Fire and Ice (Warriors)

Infobox Book
name = Fire and Ice
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption = First edition cover
author = Erin Hunter (Pen name of Kate Cary and Cherith Baldry)
illustrator =
cover_artist = Wayne McLoughlin
country = United States
language = English
series = Warriors (novel series)
genre = Fantasy novel
publisher = Avon
release_date = June 1, 2003
media_type = Print (Paperback)
pages = 317 pp
isbn = ISBN 978-0060525590
preceded_by = Into the Wild
followed_by = Forest of Secrets "Fire and Ice" is the second book in the "Warriors" series, written by Kate Cary and Cherith Baldry under the pen name of Erin Hunter. This individual book was written by Kate Cary.

The plot is centered around Fireheart and Graystripe, newly promoted warriors of ThunderClan, one of the four cat clans living in the wilderness. It takes up where the previous book left off, and presents the events taking place between late Autumn and late Winter.

Plot summary

The first warrior assignment of Fireheart and his friend Graystripe is to find and bring back the cats of WindClan who were driven out from their hunting grounds by ShadowClan. They find the cats living in canals below a remote intersection of highways, and convince them to return to their territory. On their way back from the successful mission, they decide to take a shortcut through RiverClan territory, but they are spotted by a patrol. A fight ensues, and a RiverClan warrior, Whiteclaw, is killed, marking the beginning of new hostilities between the Clans.

Leaf-bare (winter) arrives soon, a hard season for the feral cats because of the scarcity of prey and illnesses that claim several lives.

Fireheart is meanwhile reunited with his sister, Princess, a kittypet (house cat). Later, she offers one of her kittens - named Cloudkit by Bluestar, the ThunderClan leader - for Fireheart to take him to the Clan. Fireheart also finds a new friend in Sandpaw, a young she-cat who has grown fond of him after he saved her life. Additionally, he is frequently visited in his dreams by his first and forbidden love, the now deceased Spottedleaf, to give him counsel, warning and comfort.

Another love story develops between Graystripe and the beautiful tabby Silverstream, daughter of the RiverClan leader, Crookedstar. Graystripe soon starts to neglect his Clan duties to secretly meet with Silverstream, and this leads to tensions between him and Fireheart; his Clan also begins to suspect him of disloyalty.

The main antagonist of the book (and of the series) is Tigerclaw, the ThunderClan deputy, who continues to give a hard time to Fireheart and Graystripe; he also plans to murder Bluestar so he can be leader himself. However, it's Fireheart's apprentice Cinderpaw who falls into Tigerclaw's trap, becoming crippled for life. During a battle against Riverclan and ShadowClan, Tigerclaw saw Fireheart let Siverstream, Graystripe's love, go and now plans to turn the Clan against Fireheart. There are other signs showing that Tigerclaw can never be trusted as well, but Bluestar continues to have faith in the dark-hearted warrior.

Critical reception

The critical reaction for "Fire and Ice" was mixed, with some positive and negative reviews. A reviewer from Children's Literature criticized the story, saying it was repetitious and had an unsatisfying end. School Library Journal also gave a negative review, noting the predictable and hard to follow plot.cite web|url=http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780060525590|title=Fire and Ice (Warriors Series #2)|work=Barnes&Noble.com|accessdate=2008-01-02]

Kirkus Reviews gave a more positive review. In the review, the increasing tension is particularly praised. In another review, the suspense was noted again.cite web|url=http://www.bookloons.com/cgi-bin/Review.ASP?bookid=2029|title=Fire and Ice: Warriors #2 by Erin Hunter|work=BookLoons Reviews|accessdate=2008-01-02] A Booklist reviewer said:cite web|url=http://www.powells.com/biblio?isbn=9780060525590|title=Warriors Series: Fire and Ice (Warriors #02)|work=Powell's Books|accessdate=2008-01-02]

"Characters remain true to their feline natures, adding to the plausibility of events in this tension-filled story."

Cats on the cover may be Fireheart and Graystripe.

References