Jaina Proudmoore: Tides of War (World of Warcraft, #11)

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Jaina Proudmoore: Tides of War (World of WarCraft #11)

3.95 of 5 stars 3.95 · rating details · 652 ratings · 98 reviews

The ashes of the Cataclysm have settled across Azeroth’s disparate kingdoms. As the broken world recovers from the disaster, the renowned sorceress Lady Jaina Proudmoore continues her long struggle to mend relations between the Horde and the Alliance. Yet of late, escalating tensions have pushed the two factions closer to open war, threatening to destroy what little stabil...more

ebook, 352 pages

Published August 28th 2012 by Pocket Books (first published January 1st 2012)

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Sep 06, 2012 Mitch rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Christie Golden promised in her dedication in Arthas: Rise of the Lich King to write the best books possible for World of Warcraft fans and she hasn't failed to deliver yet. Tides of War is probably her best written Warcraft novel since Lord of the Clans, if not ever, but I think I still prefer The Shattering overall. The nature of the tie-in novel really hits this book hard, unfortunately.

Strangely enough, this is an ensemble book. I don’t know why, Rise of the Lich King and Twilight of the Asp...more

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Nov 09, 2012 Nicole Trainor rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: liked-female-lead-fantasy, liked-male-lead, surprised-me-being-so-good, world-of-warcraft

Christie Golden is a great World of Warcraft author. She gets and understands the setting and really develops the characters within it to a believable extent. I love her Jaina Proudmore. I also love her development of Kalecgos, who I started liking with the Sunwell trilogy manga. This book did a great job setting up the Fall of Theramore scenario and has me anxious for Mists of Pandaria.

As a side effect, however, I no longer want to play my Horde characters. Besides now having a deep and abidin...more

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Mar 18, 2013 Michelle Tolliver rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013-reads

The first Christie Golden book I've read, and maybe the third World of Warcraft related book I've read. I was tired of lack of details over the plot points the book told, and lack of information from Blizzard in the game World of Warcraft MMO. So, I finally succumbed to buying the blasted thing.

And, I was surprised. I was prepared to hate it (although, realistically, there are pretty much no books I hate, just, some I would never re-read). I had read reviews of the book, and knew the plot line a...more The first Christie Golden book I've read, and maybe the third World of Warcraft related book I've read. I was tired of lack of details over the plot points the book told, and lack of information from Blizzard in the game World of Warcraft MMO. So, I finally succumbed to buying the blasted thing.

And, I was surprised. I was prepared to hate it (although, realistically, there are pretty much no books I hate, just, some I would never re-read). I had read reviews of the book, and knew the plot line and major spoilers already, I just needed to 'see' it play out in the words and how it was presented. I found myself liking Kalecgos, where as before, I only felt sorry for him in a detached sort of way (where he became and then lost the power of an Aspect). The only reason though I think I liked him, is that the author tried so hard to make him attractive to Jaina. See, I liked Jaina; a strong willed woman in fantasy that did not try to run around in a plate bikini? A woman who had the strength of character to make her own choices, including choosing peace even at the cost of losing her own father? A woman who was strong enough to leave the man she loved when he was nothing but bad for her? Oh yes, this is a woman who survives, without losing what makes her self - herself.

I disagree with the viewers/readers who find her turn of face from peace at all costs, to destruction at all costs. With what she's gone through, it is a reasonable, and quite expected action. I do not buy that the newly found love interest could get through to her in time. Why couldn't it have been a close friend? Another strong woman figure? Oh that's right, because Blizzard doesn't know how to do that without making 'em crazy or telling her to hush. Bah, that still makes me angry!

