"Down here I can feel the evil growing. The forest is dark with it, and StarClan cannot help us. It's up to us. [...] What happens tomorrow can determine the very future of our Clan."
A Dangerous Path is the fifth book in The Prophecies Begin arc, formerly known as the Original arc.[5]Bluestar is the cat depicted on the reprinted cover.[6] It features Fireheart as the main protagonist.
ShadowClan now has a dark new leader, but will he be satisfied with his power now—or does his desire for revenge burn even more strongly? Fireheart fears that there is a connection between the rise of Tigerstar and the terrible dreams of danger that haunts his nights.
Meanwhile, a mysterious threat has invaded the forest, placing every cat's life in peril. Fireheart's beloved leader has turned her back on their warrior ancestors, and Fireheart can't help but wonder if she's right. Has StarClan abandoned them forever?
The praise
"Spine-tingling. Sure to appeal to followers of Brian Jacques' ongoing Redwall series."[3]
-ALA Booklist
"Hunter's world keeps getting more finely drawn and her characters more complex. Fans will be on edge for the next title."[3]
-Kirkus Reviews
"The saga continues in the fifth book in the Warriors series as the cat Fireheart, now deputy leader of Thunderclan, finds himself taking on even more responsibility because clan-leader Bluestar is both physically and mentally ill. Add to that the dangerous machinations of treacherous Tigerstar, the head of Shadowclan, and a pack of renegade dogs. Bluestar becomes certain that all the members of her clan, including Fireheart, have betrayed her; the ancestral StarClan cats have abandoned her; and Windclan is hunting in Thunderclan's territory. After Bluestar declares war, it's up to Fireheart to find a way to avoid the battle. Hunter maintains the established characterizations of his sentient cats, who still retain their feline natures. With compelling intrigue and fast-paced actions, this is one of the most exciting books in the series--and, happily, there's another volume to come."[3]
-Sally Estes, ALA Booklist
"A fast-paced animal adventure. Recommend this series to fans of animal fantasies such as Redwall or Dark Portal."[3]
-Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA)
"A good, suspenseful adventure story that urges readers onward."[3]
-ALA Booklist
"The stage is set for more action-packed adventure. Certain to please any young reader who has ever wondered what dreams of grandeur may haunt the family cat."[7]
-Publisher's Weekly
"In the style of classics by Tolkien or Jacques. You'll never look at your plain old tabby the same way again."[8]
-Cleveland Plain Dealer
"Brilliantly written by someone who knows what children like to read. Inspired."[9]
-The Gateway
"Another fabulous book in the excellent series! Plenty of twists and turns. Any 9 to13 year old should have these books!"[9]
Ferocious guard dogs escape the Treecut place and their owners and run wild in ThunderClan territory. They are referred to as the pack, and led by the pack leader. They continuously say "Pack, pack, kill kill."
During a Gathering, the Clans learn that ShadowClan has a new leader, Tigerstar, the exiled former deputy of ThunderClan. He accepts several rogues into ShadowClan, many of which are former cats of ShadowClan who were driven out with Brokentail, including the former deputy Blackfoot, and promises that he will make the Clan great. After the Gathering is over, Fireheart, the ThunderClan deputy, tells the rest of the Clan about Tigerstar, and all the cats are shocked. They fear an attack from ShadowClan, but the days pass, and everything is peaceful. Bluestar has taken the news very hard, and believes that the other Clans are aligning themselves against ThunderClan. ThunderClan is surviving, but all the warriors are overstretched—they spend a lot of time hunting, patrolling, and rebuilding the camp after the recent fire.
Meanwhile, a mysterious threat has invaded the forest. Cinderpelt, the ThunderClan medicine cat, hears the words "pack, pack" and "kill, kill" in a dream. There are also reports of dog scent on ThunderClan territory, but Fireheart dismisses them, believing that it is only a Twoleg walking their pet. Soon after, they find more traces of dogs, and Fireheart concludes that a dog is loose in the forest, living at Snakerocks.
Bluestar slips further into dementia, thinking that StarClan has abandoned her, and refuses to make the apprentices warriors. Her misgivings are enhanced by the various hardships they meet—the recent fire, the scarce prey, the death of Snowkit by a hawk and the unknown evil menacing the Clan. Most of the leadership duties are fulfilled by Fireheart.
When the patrols find scraps of prey, obviously hunted by dogs, Bluestar claims that it was WindClan stealing prey from ThunderClan, and plans to attack them. However, the other cats know that this is not true. Fireheart tries to prevent the battle, even if it means he has to disobey his leader, going against the warrior code. He arranges a meeting between Bluestar and Tallstar, and the battle is averted, but Bluestar becomes angry at Fireheart and states that he betrayed her. She punishes him by doing nothing, so there will be a traitor leading ThunderClan. Bluestar believes most of ThunderClan are traitors at this point.
