A Pack Divided

Survivors: The Gathering Darkness #1

by Erin Hunter, Laszlo Kubinyi (Illustrator), Julia Green (Illustrator)

The first book in an epic new series about the Survivors dogs! From Erin Hunter, #1 nationally bestselling author of Warriors, Survivors is full of “wild and wonderful adventure” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) that will thrill fans of Spirit Animals and Wings of Fire.

For the first time Storm can remember, she has a place in a Pack, and the world that was devastated by the Big Growl is finally at peace. But tensions are rising among the dogs of the Wild Pack—and the greatest danger they face may come from within.

Genres: Fantasy, Animals, Middle Grade, Fiction, Dogs, Adventure, Young Adult

320 pages, Paperback

First published October 13, 2015

About the author

Erin Hunter is the pseudonym of five people: Kate Cary, Cherith Baldry, Tui T. Sutherland, Gillian Philip, and Inbali Iserles, as well as editor Victoria Holmes. Together, they write the Warriors series as well as the Seekers and Survivors series. Erin Hunter is working on a new series now called Bravelands.

Erin Hunter is inspired by a love of cats and a fascination with the ferocity of the natural world. As well as having a great respect for nature in all its forms, Erin enjoys creating rich mythical explanations for animal behavior, shaped by her interest in astronomy and standing stones.

Reviews

[Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Edit: You know you're writing too many books when you start reusing the same titles (aka A Pack Divided and A Forest Divided)

A Pack Divided was 100 times better than all 6 of the original survivors books combined. It didn't blow my mind or anything, but it was a solid, interesting book.

There only one reason why this book was better, and that was the narration. Storm narrates this book rather than Lucky. I wasn't a fan of Lucky at all, I found his narration extremely boring and monotonous.

Storm has a distinct personality, which makes her a far more interesting character to read from. She successfully carries the story whilst bringing her own opinions into it.

The story starts off strong and has a solid plot throughout, and Storm keeps us interested. Although there is no more of the ominous "storm of dogs", it seems the main threat has to do with the fear dog and a mysterious serial killer.

The conflict of Storm feeling left out because she's a fierce dog, lashing out, and being comforted is getting extremely repetitive. There's some allusion to that every single chapter, and it's getting kind of annoying. I also wasn't a huge fan of the couple of "twists" thrown in, as they were extremely obvious and I wasn't even sure they were twists until everyone starting making a big deal out of them.

There was a very interesting underlying religious theme going on. The dogs kept debating the existence of their different spirit dogs. I thought it was an interesting choice to include this sort of theme in a childrens book.

I found the ending cutoff to be very abrupt. We stop literally right in the middle of a scene. It feels like the publishers cut three books in six and released them a few months apart just to drain as much money as possible from the series when it would feel much more cohesive to just have trilogies instead.

[Liza · Rating 1 out of 5]

I will say this up front.



This book was bad.

It was really bad.

It was so bad that even though Storm is a great character by herself I had to rate this book a 1 star. This is my first Erin Hunter book at one star.

Let that sink in for a moment.

Now, let me chat a little bit before getting into the nitty gritty.

Survivors, I felt, was the weakest Erin story. Yes, much weaker than PoT(3 arc of Warriors) and weaker than the beginning arc of Seekers. Unlike Seekers, which, in my opinion, did get better as the story progressed....this got worse. So much worse.

So this book picked up a bit after the first series. We get a new POV in the form of Storm!

Storm as a character I like. She reminds me a bit of Squirrelflight before she got stupid. The problem was, the story she was in.

The pack is now compromised of 3 different groups all smashed together. Lucky/Bella's group, Alpha's pack and Twitch's pack.

These dogs do not get along.

These dogs make a gathering from Warriors seem like a tea party.

I am not kidding.

The amount of tension in the camp feels worse than ShadowClan flaunting their ego and the clans all hate each other due to prey/border problems/ect. Unlike Warriors, where this was alright since they did live in separate clans and whatnot, it was downright infuriating in this book. And guess what? Based on the inner jacket....this pack problem seems to be the main "evil" for this arc.

Just great.