Anyway, the story is interesting, and I was glad to see the entire story line so it made sense to me in game. If anyone is a fan of Wow, or enjoys the lore, it will make a good read. If you haven't played recently though, the events that have already occurred will be confusing. You may have to do more than play in game to catch up. For non-wow players, I see nothing that would make sense to you. Characters are mentioned, events are obviously known only IF you're familiar with the game. Without that to have as a basis, you're going to be lost imo. Skip this unless you plan to play, or plan to read all the other books to get familiar with whats occuring.(less)

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Feb 01, 2013 Cy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, franchise-fiction

I'm rating this for what it was: a World of Warcraft book, one that fills the gap between two expansions. These books tend to be like the "Last time on" at the beginning of two-part episodes of TV shows in that they blaze by you really quickly: just enough that you get the gist of what's going on but that you need to have watched the previous episode in order to really FULLY follow the story. This, like all the other Warcraft books, are for those who watch the previous episodes (which, in this u...more

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Jan 27, 2013 Mostafa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

Golden has described various situations and feelings of Jain in this book. From the time she was acting as a diplomat to bring peace and tranquility, to the time she was hopelessly seeking revenge and finally, knowing what she must do.

As in 'Thrall: Twilight of the Aspects', where Thrall found Aggra, she pursues the same line to get a mate for Jaina, suggesting that having some on your side to share the task with, makes life more joyful (as Thrall told Jaina).

Short review of the book:
Garrosh ma...more

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Dec 29, 2012 Michał rated it 1 of 5 stars

There I am, on the Christie Golden desert, praying for a drop of character developement. There is no way to run away. You can only hide in one of the deeper plot holes to survive raging storm of bullshit.

This book is just awful. The only book I ever regreted buying, hell, even spending a cent on it. If you encounter this piece of garbage in your local bookstore, burn it down. You may be locked in the prison for a few years, but at least you gonna be rewarded in heaven.

This novel, like many of o...more There I am, on the Christie Golden desert, praying for a drop of character developement. There is no way to run away. You can only hide in one of the deeper plot holes to survive raging storm of bullshit.

This book is just awful. The only book I ever regreted buying, hell, even spending a cent on it. If you encounter this piece of garbage in your local bookstore, burn it down. You may be locked in the prison for a few years, but at least you gonna be rewarded in heaven.

This novel, like many of other Golden creations, serves one purpose: to be a span between two expansions in World of Warcraft. Thanks to "Tides of War" players can know why did warchief Garrosh change from a rational, yet harsh leader to bloodthirsty racist, why Jaina Proudmoore threw away her cloak of peace, and why Anduin Wrynn is still in this game. But the only thing Christie Golden managed to do was to confuse players even more.

Warchief Garrosh, person, who is basically the main character of the story (yes, Jaina isn't even in half of the novel) is kinda placed inside this universe changed. For some reason, he hates all of his allies and advisors. For some reason, he trusts only a war criminal from a clan that perviously wanted to destroy the Horde. For some reason he decides that his people need the whole continent they live on. And for some reason, despite being portrayed as honorable in the franchise, he acts like a coward and a scum every time he can. Well, what are the "reasons", mrs. Golden? Ah, you don't wanna talk about it. Cool.

Other members of the Horde were given basically the same amount of character developement. Baine Bloodhoof, another main character in this story, doesn't like the ways of the new warchief, but as well he does not want to rebel against him in fear that he will slaughter them. Again - no explanation was given why wouldn't he simply leave the Horde. Vol'Jin - a persona who would be considered by most of the WoW fans as the one who leads the rebellion agains Garrosh - is just walking around, mumbling the same words Baine says.

In plot number 56 we have another main character, leader of the blue dragons Kalecgos, who seeks for a lost artifact that can be used as an atomic bomb. Reading that out loud is pretty hard without even smirking. But okay, this is a computer game, it can be stupid. However, a dragon, who also has the deepest knowledge of the magic - manages to fail at everything he tries to do in this novel. Seriously, whenever Kalecgoses name is mentioned, I thought "okay, what is he going to screw up next". This would be a pretty funny character - if it was intentional.

But, let's move to our... mainest? character. Jaina Proudmoore. The most powerful magi in the world, probably the only female character that matters in the universe. She, being the only span between the Alliance and the Horde (two factions constantly fighting), has to needs to battle with such evil beings as her insecurity, lack of man, remorse after killing her dad (well, another thing you need to search internet to find a reason why) and her not-so-funny, not-so-cocky, so-annoying initiate gnome Kinndy. Yes, our main character, that was made to show the "girl power" in Warcraft universe, is this lame. Not to mention, Kinndy sometimes has more lines than Jaina, even tho she is clearly a character to be killed off. Yes, I'm spoiling, but 1) she is a little gnome Jaina cares deeply about 2) she doesn't appear in any game, previous or following the novel 3) she takes too much book space sometimes.

