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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsJaina Proudmoore: Tides of War available for preorder on Amazon
by Anne Stickney 
Nov 15th 2011 at 6:00PM
The next novel in the Warcraft series, Jaina Proudmoore: Tides of War, is now available for preorder on Amazon. Tides of War is being written by Christie Golden, who has given us some really amazing novels over the past couple of years in both The Shattering and Thrall: Twilight of the Aspects. So far, all we know about Tides of War is that it involves Jaina, that she has some changes coming, and that her story is going to begin to take the tension between the Alliance and the Horde up a few notches, according to the World of Warcraft, StarCraft and Diablo Swag Show panel at the San Diego Comic Con earlier this year.
According to Amazon, the release date for the title is June 12, 2012 -- but be aware that release dates may change at any time. Regardless of release date, it's looking like this novel is going to cover a lot of territory for the Alliance, something that most players have been feeling as being lacking in Cataclysm -- and with Golden's track record, it's guaranteed to be a book you won't want to miss. You can preorder your copy of the hardcover edition for $17.16, or preorder the Kindle edition for $12.99.
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm has destroyed Azeroth as we know it; nothing is the same! In WoW Insider's Guide to Cataclysm, you can find out everything you need to know about WoW's third expansion, from leveling up a new goblin or worgen to breaking news and strategies on endgame play.
According to Amazon, the release date for the title is June 12, 2012 -- but be aware that release dates may change at any time. Regardless of release date, it's looking like this novel is going to cover a lot of territory for the Alliance, something that most players have been feeling as being lacking in Cataclysm -- and with Golden's track record, it's guaranteed to be a book you won't want to miss. You can preorder your copy of the hardcover edition for $17.16, or preorder the Kindle edition for $12.99.
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm has destroyed Azeroth as we know it; nothing is the same! In WoW Insider's Guide to Cataclysm, you can find out everything you need to know about WoW's third expansion, from leveling up a new goblin or worgen to breaking news and strategies on endgame play.
Filed under: Podcasting, Blizzard, Lore
Reader Comments (Page 3 of 4)
Killik Nov 16th 2011 4:06AM
I think they tend to concentrate on Alliance lore in the novels because they think it'll have broader appeal to non-players. To pick a silly example, which is a better publishing pitch: young queen defends her city against attacking orcs; or young cow-man misses his dad, tries to be best cow-man he can be.
Sucks a bit for players though - it's almost like there's an Alliance Tax to see your faction's lore.
Eternauta Nov 16th 2011 5:01AM
Not necessarily true Killik.
Rise of the Horde and Lord of the Clans are (IMO) the best Warcraft novels out there, and both are all about the Horde.
Me and (I think) most players would prefer to experience major plot points like the Emerald Nightmare or The Shattering first-hand rather than get told "go read the book".
Books are ok for secondary stuff that enriches the experience without becoming a barrier to understand the story. Examples are books like Arthas: Rise of the Lich King or the aforementioned Lord of the Clans.
BTW, they wasted some good material for an Emerald Dream expansion with the Stormrage book.
Killik Nov 16th 2011 10:40AM
Ah, true Eternauta. It would be nice if they restricted the novels to fleshing out backstory or filling in on historical details. Although it's good game content wasted, the reason I object to advancing the current plot in novels is more that it seems a cynical way to make fans pay for 'premium content'. Except, of course, that the quality often falls some way short of premium.
Baek Nov 16th 2011 2:34PM
This is how I feel about the killing off Cairne in a book. I want to see this stuff in the game. Sure if they want to go into more detail about the inner workings and all that fine, but at least show me in game the events happening and not just the aftermath.
Sandslice Nov 15th 2011 8:44PM
This has me curious now: considering that in *The Shattering,* Jaina played a significant part (harbouring and financial support) in Baine's retaking of Thunder Bluff, how is Baine going to react to the Horde attacking (and presumably sacking) Theramore?
Pyromelter Nov 15th 2011 11:10PM
Hopefully he'll finish off the job his father started.
