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World of Warcraft: Rise of the Horde Book Review

World of Warcraft: Rise of the Horde Book Review

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World of Warcraft: Rise of the Horde Book Review

A Novel by Christie Golden

World of Warcraft: Rise of the Horde was written by New York Times Best Selling Author, Christie Golden.

SUMMARY: This book is somewhat difficult to breakdown into a brief summary. I will do my best and not drop any spoilers.

Sergeras, the Dark Titan and lord of the Burning Legion, has corrupted the eredar, a race of powerful magic wielders. Sergeras promised power to the eredar leadership in exchange for their peoples bidding on the world of Argus. Two of the three eredar accept this offer. The one who believes this deal is wrong, is Velen. He and his most trusted, gather others who disagree with the deal between the leadership and Sergeras, to escape their world with the help of a devine Naaru. The eredar who escape the dreaded grip of Sergeras, and make their new home on Draenor. They are given the name, draenei, meaning, exiled ones.

The draeni live among the orcs. The two races aren’t necessarily allies, but they do get along. Over many many years the draeini (who live extremely long lives) have watched the orcs become more civilized with time. Two young orcs find themselves in trouble. However the draeni save them and take them to the draeni kingdom, where they meet Velen. The hospitality the orcs were given, will have a lasting affect on their lives and for major events to come.

Kil’Jaeden, one of the eredar leaders who accepted the deal from Sergeras, becomes obsessed with searching for the draenei. When he finds them on Draenor, he will use his dark power to seduce the orcs into doing his bidding. The shaman orc, Gul’dan, does as instructed and gathers the separate clans of orc, and unites them under one banner as… the horde.

CHARACTERS: There are great number of characters, I will only mention three.

Durotan: He and his Frostwolf clan don’t like how events are playing out under the leadership of Gul’dan. The horde defies much of who they are as a people and their traditions. Durotan does his best to stay loyal to the legacy of the Frostwolf clan and slow to changes forced upon him. He’s brave,defiant, and moral.

Gul’dan: He’s a shaman orc, he’s the great betrayer, the first warlock of the horde. He forces the orcs to abandon the old ways. No longer shall the orcs dwell on the spirts, but a new dark magic. Gul’dan leads his people to betray all they once believed, the peaceful draeni have been twisted in the minds of orc, they are now viewed as the villain and have no place in the world of Draenor. Gul’dan will lead his horde to war, and when the war is over, through a magical portal… to Azeroth… for more blood.

Velen: Former eredar, now a draeni. He is wise and caring for his people. He’s always keeping an eye out for the traitorous Kil’Jaeden. He’s always one step ahead of the Burning Legions quest for domination and annihilating the remainder of his people. His desire for peace and a place to call home is great.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: This book was great! The lore for Warcraft is deep and expansive. The story is actually pretty tough to explain without giving much away, but I’d say I succeeded in remaining spoiler free. I loved the book. the characters felt real and their situation dire.

Christie Golden is an excellent writer. This book is the best place to start reading in the Warcraft novel timeline, it’s the formation of the horde and the beginning of the invasion of Azeroth. If your time is limited and you can’t play World of Warcraft the game, the book is a wonderful substitute!

Do I recommend that you read World of Warcraft: Rise of the Horde? Heck yes!

RATING: I will give this book an A! It’s full of action and emotion, will leave you craving more of Warcraft lore!

 

Star Wars: Knight Errant Book Review

Star Wars: Knight Errant Book Review

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Star Wars: Knight Errant Book Review

 

Star Wars: Knight Errant, was written by New York Times Bestselling Author, John Jackson Miller. This novel is the eighth event on the Legends novel timeline. This tale takes place during the Old Republic Era. It takes place 1032 years before A New Hope.

SUMMARY

A rivalry among the Sith has broken out into all out war. The dark lords of the force are dissected into multiple factions across the stars, far from Republic space. The Sith battle each other over territorial control. Kerra Holt, a lone Jedi, has made it her mission to disrupt various Sith organizations by causing such things as complication and chaos.

Kerra finds herself and several young refugees at the center of a deadly battle. She takes it upon herself to rescue these youngsters and find them a safe place to stay, away from the ongoing Sith war. However, finding a safe place in the middle of Sith space… is nearly impossible.

CHARACTERS

There a few main characters in this book, but I’m only going to mention three, Kerra Holt, Narsk Ka’hane, and very briefly… because he was just so crazy, Damian.

Kerra Holt: She’s a rogue Jedi, on a mission to collapse the Sith Damian’s regime and to save as many innocent lives as possible. She’s confident and brave, not afraid to speak her mind. Kerra won’t settle with mediocrity or be persuaded to move against her gut feeling. She’s not the most powerful of Jedi, but her love for youth and the hope for light in the galaxy, surely is.

Narsk Ka’hane: He’s a Bothan spy, working around the clock in Sith space for… someone. He’s pretty good at his job, but not as good when a Jedi interferes with his work or when his special stealth suit is taken from him. Narsk is sneaky, has a strong will, and a pretty complicated work environment.

