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Review of World of Warcraft: Paragons
With all the chatter surrounding Christie Golden's next novel, I have to admit I'd almost forgotten that World of Warcraft: Paragons was set to release today. It's definitely not your usual sort of novel, instead holding a collection of short stories lore fans are likely already familiar with, all tucked into one book for easy referencing -- but it also includes the long-awaited novella Blood of the Highborne, by Micky Neilson. That said, fans looking for new, current lore aren't going to find any in this particular collection. However, the book contains all of the leader short stories that were released over the course of Cataclysm's run, as well as a few other shorts -- Unbroken, the story of Farseer Nobundo, The War of the Shifting Sands, a piece that was released just before the launch of AQ40, and Road to Damnation, the story of Kel'thuzad, released just before the launch of the original iteration of Naxxramas all the way back in vanilla. It's Blood of the Highborne that really stands out among the collection, not necessarily because it's better than the rest, but because it's brand-new content that fills in a gap that's been missing in lore -- the conception and introduction of the Blood Knights of Silvermoon.
Recommended reading for Warlords of Draenor
Warlords of Draenor, the next WoW expansion, will feature a trip to a world we've only seen one version of. Although we've visited Draenor in game, it was the shattered version of a world post-Horde, taken over by Illidan Stormrage, his allies, and the Burning Legion. Now called Outland, there's very little to see of the old Draenor in the wake of Ner'zhul's disastrous attempt to open portals to other worlds in the hopes of continued Horde domination. In Warlords, we'll be visiting an alternate version of Draenor -- a version in which the corruption of the orcish race was halted. This alternate version will highlight and showcase former faces of old in a new light, through the meddling of Garrosh Hellscream. Now united as the Iron Horde, the orc clans of Draenor past have turned away from the Legion, instead embracing their strength on their own. But just because this is an alternate version of Draenor doesn't mean there isn't material out there to be found about these characters. The situation may be different in Warlords, but there's a pile of relevant material that will help players understand exactly why the cast of Warlords are a force to be reckoned with.
World of Warcraft: Paragons release date announced
World of Warcraft: Paragons finally has a release date set for an English edition -- March 31, 2014. The long, long awaited novel is a collection of the leader short stories currently available on Blizzard's website, as well as an all-new piece of fiction by Senior Writer and Voice Director Micky Neilson entitled Blood of the Highborne. Highborne will explore the origin of blood knights, the attack on Silvermoon, and the history of the quel'dorei -- a story many blood elf fans have been waiting to hear. Neilson's other works include the short story Unbroken, as well as Curse of the Worgen, Ashbringer, and Pearl of Pandaria. While Paragons was released earlier this year in Spain and France, the US release was nowhere to be found. We still have some time to wait before we'll see an English version, but at least we have a date to look forward to -- and preorders to place. You can preorder World of Warcraft: Paragons for the Kindle on Amazon, or for the Nook on Barnes and Noble for $5.99. At present time, it appears that the novel is only available for preorder in ebook format -- we have yet to see if a print version will be made available.
Green light for villain short stories
There was an exciting announcement for lore fans yesterday on Twitter from Micky Neilson, the publishing lead at Blizzard Entertainment. Over the last few years Blizzard has been working on various series of short stories, all available for free on their website, exploring different aspects of World of Warcraft. Micky has confirmed that the next short story series will revolve around the villains of WoW. Had to go through proper channels, but it's official: we'll be doing Villains short stories. AND... I'll be doing a Kael'thas story. - Micky Neilson (@MickyNeilson) September 10, 2013 If you've been following Micky's twitter feed, you may remember that he took an informal poll a little while ago, asking for fan preferences on which direction to take in the next collection of WoW shorts. Specifically, did we want leader updates that expanded upon the existing leader series, or something completely new featuring WoW's antagonists? It looks like the antagonists have won out. Personally, I voted for the villains, so I'm chuffed by the announcement. It's always a good writerly exercise to dig into the perspective of an unsympathetic, and even actively malicious, character. I think these stories have enormous potential and I can't wait to see who they choose to feature. We know at least this much: as it says in the tweet, Micky himself will be tackling Kael'thas Sunstrider.
