Cover of The Darkest Hour by Erin Hunter
Fantasy · first published 2004

The Darkest Hour

by Erin Hunter

★ Top 25 book of 2004 · #14 on Best Books of 2004

Tigerstar's hunger for power throws the forest into peril, and ThunderClan faces its bleakest moment. Firestar must work out the meaning of a puzzling prophecy from StarClan to save the clans.

Best for: Young fans of animal adventure and prophecy-driven clan fantasy series

The Darkest Hour is #14 on BookWard's Best Books of 2004, out of 48 2004 books that cleared our data bar.

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#14on Best Books of 2004
67BookWard year score
252Open Library readers
4.4 ★23 ratings

What The Darkest Hour is about

In the forest, four Clans of wild cats live by ancient rules, and the final book of the first Warriors series finds them in real danger. Firestar has become leader of ThunderClan after Bluestar's sacrifice, and a troubling prophecy from StarClan hangs over him. Across the territory, the treacherous Tigerstar of ShadowClan is hungry for power and willing to bring in dangerous outsiders to get it.

When a threat arrives that no single Clan can face alone, old rivalries are tested and the cats must decide whether they can stand together. Erin Hunter keeps the mood dark and tense, with loyalty, betrayal and sacrifice at the heart of the story. It will suit young readers who love animal adventures with high stakes.

The Darkest Hour on the Best Books of 2004

The Darkest Hour came out in 2004. Of the 48 books first published in 2004 that met BookWard's data bar, it ranks #14 on our Best Books of 2004 list.

Why it made the list: 252 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.4 out of 5 (23 ratings). The list ranks each year’s books on how many readers have picked them up, how highly readers rate them, and how many are reading them right now.

Nearby on the 2004 list

See all Best Books of 2004 Best books by year

More years: Best Books of 2003 Best Books of 2005.

The numbers behind it

  • Readers: 184 want to read it, 10 are reading it now and 58 have read it, according to Open Library.
  • Ratings: 4.4 out of 5 from 23 Open Library ratings.
SignalThis book (0 to 100)Weight
Reach6355%
Reader love9025%
Being read right now5020%

Questions about The Darkest Hour

When was The Darkest Hour published?

The Darkest Hour by Erin Hunter was first published in 2004.

Was The Darkest Hour one of the best books of 2004?

The Darkest Hour is #14 on BookWard's Best Books of 2004, out of 48 2004 books that cleared our data bar. 252 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.4 out of 5 (23 ratings).

Why is The Darkest Hour on the Best Books of 2004 list?

252 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.4 out of 5 (23 ratings).

More of the best books of 2004

See the full Best Books of 2004, the Top 100, or new books on Rising.

How we know

This page uses public data: Open Library reader counts and ratings, and Wikipedia page views for recent years. The description is paraphrased from real source text. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Lists update monthly.

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