However, the first part will be spoiler-free,

and I'll give another warning when we're moving into spoiler territory.

For now, you are safe.

If you want to avoid spoilers for all of the Broken Code though,

I would skip this episode, since this arc is all I will be discussing

The Place of No Stars is the fifth book of the Broken Code arc,

meaning there's only one book after this one to wrap up the loose ends and come to a satisfying conclusion.

Where we last left the story in Darkness Within, Ashfur had pulled Squirrelflight into the Moonpool, presumably to the Dark Forest.

Shadowsight was in trouble for setting Ashfur free

and Rootspring and Bristlefrost discovered something was keeping them from reaching the souls of the recently dead.

This book is definitely given a very weighty premise.

Many cats are in danger, some of which you might care about,

and now you have to worry both about Ashfur in the Dark forest and how Thunderclan is doing now without either of its leaders.

As this is the fifth book there is only so much resolution that you could expect to get,

but the setting and situation itself could provide a lot of mystique and intrigue.

I do believe this book has a lot of new interesting things for fans of the series,

and if you've enjoyed the arc up through now, you probably will like this book as well,

so if you would like to read it without any spoilers, take that recommendation, go now, and come back when you're ready.

After this point, I will be giving my opinions and points about the book without regard for spoilers.

I'll give you a few seconds.

Now that they're gone OH MY GOODNESS THAT WAS A MESS.

It's difficult to decide what to talk about, since there's so many little issues all built up on layers and layers of past mistakes

and there's far more to make fun of than there is to analyze.

Some of the issues may need their own videos at some point in the future,

but I'll try to cover most of them here.

But before we get into that, let's touch on what everyone is really excited about.

Along with Mapleshade and Silverhawk,

Snowtuft is back and he has a clan, a personality, and a prominent, sympathetic role in the story!

He actively decided not to join Ashfur when other Dark Forest cats did,

got enough information about the recent developments in the forest to help the protagonists,

and doesn't remember much of his past, seeming distanced from it and mostly harmless now.

The fandom, or at least part of it, had long held him as a favorite character

based on a heavily fanonized version of his past and current personality that was never shown in the books,

but now it is all here, and I know many fans are very happy about it.

But not all of the Dark Forest is good news.

This book “introduces” a lot of new lore about the Dark Forest.

It has apparently changed since the time of Omen of the Stars, with an incoming fog,

less interactions between the cats here, and of course the powers Ashfur brought in of ghost control and possession of bodies.

All of this is intriguing, and clearly framed as a development that has happened since the battle in The Last Hope.

However, other details, ones used extensively in the story, are said to have always existed when they have not.

The nature of the Dark Forest is, in this book, a mental torture chamber.

You need to think bad thoughts, usually of your own suffering, to get in,

and once you are in, the forest will whisper to you and somehow make you more evil.

This idea never existed prior to this book, and recolors the conflict in Omen of the Stars for the worse.

Suddenly the Dark Forest trainees were drawn into a place that toyed with their thoughts and emotions,

rather than making bad choices of their own will.

Speaking of the clan cats making choices of their own will,

this book continues and amplifies a trend from this arc of pretending Starclan is responsible for the clans' every decision,

particularly in regards to leadership.

Starclan has always had a very limited power, and certainly no power over who leads the clans.

Leaders have the ability to choose their deputies,

what the code means in their clan, and make all the final decisions on the actions of their clan.

Starclan can send guidance, but nothing forces the leader to listen,

and if a bad cat is deputy when the leader dies, Starclan has to give them nine lives,

as is evident from the stories of Brokenstar and Tigerstar among others.

However in this book Thunderclan's grievance with Squirrelflight, and later, Lionblaze as well,

is that neither of them were picked by Starclan, and can't be since Starclan is gone.

That is absolutely absurd.

Bramblestar, a Starclan approved leader, chose Squirrelflight as deputy, and she chose Lionblaze as her acting deputy.

They haven't received nine lives but if they respected Squirrelflight when she was Bramblestar's deputy,

there is no reason they shouldn't respect her anymore.

Of course...maybe that's a sign that they *didn't* even respect her as deputy.

They were willing to follow even Lionblaze at the beginning of this book when he was determined to punish Shadowsight,

but Squirrelflight has been challenged and disrespected at every step...

This doesn't reflect well on Thunderclan.

You know who is respected though? GRAYSTRIPE.