At the Gathering, it is revealed that Crookedstar has died, and that Leopardstar has risen to the rank of RiverClan leader. During the Gathering, Bluestar accuses WindClan cats of prey-stealing, and she also acts strangely friendly towards Leopardstar and RiverClan.
Leopardstar's first action is to try and retake Sunningrocks due to the debt ThunderClan owes them since they sheltered them from the fire in the previous book, but the ThunderClan cats drive RiverClan out. Graystripe is exiled from RiverClan, as he helps Fireheart during the battle, refusing to fight him, and rejoins ThunderClan. Fireheart reveals to Mistyfoot and Stonefur that Bluestar is their mother during the battle when they are attacking her. Stonefur is initially skeptical of Fireheart's claims but Mistyfoot believes him and convinces her brother that Fireheart speaks the truth.
Cloudtail is made a warrior, but Bluestar refuses to promote any other apprentices because the rest do not lack faith in StarClan, like Cloudtail does. Swiftpaw and Brightpaw are offended, and plan to go to Snakerocks and find out what is stealing prey, hoping that they will become warriors after their brave actions. The pack of dogs attacks them, and Swiftpaw is killed. Brightpaw, however, is seriously injured, losing an eye. Bluestar gives her the name Lostface at her dying apprentice ceremony, to show the Clan what StarClan took from Lostface. She later recovers, but cannot recall anything about the attack except the words "pack pack, kill kill."
Meanwhile, Tigerstar's kits are apprenticed, and are named Bramblepaw and Tawnypaw. Fireheart decides to mentor Bramblepaw and gives Tawnypaw to Brackenfur. Fireheart has Brackenfur mentor Tawnypaw because he is afraid of what Tigerstar will do to claim his kits. He does not want to put Sandstorm in danger, despite the fact Brackenfur is less experienced than she is. Tigerstar claims that his kits should be in ShadowClan, and asks Darkstripe to bring them to him, but Fireheart stops them each time. Sandstorm is angry with Fireheart, as she was not chosen to mentor Tawnypaw, and their friendship suffers. Fireheart later tells Sandstorm that he loves her and she admits that she loves Fireheart as well.
The dogs are finally sighted by Longtail. He reports that there are several enormous dogs living at Snakerocks, not just a single dog as they initially believed, and that he saw Tigerstar feeding them a rabbit. Fireheart thinks that Longtail is lying and is plotting with Tigerstar, but after consultation from Cinderpelt, he listens to him. Tigerstar plans to use the dogs to take revenge on ThunderClan; he lays a trail of rabbits to the ThunderClan camp, with Brindleface's dead body at the end of the trail. The ThunderClan cats notice it in time, and Fireheart forms a plan to take the dogs to the gorge, and lure them over the edge. He chooses some warriors and apprentices to lead the dogs, while the rest of the Clan go to Sunningrocks.
Fireheart is the last in the line of cats that lure the dogs to the gorge, and he almost succeeds, but Tigerstar appears and pins him down until the dogs catch up. The pack leader grabs Fireheart by his scruff and shakes him, but Bluestar comes out of nowhere and drives the leader down the gorge where he dies, and the rest of the dogs scatter. However, Bluestar falls in the river as well. Fireheart jumps down to save her, and is helped by Mistyfoot and Stonefur. The two RiverClan cats recognize Bluestar as their mother, and forgive her. Bluestar reconciles with StarClan, and names Fireheart as her successor, appointing him the leader of ThunderClan while revealing that he is the fire that will save ThunderClan.
Trivia
Mistakes
A compiled list of the errors present in A Dangerous Path can be found here.
