Posts with tag world-of-warcraft-novels

With all the chatter surrounding Christie Golden's next novel, I have to admit I'd almost forgotten that World of Warcraft: Paragons was set to release today. It's definitely not your usual sort of novel, instead holding a collection of short stories lore fans are likely already familiar with, all tucked into one book for easy referencing -- but it also includes the long-awaited novella Blood of the Highborne, by Micky Neilson. That said, fans looking for new, current lore aren't going to find any in this particular collection.

However, the book contains all of the leader short stories that were released over the course of Cataclysm's run, as well as a few other shorts -- Unbroken, the story of Farseer Nobundo, The War of the Shifting Sands, a piece that was released just before the launch of AQ40, and Road to Damnation, the story of Kel'thuzad, released just before the launch of the original iteration of Naxxramas all the way back in vanilla. It's Blood of the Highborne that really stands out among the collection, not necessarily because it's better than the rest, but because it's brand-new content that fills in a gap that's been missing in lore -- the conception and introduction of the Blood Knights of Silvermoon.

World of Warcraft: Paragons finally has a release date set for an English edition -- March 31, 2014. The long, long awaited novel is a collection of the leader short stories currently available on Blizzard's website, as well as an all-new piece of fiction by Senior Writer and Voice Director Micky Neilson entitled Blood of the Highborne. Highborne will explore the origin of blood knights, the attack on Silvermoon, and the history of the quel'dorei -- a story many blood elf fans have been waiting to hear. Neilson's other works include the short story Unbroken, as well as Curse of the Worgen, Ashbringer, and Pearl of Pandaria.

While Paragons was released earlier this year in Spain and France, the US release was nowhere to be found. We still have some time to wait before we'll see an English version, but at least we have a date to look forward to -- and preorders to place. You can preorder World of Warcraft: Paragons for the Kindle on Amazon, or for the Nook on Barnes and Noble for $5.99. At present time, it appears that the novel is only available for preorder in ebook format -- we have yet to see if a print version will be made available.

Amidst all the BlizzCon excitement yesterday, author Christie Golden decided to drop an interesting bit of information on Twitter -- she's working on a new novel. Not just any novel, but a WoW novel that ties in with the new expansion, Warlords of Draenor. Obviously no title or plot information has been released, but since Golden has written several novels with expansion lead-in titles, it stands to reason this novel will hopefully form some kind of bridge between Mists and Warlords.

With titles like Lord of the Clans, Rise of the Horde, The Shattering, and Thrall: Twilight of the Aspects under her belt, Golden is also incredibly familiar with the history of the orcish race. While we don't know how much this novel will feature any of the key players in Warlords, it's safe to say that this is going to be a pretty amazing read. Hopefully we'll see more information regarding this mysterious new title soon.

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If you're looking for reading material, you're in luck -- Jaina Proudmoore: Tides of War is on sale today in Amazon's Kindle store for a mere $1.99. The latest offering by Christie Golden, Tides of War takes place just prior to the events of Mists of Pandaria, including the fateful attack on Theramore that decimated the city. I can't really stress how much I recommend this book, particularly for those wanting to know more about the Theramore scenario -- the book explains it in detail, along with the first glimmers of the internal Horde conflict that have since risen to a head in Mists.

Beyond that, it's just a really good, heart-wrenching read. Golden really outdid herself with the book, and at $1.99, it is absolutely worth picking up. Don't have a Kindle? No problem -- you can read the Kindle version of the book on the web, on your computer, or even on your phone using one of Amazon's Kindle apps. But if you're interested, jump on this deal fast -- it's a daily deal, so it'll be gone tomorrow!

The folks over at the Scrolls of Lore forums happened to dig up some interesting information in the form of the cover pictured above. Many fans of Warcraft lore have been waiting, somewhat impatiently, for the new novella by Micky Neilson titled Blood of the Highborne. In an interview last year about the graphic novel Pearl of Pandaria, Neilson mentioned the novella, suggesting that it would be included in a collection of the leader short stories released during the Cataclysm expansion.

The novel found at Scrolls of Lore is titled World of Warcraft: Dechados, which was translated as World of Warcraft: Paragons. It seems an apt title for a collection of short stories about Azeroth's leaders -- and there's the fact that the translation of the description also mentions the inclusion of a novella. After doing some further digging, we managed to find a French version of the book as well. Both books suggest a September release date.