The plot... Well, lets say that sometimes novels can have plotholes in them. This time it's the other way around - this plothole has a small amount of plot in it. Every next page you will be asking yourself "why?" "what?" "what the hell..." - and you won't be given an answer. Christie Golden decided, that space in the book that can be used to describe us what are the reasons of Garrosh change, why is Anduin somehow linked to a few characters, and what the hell is up with those krakens at the end of the story will be used to have some not-so-smart dialogues between yet alive gnome and Kalecgos, the clumsy blue dragon.

In conclusion - if you don't like Golden's books, don't buy this one. If you like them - well, just know that this one beats every previous one in stupidity. If you don't even play Warcraft games - consider this a book that can be read as a tutorial of "how not to write a book". (less)

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Oct 14, 2012 Tim Bergmann rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I wanted to like this book. I like Christie Golden as an author. She's typically easy to read and the story flows well. And those things are essentially true. The problem, for me, is everything else.

I think the main flaw in the book is that it seems like she is essentially being told exactly what to write and can't deviate from the outline. Things that I think that would've added some backstory is why Garrosh is starting to go batshit crazy. Who is Malkorok? And while WoW as a game might explain...more

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Sep 22, 2012 Gleth rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Jaina Proudmoore: Tides of War is the story of the events leading up to one of the big story arcs for the up-coming World of Warcraft expansion Mists of Pandaria. Rather than looking at the Pandaran arc, this looks at the growing tension between the Horde and the Alliance, and covers a pivotal moment in WoW's history set around the Isle of Theramore.

This book drew me in and played my emotional strings with a rare mastery. I found all the characterisations fit what I knew from the game, but with...more

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Sep 14, 2012 Jack rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Hey readers. Female Protagonist: Tides of War is a novel written by Richard A. Knaak, under his lesser-known pen name to avoid publication scrutiny.

This book is about the Alliance! Well, okay, almost 50% of it is not, but the Horde are so cool!

More importantly, however, here it is folks, it's the one we've all been waiting for, it's about Jaina! "How can we appease those stupid feminists, complaining about our sexist portrayal of female characters?" Metzen asks Golden, taking a massive toke of...more Hey readers. Female Protagonist: Tides of War is a novel written by Richard A. Knaak, under his lesser-known pen name to avoid publication scrutiny.

This book is about the Alliance! Well, okay, almost 50% of it is not, but the Horde are so cool!

More importantly, however, here it is folks, it's the one we've all been waiting for, it's about Jaina! "How can we appease those stupid feminists, complaining about our sexist portrayal of female characters?" Metzen asks Golden, taking a massive toke of dudebro weed. "Or as they like to call them, 'characters'?"

Golden muses on her response. "How about... a female protagonist who spends half the book pining after a husband (because Thrall tells her she needs one [insert your postcolonial critical comment about Thrall, the savage who only thinks in terms of ownership of women, here])? An archmage who needs to have magic explained to her by a dragon? A woman so incapable of dealing with her grief, she turns into a hysterical she-witch? Oh! Even better, what if she needs to be saved from her rampage by the male dragon?! What if her ultimate reward is a harlequin romance with the desirable male, the kind an 18th century housewife could only close her eyes and dream about?"

Metzen nods, stunned by Knaak's latest genius. "Welp," he says. And the book flies off the shelves. At last, readers, the ultimate Warcraft feminist victory.

Another thing Golden has responded really well to is the backlash against perfect mary-sue characters such as Rhonin, and has instead written some really convincingly fallible characters. Kalecgos is the best example of a character with many deep, meaningful flaws, primarily such as being irredeemably stupid and monumentally fucking up the one single duty he has. No one calls him out on it though because no one wants to talk to him, ever. You can't blame them.

