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If you are into World Of Warcraft books this is a must. Even if you aren't it is still quite an interesting read.
Christie tells the story from the Orc's PoV, mostly though Durotan eyes and Thrall's story telling. If you want to learn more of the lore of the Horde and Draenei, then pick this up. This book gives the story of how the orcs changed from a relatively peaceful collection of tribes to a bloodthirsty horde. This was a very thorough telling and would be nice to see the same story through the eyes of the Draenei.
In the author biography, Golden states that she is a World of Warcraft player and it shows - there are little things thrown in that any Warcraft player will appreciate. Golden depicts this tale with plenty of emotion; I felt for Durotan's situation. "The Rise of the Horde" details just that, the rise of the horde that descended upon Azeroth, intent on taking the world for their own. He is writing the history of the old Horde, the Horde that destroyed their own world and invaded Azeroth, the Horde that perpetuated genocide on the draenei and slaughtered the humans. Only one clan stands apart, the Frostwolves; their leader Durotan watches helplessly as the orcs are corrupted by demons.
While the orcs take pleasure in hunting animals and bloodlust, they are not killers and have a culture, family groups, a belief system. How many of us have watched someone do something we know is wrong, but we can't change their minds. How many Warcraft players have visited Durotar, or Orgrimmar. The story is known, especially if one is a Warcraft player; but Golden fleshes out the story very nicely. The figures these places are named after, Durotan and Orgrim, are key characters in this book. The orcs have coexisted with the draenei for hundreds of years, ever since the draenei arrived on Draenor fleeing from their ancient enemies. The book is enjoyable, the plot is pretty solid, and the characters are spot on.
Each chapter starts with a brief introduction from Thrall, the current chief of the new Horde. But all that changes when the Burning Legion turns a key orc to their side, and he leads the orcs on a terrifying descent into madness. 5/5. The additional background detail it provides will delight any Warcraft player; this is one of my favorite novels based on the universe - I've read all of them, and read them all multiple times. World of Warcraft: Rise of the Horde, by Christie Golden"Rise of the Horde" is what a Warcraft book should be. The story of the orcs starts with a noble race, living peacefully on Draenor. Most of us have, I'm sure.
All-in-all this was a fun and enjoyable read. I am an avid WoW player and over the years I have played I have become more and more interested in the "why" and "how" of what I am doing. This was the first WoW book I have ever read and I have to say that I was pretty happy with it. It wasn't the best book I have ever read but it was very entertaining and I always enjoy background stories for things that I am interested in. like "How did Lordaron fall." or "What happened to Karazhan" - things of that nature.
;) I can't personally give it more than three stars because Christie Golden's style is just a little off for me. It was a bit more graphically violent than I anticipated, though I can live with that. I found myself wanting to read it, to see what was going to happen, so yes, it was a good book and worth the money. Minor complaint, and I'm more critical than most when it comes to an author's "voice," so most fans of the WoW universe will probably not be the least put off by it. For me, though, it keeps me from putting this book in with others that I would rank 4- or 5-star works. If the intended effect was that I feel anger and revulsion toward the orcs and sympathy for the Draenei, the butchery certainly achieved that. So, any book that can drive that kind of real-life (if playing the game equates to real life) behavior change must be pretty decent.The plot itself kept me interested, and I nodded my head in recognition of the in-game bits such as descriptions of how the warlocks summon their minions and how those minions look and behave, etc.
I like fantasy books, I just don't really like when they are written in "fantasy" style to the point where it feels forced. Three stars isn't bad from me, though; oh nay, verily I sayeth that it be not. Don't get me wrong, this book served its purpose of giving me a fairly entertaining download of the backstory behind WoW. In fact, my Draenei (my only ally toon, actually) has seen a lot more playing time since I read this book, and I went so far as to delete my level 40 warlock based on a RotH-inspired dislike of warlocks. Hard for me to put my finger on what I'm trying to convey here, suffice to say that when any character in a book -- particularly an Orc -- responds to a question with the word, "nay," instead of a simple "no" and the dialogue is peppered with "shall" in place of "will," I start to get turned off.
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