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World of Warcraft: Vol'jin: Shadows of the Horde cover reveal
Blizzard Entertainment was kind enough to send us the never-before-seen cover art of upcoming novel Vol'jin: Shadows of the Horde by Michael A. Stackpole. It appears that not only will this novel focus on Vol'jin, but Chen Stormstout will play an integral role, too. The book's back cover reads: Warchief Garrosh's assassins strike at Vol'jin, leaving him at death's door. But fate smiles on the wounded Darkspear leader when renowned brewmaster Chen Stormstout transports him to the safety of an isolated mountain monastery. There, Vol'jin wrestles with old hatreds smoldering between the Alliance and the Horde as he struggles to recover alongside a mysterious human soldier. Yet this is only the beginning of Vol'jin's worries. Soon, he becomes embroiled in an invasion of Pandaria launched by the Zandalari, revered trolls driven by dreams of conquest and power. This ancient tribe offers Vol'jin a chance to seize the glory that is the birthright of all trolls... an offer made even more tempting after Garrosh's brazen treachery. Amid these troubling events, Vol'jin is rocked by intense visions depicting his race's grand history. As he questions where his loyalties lie, he knows he must make a choice about his own destiny that could save his people or damn them to languish under Garrosh's heel. Vol'jin: Shadows of the Horde is currently slated for release July 2, 2013.
Blizzard talks Shadows of the Horde, other projects at NYCC
Blizzard took the opportunity at the New York Comic-Con this week to announce a slew of projects including the eagerly anticipated novel Shadows of the Horde by Michael A. Stackpole, featuring Vol'jin, chief of the Darkspear trolls and unofficial Horde 'loyal opposition' to Warchief Garrosh Hellscream. Now we have details on the various projects from the official site, and they're pretty tantalizing. In addition to learning more about Shadows of the Horde (bad stuff happens to Vol'jin, I can say that much without spoilers) we also learned more about other upcoming books and eBooks, such as the World of Warcraft Tribute: Art Book, produced by UDON, the collected Diablo III: Heroes Rise, Darkness Falls eBook that gathers all the class short stories from the Diablo III website (the Barbarian one was really good), and Richard Knaak's upcoming Dawn of the Aspects eBook dealing with the history of the Dragonflights and their fate in the post-Cataclysm world. Definitely go check it out. Mists of Pandaria is here! The level cap has been raised to 90, many players have returned to Azeroth, and pet battles are taking the world by storm. Keep an eye out for all of the latest news, and check out our comprehensive guide to Mists of Pandaria for everything you'll ever need to know.
Star Wars/Battletech scribe Michael Stackpole to write new WoW novel
It's been a while since we've seen a new face write a WoW novel -- novels have been alternating pretty steadily between Christie Golden and Richard Knaak for a few years now. It looks like we've about to see some new blood in the lineup, though. Former tabletop designer Michael Stackpole, probably best known for his Star Wars and Battletech books, is confirmed by Simon & Schuster to be writing an untitled World of Warcraft book due out in early 2013. By the timeline, it's safe to assume that the book has something to do with Pandaria and the events surrounding it, but I'm sure we'll find out in the nine months before it comes out. In the meantime, you can check out Stackpole's website, where he offers advice for casual writers and fanfiction authors who want to get published, or get acquainted with his writing by picking up one of his many books. Wait, hold up, this dude designed Wasteland? Damn, maybe I'll buy five books instead of one.
