Warriors Reading Order: Erin Hunter's Clans Explained Arc by Arc
June 5, 2026
Erin Hunter’s Warriors — the saga of wild cat Clans surviving, fighting, and prophesying in the forest — is one of the longest-running middle-grade phenomena around. With dozens of books, it can look intimidating. The key is simple: it’s built from six-book arcs, and you read the arcs in publication order.
The main arcs, in reading order
- The Prophecies Begin — Into the Wild (2003) → The Darkest Hour
- The New Prophecy — Midnight (2005) → Sunset
- Power of Three — The Sight (2007) → Sunrise
- Omen of the Stars — The Fourth Apprentice (2009) → The Last Hope
- Dawn of the Clans — The Sun Trail (2013) → Path of Stars
- A Vision of Shadows — The Apprentice’s Quest (2016) → The Raging Storm
- The Broken Code — Lost Stars (2019) → A Light in the Mist
- A Starless Clan — River (2022) onward
Each arc is six books. Read them in this order, even though one of them is a prequel — see below.
A note on Dawn of the Clans
Dawn of the Clans (arc 5) is actually a prequel, set generations before Into the Wild, telling the origin of the Clans. Despite that, we recommend reading it in publication order (i.e. fifth), not first — it’s richer once you already know the Clans it’s building toward.
Where to start
Begin with Into the Wild. A young house cat named Rusty leaves his comfortable life to join the wild ThunderClan, and the saga unfolds from there. It’s the cleanest possible entry point.
The extras (optional)
Beyond the main arcs, there’s a deep bench of supplementary material:
- Super Editions — standalone doorstop novels focusing on a single famous cat (Firestar’s Quest, Bluestar’s Prophecy, and many more).
- Field Guides — lore and reference books about the Clans.
- Novellas and manga — shorter side-stories.
None are required. Read the main arcs first; dip into Super Editions whenever you want more of a character you love.