One character I didn't like, was some dumb gnome kid getting all up in Jaina's face and giving Kalecgos a hard time! I really didn't understand what was supposed to be the point of this character, but it turned out, the whole point of her was to die. The readers (us, bros), we wouldn't really be able to work out that Jaina is a little bit sad about her entire city blowing up until she cries purple tears over the corpse of a child. The arbitrary death of a new character introduced for this novel was critical to convey the fact that some people got killed in the biggest explosion ever, instead of the bunch of generals who I forget their names I don't care about.

Let's move onto the hardcores rating. Tides of Snore has a lot of hardcore points, and for good reason! Randomly summed molten giants, armies of towering tidal wave elementals, mana atom bombs, and even the kraken! This book has it all. The hardcores were basically exploding off the page every time there was a fight. The only dampener on Garrosh's hardcores was Baine, getting on the poor dude's case, crying and stuff. Don't be such a square, Baine. What's a war crime? You some kind of hippy? Get lost, nerd.

Varian really brought the hardcores into town at the end as well, owning Garrosh real hard once again, and leading everyone to a conclusive victory. What's that, you want Jaina to do a bit of leadership in battle if she's the title character? Haha, shut up idiot! Varian's busy cutting shit up.

My favourite part of this book is how it tells me everything instead of showing me it. Description, subtlety, that's all boring as hell, just tell me Rhonin's a hero and Malkorok's a bit of an asshole, and I'll believe it. Why waste time on meaningful dialogue when we have important plot events to get through, like a suicide bomb explosion the Alliance pull on Garrosh, from which his survival is never explained, resolved, or mentioned again? Hehehe, such a badass.

Yeah, this book sucks. I'll give it one star and 4 coolbro caps. Play it loud, readers, and chalk another win up for the patriarchy. Get crushed wartards!!(less)

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Sep 11, 2012 Allen Christianson rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: game, fantasy

I'll start off by saying that I own and have read almost the entire collection of Warcraft books. And this is quite possible the best, most well written of them all.

There are so many good points to the book, I can barely wrap my head around it. It has one of the best romances I've seen in the book. The conflict between the characters is believable and real, lending you the chance for you to feel great empathy for their concerns and their goals. The tragedy that serves as the climax to the book,...more I'll start off by saying that I own and have read almost the entire collection of Warcraft books. And this is quite possible the best, most well written of them all.

There are so many good points to the book, I can barely wrap my head around it. It has one of the best romances I've seen in the book. The conflict between the characters is believable and real, lending you the chance for you to feel great empathy for their concerns and their goals. The tragedy that serves as the climax to the book, which was not rushed nor delayed, makes you feel the impact of the atrocity, even if you are not familiar with the characters involved.

But most of all, and this is the most important part to me, for one of the rare times in Warcraft book history, the characters are all vulnerable and act completely rational. If there two things I always had issues with in previous books, was the glorification of certain characters, such as the dragons, and the almost irrational behaviors of others, such as Wrynn and his 'split personality' issue. But Golden somehow manages to not only place everyone on the same playing field by making them all vulnerable on a physical as well as emotional sense, but also to make it so even in the madness of some characters, they are completely rational and believable, mostly because Golden makes such a good job of developing them. She focuses on the events and traits that matter the most to the story, and help you care so much about them, it almost hurts when the tragedy occurres.

The main focus of this book to re-introduce the Alliance vs Horde conflict for the upcoming expansion, and it does a very good job of it. Even before reading it, I noticed a shift in the people around me that had read the book. Most are openly opposed to the actions of Garrosh in the book. I don't believe any other book in the Warcraft universe has caused so much united opinion, perhaps only Golden's previous works on the Horde and Thrall's rise to leadershup. To diverge a moment, one of the reason Cataclysm failed, in my opinion, was its lack of united opinion on how bad Deathwing really was. The scope of his ambitions, mirrored in the books as well as the game, felt way above anything fans of Warcraft could grasp. But now with this new conflict, and Garrosh at its head, it feels much more personal, if less "epic", as some would say.