Publication history
A Dangerous Path (EN), HarperCollins (hardcover), 1 June 2004[5]
A Dangerous Path (EN), HarperCollins (library binding), 1 June 2004[10]
A Dangerous Path (EN), HarperCollins (paperback), 24 May 2005[11]
Опасная тропа (RU), OLMA Media Group (hardcover), 17 June 2005, translated by Veronica Maximova[12]
위험한 길 (KR), Kyobo (unknown binding) 5 February 2007, translated by Kim Yi Seon[13]
A Dangerous Path (EN), HarperCollins UK (paperback), 2 April 2007[14]
Sur le sentier de la guerre (FR), Pocket Jeunesse (paperback), 16 August 2007, translated by Cécile Pournin[15]
ファイヤハートの危機 (JA), Komine Shoten (hardcover), 10 September 2007, translated by Yukako Takabayashi[16]
危險小徑 (TW), Morning Star (paperback), 1 December 2008, translated by Han Yichen (韓宜辰)[17]
A Dangerous Path & The Darkest Hour (EN), HarperCollins (hardcover), 2008[18][19]
险路惊魂 (CN), China Children's Publishing (paperback), March 2009, translated by Zhao Zhenzhong (赵振中)[20]
Опасная тропа (RU), OLMA Media Group (e-book), 20 April 2009, translated by Veronica Maximova[21]
ファイヤハートの危機 (JA), Komine Shoten (hardcover), 20 May 2009, translated by Yukako Takabayashi[22]
Gefährliche Spuren (DE), Beltz & Gelberg (hardcover), 19 August 2009, translated by Klaus Weimann[23]
Gefährliche Spuren (DE), Beltz & Gelberg (audio cd), 19 August 2009, translated by Klaus Weimann and narrated by Marlen Diekhoff[23]
Sur le sentier de la guerre (FR), Pocket Jeunesse (paperback; pocketbook), 1 October 2009, translated by Cécile Pournin[24]
Gevaar (NL), Fantoom (hardcover), 9 April 2011, translated by Huberte Vriesendorp[25]
Vaarallinen polku (FI), Art House (hardcover), April 2011, translated by Vesa-Matti Paija[26]
Sur le sentier de la guerre (FR), Pocket Jeunesse (ebook), 8 December 2011, translated by Cécile Pournin[27]
Opasan put (HR), Znanje (paperback), 2012, translated by Sandra Kalogjera[28]
En farlig sti (DK), Sohn (hardcover),17 August 2012, translated by Gabriela Lundbye [29]
Un sentiero pericoloso (IT), Sonda (hardcover), 19 June 2013, translated by Maria Milano[30]
Huellas peligrosas (ES), Salamandra (paperback), 4 July 2013, translated by Begoña Hernández Sala[31]
Gevaar (NL), Fantoom (paperback), 24 March 2014, translated by Huberte Vriesendorp[32]
Caminho perigoso (PT), WMF Martins Fontes (paperback), 6 May 2014, translated by Marilena Moraes[33]
Vaarallinen polku (FI), Art House (paperpack), June 2014[34]
Farlige spor (NO), Juritzen jr. (paperback), 16 March 2015, translated by Tora Larsen Morset[35]
A Dangerous Path (EN), HarperCollins (paperback; reprint), 17 March 2015[5]
Farlige spor (NO), Juritzen jr. (e-book), 11 June 2015, translated by Tora Larsen Morset[36]
Um Caminho Perigoso (PT), Planeta (paperback), January 2016, translated by Ana Saragoça[37]
O cale primejdioasă (RO), Galaxia Copiilor (paperback), 18 July 2016, translated by Ioana Văcărescu[38]
Gefährliche Spuren (DE), Verlagsgruppe Beltz (paperback), 14 March 2017[39]
Niebezpieczna ścieżka (PL), Nowa Baśń (paperback), 18 April 2017, translated by Katarzyna Kowalczyk[40]
险路惊魂 (CN), China Children's Press (paperback), 1 September 2017, translated by Zhao Zhenzhong[41]
A Dangerous Path (EN), HarperCollins (audiobook), 10 October 2017[5]
Cycle I - Livres 4-5-6 (FR), Pocket Jeunesse (paperback; 3 in 1 special edition), 19 October 2017, translated by Cécile Pournin and Aude Carlier[42]
Nestundā (LV), Zvaigzne ABC (hardcover, e-book), 29 January 2019, translated by Ieva Elsberga[43]
위험한 길 (KO), Garamchild (paperback), 10 June 2019, translated by Seo Nayeon[44]
Sur le sentier de la guerre (FR), Pocket Jeunesse (paperback; pocketbook reprint), 9 January 2020, translated by Cécile Pournin[45]
Sur le sentier de la guerre (FR), 12-21 (ebook), 9 January 2020, translated by Cécile Pournin[46]
Sur le sentier de la guerre (FR), Lizzie (audiobook, audio cd), 9 January 2020, translated by Cécile Pournin and narrated by Erwan Zamor[47]
Niebezpieczna ścieżka (PL), Storyside (audiobook), 2 July 2020, translated by Katarzyna Kowalczyk, narrated by Maciej Kowalik[48]
위험한 길 (KO), Garamchild (e-book), 10 June 2020, translated by Seo Nayeon[49]
Gevaar (NL), Storyside (audiobook), 5 June 2021, translated by Huberte Vriesendorp and narrated by Sinem Kavus[50]
Опасная тропа (RU), Storyside (audiobook), 23 November 2021, translated by Veronika Maksimova and narrated by Ilya Slanevsky[51]
