Breakfast Topic: Reading rainbow
by Anne Stickney 
Mar 4th 2010 at 8:00AM
While World of Warcraft has one heck of an audience, the story involving it doesn't limit itself to just playing the game. There's a ton of books, comics, manga and RPG source guides out there with yet another ton of information. Some of this we see reflected in game, some of it is merely implied, and some of it we just don't see at all. I'm currently working my way through Stormrage, but I've read pretty much everything out there in the Warcraft universe -- and trust me, it's a lot of material.
It got me thinking, though, particularly with what's contained in Stormrage and in other books as well: Just how many people actually read the books and other assorted reading material? Do you go out and buy a novel when it's released? Or do you prefer to just wait for the story to show up in game? So it's time for a Breakfast Topic poll!
| Sure! I read anything I can get my hands on. | |
|---|---|
| Just give me the game to play, thanks. | |
| There are books? | |
| Knaaaaaaak... |
Filed under: Breakfast Topics
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
Eike Mar 4th 2010 8:05AM
Knaak makes me cry. Please, Blizzard. No more Mary-Sue dragon boys.
yaridovich60 Mar 4th 2010 8:54AM
I agree that Golden's book are way better, although I was pleasantly surprised by "War of the Ancients". I personally think that this is Knaak's best (Warcraft) book.
Deadly. Off. Topic. Mar 4th 2010 9:28AM
Is that Knaack option meant for those of us who can't stand his horrible writing skill or for those who sadly like his lack of skill writing?
Can't be sure if that was a "moooannnn Knaack? WTF?" or not. So I voted for the play the game only.
Sanguinarius Mar 4th 2010 9:33AM
i'm pretty sure it's a play on a star trek joke. And yes, you're right in thinking it's not a compliment.
anbilow Mar 4th 2010 12:42PM
I will agree that the War of the Ancients trilogy was quite good. But really it's like he's still writing books before WoW is actually released. I know Night of the Dragon was a sequel, but the attempts to tie in current WoW lore/places/etc was just heavy handed. Instead of saying "Hey I've been there!" when i see a place I've been in game, I say "Oh. Ok."
Stormrage was just bad in my opinion. Its redeeming qualities are few and far between. Richard Knaak may have been a very good writer at one point, but he's just not the caliber of writer for this IP anymore.
HECTORtheTURTLE Mar 4th 2010 8:05AM
No option for "only the ones by Christie Golden?"
A5 Mar 4th 2010 8:33AM
This times a thousand. Going from Arthas to Night of the Dragon was almost physically painful. I really wish they would have had Golden do Stormrage. I can't justify spending money on another Knaak book.
Elionene Mar 4th 2010 8:39AM
Golden is doing the tie in book to the next expansion. Appropriately named Cataclysm. So you have that to look forward to.
Erzfiend Mar 4th 2010 8:41AM
Same. I don't really feel the poll was very well done...
That being said I went with a very loud and despondent "Knaaaaak..."
Dendallin Mar 4th 2010 10:21AM
Golden? Really? I've tried to read multiple of her works, and I just don't like her writing style. While Knaak may create "Mary Sue" Rhonin, at least his books have a good flow to them. Golden often jumps around and doesn't always make the book seem to fit within the context of the world as a whole. Now, I am coming at this from having read most of Golden's Star Wars novels...
But I think the best author from the Warcraft lineup is De Candido. He wrote Tides of Darkness and Through the Dark Portal, which tell the story (from the Alliance side) of the events in Warcraft II. Great novels for anyone who wants the lore from the game without having to read and infer from the scenario openings and events during the levels.
Sarah Mar 4th 2010 11:12AM
@ Dendallin
I think by Through The Dark Portal you mean Beyond The Dark Portal, which was co-written by Rosenburg and Golden. But I also agree that Rosenburg's novels are great. =)
Gamer am I Mar 4th 2010 8:06AM
I have tried getting into the novels, I really have, but the ones I have read are really heavy on the description, and I just don't like novels like that. I want to hear the story, not be bombarded by details; let me fill those in with my own imagination. Don't spend a page describing that castle; tell me what happens to make that castle significant! Details just don't hook me in, so all the times I've tried to get into a WoW novel when I see them at a bookstore, I can never get past the first page.
Now, I know someone will tell me that I will miss out on reading a lot of great literature if I am turned off by details, but I read for pleasure. I want to enjoy the book I am reading, or else why bother reading it? And, as I have said, I just don't enjoy description; I enjoy action. I want to know what happens, not the little details of everything involved. Plot hooks me in; setting does not.
On another note, at the time of this posting, there is one vote for each option. Nice.
Darthregis Mar 4th 2010 10:15AM
You've been cursed with Knaak books, then. He tries to detract you from how crappy his story is by putting you to sleep with his excessive detail of the most minute of things. And then you wake up, remembering that you love WoW and it's lore, but you forget how crappy the book is, so you keep on reading. Rinse, and repeat.
I highly recommend giving a Christie Golden book a try. Lord of the Clans, Rise of the Horde, Arthas. All very enjoyable books.
Bananacup Mar 6th 2010 5:13PM
Rise of the Horde and Lord of the Clans are great Christie Golden works, I also reccomend Tides of Darkness by Aaron Rosenburg.
BlueMia Mar 4th 2010 8:15AM
Unlike most, I have no problem with Knaak. But, after reading Stormrage, I can see a big difference on the amount of detail, it seems just the right amount.
But yeah, when a new Warcraft book comes out, I always try to get it the first day (especially Stormrage cause I
BlueMia Mar 4th 2010 8:20AM
*
BlueMia Mar 7th 2010 5:36PM
**BECAUSE MALFURION IS LOVE!!
Stop cutting off my comments T-T
omedon666 Mar 4th 2010 8:16AM
I may be required to turn in my geek card for this, but I draw the line at the comics. Something about visually presenting something I should only see in the game or my mind (which frames it within the context of the game) turns me off. I'll read the novels happily, and play the game. I'll WoWiki the lore that occurs in manga and graphic novels.
dkhar Mar 4th 2010 8:52AM
I agree with you there, novels yes, game yes, manga and comics umm no!
Shizukera Mar 4th 2010 8:21AM
I do read them, but I wish to God we could have someone, ANYONE, but Knaak to write the night elves. I don't think he quite understands night elf culture or really thinks about how people who are ten THOUSAND years old might behave (here's a hint: they'd probably handle most things very different than someone whose life is half over at 50ish).
Still, seeing as the books are the only way to get some of the modern lore (I will forever be upset that we didn't get to rescue Malfurion in game), you can't really skip them if you want to experience all the lore. Some of them are painful though - not just Knaak either; Cycle of Hatred failed so hard at grabbing my interest that I haven't even finished it. ^^;
Some of it's really good, though. Several of the Legends stories were excellent, most of Christie Golden's work is great (although she fell short on Arthas, in my opinion), and the Death Knight manga rocked my socks. The stories are amazing in the hands of a good writer; I just wish Blizzard would hire writers of consistent high quality so I could love them all.