Blood of the Highborne novella possibly on the way
The folks over at the Scrolls of Lore forums happened to dig up some interesting information in the form of the cover pictured above. Many fans of Warcraft lore have been waiting, somewhat impatiently, for the new novella by Micky Neilson titled Blood of the Highborne. In an interview last year about the graphic novel Pearl of Pandaria, Neilson mentioned the novella, suggesting that it would be included in a collection of the leader short stories released during the Cataclysm expansion. The novel found at Scrolls of Lore is titled World of Warcraft: Dechados, which was translated as World of Warcraft: Paragons. It seems an apt title for a collection of short stories about Azeroth's leaders -- and there's the fact that the translation of the description also mentions the inclusion of a novella. After doing some further digging, we managed to find a French version of the book as well. Both books suggest a September release date. At present time, there doesn't appear to be a peep about an English version of the collection, however -- and it definitely wasn't mentioned at the San Diego Comic Con Licensing panel this year, either. What's the fate of Blood of the Highborne? We aren't certain, but judging from the information found, it may be out sooner than we'd previously thought.
Quest for Pandaria concludes with part 4
The fourth and final installment of Sarah Pine's novella Quest for Pandaria was released yesterday on the official site. Part four of Chen and Li Li's journey takes them to the open seas, where they encounter a massive storm, and a tense face off between two ships, one Alliance and one Horde. While this is Chen and Li Li's adventure, the fourth part of this tale does a lot to highlight the feelings and tensions between the two factions in a meaningful way. And it also does a lot to clear up timelines. At the end of the tale, Chen and Li Li have witnessed the clearing of the mists surrounding the continent of Pandaria. This places the mist-clearing event somewhere just before the attack on Theramore Isle depicted in both scenario and the novel Tides of War. Unfortunately, the tale did little to clarify what exactly made the mists part in the first place ... which means this may be one of those important plot points we'll explore later in the expansion. Quest for Pandaria served as a an excellent introduction to Mists of Pandaria, and a wonderful bridge between the graphic novel Pearl of Pandaria and the new expansion. Part four is full of emotional moments and characters that you really don't want to miss. You can read part four, or the story in its entirety, in the Expanded Universe section of the official website.
Quest for Pandaria part 3 now available
You know, of all the things I mourned about Cataclysm, I think highest on the list would have to be the fate of the tol'vir. Despite being a fascinating race in their own right, one that was absolutely ripe for potential, their story was overshadowed by yet another jaunt with Harrison Jones. It was disappointing, particularly because the end of the tol'vir story arc was so open-ended. What happened after the war was completed? What of the tol'vir now? Quest for Pandaria attempts to answer a few of those questions in its latest installment as Chen Stormstout and his niece Li Li continue their search for the lost continent. Upon heading to the sandy deserts of Uldum, both Chen and Li Li come face to face with the aftermath of the tol'vir war -- and deal with the consequences of the fallout in their own way. It's another small glimpse of the elusive tol'vir race, this time illustrated through the eyes of complete strangers to tol'vir society. And it's also another well placed step towards rounding out Chen's character. I love Chen Stormstout, and I love the direction they're taking him. This is the third chapter to the four-part story written by Sarah Pine, and I think it's my favorite so far. You can take a look at the chapter in its entirety in the Expanded Universe section of Blizzard's official website.
Blizzard short story Quest for Pandaria now available
Part one of Quest for Pandaria, the newest addition to Blizzard's online collection of short stories, has been released on the official website. The events in Quests for Pandaria take place directly after the graphic novel Pearl of Pandaria. While Pearl of Pandaria's release date is still slated for the 25 of this month according to Amazon, some have been reporting that the graphic novel is already available in bookstores. As for Quest for Pandaria, the story continues where Pearl left off with Li Li Stormstout and her Uncle Chen safely home on Shen-zin Su. But while Uncle Chen seems to be happy and even content with his return to the island, Li Li finds herself growing more and more restless and discontent. Will her thirst for adventure lead to lands long thought lost? Or will she find herself dragged back home against her wishes? Today's release was just the first section of the four-part story, so some answers will have to wait. But it's a compelling tale that's beautifully written by Sarah Pine, author of Garrosh Hellscream: Heart of War, and the 2008 Global Writing Contest winner In the Shadow of the Sun. Please note that Quest for Pandaria does contain plot elements from Pearl of Pandaria. If you're planning on picking up the graphic novel, you may want to hold off on this short story until you've read the book. You can find Quest for Pandaria, along with all of Blizzard's other short stories, in the Expanded Universe section of the official website.
