Loved it. I have always been a fan of the author although so many readers seem to look down on him for what characters he has chosen from the Warcraft universe to write a history for - something I have never understood as an author has to pick characaters, they can't not have characters nor can they choose all.

Anyway. I have read his previous Warcraft books, and especially loved this one for being up to date and set in the WoW universe that players are currently actually experiencing in game. So it's set after the fall of Arthas and relates to that in some ways. What I am interested in seeing is whether the events of this will be a part of the pre-Cataclysm events in game as Blizzard have mentioned there will be several different ones. Not to mention this would explain how Malfurion Stormrage was rescued from the Emerald Dream and is back in the game in Cataclysm.

One of the things I especially love about this author, and this book, is that he captures the beauty, power and intensity of the actual spells used by druids and priests, and transforms them into words. I especially thought the end was well written, beautiful and a long time coming. You'll have to read the book to understand what I mean by that ;) ( )

Damn good book. Nothing but quality from Richard Knaak. Gave me a much greater understanding as to what went on with the Emerald Dream before the Cataclysm expansion. Kinda sad that there was so little mentioned in game. This was a big deal. But then I guess right after the Cataclysm happened and that was a big deal too. ( )

Also reviewed here: http://porcelainulairi.wordpress.com/2011/11/19/review-stormrage/

There is a lot of information you need in order to truly process this book, but I will give a short run down for those who might have no idea what Warcraft is about. Many races dwell in the land called Azeroth. The races are split into two factions who are constantly at war with one another. Other creatures inhabit the world, including dragons. One matriarch, the green aspect Ysera, presides over the Emerald Dream. This is most easily described as a spirit world. It is here that the druids, who enter a sleeping state, help the green dragons guard Azeroth through multiple realms. Malfurion Stormrage, the first night elf druid and leader, becomes trapped in the Emerald Dream. As his body lies deteriorating in Azeroth, his spirit becomes incapacitated by the Nightmare Lord. His lover, leader of the night elves and High Priestess of Elune (moon goddess) Tyrande, receives a warning from her goddess that Malfurion must be saved or all of Azeroth is doomed. The Nightmare attacks by taking those who fall asleep. Then, as their bodies lie prone in their beds, their souls bombard the remaining defenders of the realm. Tyrande and her few companions must travel to the Emerald Dream, find Malfurion, and help him save the world.

A complicated mess really, especially for those who haven’t read The War of the Ancients lore trilogy, which is referenced in the book and provides a much needed back story for most of the characters. The plot is made even more complicated by the writing style and structure. One human, Lucan Foxblood, meets up with the travelers. He has the ability to move in and out of the Emerald Dream without leaving his body. He can also take people with him. There are several parts in the story where they are constantly moving in and out of the Emerald Dream, and it seems very unnecessary. Since I was listening to the audio book, I found it very hard to stick with what was happening.

There are many times that as I read a book, I pronounced a name in my head a certain way only to find out a friend, or even the author, might think differently (Drizzt comes to mind). Blizzard, the maker of Warcraft, has a very established cast of characters. After playing the game for many years, reading almost all the books, seeing numerous cut scenes, and speaking with other players of the game, the pronunciation for the names of the main characters is universally known. Yet the narrator, Richard Ferrone, did not seem to get the memo. He pronounced many of them strangely, such as stressing syllables in the wrong place. It shouldn’t be that big of a deal, but it really bothered me. Otherwise, Ferrone did a very decent job with the voice acting, and his very solemn voice lent an eerie feeling to the story.

The premise is very intriguing, even outside the lore. Many of the Warcraft books are great on their own. Unfortunately, the writing in general was lackluster. I started counting the amount of times he used the word “macabre.” I stopped doing this at around twelve. Since I was listening to the book, I may have picked this up more easily, but it is such a specific descriptive word, and I feel like it should be used in moderation. With the writing style and random plot jumping, I began wondering if Blizzard gave Knaak a specific structure to stick with, or maybe I was just trying to shift blame off of someone whom I had always admired.

Clearly, I didn’t care much for this book. With a lore based novel and the addition of Knaak, I really wanted to like it. I just can’t get past all the flaws. I am giving it points for the idea behind the book, since I did find it interesting. I think only those who play the game and want to know more about the NPC’s they interact with should read it. Otherwise, don’t bother. Pick up a different Warcraft novel, Rise of the Horde by Christie Golden. ( )

I have played World of Warcraft off and on now for over 5 years. This was the first fiction book that I have read based off of the game. It started slow but about halfway through the book really picked up. The second half was full of almost constant action. In the end I enjoyed it as it had to deal mainly with characters that were Druids and that is what my main character in WoW is. I would recomend this book to any fans of World of Warcraft. ( )

This was a terrible book. I expected this. I read it anyway. I'm not sure why.

From the most generous possible perspective (meaning, let us assume that I care deeply about the subject matter, which is not particularly true) it's still a terrible book. The writing is godawful - stilted dialog, weird, artificial plot developments, confusing action and terrible pacing. Knaak spends far, far too many paragraphs describing in detail the clothing and/or armor of the characters in what appears to be an attempt to tie the story more closely to the game.

The actual plot of the story does nothing and goes nowhere, except in that it killed off one of the more annoying game characters in order that the developers could replace him with a less-annoying one. Seriously, that's... about it. If Knaak was a brilliant author, this might have been a delightful romp through a familiar setting. Sadly, however, he's awful, and it's a piece of dreck.

[begin geek rant]The nonsensical use of the "hearthstone" at the end about killed me, too. Seriously. that is a game mechanic. It's DESIGNED to be a deus ex machina, for god's sake. Introducing some heretofore unrevealed backstory that implies it's a rare and powerful artifact makes no bloody sense to anyone who is familiar with the game, and to anyone unfamiliar it's... a deus ex machina. Come on, man. My RP guild had more consistent rules than that.[/end geek rant] ( )