One of the biggest issues that stemmed from this is the problem of "Fierce Dogs."

Holy crap. This pissed me off so much.

Yes. I had to curse. There was no other way I could describe my anger in regards to this.

There was so much, "OMG. Arrow and Storm are EVIL!" "THEY HAVE EVIL BLOOD!"




Okay, I can understand Arrow. He grew up with Blade. He is a little less trustworthy.

BUT STORM.

STORM GREW UP WITH THEM.(sorry for all caps. I'm pissed off)

They know her.

This reminds me of Tigerstar and his kits. His kits, Brambleclaw in particular needed to prove to the clan that he was not like his father. Guess what? He did. And the clan trusts him and whatnot.

Storm?

Oh you saved us from the foxes?

You saved us from Blade?

You saved us from thing X?

Naw. We don't trust you cause Fierce Dogs are Satan reborn.

Like if they were genetically altered dogs or something then sure, okay. BUT THEY ARE JUST DOBERMAN. What makes them different from other dogs?

Wouldn't Bruno be considered dangerous? He is listed as a "Fight Dog" in the allegiances. That sounds scary and evil like "Fierce Dog" too!

Yeah. That was my biggest gripe since that seemed to be the core of MOST of the conflict.

I could understand if Twitch's pack were leery since they did not have Storm around and all they knew was Blade's pack. But still. Dogs that Storm knew growing up did not like her.

Yeah.

No.

Another issue was with Storm's dreams. Like WTF? What is she, a medicine cat now?

This also brings me to my next point.

Lucky.

Oh Lucky. You were an interesting fellow in the first series but in this book I wanted to slap you silly.

He was a stupid Beta.

He was not worth being Beta.

Sure, you are worried about your mate and blah blah blah but Storm is right. You are the father-dog for the whole pack. He also seemed to lose bits of his personality too, especially in his treatment of Storm.

Lucky is pretty much her stand in dad but he did not seem to care about her much at all. Also the whole random thing at the end about chasing a Golden Deer? What in the world was that? It felt pointless and random.

Oh and you want to know what else was random? Apparently Bella and Arrow get together? Out of nowhere much?

So yeah. This is going to be a painful ride. A long...six book painful ride.

Please let there be no super editions coming out for this....

[Michelle Elizabeth · Rating 1 out of 5]

I usually rate Erin Hunter books 4* & 5* based on entertainment, and this is the first EH novel to ever get less than 3* from me.

While this novel really failed at entertaining me, but did succeed at giving me a headache. With excessive inward fighting taking center stage (as well as Lucky's poor leadership in the face of danger), I'm guessing the EH team is running out of ideas, at least where the Survivors universe is concerned.

This next cycle is going to be painful, very painful. I'm going, "ouch!" already.

[N.N. Heaven · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've heard about Erin Hunter books for years yet didn't pick one up until I saw this one on Bookbub. It looked interesting and the cover was eye-catching. I found it to be rather, umm, unappealing. Sure, there's was an action-packed ending and there's lessons here to learn but the characters didn't grab me. Guess this series is not for me.

My Rating: 3 stars

[Anna Sobczak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect as always!!!! Even from a different perspective I managed to read and re-read this book in a day!

[MacKenzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

good soup

[mist · Rating 3 out of 5]

ogolnie okej, za duzo sie nie dzialo ale koncowka calkiem ciekawa. nawalnica jest swietna bohaterka

[TheGracefulReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

THE GOOD

Storm: I didn't know Storm was to be the main character until I started the book, but I quite like it! The Storm of Dogs has now passed, and the pack is struggling to adjust know that Twitch's dogs have joined, and Storm seems to be struggling most of all. Not only does she have a glorified stalker, she's started sleep walking and dangerous power plays are being made among the pack. And even after she saved them, many still don't trust her and Arrow.

Arrow and Bella: Bella will NEVER be my favorite character, but she and Arrow are so cute together. I'm glad to see her growing up some - if only a little.

Lucky; Lucky's going to be a father dog! And it's natural that he is now struggling to find a balance between protecting his mate and unborn pups and protecting the pack when danger comes calling.