For goodness knows what reason, nearly every member of the cast has a level of awe for him in this book that borders on creepy.

The clan treats him like a savior who they immediately make the leader instead so he can solve all their problems.

Of course, he doesn't actually do much to solve anything, and it's not a real surprise.

He was never a good leader, or a good cat for that matter.

He never had an apprentice other than Brackenpaw who he avoided ever training so he could see Silverstream;

He was only picked as deputy because he was Fireheart's friend,

and as recently as last book he abandoned Squirrelflight when she needed him most after promising to support her.

He doesn't in any way deserve the praise he gets in this book,

something that becomes even more unnerving when comparing his reception to what Squirrelflight has been put through.

Graystripe's entourage wasn't the only problematic characterization though.

Shadowsight spends the whole book, much like Darkness Within, wallowing in his own pity,

this time with a supernatural element to amp up the edginess factor.

With the Dark Forest responding to negative emotions, Shadowsight proves that he has the ability to get in very easily,

something he isn't proud of but is still absolutely capable of doing.

Perhaps if any part of the conflict between Ashfur, Shadowsight, Mothwing, and Mistystar was logically sound,

it would be possible to sympathize with his never-ending guilt.

However, that isn't the case.

Mistystar was entirely unjustified and out of character

when she decided to kick Mothwing out of Riverclan and dishonor everyone who had sided with the rebels.

Mothwing was entirely unjustified and out of character

when she bullied Shadowsight out of his position and refused to let him do anything except work with Ashfur.

Shadowsight was entirely unjustified and...

eh, well maybe not out of character but certainly stupid and illogical,

when he decided the answer to his problems was letting Ashfur go

and making himself actually guilty as opposed to when he accidentally led to Bramblestar's death.

Because none of these characters are acting with any logic or on based on their own values and character backgrounds,

it is difficult to connect with their stories or do anything other than cringe.

And unfortunately, speaking of cringe, Bristlefrost and Rootspring are definitely still a couple that is not.

The parts of each of their chapters that aren't just windows into what's happening with their clans or the Dark Forest

are devoted to constantly pining for each other without any commitments

and making it more and more clear that by the end of this arc, they will be together.

Like with Shadowsight's plot, if the romance hadn't been built on such an awful foundation, it could be seen as sweet.

But it's impossible to forget about everything that's happened to and between these two when considering their feelings for each other.

It's fabricated love.

And it's not the only fake feelings this book suddenly uses.

In addition to the implanted love between Rootspring and Bristlefrost,

The Place of No Stars also suddenly treats the three protagonists as a unit who have become good friends.

There's just one issue.

While Bristlefrost and Rootspring may have spoken to each other quite a lot since their introduction,

I can count the number of times Rootspring and Shadowsight have spoken in the whole arc on one hand-uh-er-paw,

and Bristlefrost and Shadowsight have *never* spoken before this book.

But now they speak to each other as old friends who have been put through so much together.

There's a disconnect between what the book tells us and what we know to be true,

leading the reader to be unable to connect with the characters.

It doesn't feel genuine, because it isn't.

There's another few problems, structurally speaking.

You cannot tell any of the point-of-view's chapters apart from each other.

All of them do roughly the same thing all book: argue about and hop in and out of the Dark Forest as they try to rescue Bramblestar.

Take a look at this passage, with the protagonist's name and pronouns blacked out.

Who's chapter do you think this is? Can you guess?

Well, here. It's Rootspring.

But it could be any of them because they all do these things and think these thoughts ad nauseum for the whole book.

And following the circling, unchanging structure of the book, there isn't a climax or conclusion at all.

Bramblestar is back, but now instead of Squirrelflight needing rescuing in the Dark Forest, its Rootspring,

and Bristlefrost and Shadowsight have already gone in to rescue him in the last chapter, for about the upteenth time.

We know he'll be fine, and no progress has been made on freeing the spirits from Ashfur's control.

In other words, every plot thread to work on going into this book, we still need to solve going into the next book.

Nothing new has been added or solved. It's an entirely stagnant book.

And that really does sum it up.

The Place of No Stars has a few new shiny elements in the characters they bring back,

the lore they introduce, and the moments of vulnerability they show,

but it's all shallow and/or meaningless, undeserved and ultimately changes nothing for the arc.

I really do hope A Light in the Mist will be better, but...well I'm not holding my breath.

Thank you for watching, and always remember that

Ashfur's evil is his own fault, not just voices in his head.