With my own personal assessment of the Warcraft community aside, one other major aspect of the book impressed me. While I do not want to spoil anything, again I must congratulate Golden on one of the most endearing and powerful romances I've ever seen, especially in the Warcraft universe. It is real and does not feel forced, even due to the strange nature of it. And throughout the book, a feeling of foreboding keeps the reader on suspense as to the resolution of it all. It's almost a relief when it comes to its conclusion at the end, for the climax seems to envelop all for a good portion of the book, which truly shows the power of the emotions Golden was able to convey.

Overall, I strongly, strongly suggest this book to any Warcraft fan looking forward to the upcoming expansion. While there will be an in-game event mirroring the events of the book, it's not one to be missed. Heck, even if you lost your chance to read it before the newest expansion comes out, read it anyways! There is no doubt in my mind that this is the best Warcraft novel I have read thus far, making it Golden's greatest work. As for non-Warcraft fans, it's always difficult to suggest books like this, as they tie directly into the game and its mythos. However, if you're familiar with fantasy themes and are looking to get into the Warcraft universe, I cannot suggest any better start than this.(less)

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Sep 01, 2012 Naomi rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: warcraft

Shattered. That's my only reaction at the end of this book. I am a huge Jaina Proudmoore fan and wanted to see where this adventure would take her.

I have read several Warcraft books: Rise of the Horde, Of Blood and Honor, Arthas, Lord of the Clans, Stormrage, The Shattering and The War of the Ancients series, but this has by far been the most memorable

Jaina Proudmoore is a cool headed alliance diplomat. Her choices again and again have made her a friend to many of the horde and to the alliance....more

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Aug 31, 2012 Anafielle rated it 1 of 5 stars

It honestly floors me that with 11 million active players, Blizzard can't find better authors for its series.

I don't really have a problem with the plot. I love cheesy books and cheesy games, and WOW is nothing if not cheesy. I like fanfiction and I like series fiction. But here is my problem-- Golden is a really mediocre writer. Someone handed her an outline of "what happens" and she just told the reader everything. That's all. This book is all tell.

She's about as dry as a rock. Cookie cutter...more

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Sep 18, 2012 Ian rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: war, philosophy, fantasy, tripe

This book is awful. Just. Plain. Awful. It's named after Jaina Proudmoore, but she's only in ~1/3 of it, and barely does anything at all -- and when she does act, even though her actions are fully justified and reasonable, everyone (eg: the countless male characters who occupy the other ~2/3 of the book) rushes to stop and condemn her (which they should have done to her attackers BEFORE her friends and kingdom were slaughtered by male sociopaths).

It's misogynistic, it's horribly paced, and the...more This book is awful. Just. Plain. Awful. It's named after Jaina Proudmoore, but she's only in ~1/3 of it, and barely does anything at all -- and when she does act, even though her actions are fully justified and reasonable, everyone (eg: the countless male characters who occupy the other ~2/3 of the book) rushes to stop and condemn her (which they should have done to her attackers BEFORE her friends and kingdom were slaughtered by male sociopaths).

It's misogynistic, it's horribly paced, and the author apparently never went to Elementary school because Golden is completely ignorant of the old "show-not-tell" dictum. It perpetuates the new "Hush, Tyrande!" brand of WoW misgoyny, where strong female characters' actions are always irrational and they must be cowed, "put in their place" and "shown reason" by the men in their lives. Likewise, it perpetuates the old "Death to the Alliance! Thrall can do no wrong, even when he is clearly doing wrong, and the Horde should never face consequences for their actions!" approach Blizzard has been working to make the status quo of their little imaginary world. Despite the fact that Thrall appointed Garrosh, rejected all counsel against doing so, consciously turned a blind eye to Garrosh's war-crimes, and abandoned the Horde to Garrosh's whims -- despite all that, the supposedly neutral Go'el "Green Jesus" Thrall (incidentally, "Go'el" is Hebrew for "Redeemer" -- the "Green Jesus" accusations are NOT exaggerations) is written as somehow being free from blame and then turning around and SCOLDING JAINA for trying to avenge what his chosen successor did to her. Male after male does likewise, all scolding Jaina and telling her that while they chose not to intervene to save her people and her kingdom, they "must!" stop her. And how is Jaina finally stopped? Why, this vengeance-bound, ultra-powerful archmagus is soothed by the love of a man. That's right, after all this, the lesson is that irrational women can be saved by a few condescending platitudes from a handsome face. The Shattering: Prelude to Cataclysm wasn't great, riddled as it was by flaws, but it was better than this.