Dreyja Nov 16th 2011 12:53AM
@ Pyro - We all hope that my friend! Truly.
Pyromelter Nov 16th 2011 5:43AM
Hey, I rescued Baine as a favor for Cairne. It's time he did me favor in return.
Chris Nov 16th 2011 6:11AM
Probably the same way Tyrande, Malfurion, and Cenarius respond when the horde are forcing their way into Ashenvale and stonetaalon...... by doing little to nothing. The devs have inspired little faith over the years.
Lemons Nov 15th 2011 10:19PM
Uggg...I don't want to buy another bad warcraft book...but I probably will :(
Luke Nov 16th 2011 1:28AM
Lemons! I have a wonderful piece of property I'd like to tell you about! Conveniently located south of Durotar and east of the Barrens, this LUSH beach front property is everything a seasoned adventurer like yourself could ask for.
But don't wait too long! At a mere 49g99s99c per square pixel this property is going fast!
ACT NOW!
Marbles Nov 15th 2011 10:31PM
How has Baine reacted to Theramore being the staging ground to the Alliance offensive in Southern Barrens? The same offensive that was responsible for Taurajo and is now knocking on Mulgore's door.
Theramore (and by association Jaina) already has a foot firmly in the Alliance camp, and is not a neutral party. By permitting Varian to land troops in Theramore, she has made herself a tactically viable target - the first step in the Kalimdor supply chain. If that can be taken out of action, then Honour's Stand and Fort Triumph will have more difficulty maintaining combat readiness.
Ethics aside, it is a tactically viable target. And an important one.
Marbles Nov 15th 2011 10:32PM
Supposed to be a reply to Sandslice above ^^. Annoying comment system.
CRtheMighty Nov 15th 2011 11:41PM
Why, my birthday is 23 June! And Jaina is one of my favorite characters! This news makes me a happy panda (no pun intended).
Muse Nov 16th 2011 5:35AM
Such a dilemma. On one hand "Yay, a Christie Golden writes an awesome Alliance book!" on the other a "Boo, Alliance story not in the game again!".
I'll read it, don't get me wrong. And I'll very likely love it. But it'll still have that little nagging disappointment.
Pyromelter Nov 16th 2011 5:55AM
I'm of 2 minds about the books.
On the one hand, I think it's a good thing expand the universe, give us some lore and some time with the heroes that we don't get in-game.
On the other hand, I think Blizzard is making a severe tactical error in releasing a lot of lore in this manner. Azeroth and WoW was built upon a real-time strategy story-telling foundation. And who is the best company in the history of gaming at RTS's? No contest, it's Blizzard. They just know how to make a damn good RTS, for single and multiplayer.
Now granted, I know it takes a lot of resources to make an RTS, but as shown with the new DOTA, they can pretty easily customize the SC2 engine with WoW characters.
Still, the best stories regarding heroes in the warcraft universe have all come from the RTS games. Plus, we get to see the story through their eyes. That by itself is compelling enough to make it that much more interesting. To play as Thrall, Jaina, Arthas, Illidan, Kael'thas, Maiev, Tyrande, Malfurion.
I really feel that a lot of the lore that has been put out there in books would have been much better in a single-player RTS or RPG/RTS type game, plus you'd have a lot more people interested in the follow up with WoW. As it is, the death of the Lich King pretty much shut the door on almost all previous Warcraft RTS storylines (sorry, still not a believer in the deathwing thing, he's badass but still just kind of a generic bad dragon in a tower we gotta kill), and I fear the story of Azeroth will suffer for the players of WoW if there isn't some sort of new Warcraft hero/rts/single player game in the next 5 years.
Chris Nov 16th 2011 6:11AM
Like a book suggests that a character or faction story would become more enthralling in game...
With everything these devs introduce to the alliance side it's gonna be half=assed. I don't know why anyone is expecting anything different considering the track record here.
