WoW Books: Rise of the Horde now available
by Paul Sherrard 
Dec 29th 2006 at 9:30AM
The latest novel set in the World of Warcraft has been released this week. While I haven't yet seen it in my local bookshop, it does seem to be available from Amazon.com.
Rise of the Horde is written by Christie Golden, who wrote (with Don Perrin) Warcraft: Lord of the Clans, as well as a couple of Star Trek: Voyager novels.
From Amazon's blurb:
Though the young Warchief Thrall ended the demon curse that had plagued his people for generations, the orcs still wrestle with the sins of their bloody past. As the rampaging Horde, they waged a number of devastating wars against their perennial enemy -- the Alliance. Yet the rage and bloodlust that drove the orcs to destroy everything in their path nearly consumed them as well.
Long ago, on the idyllic world of Draenor, the noble orc clans lived in relative peace with their enigmatic neighbors, the draenei. But the nefarious agents of the Burning Legion had other plans for both of the unsuspecting races. The demon-lord Kil'jaeden set in motion a dark chain of events that would succeed not only in eradicating the draenei, but forging the orc clans into an single, unstoppable juggernaut of hatred and destruction.
I've bought a couple of WoW novels in the past, but I've never really been drawn-in by them, preferring being in the game than to lazing on the couch reading about it. Rise of the Horde seems to be a little more interesting, as it may give some background going into The Burning Crusade. And hey, with a couple of weeks to go, and not a lot to do in-game, now might be a good time for me to give WoW novels a second chance.
So, are you going to pick this one up? Have any of you read the past novels, and do you find they add to your enjoyment of the game, or just give you a nice break from staring at the computer screen?
01/16/07 UPDATE! Christie Golden has written in (YAY! THE AUTHOR!) and clears up a few things:
Thanks for making people aware of the book! I do have a correction
for you if I may--I did not write Lord of the Clans "with" Don
Perrin. Lord of the Clans (as a novel that is, of course the
backstory and the world is Blizzard's!) is entirely my own creation,
I never saw any of the work Don had done on the project before I
started writing.
Also, I'm delighted to report that many things made it from the book
Rise of the Horde into the expansion, which is a real thrill for me
personally and doesn't often happen in the world of media tie-ins.
Blizzard is a fantastic company to work with. And yes, I play WoW.
:D
Thanks for the information, Christie, hopefully we'll see you in the Outlands!
Filed under: Odds and ends, Horde, Fan stuff
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Dahlaine Dec 29th 2006 10:24AM
I read the Well of Eternity trilogy and while I must say that it is not the best writing I have ever read, it is still full of action and interesting lore. I would mark them as a good read, especially in preparation for the Burning Crusade. Understanding how Illidan got his eyes and the Vials of Eternity he carries could make some of the lore attached to end-game raiding a bit more interesting.
Shat Dec 29th 2006 10:34AM
I read Cycle of Hatred. The story was pretty interesting but it was written like a second-grader's research report.
Kyle Dec 29th 2006 10:42AM
Picked up RotH about two weeks ago.
One of my favorite Warcraft books, and gives a good amount of background to both the Horde and the Draenei, as well as some information that you'll learn more about in TBC (Oshu'gun, the Ata'mal crystals, etc).
rogue Dec 29th 2006 10:46AM
Agree with #1. I read that trilogy as well and while sometimes the writing wasn't great, it wasn't completely terrible either. Reading the novels can help give you a better understanding of Warcraft's "big picture" and, depending on what little details you remember, makes it a lot more likely for you to recognize little things in the game that might otherwise pass you by. So it can make playing the game more fun, depending on if you like finding those little connections or not.
Daegon Dec 29th 2006 10:47AM
I want to pick up and read some of the WOW books, any recommendations? Like to avoid the 2nd grade writtings as previously mentioned.
Thanks!
Dave Dec 29th 2006 4:26PM
The Warcraft RPG books (published by White Wolf Studios) are some of the best sources for Lore out there. Looking forward to picking RotH; I really enjoyed Lord of the Clans.
Osiron Dec 29th 2006 12:19PM
I recommend the original Warcraft books (Day of the Dragon, Lord of the Clans, etc.) more than the WoW books. The Warcraft books seem to be written a lot better.
Raein Dec 29th 2006 2:30PM
I've read Day of the Dragon, Lord of the Clans, The Last Guardian and am almost done with the first book in the War of the Ancients Trilogy: The Well of Eternity.
I agree in some cases that the writing isn't the greatest of all time, but truthfully, I find nothing wrong with it either, or the stories the authors tell. "Good writing is like a windowpane." All of the books are able to tell their stories and so far they've all been interesting. I wouldn't recommend the books to non-Warcraft fans or fantasy haters, but otherwise I think all of them are enjoyable.
White Rabbit Dec 30th 2006 7:57AM
I have the first issue of the Warcraft manga, actually. Havn't actually gotten around to reading it yet but...
just throwing it out there for options on reading Warcraft stuff
Thomas Dec 31st 2006 8:10AM
Read both manga issues, great story and artwork. Got 1st book of the Well of Eternity series...kinda liked it but didn't get into it much. Kept thinking about WoW and what the major differences were in-game and in the book that bothered me. I am a fantasy lover so I'll give this series a try.
Errick Falcon Jan 7th 2007 10:02PM
I've read Cycle of Hatred, and though it does have an interesting story I must agree with the above statement that the book does not seem well written. I am currently reading Rise of the Horde; so far this book is giving great incite into the past of the Draenei and the Horde, and the story itself is well written. I wouldn't recommend Cycle of Hatred mostly because the story doesn't actually add anything in the story of World of Warcraft.
Christie Golden Jan 13th 2007 7:03PM
Thanks for making people aware of the book! I do have a correction for you if I may--I did not write Lord of the Clans "with" Don Perrin. Lord of the Clans (as a novel that is, of course the backstory and the world is Blizzard's!) is entirely my own creation, I never saw any of the work Don had done on the project before I started writing.
Also, I'm delighted to report that many things made it from the book Rise of the Horde into the expansion, which is a real thrill for me personally and doesn't often happen in the world of media tie-ins. Blizzard is a fantastic company to work with. And yes, I play WoW. :D
Midor Jun 5th 2007 6:17AM
I enjoyed all the warcraft books so far and had to say they were all a good read. I never really thought of reading books based on games but have been more than convinced. It's brilliant to read a novel with lore you're not only familar with but also play in.
What the books convey more is emotions, you really get to know the characters, especially thrall, and that horde and alliance doesnt necessarily = bad and good respectfully.
I haven't as yet read the WoW books but am working through other game based novels such as starcraft and many ones of white wolf's World of Darkness.
gundam rx81 Oct 29th 2007 12:11AM
i wonder.. that Vessel is UFO??