I am stupider for having read Jaina Proudmoore: Tides of War. It is an offense against feminism, masculinism, literature and World of Warcraft itself.(less)

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Sep 01, 2012 Michael Pate rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: world-of-warcraft

It is really amazing how much better the last few novels have been. It feels like since Stormrage Blizzard has really wanted to actually do novels that move the story forward and this one is no exception.

Jaina is a character who plays a prominent role in the game at times but really comes alive in the novels. She has always been kind of a tragic figure because of the whole Kael'thas/Arthas love triangle - it is hard to reconcile that the two men who once loved you became consumed by evil. And he...more

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Jan 22, 2013 Dave Kirlin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book surprised me. I figured it was going to be the same old hero defeats the bad guys and brings peace book.

It was much more realistic, and none of the characters were safe from dying, just like a fantasy novel should be. The writing was, for the most part, excellent in it's descriptions and the characterizations were amazing. In my opinion it's hard to bring high-fantasy characters to life, but the author managed to do just that.

The only thing I didn't like was the author's repeated use...more

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Sep 03, 2012 Michael Alexander Henke rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, video-games

The latest of the World of Warcraft novels, and one of my favorite so far. With the release of the Cataclysm expansion, Blizzard had said that the story of the game would be focusing more on the Alliance vs. Horde aspect, considering that the Wrath of the Lich King storyline had the Alliance and Horde working together. This book really takes that Horde vs. Alliance dynamic and runs with it. Garrosh Hellscream is the current Warchief of the Horde, and he is not satisfied with the current shaky pe...more

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Sep 10, 2012 Robb rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I really enjoy the Warcraft novels, and I know not to expect them to be the pinnacle of literature. That said, this book keeps pace with most of the books written in the Warcraft universe.

It's a quick entertaining read, I finished it in about three sittings. The story moved along and stayed interesting enough to keep me wanting to read more and more. Some of the highlights were strong enough to stir anger, sadness, and disgust; a hallmark of good writing and good storytelling.

My only complaint,...more

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Sep 10, 2012 Kimberly rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

Let me be completely honest: I'm not a reader of fantasy books. I've played World of Warcraft for 8 years (paladin!) and I think it's skeezy to ask us to buy books to give us additional story to a game we already pay monthly for. I've read bits and pieces of the other Warcraft books that my husband (warlock!) bought and left on the toilet tank. And I aways chuckled at the overt word count padding.

But I actually spent $12.99 cash on the ebook version of Tides of War. Why? Because I'm one of thos...more

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Aug 29, 2012 Jeremy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Fans of the "Warcraft" universe

I was of two minds about this book from the outset, given that the showcase character of Jaina Proudmoore is not one I've ever had great interest in. Personal foibles aside, however, I would say that this book is perhaps the strongest of the World of Warcraft offerings yet released - even managing to compete with and perhaps surpass my previous favorite in the series "Arthas: Rise of the Lich King." Kudos to Mrs. Golden for being able to spin a tale that reinvested me in a character for whom my...more

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Oct 16, 2012 Dana rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This review is going to have massive spoilers for World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria. You have been warned.

This is hands down the worst book I've read in the past ten years. This actually has nothing to do with Miss Golden, who I believe tried to do the best she did with the material she was given. In the past, she's actually done some great things for the Warcraft lore, such as fleshing out Anduin Wrynn's character. Bravo for that, Miss Golden. I appreciate her enthusiasm in bringing characte...more

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May 31, 2013 Adrian Nieto rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Well... as a fan of the game, it is obvious i love WoW's lore, that much is true.
In the other hand, i find some characterizations kind of didfficult to digest, especially forced appearances. Spoilers ahead, but in spanish.

Esperaba mas de Jaina y su justa ira hacia la Horda de Garrosh, por haber destruido su ciudad (Theramore). Hay varias cosas que realmente no encajan (especialmente Garrosh sobreviviendo una explosion que mato a los demas excepto a el), pero quiero creer que esos detalles, lej...more

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Oct 05, 2012 Caitlin (Ayashi) rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: video-game, fantasy

3.5 stars.

