WarCraft Archive by Blizzard Entertainment, Richard A. Knaak
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Book Reviews of WarCraft Archive
Book Review: Great value in the Archive
Summary: 5 Stars
Day of the Dragon
5/5 Stars. Loved this book. It deals with the five dragon aspects (Alexstraza, Deathwing, Ysera, Nozdormu, and Malygos), all of which you are at least a little bit familiar with if you play World of Warcraft. The WarCraft Archive is worth picking up for this story alone if you are at all interested in WoW's next expansion (due sometime in 2010), WoW: Cataclysm, as the events in that expansion are directly related to it. This was the first Warcraft book I read, and now that I've finished with the Archive I understand there are other books related to Day of the Dragon that I will be picking up immediately.
Lord of the Clans
5/5 Stars. By far the best book in the Archive. I can't describe in text just how excited this book got me. I admit it was a rather simple story, but Christie Golden does such an amazing job writing it that I could not put the book down. There is an epic questline in WoW that takes place in Nagrand involving Thrall finding his people (Horde only, sorry Alliance). If you have done that quest in the game, you'll want to read this book since it is basically the background story of that questline. Notable names in WoW that are included in this story: Drek'Thar, Durotan, Draka (think Alterac Valley), Doomhammer, Hellscream, a little bit of Gul'dan, and of course Thrall.
The Last Guardian
3/5 Stars. This wasn't a bad book, just didn't live up to the standard the previous two set for me. I did enjoy it from beginning to end. The main character that the story is told through is Khadgar, but as others have mentioned, the real story is actually about Medivh. I like the way this story was put together - it felt like a puzzle, and Khadgar was the person putting the pieces together, and by the time it was finished you had a really nice picture. Takes place in Karahzan, Stormwind, and the Black Morass. Other notable characters include: Sargeras, Garona, and a little bit of Gul'dan.
Of Blood and Honor
2.5/5 Stars. Eh, this was a good story, but wasn't written very well. Tirion Fordring seems to be "shocked" and "suprised" everytime one of his peers says something to him. Really Tirion? Do you not know your own friends enough to expect them to say certain things or act a certain way? This got old real fast. Thankfully it is a short story, no more than about 60 pages, 8 chapters. Though the book does a good job of showing the dark side of humanity and the peaceful side of the orcs. And I can say this about it: as much as Lord of the Clans made me want to a Shaman, commanding the powers of the earth, fire, lightning, etc, this book made me want to be a Paladin - a Knight of the Silver Hand. Metzn really captures the awesomeness of a Paladin in his descriptions.
Now, all that being said, you should also be aware that Metzn is NOT an author by profession. As the first couple of pages say, he is a "world builder." He takes a large part in designing World of Warcraft and bringing these authors and stories together. So writing isn't his primary profession, but merely something he has picked up from the people he works with. Taking that into consideration, there is no reason you wouldn't enjoy this book if you also play World of Warcraft.
Book Review: "Kagh! Bin Mog g'thazag cha!" This set is fantastic!
Summary: 5 Stars
This archive, which includes the following four books: Day of the Dragon, Lord of the Clans, The Last Guardian, and Of Blood and Honor, is simply superb.
Let's start with the first book Day of the Dragon. Day of the Dragon was a interesting story of adventure and danger as the heroes venture into Grim Batol. It includes the wizard Rhonin, elven ranger Veressa Windrunner, and of course the Dragon Mage Krasus. The book does a good job explaining the motives and ideas of each character, which helps you to relate to them. This book is great as a standalone book, but it would be advised to have some knowledge of the background. I award this book of the set 4/5.
Next is Lord of the Clans, which to me, was the best written of all the books. Lord of the Clans follows the story of Thrall as a child, and how he is raised and eventually learns of his true destiny. The author does a fantastic job of helping the readers relate to the struggles of the Orcs. "Kagh! Bin Mog g'thazag cha!" Once you learn the meaning of these words, it really gives you a sense of understanding of the honor the Orcs once had. Whereas in Day of the Dragon, the orcs are seen as the vile enemy, I found in Lord of the Clans I was cheering on the Orcs hoping they would succeed. 5/5 for this one.
The Last Guardian is next up. This book is mainly just lore. If you have no interest in Lore, I would find this book quite boring. For me, I was somewhat interested so I enjoyed it. It follows the mage Medivh and gives the background of his character. Compared to Day of the Dragon or Lord of the Clans, which each had its own story and could survive on its own, The Last Guardian cannot. The characters in the book weren't very well thought out, and some characters I really couldn't care less to learn about. I feel the author rushed this book. 3/5 for this one.
The last, and shortest of them all is Of Blood and Honor. I expected this one to be quite shallow as its only about a hundred or so pages, but man was I wrong. The book was great. It follows the events of the Paladin Fordring as an unexpected act of kindness by an orc sets in motion a chain of events that would change his world. I award this 5/5 with my only complaint being that I wished it was longer.
Overall, I give this product 5/5, because with all 4 books in one big one for such a low price, its a steal. The Lord of the Clans and Day of the Dragon easily make up for the cost, so I took this as me getting two free books! I would recommend this to anyone who is looking to learn more about the Warcraft world, or for fans of the Fantasy genre of books. Overall, GO BUY THIS BOOK(s)!
Book Review: Amazing Literature
Summary: 5 Stars
I have read the first 3 of the 4 books listed in this archive and they are all excellent books. David DeCandido's book has an obvious shortfall but I would never spoil that for a reader. The first book is a great tie in with novels done by Richard Knaak and I highly suggest you take the time to read those when you can because from his perspective is where the world of Warcraft come from. The best book in my opinion is the 2nd book, concerning the birth and raising of Thrall. It probably, more than any of the others lays out the epic problems facing the Alliance and the Horde.
The only true problem that I would have with these books is that they don't coincide. The characters are different in each book and there is not necessarily a continuation from book to book (not direct continuation, there are subtleties). They are completely different points of view from different authors. I think many people will find they enjoy this, but it was a bit misleading to me.
However, don't let that detour you from getting this if you haven't read the novels. You will be HOOKED and find yourself pouring into the novels on a near daily basis. Finally, for the price Amazon is offering it, you would be very unfortunate to not purchase this collection.
Book Review: First-time reader of game-based novel
Summary: 5 Stars
I only recently started playing WoW at the request of a fellow brother Mason. I previously played Guild Wars for three years. I started reading this book when my character was under level 20. It gave me a lot of background information about the world setting and events that happened outside of those in WC3 and WC3:TFT.
Right from the very first page, I was taken aback at the quality and detail of the writing. The one thing that makes the Warcraft world so enjoyable is the easy to remember names. Add in vivid descriptions of a fantasy world and you have the makings of a great story.
This particular edition contains four seperate stories. The first is pre-Horde and the next three are tales of characters and stories you can interact with in-game.
I highly recommend this to anyone interested in the stories of the Warcraft world.
Book Review: For the WOW Role Player
Summary: 5 Stars
I love these stories! i have to say the guys over at Blizzard have made one of the richest games out there. Not only are their games fun and intresting, they come with such a life of there own. They have really help the Table Top Roleplayer get more into the actual game itself. I would recommend all of the Warcraft books to any WoW and none WoW Player. If you like Fantacy Adventure stories and you like to play WOW. This should be on your reading list.
Trust me on this...i have read a lot of these types of books, and the warcraft stories really pull you in. I read the first six, four of which are in this Archive, and have already started collecting the others. This is a must buy...worth every penny.