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  #1 written by Dubarnik
  November 13, 2009 - 8:26 pm

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  I have a point I want to get to, but let me begin by saying that this is an exciting and very well written novel. To be honest, I couldn’t put it down. I recommend it not only to the WoW faithful, but also to anyone who enjoys a good fantasy read.

  As you see from the title of this review, I’m hoping that Aaron Rosenberg, the book’s author, reads this review. Forgive me for addressing him directly.

  Mr. Rosenberg – it is clear from this book that you have within you the ability to write a substantial, fully developed, fantasy novel or series. But as I look over the titles you’ve written, I see that you’ve mostly confined yourself to books based on role-playing or computer games. I also see that you’ve written several books for kids. Money in the bank!

  Have you considered writing for a more adult audience? Something based on a world or universe of your own creation? With full character development and deeper plot lines? I think such a work from you would be an outstanding read. And I have little doubt that it would be a bestseller among the intended audience.

  Back to the book at hand. A worthy read. But, Mr. Rosenberg, you know you can do better.

  Rating: 4 / 5

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  #2 written by Melissa Kammann
  November 13, 2009 - 11:10 pm

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  I liked this book, not the best in the series, and a long way from Richard Knaak’s writing, but its decent. It’s nice to relive the old memories if you used to play the game as a kid, too. But i have one problem with this Rosenberg fellow. Why is Doomhammer, supposedly a smart commander, so dumb?! When his orcs are unable to batter down the gates of Capital City, he doesn’t tell the dragon to use its fire to burn them down, which would have granted him an easy victory. No, he sends it off. WHAT?! How could anyone be so stupid? And when Lothar needs to warn the elves of Silvermoon of the threat of the invading Horde, does he send a gryphon rider? No! maybe it’s the author…. but, what the crap??? This book is enjoyable, but the lack of realistic-ness in such instances as those gets very annoying very quickly. Beware! If you’re not a big fan of warcraft, but are interested in the series, go for the books by Richard A. Knaak.
  Rating: 3 / 5

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  #3 written by Chan Kok Chie
  November 14, 2009 - 1:42 am

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  For those whom are into Warcraft lore. This is one of the books for you.

  It has an enriching storyline and once you’ve started it, you won’t want to put it down. The words are simply enough to be understood and the flow of the story is just right.
  Rating: 5 / 5

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  #4 written by Robert A. Larsen
  November 14, 2009 - 3:16 am

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  After a big night at the casino, I picked up nearly every full length novel from the Warcraft series (WotA Trilogy, Warcraft Archive, Tides, Dark Portal, Rise of the Horde, etc.) and decided to read them in chronological order. The second war is by a long shot my favorite part of Warcraft lore, and while I started playing in Warcraft: Orcs vs. Humans, Warcraft II was really what got me into the universe.

  For that reason, I was absurdly excited when I finally made it up to this book, only go have my world crushed. Overall the writing is clumsy and amateur, and while I was plowing through a Warcraft book every few days, this one stopped me cold for nearly a month. It never felt engaging, and the relationships between characters (that are already well known and have established relationships mind you) felt forced and awkward. Half the book seemed to be filled with repeated description that felt out of place (a fun game to play would be to count the number of times the author mentions Alleria raising her bow in a salute…), and the story never really takes hold.

  If anything, I dislike Turalyon because he comes off as a whiney wimp after reading this story, and I personally feel the author demolishes the reputation of Doomhammer within this novel.

  Overall, its a long series of “meh” that leads to an anti-climax. Yes, it is a retelling of the second war, I guess you can’t knock it for that, but I’d only recommend this book as a rental, and only if you like this part of Warcraft lore enough to struggle through this book… I did, I do, but I still say use caution. I’d probably like it better if I was younger, or if I was going back to catch up on history and had only started in the Warcraft universe at WoW, but because I’m not a kid and I’ve been there since the beginning this book let me down.
  Rating: 2 / 5

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  #5 written by A. Mejia
  November 14, 2009 - 4:38 am

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  While I concede that this book was probably written with 14 year olds in mind, the utter lack of original dialog and detail make this book undeserving of any recognition in the Warcraft canon. The protagonists exchange speeches reminiscent of conversations between He-Man and Skeletor, only without the obligatory commercial break to sell the toys. No this is a Christmas special, so its extra long and extra ‘fun’, and if you want to know what “really” happened when Doomhammer invaded Lordaeron you’ll just have to put up with chapters of it. I didn’t pick up the book expecting David Gemmell or Steven Erikson, but I did expect a glimpse into the Warcraft mythos that is typically unavailable through in game quests or source material. Blizz seems to be falling into the same trap TSR did during 2nd edition; allowing bad writing to represent their brand to the public.
  Rating: 1 / 5

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