Moon: I love Moon, and I felt extremely bad for her in this book. You just know one of twitch's followers has framed her, and like Storm, you'll want that dog's pelt II use as a bed. Only a horrible creature would do that to someone when they had a choice. Lucky tries to use it as a lesson, because he did the same - only he had no choice but to do it, and this dog did, which somehow makes it worse.

THE BAD

Twitch; Dog, get control of your former followers. I know and you know that they'd listen to you, so open your mouth.

Whisper: I am sad about the ending, but he was not a very good character.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

*May contain spoilers*

It was definitely much different than the first arc. The Pack is much calmer, but tensions are rising, since the pack is divided. The majority of the book was: Storm's dreams, Dogs hunting, and quarrels in the camp. I hope that the next few books are not so repetitive and have more action.

However, this book does raise a lot of plot for future books. There is still a rift in the Pack, plus Sweet's pups still need to be born, the whole Golden Deer thing, the thing with the airplanes, Bella X Arrow, and of course, Storm's dreams.

I have a high suspicion that, as Storm dreams, she is murdering creatures, like the fox and Whisper. It would be interesting if this were true. I like how this arc is taking a darker side...the main character tries so hard to be good but deep inside she knows that she has an aggressive, murderous nature. I really respect that in her character.

Note, this book is a little graphic, even for an Erin Hunter book. There is GRAPHIC detail about carcasses, specifically the decaying corpses of a baby fox and a Fierce Dog. There is also graphic content about the killing and ripping apart of a rabbit. Read at your own discretion... but if you love and appreciate the Erins' style of darkness, you won't be disappointed.

[Kirsti · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book took forever to show up after I ordered it...I think it would have been about three months? and then it just ENDS. Right in the middle of something exciting! Wahhh I know there's a second book, hopefully if I order it now it takes less than three months to show up!

This series might just prove more interesting than the first. Lucky has always been a bit of a weak character, and as if realizing this, the authors have focused on Storm instead. While we have the repetitive 'Fierce dog' theme, I think she'll be a good narrator.

Always recommend the Erin Hunter books, whether Warriors or Survivors. Four stars.

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like where this series is going. Unlike warrior cats, it isn't just about prophecies and omens and whatnot. There's actually some interesting stuff going on, like Whisper getting murdered and Storm doing the dog version of detective work to figure out who did it. I'm really hooked on this second series of Survivor and I think it's much better than the first. I enjoyed Lucky's viewpoint and thought that I would dislike hearing the story from Storm, since I always found her to be annoying and arrogant, but actually her character is much more likable when you hear her thought process firsthand. All in all, I liked the book!

[Brittney Tyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Star Rating: 5 stars

Note: This may be the 1st book in The Gathering Darkness series, but it is the 7th book in the overall Survivors series arc so this will not be an in-depth review.

As previously mentioned, because of college, I got majorly behind on all of my favorite series, especially Erin Hunter, because she publishes so many books in so many different series over the course of the year, but now that I have more time (I am currently in the process of going back to college), I have been able to get caught up and I finally got to the newer The Gathering Darkness series with the 1st book, A Pack Divided. This portion of the overarching Survivors series is told from the perspective of Storm, a young Fierce Dog who plays a very important part in the 1st arc (original series) that I won’t spoil, but is now is dealing with the ramifications of those events.

Storm is a Fierce Dog, and a Fierce Dog is a dog that, for whatever reason, has been taught to be cold, vicious, and bloodthirsty. In the 1st series, there is a whole Pack of these individuals that escaped from the Dog-Garden (dog-fighting/dog-breeding complex) that become the main villains of the series. Because of a series of circumstances that I can’t divulge because of spoilers, Storm was rescued from the Fierce Dogs and is now a member of our main pack along with another Fierce Dog, Arrow. Anyway, because of the aforementioned circumstances, Storm is suffering from major PTSD and has to deal with her new Pack’s discrimination, especially concerning her origins as they feel that she is destined to be vicious and bloodthirsty no matter what she does or says to the contrary. I loved how we got to spend so much time with Storm learning about and exploring some really deep themes, such as dealing with discrimination and prejudices as well as discussing religion/mythos and the different places on the spectrum that individuals exist concerning belief.