At present time, there doesn't appear to be a peep about an English version of the collection, however -- and it definitely wasn't mentioned at the San Diego Comic Con Licensing panel this year, either. What's the fate of Blood of the Highborne? We aren't certain, but judging from the information found, it may be out sooner than we'd previously thought.

Vol'jin: Shadows of the Horde will be available for purchase next week, on July 2. We've already published a spoiler-free review of the novel, which features the Darkspear leader Vol'jin as he recuperates from his near-assassination in the Dagger in the Dark scenario. The novel is something a little different for Blizzard, featuring a story that not only stands apart from the gameplay of Mists of Pandaria, but features a new author as well -- Michael Stackpole, whose writing spans both fantasy and sci-fi, with notable works in both the Battletech and Star Wars universe.

Blizzard was kind enough to let us have a chat with both Mike Stackpole and Micky Neilson, Lead Story Developer at Blizzard, regarding Shadows of the Horde, its development, and the intricacies of writing that oh-so-troublesome troll accent.

I've been dying for a good troll novel. Despite their longevity in Warcraft's timeline, we really haven't seen much of anything regarding the troll race, their traditions, their customs, the loa -- none of the rich history that has been cultivated and told over the years. Needless to say, I was very excited when Vol'jin: Shadows of the Horde was announced at the New York Comic Con last year -- and even more so when Michael Stackpole was revealed as the author of the book.

A prolific author, Stackpole has written a ton of books set in the Star Wars universe as well as BattleTech and a variety of original works as well. Familiar with both fantasy and sci-fi, Stackpole is an impressive author in his own right -- and his realm of expertise with both guaranteed he'd be a good fit for the Warcraft universe and its unique approach to fantasy. So how did Shadows of the Horde hold up?

This is quite possibly one of the darkest novels in the Warcraft stable. And it's brilliant.

The Blizzard Entertainment Publishing Panel at New York Comic Con officially announced what we've been suspecting since the Blizzard AMA on Reddit -- there will be a new World of Warcraft novel next year. The novel, titled Vol'jin: Shadows of the Horde will be available in April of 2013, and will be penned by Michael Stackpole. Shadows of the Horde will feature Vol'jin primarily, but also include Chen Stormstout, and will tie in to what we'll be seeing in patch 5.1 and beyond.

But that's not the only item on the Warcraft front! Also on the list of upcoming projects is a new title by Richard Knaak. World of Warcraft: Dawn of the Aspects will be a four part eBook, with part one available on January 15, 2013. The eBook will address the Aspects who are Aspects no more, as well as covering history on how the Aspects came to be, with more information on Galakrond and the proto drakes.

Blizzplanet recorded the entire panel for viewing, as well as touching on the next Starcraft novel and an upcoming anthology of Diablo III stories. Take a look at part one of the publishing panel above, and visit Blizzplanet for the rest of the panel's revelations and information.

Anyone who has played through the troll starting zone or read the novels knows that Vol'jin, leader of the Darkspear, is not particularly happy with Garrosh Hellscream. In fact, Vol'jin and Garrosh had an altercation in which the troll leader flat-out informed the new Warchief that when his day of judgment came to pass, Vol'jin would be the one to deal the killing blow.

Since then, tensions have continued to rise in the Horde. And while Vol'jin has been keeping quiet, that tension hasn't gone away. Between trying to lead his people, his problems with Garrosh and the sudden resurgence of the Zandalar in Cataclysm, Vol'jin has had a lot on his plate. According to Lead Quest Designer Dave Kosak via the AMA on Reddit, we're finally going to hear more from the Darkspear leader in the next Warcraft novel.

Dave Kosak

If you're getting psyched about the storyline, I think you'll love the next novel which focuses on Vol'jin. Have you played the troll 1-10 intro experience? Vol'jin flat-out tells Garrosh he doesn't trust him and he'll stab him in the back the moment he sees an opportunity. The novel carries his story forward and really meshes in with the events of patch 5.1.

One of our ongoing goals is to make sure that the games and novels complement each other, and that major lore events don't happen in the novels without some kind of representation in-game. This is a huge challenge for us!! But I think we're getting better at it.

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Is this the novel that Michael Stackpole is reportedly working on? We don't know -- but either way, it's Vol'jin. You know it's going to be good. Hopefully we'll see more on the new novel sooner rather than later.

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It's open warfare between Alliance and Horde in Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's next expansion. Jump into five new levels with new talents and class mechanics, try the new monk class, and create a pandaren character to ally with either Horde or Alliance. Look for expansion basics in our Mists FAQ, or dig into our spring press event coverage for more details!

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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.

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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.

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