By now, I hope everyone who wanted to get Chronicle Vol 1 has gotten it...because from what I hear it's sold out, or close to it, at least in the hardcover edition. And while I myself love ebooks, this is one you're going to want in hardcover. You'll want to hold it, caress it, stroke its pages...oh er hi.
Yes, I enjoyed the book. I can't wait for the second volume (and all the others) to come out. In the past, I've always had trouble keeping track of Azerothian history, perhaps because I didn't start playing Warcraft until 2008. This book and its companions will definitely help.
Another reason Warcraft lore has been difficult for me to keep track of is because it's so cyclical in nature. Oh look! Here comes the Burning Legion! Ah okay, we've defeated them. No wait! Here they are again! Never fear, we've got this. Oh hey, alternate time line, gotta defeat this guy we already defeated! Also, here are some books with more alternate stuff! Whew! Wait, what's Archimonde doing in this Orc expansion? OH HEY HERE COMES THE LEGION AGAIN...
Why? Why do they keep coming? Why do they have such a hot nut for Azeroth? But this book has helped me understand what's going on. I get it now. And wow, they've been hinting at some of this all along. For instance, all the Titan artifacts we've been finding all over the place, and the Titans' relationship to the Old Gods, and why the Titans haven't come back...all explained.
Another thing I appreciate is that they explain the "madness" of Sargeras. As someone who grew up with mental illness, I never appreciated the idea of a villain who was irrevocably evil simply because he "went mad". I get enough of that crap as it is. People don't just "go mad", and "madness" doesn't make a person irredeemable. Perhaps there's nothing I can do to change that person, but I want to believe that every bad person has some little spark of good - of Light - in them. There is probably nobody who can "reach" Sargeras now, but the fact that, in his own mind anyway, he is justified and "right" in what he is doing makes a huge amount of difference to me. There is still a little too much of the idea of "absolute" evil for my taste, but at least it's mitigated a little by understanding some of the motivations behind the darkness.
So yes, I loved this book, and I will continue to buy the Chronicle series as they come out. I do have one complaint about this book, though: the writing style. It's so very overwrought, with "untold" this and "towering" that. There's so much of this in fantasy writing, and it's really not necessary, even when you're writing about "ancient" subjects. Tolkien got away with it in The Silmarillion, but most writers simply can't pull it off, and the authors of Chronicle are no exception. However, to find out the answers to my lore questions, I'm willing to put up with it.
And here's my guilty secret: I might even (gasp) commit fanfiction, based on some of what I've learned. I haven't done that in years (and I'll admit to only one attempt, complete with overwrought language), but I'm feeling rather inspired. Stay tuned!
So yes, I loved this book, and I will continue to buy the Chronicle series as they come out. I do have one complaint about this book, though: the writing style. It's so very overwrought, with "untold" this and "towering" that. There's so much of this in fantasy writing, and it's really not necessary, even when you're writing about "ancient" subjects. Tolkien got away with it in The Silmarillion, but most writers simply can't pull it off, and the authors of Chronicle are no exception. However, to find out the answers to my lore questions, I'm willing to put up with it.
And here's my guilty secret: I might even (gasp) commit fanfiction, based on some of what I've learned. I haven't done that in years (and I'll admit to only one attempt, complete with overwrought language), but I'm feeling rather inspired. Stay tuned!
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