Just curious based on conversations in other threads what people think was the best written novel is and explain their reasons?
Mine is the Tides of Darkness written by Aaron Rosenberg.
I feel that it is the most coherent novel that explain both the Origins of the Alliance and Horde really well and does both factions Justice. It really fleshed out both factions for me and kept close to the original canon of the war.
You can understand characters Motivations and actions as the Hordes invasions goes ahead. And Even though the Horde does come across as the aggressor you can see Ogrims thoughts and reasoning to his actions. It also showed that in order to stop Guldan that Ogrim would risk losing the war with the Alliance to stop him.
War Crimes by a long shot. Drama, intrigue, sympathetic villains, conniving good guys, Jaina going , Perith Stormhoof, all the grisly stuff from the visionsā¦ hot damn itās good.
It felt like professional fan fiction. And thatās what I think WoW books ought to feel like.
Everything felt accurate to the game. Seriously I cannot stand when authors bend the rules of the universe to pretend like say, portals, donāt exist without at trying to explain why. Also the geography of the story telling was so on point. To the level where I could picture, clear as day, exactly where the story was happening.
Up to knowing the precise wall Ji spin kicked a dude into.
Maybe Iām bias as itās fresh in my head. But most WoW stories take place in an interpretation of Azeroth. That book took place in the same zones Iād hung out in.
I will go with Shadows of the Horde as the example of the best Warcraft novel. It was chock full of goodness. Zandalari, Mogu, Pandaren Monks, Alliance and Horde heroes working together and becoming friends in a believable way, Troll focus and loreā¦ and the style was even and coherent.
I mulled over selecting Shadows Rising, I really enjoyed it. It is good, but not as good. I give it honorable mention. I looooved Sira! And I loved the epilogue. It was also Troll heavy, so that might be why I loved both.
Most of the ones set after the opening of the Dark Portal but before Warcraft 3 are pretty good. The ones set earlier tended to be too inconsistent with game lore, and the modern ones are just pointless trash.
Well it takes place like mid MoP - after Voljin is attacked by the assassin but before his rebellion. So alot of it is pretty much in the past and settled.
There is a little bit of Bwonsamdi, but he is far more grim than he is in game. And there is some stuff that helps build on the interplay between Voljin and other Trolls.
It was a good read, imo, and it has a tiny bit of relevance with recent events, at least as background, as far as Voljin, Bwonsandi, Trolls, and Loa stuff.
I havenāt read them all, but Iād say Shadows of the Horde is my favorite of the ones I have read, basically for the reasons Cursewords mentioned above. I want to read The Last Guardian next.
I think it might be the best resource on the Mogu and their relationship with the Pandaren and Zandalari.
The Last Guardian is pretty good, all things considered. I agree with Ainhin, that it actually feels like a random fantasy novel one might run into on accident and just love. It is prototypical fantastical stuff, in a good way.
Its good - but if I had to choose one as a favorite, Shadows of the Horde is it.
As a side note, I am a big Star Wars fan, and Stackpole wrote a few Star Wars books in the antiquated Expanded Universe. He wrote a few Rogue Squadron novels. I wonder why he and Blizz didnāt go further than just one book. His one Warcraft novel was well received. Maybe he had other fish to fry? Or maybe Blizz wanted to have a moreā¦ ādiverseā ā¦ roster of writers?
It would have been a boon to the franchise to have him. I feel a bit sad that it was a one and done sort of thing. Especially since it was so good.
Since I think I already have the prickliest and screechiest Nelf players on ignore Iāll admit that by far my favorite Warcraft novel is the War of the Ancients trilogy. It has a truly epic story an isnāt just a rehash of events you can already play through in-game. After that it would be Goldenās earlier works that focus mainly on single characters (Lord of the Clans [Thrall], Arthas [uh, Arthas], Rise of the Horde [Durotan]).
Well William King writes some Warhammer novels, and I think it bleeds in. Basically the grimdark that a million million worlds have been killed by the Legion. Illidan has to project through them in a scene. Invading the ādreadlord homeworldā thatās described oddly. And of course in Legion, they got their warping demon ships.
Heās a guilty pleasure since I liked him as a kid. Clearly a dumb edgelord character, but has fun moments.
, Perith Stormhoof, all the grisly stuff from the visionsā¦ hot damn itās good.