As previously mentioned, this book uses the perspective of a young person to explore some very important themes that I have mentioned in the previous paragraph. I really think that these themes are very important things for children/young people to be exposed to, especially since they are conveyed through the perspective of a character that they can relate to. I hope that this trend continues into the later books in this series.

All in all, this was a great start to this arc of the series. I can’t wait to continue! 5 stars!!!!

[books_by_brunette · Rating 3 out of 5]

„Rozłam” to pierwsza część nowej serii – kontynuacji przygód naszych pieskich bohaterów. Jak wiecie, Sfora, już od pierwszego tomu, pozytywnie mnie zaskakiwała i poza lekką rozrywką, dostarczała również wielu wrażeń i emocji. Nie ukrywam więc, że na nową serię czekałam ciekawa, co też Erin Hunter nam w niej zaproponuje.

„Rozłam” skupia się na Nawałnicy, bohaterskiej suczce, którą mamy okazję poznać już wcześniej. To właśnie Nawałnica była jedną z moich ulubionych bohaterek, z przyjemnością więc poznawałam jej przemyślenia i rozterki. Wszelkie napotykane przez sforę problemy poznajemy bowiem z jej perspektywy. A mimo wygranej bitwy, tych problemów jest całkiem sporo – wszystkie psy muszą się nauczyć życia w nowym porządku zjednoczonej sfory, zmierzyć z wzajemnym brakiem zaufania i nowymi zadaniami. Bardzo szybko okazuje się, że nawet wśród przyjaciół może czaić się wróg…

W tym tomie mamy okazję lepiej poznać większość bohaterów. Mowa tu nie tylko o Nawałnicy, ale również o innych psiakach, które w poprzednich książkach były na dalszym planie. Autorki naprawdę wykazały się dużą wyobraźnią i talentem, kreując zwierzęce postacie, które wcale nie są sprowadzone do prostych schematów, lecz wręcz przeciwnie – wyróżniają się osobowościami i upodobaniami.

Tak jak niektóre tomy Sfory były dla mnie pięciogwiazdkowymi tytułami, które niesamowicie mnie wciągnęły, tak tutaj miałam mały problem z zaangażowaniem się w tę historię na nowo. Dopiero w połowie zaczęły dziać się bardziej interesujące wydarzenia, których oczywiście zdradzić Wam nie mogę, ale które wpłynęły na mój pozytywny odbiór tej książki. Początkowo dosyć powolna fabuła, okazuje się prowadzić nas do zaskakującego zakończenia, które z kolei zachęca do wyczekiwania kolejnej części.

Wielokrotnie podchodziłam do tej serii, mając nadzieję na luźną lekturę, przez którą będzie się płynąć i która oprócz pustej rozrywki, zapewni nam również wiele przeżyć i emocji. I chociaż tych emocji trochę mi w tym tomie zabrakło, nadal jednak uważam, że jest on dobrym początkiem nowej serii, a interesujące zakończenie stanowi potencjał na kolejną ciekawą i porywającą historię.

[Temp · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book, and so many new challenges occurred, even after Blade was defeated! For a huge change, Storm is now the main character, instead of Lucky. I would give this book 5 stars, but, I don't like the way Dart, Snap, and Lucky started acting. Lucky was completely oblivious to danger in the pack, he was only worried about his pups and his mate. To be honest, I liked Dart in the first series, and I was heartbroken when I saw her reaction to losing Spring, one of her best friends in the Pack. But, she got extremely annoying when she started gossiping about Arrow and arguing with Storm, just because they are Fierce Dogs. Snap hasn't changed much, but I don't like how she is going along with the plan to "spy" on Arrow, because they are suspicious of him. And all because he was born a Fierce Dog. Yeah, I can understand why they wouldn't trust Arrow. He grew up in Blade's Pack, and appeared so suddenly out of the shadows. But they have no right to accuse Storm of sabotaging the Pack, especially after she defeated Blade AND passed the Trial of Rage. If I were in the Pack, I would immediately start thinking that the traitor was someone in Twitch's Pack, because Whisper's death, the food poisoning, and the clear-stone deer all started happening after the Pack was at peace, and after Sweet and Lucky accepted Twitch's request to join their pack. Again, Lucky, he was such an entertaining character in the first series, and I loved his narration. Lucky, why did you have to change? Overall, I loved this book, and I hope the series starts getting some recognition, even though it's ending. Warriors is really overrated in my opinion, and I think we need to give Survivors a chance to gain some popularity.