Hobstadt Nov 16th 2011 6:49AM
My thoughts on this:
1. Won't the story of this book take place BEFORE 5.0? Wolfheart takes place BEFORE 4.0.1.
2. Why is Alliance getting major character development in books and Horde getting major character development in game?
Is it because
a) Blizzard don't think the Horde players can read? (Their main is a Tauren.)
b) Blizzard don't think the Horde players can afford books? (Their main is a Troll.)
c) Blizzard thinks that the Horde players hate books? (Their main is an Orc.)
d) Blizzard rather have the Alliance players pay for something that the Horde players get for free, since the Horde players have the sense to pick the winning side? (Their main is a Goblin.)
(j/k) ;-)
3. Why does Horde players complain about Garrosh? This is World of Warcraft and you are WINNING because of him. Seriously, he is awesome. He always attacks in the right time at the right place and thanks to him, you steamroll the Alliance. Isn't that what you wanted. Without him, Sylvanas would still sit and be emo in Undercity instead of finishing off three of the Human nations (Alterac, Lordaeron and Stromgarde) and driving a fourth into exile (Gilneas). (Well, there is still Eastern Plaguelands, but you know... Paladins. Neutral. Organisation created to fight the Lich King, but can't be bothered with something as minor as a zombie invasion wiping out four human nations. Makes so much sense. Yep.)
4. Also, why do so many Horde players see themselves as being turned into the bad guys here? I haven't played Ashenvale in Cata. I tried to avoid it since I liked it so much in Cata, and I expect most of the forest to be cut down by now. After all, that's why the Horde came there in the first place, right? The Warsong clan especially cut down more trees that they needed and let the rot just for lulz, and to piss of the Night Elves even more. (It actually makes sense from a military perspective. Cutting down the whole forest makes it so much easier to wipe out the Night Elves. The trees will grow back. The elves won't.) But I have been attacking Ashenvale, with many alts, since vanilla and I have, personally, NEVER felt like a villain. So why should you feel like villains now when you are doing the exact same thing that you have done since 2005, only because you are better at it? It's not like you were unaware of what could happen, since in Vanilla the Warsong clan cut down as much forest as they could, and the Forsaken merrilly raised dead for their armies and used plague to kill their captives. Seriously, stop with the QQ. You wanted war to be put back in warcraft, you wanted to scream Lok'tar Ogar For The Horde and rush right into the Alliance ranks, smashing skulls and cutting off limbs, and now that you get to do that, you whine? Some people...
5. Also, why is everyone thinking Garrosh is dumb/bad/evil for attacking Theramore? Look at what happened, from a military perspective. (Theorycrafting a little since we don't know the full story from Jaina's perspective. We'll get it in a book so Blizzard can have their developers put more stories about Thrall and Sylvanas in the game instead. Yay.) The Horde attacks Ashenvale. Despite the mighty victory in Wolfheart (cough) the Horde is still expanding there, pushing the Night Elves back. (Since Night Elves appareantly suck at combat since 2005 and need to be rescued at the last moment by the humans and ex-humans. Someone said the Night Elves are the strongest fighting force on Azeroth. Suuure.) To save the Night Elves (who I consider a joke at this point, compared to what they were in Warcraft 3) the Alliance opens up a second front in the Barrens, forcing the Horde to pull troops out of Ashenvale to defend themselves. (This ofc makes the ALLIANCE the villains in the average Horde player's eyes, since, you know, the RIGHT thing to do would be to peacefully let the Horde exterminate the Night Elves. Yep. Ofc, the real die-hard Horde fanboys probaly thinks that it's ok to wipe out the elves, because, you know, they're elves. And they have stuff the Horde wants.) Anyway, the Horde, more or less, wins in the Barrens, but are still fighting on two fronts and can't send every soldier they have to finally end the misery of the Kaldorei, so, naturally, they mass their resources on one front. With Theramore, Northwatch Hold and the Alliance troops in Southern Barrens gone, the Horde can direct all their efforts northwards. I mean seriously? This is war, and Theramore troops are invading Horde territory and preventing the Horde to win on another front. If I could wipe out Theramore, I would. If they didn't want to die, they shouldn't have attacked. The Theramore-Horde war was NOT started by the Horde. If you play with fire, you might get burned. And I actually respect Garrosh for not being like the dumbass Alliance leaders that are all like "Oh noes, the Horde is attacking and they took some of our land and killed some of our people. Phew. They halted their offensive. Now we can all have peace and bunnies again." (Repeated in infinitum.) Ever thought about which obligations the title "Warchief" implies?