I enjoyed this book a lot, especially with the recent addition of "The Fall of Theramore" scenario that was added just before the previous MoP expansion. This book filled in all of the story questions I had related to the scenario, since the scenario was very lacking in story or explanation (on both horde and alliance sides).

The first portion of the book prior to the events of the in-game scenario was just heartbreaking -- knowing what was going to happen while reading of the hope thes...more 3.5 stars.

I enjoyed this book a lot, especially with the recent addition of "The Fall of Theramore" scenario that was added just before the previous MoP expansion. This book filled in all of the story questions I had related to the scenario, since the scenario was very lacking in story or explanation (on both horde and alliance sides).

The first portion of the book prior to the events of the in-game scenario was just heartbreaking -- knowing what was going to happen while reading of the hope these characters had, seeing the efforts that Jaina and others went through to try to protect the city -- I would be lying if I said I didn't tear up a few times.

Character death spoilers: (view spoiler)

The next section was a bit much for me. So much rage to an extreme level that I just wasn't expecting. I think it's possible for that to be written well enough to be believable, but for me it was difficult.

The closing section though brought things back for me. (view spoiler)

Anyway I enjoyed it quite a bit - solid installment of the Warcraft novels. Has some strange moments that may be a result of "What needs to happen in this novel" more than the writing. Sometimes the story has more telling rather than showing, and the romance felt unnecessary. But for anyone who is a fan of the Warcraft games, especially if you were looking for more story than the game gave you during The Fall of Theramore scenario, it should be a satisfying read.(less)

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Feb 05, 2013 Azula rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

This book can be called "Kalecgos the clumsy blue dragon" instead, because how dense can he be? Also, even though I dislike Garrosh very much and think that Mankrik's Wife would make a better Warchief than he does, I don't understand the way his character has been written at all. He acts like a scum most of the time with no apparent reason and is obsessed with Varian's ass to the point of looking like a retarded orc to the reader.
Jaina failed to provide the grrrrl powa Blizzard seemed to pursue...more

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Sep 23, 2012 David rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

If was possible for this Horde player to hate Garrosh any more than I already did, Christie took me there. Garrosh has shown time and again that he is nothing more than a bloodthirsty animal, hellbent on genocide of ALL beings. Even if he were successful in rooting out the Alliance, his thirst for war would lead him to attack the Tauren, Darkspear, then Undead and Blood Elves. Once only orcs are left, they would then fight amongst themselves and destroy Azeroth, just like the did their home worl...more

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Apr 07, 2013 Karl Thompson rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Not one Her best works, Christie Golden has a tendacy to explains the high emotional moments. A really annoy presumption to tell what the character is implying by their actions rather then letting stand for itself.

She has done it before in her other books but not so abundant as here.

As for the work itself, the project of the book was to drive a pacifist to a war monger. And though the events if the book and situation that arise it she succeeds. To an extent, her use of sacrificial lame ( her ap...more

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Sep 19, 2012 Josh rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

For tie-in fiction, this isn't too terrible. This one follows the typical formula: significant characters get lots of opportunity for speechifying, epic stuff happens, and things settle into a new status quo at the end. I feel like the wrap-up at the end is a little too pat and simple -- dictated by the power of plot... I mean prophecy!

I would only recommend this if you are a fan of the Warcraft setting, and want to keep up on some of the current background stuff driving events in the MMO. Like...more

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Feb 06, 2013 Samantha rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have to hand it to Christie Golden, this is probably one of her best Warcraft books yet. I think I've read most of the ones she's written, and I was amazed at her exploration of the characters and their losses and emotions. I understand the segue between Cataclysm and MOP much better, as well as the background of the fall of Theramore. There were several times in this book I was nearly in tears.

