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A review by kadomi
World of Warcraft Chronicle: Volume 2 by Blizzard Entertainment
4.0
The second volume of the lore collection for the World of Warcraft videogame focuses on the First and Second War, so basically the stories of the first two RTS games Warcraft and Warcraft II. In retrospect it's quite amazing to see how rich a story they weaved from games that were actually so low on actual story and plot. I never played Warcraft, but I played the original campaigns of Warcraft II, and I mostly remember the amazing music and the silly voice lines of some units, plus I loved the name Khaz Modan.
The Chronicle begins with a detailed backstory of Draenor, which I thought was probably the best element of the book. It managed to explain so much about AU Draenor from the Warlords of Draenor expansion that I never managed to figure out just from playing the game alone (which is a problem that Warcraft lore has in general), like the Evergrowth, and the Apexis civilization, the ogre empire, etc.
Furthermore, we learn of the noble savage orcs, who were led astray by the Burning Legion's corruption, the opening of the Dark Portal by a Sargeras-controlled Medivh, and the two wars the Horde led against the newly-formed Alliance. The Chronicle ends with the events of the Beyond the Dark Portal expansion of Warcraft II and explains how Turalyon, Khadgar and Alleria ended up on ruined Draenor.
As mentioned above, I love all the background lore of Draenor, and enjoyed meeting the movers and shakers of the Horde and Alliance. There was a lot of ground to cover. I got a bit bored once the Dark Portal was open, because there's only so much you can do with a historical re-telling of two games that were focused on battles, not so much on plot. Hence only 4 stars for me.
If you enjoy Warcraft lore in-game at all, I think the Chronicles series are pretty much a mandatory read. Beautiful books, and I am looking forward to Volume 3 which will probably dig deep into Warcraft 3's story.
The Chronicle begins with a detailed backstory of Draenor, which I thought was probably the best element of the book. It managed to explain so much about AU Draenor from the Warlords of Draenor expansion that I never managed to figure out just from playing the game alone (which is a problem that Warcraft lore has in general), like the Evergrowth, and the Apexis civilization, the ogre empire, etc.
Furthermore, we learn of the noble savage orcs, who were led astray by the Burning Legion's corruption, the opening of the Dark Portal by a Sargeras-controlled Medivh, and the two wars the Horde led against the newly-formed Alliance. The Chronicle ends with the events of the Beyond the Dark Portal expansion of Warcraft II and explains how Turalyon, Khadgar and Alleria ended up on ruined Draenor.
As mentioned above, I love all the background lore of Draenor, and enjoyed meeting the movers and shakers of the Horde and Alliance. There was a lot of ground to cover. I got a bit bored once the Dark Portal was open, because there's only so much you can do with a historical re-telling of two games that were focused on battles, not so much on plot. Hence only 4 stars for me.
If you enjoy Warcraft lore in-game at all, I think the Chronicles series are pretty much a mandatory read. Beautiful books, and I am looking forward to Volume 3 which will probably dig deep into Warcraft 3's story.