Warcraft novels as a non-player

[Angelof]

I'm a World of Warcraft player (currently on break) and I read my first Warcraft novel, Rise of the Horde, a few months ago.

As a player, it was nice to read because it really supplements the lore shown in the game.

I'm curious if anybody read these novels without having played the Warcraft games. How did you like them as a non-player? :)

[Shawn]

I am in the same boat as you being a player and I have read all of the novels up to the the cataclysm ones which Ill delve into soon. I enjoyed the books as well and they definately gave alot more depth to the storyline...enough so that a non-player can follow without having to play. Perhaps enough to inspire them to play the game as well. My only complaint is that the timeline is extremely broken up. Much of the Burning Crusades storyline is missing unless you read the WoW manga stuff which I do not. Hopefully some authors will go back and fill in some of the gaps. The only issue I can see happening for a non player is that they most likely will be lost if they do not read the books in timeline order. Starting to read Arthas first will be bit hard to follow not knowing any of the backstory with not having either read the previous novels or played the game.

[Snarktastic Sonja]

I wonder if they would even appeal to a non-player. I have not read them, though I have considered doing so, as I assume they are a game rip-off. Even though I KNOW Chris Metzen is fanatical about the WoW universe. And everything goes through him. I find myself not able to follow the lore as I go through the quest zones - either because I am in too big of a hurry to level up or because I have done them so many times I am bored. Or both. :D

But I have NO desire to read Halo (et al) because I do not play those games.

For the Horde!
:D

[Nynniaw]

Heh, I recently started playing, and I make a point of reading every little information offered, as the WOW universe appeals a lot to me. In a sense, is very traditional, but the whole Horde/Alliance thing is pretty interesting. Also, the lich king.

Anyway, what is the order of reading for the novels? I haven't researched much, but the little bit I did got me with not much information.

[Shawn]

This is the site I used. It ends shy of the Cataclysm novels, which I believe was Stormrage then The Shattering after that, but it should be easy to figure out the recent timeline though. Hope this helps.

http://lorecrafted.com/timelines/2009...

[Esther]

have been playing since classic on a on-off basis and have always been thinking about reading them. the sheer volume has put me off so far since that would keep me from reading all the other good books there are. but might start after i finish my thesis. seems like it is worth it

[Sarah]

I am a warcraft player and have read a few of the books, I found they only have lore value, but very little entertainment value as they are quite poorly written. So if you don't play WoW, I honestly don't think you'd get a lot of enjoyment from them. Especially not if you read quality fantasy like Sanderson, Erikson, Jordan, etc. It just pales in comparison.

[[deleted user]]

Hi, It's a bit off topic, but I have a question and I think you could help me. I've played Warcraft I and II a long time ago and also some of III. I heve never played WoW and few months ago I've started playing Hearthstone.

Could you recommand me some Warcraft books to catch up on story and characters as a background for Hearthstone?

Thanks a lot, Errol.

[Angel]

As a non-player, I LOVED the Warcraft books!! My husband is a huge gamer and he used to play Warcraft all the time. The books actually made me want to play. (I did try it and got one lonely Level 71 druid, but it took too much time from writing so I stopped.) Even my husband stopped when there got to be too much drama in the raids. I do miss it sometimes though.

I've read about ten or eleven of them so far and what I love most about the books is the lore. No the writing doesn't compare to Sanderson, George R. R. Martin or Patrick Rothfuss as Sarah said above, but it moves at a quick pace and provides a great story and that's what I love about the series!