[Nava Kiran · Rating 4 out of 5]

In my opinion, Survivors: A Pack Divided by Erin Hunter has a great storyline, and it had much suspense as well, urging readers to go on. It certainly worked for me! The beginning was a little unintresting, starting with a simple hunt and failure. It may make readers not want to continue, but those who do read more, will find it grows more interesting as it progesses. I also think that sometimes the story gets a little off track, not focusing on the big picture. Some examples of this are, the hunts for the golden deer, the sleepwalking is talked about a little more than necessary, and the relationships Storm has with the secondary characters are focused on many times throughout the book, sometimes in spots were a little more explaining of the plot could be more efficient. Although there are things that could be improved, there are many good parts about it too. for example, when the book does get side tracked, the author always somehow manages to get back on track. The ending of the book is a cliffhanger, encouraging the reader to continue in the series. It could also make a reader go back to examine the story more carefully, looking for clues, and coming up with ideas of who it could be. I would give this book four stars, because even though Erin Hunter could've made the story better in some ways, overall the story was suspenseful, intriguing, exciting, and fun to read, while also giving kids (and maybe adults) a new perspective of the world around them - from a dogs eyes.

[Critter · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book has the same issues as the previous does in that it is very mean spirited and character development does not truly exist. There are ways to create tensions to divide the pack and build distrust in ways that are not cruel and actually creates tension in the story. This series also continues to show prejudices against Dobermans while putting in minimum effort to show readers that they are not evil and violent dogs.

Most of the Erin Hunter series have a degree of ableism to them, but Survivors has been the most blatant display of ableism. The three legged dog, Twitch, is pretty much infantilized in this book as well as treated as if he cannot possibly fight his own battles. This conflict that makes him Third Dog, is very infuriating to me, especially because he could handle himself in the previous books. He was a leader of the hunting dogs for a reason, yet he somehow cannot fight or hunt. When he is challenged for his position as a leader of the hunting dogs, Storm and the other dogs believe that he cannot defend himself in the fight and somehow during this it is brought up that he can't keep up with the other dogs, even though this has never been shown. The treatment of Twitch as a character is deeply frustrating and despite having been shown in the past to be able to take care of himself as well as be a leader of his own pack, he is infantilized and treated as if he is helpless because of his disability.

[Kaylee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very high three stars. I almost gave this four stars, but there was a bit too many questionable character decisions for me to justify my nostalgia, this time.

Just like the last series, this book has the old Erin Hunter writing style, which I very much enjoy. There were a couple typos, but nothing too major, and for the most part it was just nice to dive into a familiar way of writing- not too complicated, super easy to read, and a decent balance of description and dialogue.

The general plot of this arc only just gets started in this book, which means for the most part this story is setup. Keeping that in mind, I think it does a pretty good job of building tension and setting stakes. There’s a pretty big conflict inside the pack between the Patrol Dogs and Twitch’s old pack, which both filled the time until the traitor plotline could be teased and also tied into said plotline.
My issues with this book stem from the more personal conflict, which is Storm and this sense of ‘darkness’ inside her. Sound familiar? Yeah, that’s because we spent three of the last six books refuting the idea that Storm was evil, or that her nature would make her evil, or that all Fierce Dogs were evil, etc. And now we begin this book with. . . The same conflict? To me this is just a poor writing choice. Storm was accepted into the pack for real in Storm of Dogs, and proved to herself and her friends that she wasn’t a villain. But in this book we return immediately to those same worries, inwardly (with Storm’s own thoughts) and outwardly (with the pack’s opinion of Storm) flipping back and forth depending on what was most convenient. It made a lot of that well-written tension I praised earlier feel cheap and fabricated, because the other half of it came from plot convenience and unnecessary repetition that regressed our lead for apparently no reason.