Even if you've never played World of Warcraft, most of the books are a good dive into fantasy. The...more

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Nov 04, 2012 Lynda rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: wow

"A really good, fast read. Christie Golden knows her Warcraft and knows it well. She has an amazing grasp on the woman and what exactly is going on inside her head. Tides of War is at its core a story of transformation, of accepting that all things, be it beliefs, standards, or friendships, will inevitably be tested. It's a story of uncertainly trying to find a place in a world that seems to have no place for you, be it as a diplomat inexplicably standing for peace in a time of war or a flight o...more

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Sep 05, 2012 Angie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

OK, in the last year Jaina Proudmoore has really become my favorite nonplayer character, so I HAD to read this. It is what it is; a videogame tie-in book meant to provide some background to an upcoming in-game event and (hopefully for Blizzard) hook in more monthly subscribers. I get that.

Christie Golden may not be a great American novelist, but she does justice to the characters and settings. That's good enough. (view spoiler)...more

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Jun 05, 2013 Amy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a wonderful book. So far great surprises. I can't wait for 9/18 to see this happen in game. :D

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About Christie Golden

Award-winning author Christie Golden has written over thirty novels and several short stories in the fields of science fiction, fantasy and horror. She has over a million books in print.

2009 will see no fewer than three novels published. First out in late April will be a World of Warcraft novel, Athas: Rise of the Lich King. This is the first Warcraft novel to appear in hardcover. Fans of the youn...more Award-winning author Christie Golden has written over thirty novels and several short stories in the fields of science fiction, fantasy and horror. She has over a million books in print.

2009 will see no fewer than three novels published. First out in late April will be a World of Warcraft novel, Athas: Rise of the Lich King. This is the first Warcraft novel to appear in hardcover. Fans of the young paladin who fell so far from grace will get to read his definitive story.

In June, Golden’s first Star Wars novel, also a hardcover, sees print. Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi—Omen is the second in a nine-book series she is co-authoring with Aaron Allston and Troy Denning. Also in June comes the conclusion of Golden’s StarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga with the release of Twlight, the third book in the series. The first two are Firstborn and Shadow Hunters.

2004 saw the launch of an original fantasy series called The Final Dance, from LUNA Books. The first novel in the series, On Fire's Wings, was published in July of that year. The second, In Stone’s Clasp , came out in September of 2005. With In Stone’s Clasp, Golden won the Colorado Author’s League Top Hand Award for Best Genre Novel for the second time. The third book, Under Sea’s Shadow, is available only as an e-book

Golden is also the author of two original fantasy novels from Ace Books, King's Man and Thief and Instrument of Fate, which made the 1996 Nebula Preliminary Ballot. Under the pen name of Jadrien Bell, she wrote a historical fantasy thriller entitled A.D. 999, which won the Colorado Author's League Top Hand Award for Best Genre Novel of 1999.

Golden launched the TSR Ravenloft line in 1991 with her first novel, the highly successful Vampire of the Mists , which introduced elven vampire Jander Sunstar. Golden followed up Vampire with Dance of the Dead and The Enemy Within . In September of 2006, fifteen years to the month, The Ravenloft Covenant: Vampire of the Mists enabled Jander Sunstar to reach a whole new audience.

Other projects include a slew of Star Trek novels, among them The Murdered Sun , Marooned , and Seven of Nine , and "The Dark Matters Trilogy," Cloak and Dagger , Ghost Dance and Shadow of Heaven .

The Voyager novel relaunch, which includes Homecoming and The Farther Shore , were bestsellers and were the fastest-selling Trek novels of 2003. Golden continued writing VOYAGER novels even though the show went off the air, and enjoyed exploring the creative freedom that gave her in the two-parter called Spirit Walk, which includes Old Wounds and Enemy of my Enemy .

Golden has also written the novelization of Steven Spielberg's Invasion America and an original "prequel," On The Run , both of which received high praise from producer Harve Bennett. On The Run, a combination medical thriller and science fiction adventure, even prompted Bennett to invite Golden to assist in crafting the second season of the show, if it was renewed.

Golden lives in Loveland, Colorado, with her artist husband and their two cats. (less)

More about Christie Golden...

Books by Christie Golden

Arthas: Rise of the Lich King (World of Warcraft #6)

Allies (Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi, #5)

Rise of the Horde (World of WarCraft, #2)

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Jaina Proudmoore: Tides of War (World of WarCraft #11)

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