6. Some also wonders how the Horde can raze such a mighty fortress. That one is easy, they just need to use the resources that they have and Theramore doesn't. Shamans and aircraft. It will take some planning to syncronize it, but here's what I would do. The horde army, accompanied by every Horde-loyal shaman they can find (remember that the Humans and High Elves have no connection with the spirits, and are more likely tahn not to have offended them one way or another) arrive at Theramore's gates in the middle of the night and immediately call upon the elements to set off massive earthquakes, similar to what Thrall did at Durnholde. As walls and buildnings collapses, killing many of the defenders or burying them alive, Goblin zeppelins and aircraft fly in from the north and firebomb everything, including the ships in the harbor. The grunts and braves then rush right into the confusion, finishing off the shocked, disoriented and disorganized survivors, while the shamans call on the spirits to make a whirlpool, tidal wave or hurricane that sinks whatever fleet is left after the Goblin attack. Then they'll march northwards along the beach to take out Northwatch. Easy.
7. With Theramore gone, now the Horde can focus their effort on the Night Elves. Bye bye Ashenvale?
8. I almost hope the burning of Theramore will be an Horde-only event. I can't decide on what is more depressing for the Alliance players, to see another town destroyed and having to play on an Horde alt to see what happens, or to be forced by Blizzard to be invited to yet another show of HORDE TOTAL FIGHTING SUPERIORITY. I will enjoy playing it on the Horde though. From a military prespective, Theramore had it coming. From a storytelling perspective it's more like WTF Blizzard Another Human Nation annihilated?!? There are only (potentially) three Human nations left on the planet now. And of them, Dalaran is neutral and noone even knows if Kul'Tiras exist any longer. Mankind is doomed...
Anyway, show this in-game for the Horde at least. I will scream if you put it in a book or comic.
9. Since Blizzard is ending the Human presence on Kalimdor with this, can the Alliance plz be allowed to retaliate and capture Grom'Gol, Stonard and Hammerfall, since they are the main Orc settlements in the Eastern Kingdoms? It will give me great pride playing as Alliance to finally kick the greenskins out from our continent. (Ofc, there is the Twilight Highlands, but I'm pretending there aren't any Orcs there. La la la. *covers ears*) And Stonard, Grom'Gol and Hammerfall seems like a fair trade for Theramore. Also, I can rub it in the face of Orc players. "You lost all your old bases in the Eastern Kingdoms to the puny humans. Orcs suck. Neener Neener." :-)
10. Why is everyone assuming that Jaina survives this? Her book likely takes place before 5.0. Also, why is everyone hoping that she survives? It's not like she has been part of the story in the game at all. Honestly? Megs Dreadshredder and Sassy Hardwrench (both of which are awesome, don't get me wrong) that are minor Goblin characters have more story in the game than any ALLIANCE RACIAL LEADER, INCLUDING JAINA. Not counting Malfurion. He has never, in-game, been an Alliance charcter. Also, he need to shave. It's not like we will miss a lot if, for example, we lose Tyrande and/or Jaina. I'm sure Blizzard can come up with a new character that can bounce up and down in Temple of the Moon and pass out the lvl 20 priest quest. And another crying human female to replace Jaina. I won't miss them because they were never there, except in the books and I can still read the books whenever I want. And play Warcraft 3. Just don't touch Sylvanas, ok? She is the only female faction leader that gets to be powerful in the game. At least until, and if, Megs or Sassy (or Her Tallness) fire Gallywix.
Nagaina Nov 16th 2011 9:32AM
1. In all likelihood, yes. It's probably part of the setup for 5.0's events. I'm personally betting on an attempt to set the political scene for events going into Mists of Pandaria.