Aside from that, thankfully, Storm was actually a great protagonist. Her curiosity and impulsiveness actually feel natural, since she is a young dog. I think her sleepwalking plotline gives her a much more logical reason to worry about her actions than her Fierce Dog heritage- in fact, I think if her worried about her inherent evilness only resurfaced briefly, after she realized she could be doing anything in her sleep, it could actually have worked for her character instead of against it. I really loved her interactions with pretty much every dog in this book, too, with her conversations with Moon, Arrow, and Lucky being highlights. My absolute favorite part of Storm, though, is something I hadn’t noticed in previous reads (and I am begging my memory to be correct that the authors commit to this): Storm is asexual. I am. . . Kind of surprised that got through the very unintentionally sexist authors and editors. A female main character who doesn’t take a mate? Doesn’t even have interest in it? This is honestly amazing for these authors, and I love Storm 1000 times more for it. Not to mention, it’s written in such an organic way, like she’s genuinely curious why dogs would take mates and why they can’t just be friends, but appreciates the work taking care of pups is even though she knows it’s not for her. And she’s so sure (like many people are) from a young age that she doesn’t want kids. As someone who has also felt sure I don’t want kids from a very young age (and continues to be sure now), this is such a subtle representation that I don’t think I’ve seen spelled out in a book before EVER, let alone in an older Erin Hunter book. Hats off to the authors for this one, and to Storm for being such a natural character to put this viewpoint on.
None of the side characters in this book were very important or unique, but I like that a lot of them have their own stuff going on during Storm’s plots, like Bella and Arrow’s secret romance.
But I do want to briefly talk about Lucky. I don’t really like what’s done to him in this book. Changing his character to be far more incompetent just because he’s having pups with Sweet feels like an excuse to create more conflict, not a natural story beat based on what we saw in the last six books. I understand overprotectiveness for sure, but freezing and only defending Sweet when he KNOWS loudbirds aren’t dangerous to the dogs unless they land felt very cheap and fabricated. I hope his character returns to usual levels of competency next book.

Because this book is far from revealing the identity of the traitor in the pack (though in hindsight it is pretty obvious), there isn’t really much to say about antagonists. I do think the book did a good job of slowly establishing this mysterious dog might be up to something nefarious, since the crimes start small and then escalate. I also like that it could easily be a personal conflict tying into the Patrol Dogs’ conflict at first, but the end makes it very clear this is bigger than a grudge or revenge of the perceived wrongs of one dog.

Overall, while Storm’s repetitive character beats were annoying as a subject to read about, I really enjoyed revisiting this book! I do hope the rest of the series is stronger, but this certainly isn’t a bad start. Onto the next!


SERIES RATINGS:
A Pack Divided: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Dead of Night: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Into the Shadows: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Red Moon Rising: Currently rereading
The Exile’s Journey: —
The Final Battle: —

[Kathi · Rating 5 out of 5]

The family who so highly recommended the first Survivors series now has its youngest member asking that I read some of the second. So I am, of course.

I’m pleased to report the same good writing, positive (canine : ) role models and lessons, and also less violence but no less action.

Characters from the first series have aged and matured—especially Storm, the Fierce Dog, who still struggles realistically with self-discipline and self-control. Also, both male and female dogs naturally and routinely assume leadership positions in the Pack, another good thing for readers to experience.

Glad to continue to read quality books from Erin Hunter and her group. The grandchild loving these the most is an advanced reader in third grade, but her older siblings also find themselves picking them up for their fifth or sixth read, too!

[Jen Winter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a review of the whole series Survivors: the Gathering darkness
I read these 6 books with my 9yr old daughter over the course of the last year. For the first one or two books I had trouble getting into them. They are quite gruesome at times (though I skipped over some of the graphic descriptions) and it took awhile for the overall story to take hold (lots of characters to learn and background information-we hadn’t read the first Survivors series). By about book three we were hooked and by book 6 we couldn’t wait to read to the end and I found myself in tears with the final scenes. You have to be committed to reading the whole series and it definitely has to be read in order, but it’s worth it!