Damian: He’s a self declared lord of the Sith who believes he’s a god. He’s brainwashed the population into believing he’s their creator. Damian is quick to anger and an out of control ego!

OVERALL THOUGHTS

An interesting book of twists and obstacles. I was bored out of my mind for the first half of the book. I’m very thankful and glad it picked up in the second half! I wrote this review about two months after I read the book. For some reason writing this short review was just as difficult to get through as the first half of the book. There is a Knight Errant comic series, though I’m not sure if the book is based on the comics or if the comics are based off the book.

I liked the idea of the Sith at war with each other. What I didn’t like, is that they were all family? Maybe my eyes glazed over during this part and missed something, but I’m pretty certain this Sith war was a family affair. Didn’t like that

John Jackson Miller is an excellent writer, so it’s disappointing that this work didn’t shine like a lot of his other work. The characters were all well written, dialogue was fluid. But overall… the story was just okay.

Do I recommend you read Star Wars: Knight Errant? Sure, but just be aware that it takes a while to get moving and interesting.

RATING

I give this book a C. It took too long to get into the story. This book definitely felt like a companion piece, meaning it would probably have been better if the comic series was read first.

Star Wars: Thrawn Alliances Book Review

Star Wars: Thrawn Alliances Book Review

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Star Wars: Thrawn Alliances Book Review

Star Wars: Thrawn Alliances was written by New York Times Bestselling Author, Timothy Zahn.

This is the second novel in canon staring the legendary character, Thrawn! The novel takes place on the timeline after the first Thrawn book, as well as A New Dawn and during events in the Rebels television series.

SUMMARY:

So the Clone Wars era, Padme answers a call on Batuu, a planet on the edge of the unknown regions. She runs into trouble, causing Anakin to search for her. On this quest, Anakin meets Thrawn. It’s great stuff… but I’ll leave it at that.

During the Galactic Civil War era, Emperor Palpatine senses a disturbance in the Force generated from a great distance, the unknown regions. He calls upon Grand Admiral Thrawn and Darth Vader to seek out the source.

The duo isn’t too thrilled to have to work together, but they do so. Vader is appalled by Thrawn’s social/leading tactics, he lets his subordinates speak to him freely. Vader does not trust Thrawn, he’s suspicions of his loyalty to the Empire.

On this mission. They indeed discover a looming threat over the galaxy. Spoiler alert, spoiler alert, I’m going to mention the threat in 3… 2… 1… The Grysk! An alien species on the prowl ton concur the galaxy! They are brutal, and they have been watching the Empire, studying their tactics.

CHARACTERS:

Anakin: He’s the complete opposite of Thrawn and he’s a Jedi! He’s arrogant, likes to shoot first, (or slash with a lightsaber) and ask questions later. Who needs a solid plan when you can wing it? He’s demanding and focused on executing his will.

Vader: Bits of his past still linger, though now, he’s a Dark Lord of the Sith. He’s angry, takes nothing from nobody. He takes charge with force (pun not intended). He doesn’t trust Thrawn or his loyalty to the Empire. Vader uses a familiar Force power in an all new way that I found incredible. (Not spoiling it in this review)

Finally, I didn’t expect to mention Padme… but I will. She’s whiney, and expects others to drop what their doing to assist her in accomplishing her goals. She’s also a horrible liar, but what else can you expect from a politician?

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

The alternating timeline doesn’t bother me in this book, Zahn does a great job switching between the timelines and with writing the characters as they would appear to be during the time in which the story is taking place. However, as interesting as the story is during the Clone Wars era with Anakin, Padme, and Thrawn… I couldn’t help but want to skip over it to get to the Galactic civil war era material.

Bringing some things from the prequel era is important, and when I say that, I’m meaning the films. We have Anakin and Padme together, we have R2D2 and his jet boosters. I wonder if those boosters were always in George’s mind for R2?

I really hope that this book is the introduction to a much larger universe that will continue on in other books, shows, and future films. There is a possible hint at the origins of The Skywalker name as well! The Chiss are an amazing species that I’d love to see more of. The threat in the unknown regions seems legit. I don’t know we’d get anything more with that within the Skywalker saga. However, in other novels, we’ve read that the First Order had to overcome a powerful force. I think it would be great to have this threat explored in a film or streaming show!

Do I recommend you read Star Wars: Thrawn Alliances? Well, if you’ve been waiting for the Star Wars galaxy to Expanded in canon… yes!

RATING:

Star Wars: The Old Republic Annihilation Book Review

Star Wars: The Old Republic Annihilation Book Review

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Star Wars: The Old Republic – Annihilation Book Review

Star Wars: The Old Republic – Annihilation, was written by New York Times Bestselling Author, Drew Karpyshyn. This novel is the seventh event on the Legends novel timeline. This tale takes place during the Old Republic Era, it also counts as book four, the last, in The Old Republic series. It takes place 3,640 years before A New Hope.