2. Horde are also getting major developments in the books not in the game. See: The Shattering and Twilight of the Aspects for object examples of important Lore-related Horde-side stuff you never see referenced anywhere in-game.
3. Because Garrosh Hellscream is a suppurating orc-supremacist dick. A suppurating orc-supremacist dick that's going to get a lot of his own people killed for the sake of his own Daddy Issues.
4. The conflict in Ashenvale was a pretty much a realistic resource-based conflict, combined with a cultural clash that neither side is willing to let go. Bombing baby druids because Gary H wants to get his war on? That's pretty damned evil by any objective measure. Similarly, there's no good side of plague-bombing Gilneas and Hillsbrad, legitimate tactical/strategic objectives of war notwithstanding. Mind you, I think the Alliance is indulging in some pretty horrific "fog of war" related atrocities, as well, and I suspect that's part of the thematic point. No one comes out of war with their hands clean, standing on unassailable moral high ground. I just think that the Horde is looking much, much more hypocritical given the weight Horde culture gives to adhering to an honorable warrior ethos. There is no honor in the murder of innocents.
5. I don't think the Horde and/or Garrosh Hellscream is bad/wrong/evil in attacking Theramore, to be honest. Theramore, by virtue of its position as the only major Alliance port within pragmatic striking distance of Durotar and its function as a debarkation point for the Alliance forces assaulting the Southern Barrens, is a legitimate tactical and strategic target. It would be foolish to allow that resource to remain in Alliance hands once the current conflict heats to Fourth (or Fifth, I suppose) War levels.
6. Sink the foundation of the city. *The Shattering* basically indicates that, like New Orleans, Theramore effectively lies below sea level. Raise the seas, lower the ground level, two or three hurricanes, invade via air while they're reeling from the natural disasters.
7. Isn't this already happening in "Wolfheart?"
8. I'd like to see Kul Tiras return in-game as a major political power.
9. I suspect that Arathi didn't get a major overhaul in Cataclysm because it will become a front-line war zone eventually. Sylvanas obviously intends to push the Alliance below the Thandol Span. This is the natural place to stage a pushback against her.
10. Because Blizzard has never actually killed off a faction leader. I don't actually see them starting now. Assassinating her character? That I can see all too easily.
Eternauta Nov 16th 2011 10:04AM
1) Probably, yes.
2) That's a good question. Do the devs ignore the Alliance on purpose or it just happens because most of them are Horde fans at heart and *forget* to give the Alliance the same treatment?
3) Because he is an evil douchebag like his dad Grom. The Horde is winning not because of Garrosh, but because of ass-pulls and Deus Ex Machina's by the devs. Or because Sylvannas has finally gone pure-evil and is bombing half of the Eastern Kingdoms with the plague. Hail the New Lich Queen ¬¬
BTW, I don't like Sylvie, she's evil and that's not what I signed for when I made the jump from Warcraft III to WoW.
4) In WC3, it's stated that Grom's actions were wrong, but at least he got the excuse of demon-poisoning and the xenophobia of the Night Elves. His son however, shows a disrespect for all living things (not just the elves) unimaginable for a clean, uncorrupted Mag'har Orc. The Horde has gone down a morally dark path in WoW compared to what it was in WC3. Garrosh and Sylvannas just make things worse.
5) I agree.
6) Nothing to say here.
7) Yeah. And while we're at it, why not give the Horde the entire continent of Kalimdor? I'm sure such a reasonable course of action won't create any game unbalances at all, and most Alliance players will find it fair and appropiate. *Puts on sarcasm glasses*
8) Too soon to tell, I just hope blizz doesn't turn it into another humiliating defeat for the Alliance with no repercussions whatsoever, like the ones I used to see while leveling an ally toon in the Cata 1-60 zones.
9) I'll be ok as long as everything remains balanced in the end.
10) Jaina is gonna be a major player in MoP, therefore it's unlikely for her to die so early into the expansion.