ice
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Fire and Ice - Book 3:
Forest of Secrets
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Forest of Secrets - Book 4:
Rising Storm
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Rising Storm - Book 5:
A Dangerous Path
Alternative text for cover: Cover of A Dangerous Path - Book 6:
The Darkest Hour
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Darkest Hour - Book 7:
Midnight
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Midnight - Book 8:
Moonrise
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Moonrise - Book 9:
Dawn
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Dawn - Book 10:
Starlight
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Starlight - Book 11:
Twilight
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Twilight - Book 12:
Sunset
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sunset - Book 13:
The Sight
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Sight - Book 14:
Dark River
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Dark River - Book 15:
Outcast
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Outcast - Book 16:
Eclipse
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Eclipse - Book 17:
Long Shadows
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Long Shadows - Book 18:
Sunrise
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sunrise - Book 19:
The Fourth Apprentice
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Fourth Apprentice - Book 20:
Fading Echoes
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Fading Echoes - Book 21:
Night Whispers
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Night Whispers - Book 22:
Sign of the Moon
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sign of the Moon - Book 23:
The Forgotten Warrior
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Forgotten Warrior - Book 24:
The Last Hope
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Last Hope - Book 25:
The Sun Trail
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Sun Trail - Book 26:
Thunder Rising
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Thunder Rising - Book 27:
The First Battle
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The First Battle - Book 28:
The Blazing Star
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Blazing Star - Book 29:
A Forest Divided
Alternative text for cover: Cover of A Forest Divided - Book 30:
Path of Stars
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Path of Stars - Book 31:
The Apprentice's Quest
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Apprentice's Quest - Book 32:
Thunder and Shadow
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Thunder and Shadow - Book 33:
Shattered Sky
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Shattered Sky - Book 34:
Darkest Night
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Darkest Night - Book 35:
River of Fire
Alternative text for cover: Cover of River of Fire - Book 36:
The Raging Storm
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Raging Storm - Book 37:
Lost Stars
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Lost Stars - Book 38:
The Silent Thaw
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Silent Thaw - Book 39:
Veil of Shadows
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Veil of Shadows - Book 40:
Darkness Within
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Darkness Within - Book 41:
The Place of No Stars
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Place of No Stars - Book 42:
A Light in the Mist
Alternative text for cover: Cover of A Light in the Mist - Book 43:
River
Alternative text for cover: Cover of River - Book 44:
Sky
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sky - Book 45:
Shadow
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Shadow - Book 46:
Thunder
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Thunder - Book 47:
Wind
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Wind - Book 48:
Star
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Star - Book 49:
The Elders' Quest
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Elders' Quest - Book 50:
Hidden Moon
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Hidden Moon - Book 51:
Chasing Shadows
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Chasing Shadows
The order the story's events happen in, novellas slotted where they belong.
- Book 1:
The Sun Trail
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Sun Trail - Book 2:
Thunder Rising
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Thunder Rising - Book 3:
The First Battle
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The First Battle - Book 4:
The Blazing Star
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Blazing Star - Book 5:
A Forest Divided
Alternative text for cover: Cover of A Forest Divided - Book 6:
Path of Stars
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Path of Stars - Book 7:
Into the Wild
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Into the Wild - Book 8:
Fire and Ice
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Fire and Ice - Book 9:
Forest of Secrets
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Forest of Secrets - Book 10:
Rising Storm
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Rising Storm - Book 11:
A Dangerous Path
Alternative text for cover: Cover of A Dangerous Path - Book 12:
The Darkest Hour
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Darkest Hour - Book 13:
Midnight
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Midnight - Book 14:
Moonrise
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Moonrise - Book 15:
Dawn
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Dawn - Book 16:
Starlight
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Starlight - Book 17:
Twilight
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Twilight - Book 18:
Sunset
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sunset - Book 19:
The Sight
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Sight - Book 20:
Dark River
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Dark River - Book 21:
Outcast
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Outcast - Book 22:
Eclipse
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Eclipse - Book 23:
Long Shadows
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Long Shadows - Book 24:
Sunrise
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sunrise - Book 25:
The Fourth Apprentice
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Fourth Apprentice - Book 26:
Fading Echoes
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Fading Echoes - Book 27:
Night Whispers
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Night Whispers - Book 28:
Sign of the Moon
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sign of the Moon - Book 29:
The Forgotten Warrior
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Forgotten Warrior - Book 30:
The Last Hope
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Last Hope - Book 31:
The Apprentice's Quest
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Apprentice's Quest - Book 32:
Thunder and Shadow
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Thunder and Shadow - Book 33:
Shattered Sky
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Shattered Sky - Book 34:
Darkest Night
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Darkest Night - Book 35:
River of Fire
Alternative text for cover: Cover of River of Fire - Book 36:
The Raging Storm
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Raging Storm - Book 37:
Lost Stars
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Lost Stars - Book 38:
The Silent Thaw
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Silent Thaw - Book 39:
Veil of Shadows
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Veil of Shadows - Book 40:
Darkness Within
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Darkness Within - Book 41:
The Place of No Stars
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Place of No Stars - Book 42:
A Light in the Mist
Alternative text for cover: Cover of A Light in the Mist - Book 43:
River
Alternative text for cover: Cover of River - Book 44:
Sky
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sky - Book 45:
Shadow
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Shadow - Book 46:
Thunder
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Thunder - Book 47:
Wind
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Wind - Book 48:
Star
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Star - Book 49:
The Elders' Quest
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Elders' Quest - Book 50:
Hidden Moon
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Hidden Moon - Book 51:
Chasing Shadows
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Chasing Shadows
About the Warriors series
A stray kitchen cat named Rusty slips into the forest one night and joins ThunderClan, one of four rival Clans of wild cats living by a strict warrior code, and is renamed Firepaw as he trains to become a warrior. What starts as a boy-and-his-cat premise widens fast into a full political fantasy epic: Clan warfare, prophecy, betrayal, star-based ancestor spirits (StarClan) who send omens to Clan medicine cats, and generations of cats whose descendants keep driving the plot forward long after the original cast has passed on. Erin Hunter (a publishing-house pseudonym for a rotating team of writers working from a shared outline) has kept the series running in successive six-book "arcs," each following a new generation and a new central conflict while the mythology and politics of the four (later five) Clans keep deepening underneath.
This is the series that turned animal-fantasy into a genuine multi-arc saga, and it is the reason so many readers who grew up on it can still name Clan ranks and warrior-naming conventions from memory. It rewards the kind of long-haul attention usually reserved for adult epic fantasy — bloodlines, grudges, and prophecies pay off across arcs spanning decades of real-world publication — while each arc's three-book-per-viewpoint structure keeps individual entries fast and accessible for younger readers. Fans of Watership Down-style animal societies, Game of Thrones-style multi-generational politics scaled down to cat size, and long-running found-family casts will find an unusually deep well here.
How to read this series
Start with Into the Wild, the first book of Arc 1 (The Prophecies Begin), and read the numbered arcs in publication order: The Prophecies Begin, The New Prophecy, Power of Three, Omen of the Stars, A Vision of Shadows, The Broken Code, A Starless Clan, and the currently-running Changing Skies. Each arc is six books following a rotating cast, and later arcs assume you know the Clans, characters, and history built up in earlier ones, so skipping ahead isn't recommended for a first read.
The one genuine exception is Dawn of the Clans, a six-book arc (The Sun Trail through Path of Stars) set generations before Into the Wild, telling the origin story of how the Clans were founded. It was published after the first four arcs but takes place chronologically first. Most fans still read it in publication order — after Omen of the Stars — since it was written to reward readers who already know the Clans it explains the origins of, but purists who want in-story chronology can read it before Into the Wild instead. This entry does not track Super Editions, novellas, manga, or field guides, which form a large parallel side-continuity outside the numbered arcs.
Frequently asked questions
How many books are in the Warriors series?
51 numbered main-arc novels have been published as of August 2026, across nine arcs (The Prophecies Begin, The New Prophecy, Power of Three, Omen of the Stars, Dawn of the Clans, A Vision of Shadows, The Broken Code, A Starless Clan, and the ongoing Changing Skies). This does not count the many Super Editions, novellas, manga volumes, and field guides published alongside the main arcs.
What order should I read Warriors in?
Publication order, starting with Into the Wild. Read the arcs in the order they were published; each one builds on Clan history and characters from the arcs before it.
Is Warriors finished?
No. The ninth arc, Changing Skies, is ongoing, with the next volume, Guiding Light, due October 2026.
What is the next Warriors book?
Guiding Light, the fourth book of the Changing Skies arc, is scheduled for October 6, 2026. A fifth book, False Dawn, is already announced for March 30, 2027.
Do I need to read Dawn of the Clans before the other arcs?
No. Dawn of the Clans is a prequel arc set generations before Into the Wild, but it was written and published fifth, after readers already knew the Clans it explains the founding of. Reading it in publication order, after Omen of the Stars, is the standard recommendation.
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