SUMMARY

The Sith Empire is in shambles! The Sith, Darth Karrid has control of a sleek, fast, and powerful ship, the Ascendant Spear. The Republic fears the might of the Ascendant Spear! Operation End Game is created, pulling the best of the Strategic Information Service and a Jedi together, to destroy the ship. Doing so would strike a heavy blow against the Empire.

CHARACTERS

There are a few interesting characters but the only two I’ll talk about are Theron Shan and Darth Karrid.

Theron Shan: He’s a Republic Strategic Information Service (SIS) Agent. He’s somewhat reckless but quick on his feet. He’s loyal to the Republic but has an issue taking orders. He likes to take care of business his own way, even knowing that there will be consequences from high command. He was adopted by a Jedi as a baby, so he’s going to have some parental issues. He’s got a cybernetic implant in his face.

Darth Karrid: She’s a Sith Lord, former apprentice of Jedi Master Gnost-Dural. Long ago, she was sent on a mission, to go undercover as a spy. Sadly the dark side wins her over and she calls Darth Malgus her master. She is a Falleen, which works against her in the Sith Empire. She is captain of the Ascendant Spear, a dangerously powerful ship. Members in the Dark Council want to destroy her to get the ship for themselves. She’s angry, full of pride, and craves power. Karrid will crush all who stand in her way, be it the republic, or her fellow Sith. She also has a cybernetic implant in her face.

OVERALL THOUGHTS

Annihilation is a fairly decent read. The story is simple and compact. The chemistry between our characters was great. However, character traits and descriptions, made for predictable reveals and plot points. The cast was great, not a ton of names to remember or get confused with. I really enjoyed some of the references to Darth Malgus, who was the star antagonist of Decieved.

The story moved along quickly. I laughed a few times, especially toward the end. The little spice of humor thrown in was good. Like I mentioned, some of the story was predictable… it was in a big way. In the first two chapters I had already predicted details in the climax and was 100% correct. I’m no genius, I think anyone could see it. It was the only issue I had with the book.

I wouldn’t mind more stories with Theron Shan… but sadly, I don’t think that’s going to happen… ever.

Do I recommend you read Star Wars: The Old Republic – Annihilation? Yes. It’s entertaining yet simple.

RATING

I give this book a B. It was entertaining but nothing spectacular… and predictable.

World of Warcraft: Before the Storm Book Review

World of Warcraft: Before the Storm Book Review

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World of Warcraft: Before the Storm Book Review

Written by New York Times Best-Selling Author, Christie Golden.

World of Warcraft: Before the Storm was written by New York Times Best-Selling Author, Christie Golden.

SUMMARY: The Burning Legion has been defeated. Both the Horde and Alliance seek solitude to mourn, heal, and prepare for the future. The defeated leader of the Burning Legion, Sargeras, struck Azeroth with a mighty sword for his final blow in his lost war. 

A substance with great power is discovered in Silithus, the location in which the giant sword pierced the world. Goblins are mining this newly discovered material. The Alliance discovers the happenings in Silithus and concludes that the majestic material not fall into the wrong hands, especially the horde.

In this brief time, absent of war, The King of Stormwind, invites the Warchief of the Horde and her forsaken people, to an event that all say will be impossible. While the King of Stormwind extends his hand in a peaceful gesture, Sylvanas Windrunner, warchief of the Horde, boils with hatred.

CHARACTERS: There are quite a few characters in the book, and they’re all fleshed out very well. I’ll be talking about two, Anduin Wrynn and Sylvanas Windrunner.

Anduin Wrynn: He’s the king of Stormwind. What he desires most, is peace in Azeroth. He is proud of his people, yet humble in his actions. He’s young, but bears the weight of leadership well. He trusts his loyal advisors, though he does not always act on their advice.

Sylvanas Windrunner: She is the Warchief of the Horde, the Banshee Queen, and Dark Lady of the Forsaken. She’s fueled by hate. However, she does care for her forsaken people. She is occupied with Horde business on Kalimdor, while her people dwell in the Undercity on the Eastern Kingdoms. She is very war hungry.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Christie Golden delivers an enthralling, emotional story driven by hope and rage. This book is wonderful.

This story introduces so much for such a short book. By the end we have a lot of loose ends that don’t get wrapped up in the novel. I think another hundred pages… even two-hundred more would have been welcome. Christie Golden knows how to write characters extremely well. Each character stands out individually with rich backstory that could easily grant them their own story.

Scene setting is always important to me, I like to get a real since of the atmosphere our characters are experiencing. Golden does this wonderfully. The flow of the story was smooth, at no time was a bored or thought things dragged on. I wasn’t counting down the pages wondering when I’d finish a chapter.

Call me a gnomist and goblinist if you want, but I’ve never really liked those races in Warcraft… but in this book I really got a kick out them. They brought in some welcome humor and played an important role on things to come in Azeroth.

There are times in this novel I had to hold back tears. I didn’t expect the book to be an emotional rollercoaster at times! It’s political (in the Warcraft since) and a little adventurous.

Do I recommend you pick up World of Warcraft: Before the Storm? Yes, but I also highly recommend you at least read Rise of the Horde as well, if not before reading Before the Storm.

RATING: I will give this book an A.