So I went to the bookstore yesterday, intending to pick up either Tides of Darkness or Rise of the Horde. It turned out there was this Chronicles of War compilation that includes:

Rise of the Horde
The Last Guardian
Tides of Darkness
Beyond the Dark Portal

First impression? I absolutely love how the front cover is a blatant tribute to the "Orc vs. Human" poses of the original games, adapted to the modern looks that the characters have nowadays. Makes me giddy.

So yeah, I totally picked it up. I'm going to start with Tides of Darkness (since, as all of you know, the Second War is my favorite time period) and then go through chronologically after that.

And you know, I'm sure that as I read through these books, I'll get some more insight into canon. Already I've learned that Khadgar was from Dalaran--not Stormwind. The wiki article isn't so clear on that point. Likewise, I've learned that the "Nation of Azeroth" never changed its name in-universe to the "Nation of Stormwind"... that's just an out-of-universe change that applies to all of the nation's history.

And hopefully, through reading these, I'll be able to bury my misconceptions of the orcs as an inherently bloodthirsty race. I've made fun of Doomhammer for being a genocidal maniac and being little different than the Orcs who drank daemon blood, but I'm looking forward to having my mind changed. I'm ready for these books to show me the ways in which Doomhammer led his soldiers honorably, always seeking victory and noble conquest while at the same time lamenting the mad cruelty, the blind destruction and bloodhaze that his people had become infected by, standing as the distinction between proud warrior and evil murderous savage, setting a firm example for Thrall in his leadership and...

Umm... okay. It seems that Doomhammer is the same sadistically pragmatic badass that he was in the '90s. Good to know. Thrall had no freaking idea who Doomhammer really was, did he?


But no matter. There's still the chance that we'll see some of the distinctions between good and evil in this version of the Horde, particularly with the surviving SHAMAN as compared to the surviving Warlocks. You know, it's funny... in the video game Beyond the Dark Portal, the only Shaman we see is Ner'zhul, and he was little different than a necromancer or warlock in that game. But Ner'zhul had started to succumb to darkness by then, I realize, so he's kind of a poor example.

Here, I'm going to read about the awesome evils that the Warlocks wrought, from Gul'dan and his plans for wicked Death Knights and Ogre-Magi, to Nekros Skullcrusher and his plans for the atrocious enslavement of the Red Dragonflight...

Oh. So... it was a shaman's idea to enslave the red dragonflight. And Doomhammer agreed to it. And the warlock's role in all of this, was to succeed where the shaman failed and thus progress the interests of the Horde? Wow. I'm curious if Nekros is going to be portrayed as a Warlock hero, like I hear Teron Gorefiend is.

I really think Thrall needs to read this book.

* * * * *

But seriously, I am enjoying the story so far. And also seriously, I'm sure Rise of the Horde is going to give me insight into the nobility of the "untainted" Orcs that I have trouble believing, until I see it.

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Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge - Part Three