The Warcraft Archive Book

A collection of three novels and one novella set in the Warcraft universe. I picked this up because I'm an avid player of World of Warcraft and wanted to learn more about the backstory/lore to the world that I spend so much time playing in. I'm certainly not going to stop with just these stories, but will continue to read the other novels based in the Warcraft world. Reading these has made bits and pieces of the game world make more sense and I think that the other books will be eye opening as well and give me those 'ahha! Now that makes sense' moments.

Day of the Dragon: I enjoy reading about the dragons and, since the latest expansion pack revolves around Deathwing and his rise back into the world, it was nice to have a look into the black dragon Aspect's early days. Great back story into the creation of the Demon Soul as well, which is nice considering the upcoming patch is going to have a lot to do with that little trinket. This stoy has some strong writing in it, though I have to admit I really enjoyed the dragons and the goblins more than the main characters. Overall a nice intro to the collection as a whole.

Lord of the Clans: My favorite story in the collection. I love the character Thrall and this story was a good look into his past. I'm sure there is a lot more in depth in the solo book about him that just came out recently and I'll be looking to get my hands on that as well. How Thrall was raised and how he came to be the Warchief of the Horde was a great story and very well written. I knew, going in, that he had been a gladiator for humans but didn't realize just who it was who had raised him. This tale also made parts of certain instances in WoW make a lot more sense.

The Last Guardian: This story takes place in the tower of Karazahan; the home of the mage Medivh (an integral part of the Warcraft storylines). I really enjoyed reading this story and getting the back tale into Medivh's life. It also made some of the boss fights in the Kara dungeon make a hell of a lot more sense. Great writing and an interesting plot twist that I really had no clue was coming.

Of Blood and Honor: Probably my least favorite story in the collection simply because the Paladins never really held that much interest for me. It was nice, however, to see how Etrigg ended up with Thrall. Was also nice to see that Tirion Fordring really does walk the walk when it comes to honor, so that makes his big old speech to the Lich King in WoW mean all that much more.

Again, a nice collection of tales for fans of the Warcraft franchise.