Reading order

Warriors: The Prophecies Begin reading order

Erin Hunter

Volumes 1–6 of 30 in Warriors

  1. Into the Wild2003
  2. Fire and Ice2003
  3. Forest of Secrets2003
  4. Rising Storm2004
  5. A Dangerous Path2004
  6. The Darkest Hour2004
6 volumes
Volumes
2003–2004
Published
about 35 h
Reading time
Completed
Status

Quick answer

Into the Wild
Start withInto the Wild2003 · Volume 1 of 6

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Publication order

6 volumes2003–2004Completed

  • The first six Warriors books, about the forest cat Rusty who becomes Firestar, and the place to start the whole saga.
  • Read in order.
  • Readers rate them very evenly, with The Darkest Hour (6), the arc’s finale, on top.
  • Erin Hunter is a pen name shared by several writers.

A plan for the whole series

6 volumes, 1,982 pages, about 35 hours. At 45 min a day that is about 7 weeks.

34%

Share of volume 1’s readers who reach the last volume. Chance of reaching the last volume: medium

Stages

2 stages, with 1 short book from outside the series between them. You finish around December 20, 2026, 4 days later than in one go.

  1. Short breakThe Fire Next Time · James Baldwin · 120 pp. · score 8.82 h, by November 26, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
  2. The end of the series
    December 20, 2026
In one goDecember 16, 2026about 7 weeks
In stages, with breaksDecember 20, 2026about 7 weeks · +2 h of other books

We count 1.1 min per page, the pace of an average novel reader. Faster? Move the slider.

Does the series hold up

Score per volume6 volumes on a timeline, 2003 to 2004 · Best-rated volume: The Darkest Hour

Shape of the series: even. Volume scores differ by at most 0.3 points. You get the same level from the first page to the last.

Best volume: The Darkest Hour (8.1, 110 ratings). Weakest: Fire and Ice (7.9). The series is complete; you can read it start to finish with no waiting. The last volume (8.1) scores close to the series average or above it.

How this plan is calculated

The plan comes from the pages and ratings of each volume: we split the series into stages of about three weeks’ reading, size each break to the stage before it, and read the chance of finishing from how many readers rate the last volume compared with the first. How we work out the plan →

Every volume in order

Read: 0 of 6

Order checked by hand · Order and years: Wikidata (CC0). Spotted an error? Tell us. · Data updated October 29, 2026

Warriors: The Prophecies Begin books ranked, best to worst

  1. 1.The Darkest HourBook 6 · 20048.1
  2. 1.Into the WildBook 1 · 20038.1
  3. 3.Forest of SecretsBook 3 · 20038.0
  4. 3.A Dangerous PathBook 5 · 20048.0
  5. 3.Rising StormBook 4 · 20048.0
  6. 6.Fire and IceBook 2 · 20037.9
Top Fantasy series →

Frequently asked questions

Which Warriors: The Prophecies Begin book is the best?

By reader score, The Darkest Hour (8.1/10). The lowest-rated is Fire and Ice (7.9/10).

Which Warriors: The Prophecies Begin book is the longest?

“Fire and Ice” is the longest at 352 pages; the shortest is “Into the Wild” with 302 pages.

What should I read after Warriors: The Prophecies Begin?

Other series by Erin Hunter: Warriors, Warriors: Power of Three, Warriors: The New Prophecy.

More series by Erin Hunter

All books by Erin Hunter in order →