危險小徑 (TW), Morning Star (paperback; 10th Anniversary), 1 December 2021, translated by Han Yichen (韓宜辰)[52]
Farlige spor (NO), Juritzen jr. (audiobook), 16 December 2021, translated by Tora Larsen Morset and narrated by Elisabeth Vatn[53]
Un sentiero pericoloso (IT), Storyside (audiobook), 9 March 2022, translated by Maria Teresa Milano and narrated by Dario Sansalone[54]
Niebezpieczna ścieżka (PL), Nowa Baśń (paperback; reprint), 18 March 2022, translated by Katarzyna Krawczyk[55]
Con Đường Hiểm Nguy (VI), Nhã Nam (paperback; reprint), 18 March 2022, translated by Nguyễn Minh Thư[56]
O cale primejdioasă (RO), Storyside (audiobook), 24 October 2022, translated by Ioana Vacarescu and narrated by Marius Iftimovici[57]
Caminho perigoso (PT), Storyside (audiobook), 28 September 2023, translated by Marilena Moraes and narrated by Guilherme Teruya[58]
Опасна пътека (BG), Storyside (e-book), 14 November 2023, translated by Marianna Panova[59]
Опасна пътека (BG), Storyside (audiobook), 14 November 2023, translated by Marianna Panova and narrated by Ivan Panayotov[60]
위험한 길 (KO), Storyside (audiobook), 20 March 2024, translated by Seo Na-yeon (서나연) and narrated by Kyeong-a Cho (조경아)[61]
Niebezpieczna ścieżka (PL), Nowa Baśń (audiobook; reissue), 19 November 2024, translated by Katarzyna Krawczyk and narrated by Wojciech Chorąży[62]
Gallery
US covers
English Language Edition Released in North America & United Kingdom English Language Edition Back Flap English Reprint Language Edition Released in North America English Audiobook Released in North America
English Language Edition Textless Cover English Language Edition Front Flap English Paper-over-board Special Edition Released in North America English Reprinted Language Edition Textless Cover
Foreign covers
Paperback English Language Edition Released in the United Kingdom Traditional Chinese Language Edition Released in Taiwan Traditional Chinese Reprint Language Edition Released in Taiwan Simplified Chinese Language Edition Released in China Alternate Simplified Chinese Language Edition Released in China Simplified Chinese Phonetic and Illustrated Edition Released in China Simplified Chinese Language Magazine Edition Released in China Simplified Chinese Language Magazine Edition Issue 3 Czech Language Edition Released in the Czech Republic
Bulgarian Language Audiobook and E-book Edition Released in Bulgaria Catalan Language Edition Released in Spain Traditional Chinese Language Edition Textless cover Traditional Chinese Reprinted Language Edition Textless Cover Simplified Chinese Language Edition Released in China Simplified Chinese & English Bilingual Edition Released in China Simplified Chinese Phonetic and Illustrated Edition Volume 2 Simplified Chinese Language Magazine Edition Issue 2 Croation Language Edition Released in Croatia
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Danish Audiobook Released in Denmark Dutch Language Edition Released in Belgium Finnish Language Edition Released in Finland Alternate Finnish Reprint Language Edition Released in Finland Finnish Audiobook Released in Finland French Language Edition Released in France Alternate French Language Edition Released in France Alternate French Language Edition Released in France French eBook Language Edition Released in France French E-Book Reprint Language Edition Released in France French Audio CD Released in France Alternate German Language Edition Released in Germany and Austria Alternate German Language Edition Released in Germany and Austria Alternate German Reprint Edition Released in Germany and Austria Italian Audiobook Released in Italy Alternate Japanese Language Edition Released in Japan Alternate Korean Language Edition Released in South Korea Korean Audiobook Released in South Korea Latvian Language Edition Released in Latvia Norwegian Audiobook Released in Norway Polish Language Edition Released in Poland Polish Language Edition Front Flap Polish Reprint Language Edition Released in Poland Portuguese Audiobook Released in Brazil Romanian Language Edition Released in Romania Russian Language Edition Released in Russia Russian Special Edition Released in Russia Spanish Language Edition Released in Spain Swedish Audiobook Released in Sweden Turkish Language Edition Released in Turkey Ukrainian Language Edition Released in Ukraine Vietnamese Reprint Language Edition Released in Vietnam
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