[Anna Lyse · Rating 2 out of 5]

Schulmaterial vom Nachwuchs, der sich darüber beklagte, wie langweilig das Buch sei und man nie begreife, wer was wann wieso macht.

Kurz zusammengefasst: ein Rudel Hunde geht Eichhörnchen, Hasen und Rehe jagen, streitet sich um die Vorherrschaft und Rangordnung und dazwischen träumt sich Protagonistin Storm kapitellang durch Earth, Wind und Fire Dogs (pun intended).

Nach dem vierten Durchlauf hat man dann etwa eine Ahnung, ob jetzt Twitch Thorn ist oder Arrow Alpha (beides Mal Nein, Thorn will Twitchens Platz, Alpha ist Sweet - alles klar?), aber man ist unterirdisch gelangweilt, ob diesem endlos repetitiven Gedrösel.

Einenhalb Sterne, aufgerundet. Hab schließlich durchaus schon schlechteres gelesen.

[Artemisia Bastet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of disappointing compared to the previous series. It almost seemed like a new author who hadn't paid enough attention to the previous books wrote this. There were just some moments where they act out of character, or contradict something that happened before. In saying that, I originally read this first, before starting the first series, as I had got mixed up, and reading it without the expectations of the first series, I would have given this a 4.5.I still enjoyed it, but because of the difference between the series, its a 3.5/5

[Paige · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you want to read The Gathering Darkness, just don't. There are way too many murders of dogs and fox pups alike. PLEASE, TAKE MY ADVICE AND STAY AWAY FROM THE GATHERING DARKNESS!!!!!!!
There is also gory parts in it(like some dog [I'm not going to say who] getting glass in his throat and almost dying), almost murders and Lucky getting so obsessed with his pups that he practicly goes insane. DON'T READ THIS PLEASE!!!!!!!

[_linduska · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zatiaľ som ešte neprečítala ďalšie diely z druhej série, ale tento mi moc nesadol. Niežeby Búrku nemám rada, ale nejako ma nebavilo to rozprávanie z jej strany. Možno sa to ale zmení. Mám ale hrozne rada Šípa. A musím znova pochváliť úžasnú obálku :) Nie všetky vydania v iných jazykoch ich majú také skvelé ako my. Tomuto dielu uberám ale jednu hviezdičku, lebo to také dobré ako diely prvej série nebolo.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a bit scary but not to me. warning: there are dogs killing others and there is a bad dog that no one knows about. I love this series and there are lots of series of survivors. there are six books in each series. there is also blood and the books have words a lot smaller than the last fire hawk. the books are also about as big as 3 last fire hawk books stuck together. (Isla)

[brody · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was pretty good because it shows the teamwork in this pack of dogs. It also shows that even if something seems really had or impossible you should always still try. I would recommend this book to anyone who like dogs and likes a little bit of action.

[Darren · Rating 3 out of 5]

The ending was intense and dramatic. The story line flowed well. I just believed the whole concept of Survifors is a little far fetched. Also, the seem to blatantly expose the culprit of this new storyline in this first book. We'll see if I'm right or if they are trying to throw me off the track.

[Papa-San · Rating 2 out of 5]

Spoilers below....this is a very mean-spirited book.

Once beloved characters are so mean-spirited towards Storm in this book...it's like racism towards her just for being a "fierce dog." She does NOT deserve this pack...

[Wolfburrito95 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Storm needs to die and go to doggy hell.

Sorry, I just got a little peeved.

Anyways, STORM NEEDS TO GET BRAIN SURGERY. WHAT IN THE SPIRIT DOGS' NAMES IS WRONG WITH HER?! She's selfish, annoying, and a spoiled little brat! Who in their drunken mind thought she was a good protagonist?!

[Christian Lenz · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was really good and kept me pluged in !! My favorite Dogs are Storm, Arrow, Lucky, and Moon !!
They ending was really sad but other than that the book was breath taking !! I can't wait to read the next one !!

[Moon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book with good characters.
Really great!