The Lost Warrior

by Erin Hunter and Dan Jolley

I was in the mood for some light reads but still interested in experiencing more graphic novels. The pictorial adaptations of the Warriors series was just right for this. True, I didn't care much for the Warriors books when I first tried the series out but like Redwall, I thought it might be a case where the writing didn't work for me, but a visual kind of book might. I was right. The manga Warriors series is still a bit insubstantial for me (it's geared at middle-grade readers, I believe) but it's nice for a quick read.

I'm still not sure exactly how these comic books tie into the main series; do they just include portions of the original story, or tell parts that aren't included in the books? Well, this first one, The Lost Warrior, is about a cat named Graystripe who belongs to a clan of cats that lives in a forest. When their territory is seized by humans for development and the cats are trapped for removal, Graystripe helps free some of his comrades but in the process gets caught himself. He ends up living in a home as a pet cat, which frustrates him to no end. Eventually he finds a way to escape the house, but is lost in a maze of suburban backyards. He thinks all is lost when he meets a friendly female willing to help him find the way back to his forest home. It's a nice enough story, with a pretty straightforward plot. The illustrations leave something to be desired. I liked it as a light, distracting read, but nothing more.

Rating: 2/5 ........ 96 pages, 2007

more opinions:

Ann's Reading Blog
anyone else?