Book One of Cataclysm - World of Warcraft

After reading this book, I've never felt so pumped to play World of Warcraft- Christie seriously just made the expansion so much more fun for me now. Please, please, if you've read the other lore material for World of Warcraft, read this. Arguably the best written book in it's continuity, sans Rise of the Lich King. :)

christie has again exceded the expectations of this reader. just when you think the WoW books have run out of new interesting ways to interact the charactors and factions, a writer of this caliber surprises you with the twists and curves of a well written book. She has not been a disappointment.

This book was amazing. Once again I love Thrall, and Anduin Wrynn was well done as well. The development of Garrosh as a hotheaded leader of the Horde is perfect for keeping cross faction player hostilities going even after the peace treaty. Amazing introduction to Cataclysm!

I bout this book because i like learning the lore of the game. I enjoyed it very much. After reading it i had to roll a dwarf even though i dont like the alliance very much. I even somewhat no longer completely dislike Garrosh but i still cant stand him. Lol

I decided to give Christie Golden one last chance, but she has disappointed me again. Her writing is amateurish. Like something a promising high school student might write. If you can't live without reading all the WoW lore, it's not horrible, but I would not recommend it otherwise.

This is just another typical Christie Golden novel: boring, tasteless, lengthy and void of events. To say that it's a "Prelude to the Expansion" is the most overrated statement of the year. Deathwing is not even mentioned, and even the twilight cult are rarely seen. Those that can be called "events" can be summed up in no more than 2 pages. The rest is just fodder which would only waste your time.

Christie Golden excels at flattening the characters, and draining the game universe and races of all their taste and feel; and she perfectly does both in this novel.

To sum things up, don't buy this novel: you are doing your wallet and your precious time a favor if you would just read a short summary of it instead.

Christie Golden has a way with words like my wife has a way with changing diapers.

...no idea where I was going with that, but this novel was saved by the ease reading of Christie Golden and her ability to describe her environment. Not something that was needed, but i'm glad she wrote it.

WARNING: Review contains spoilers! Don't read if you don't want to know some major plot points!

Christie Golden has always been my favorite Warcraft author. Far better than Knaak (though thats not saying much). Here, she once again proves how amazing she is at writing Warcraft lore. This book was both sad and chilling. The Grimtotem coup and Cairne's death had me almost spitting with rage. Magatha has earned my eternal hatred. What happened to Magni, and then Moira's story, nearly brought tears to my eyes. They both misunderstood each other and I hope that Magni can be revived in the future so that he and Moira can have a long talk like they need to. Anduin and his storyline also intrigued me. The Light responding to Anduin like it did could easily mean he's going to become a priest or paladin in the future. His father wants him to be a warrior, but I can very easily see him becoming a paladin, since thats basically a warrior that can heal and touch the Light, and Anduin so wanted to help everyone in this book. His grief over the dead was very real and believable for a thirteen year old.

Thrall's interactions with Aggra were the only things in the novel that didn't seem perfect. He chose her for a mate rather fast, with very little build up. It almost seemed rushed and forced. I don't blame the author, she may have had a deadline to meet and may not have been able to add any more. With more build up, I could see Thrall and Aggra as mates. In this novel, I just couldn't. In this WoW player's mind, Thrall has always belonged with Jaina, human or not. Garrosh was also played in a more sympathetic light. Brash and hot headed, like his father, but also honorable, like his father. He is truly Grom's son in The Shattering, and I don't hate him anymore (I play Horde, and have hated Garrosh since he was a whiny brat in Nagrand), and think Thrall made the right decision making him Warchief. Saurfang would have been a good choice, too, but like Thrall thinks in the book, he's too set in the old ways and could not rally the Horde like Garrosh can (don't cleave me, Saurfang, but its true!)

This book evoked powerful emotions from me and I just couldn't put it down until I was finished, despite the minor flaws. Any author that can do this is truly amazing.

I got this book for Christmas and loved every page. It is really helpful if you want to understand the state of Azeroth in the Cataclysm expansion. It explains Thrall's departure from the Horde and the rise of Garrosh Hellscream. One of the key features of the book in my opinion is the development of the character Anduin Wrynn, son of King Varian. It is an interesting dichotomy between Varian and Anduin, one is hot-headed and aggressive, and the other is peaceful and temperamental. One of favorite parts of the story is the foundation of the friendship between Prince Anduin and Baine Bloodhoof, Chieftan of the Tauren. I personally hope that their friendship will be similar to the one between Thrall and Jaina Proudmoore, one of favorite relationships in the lore.
Speaking of which...Thrall is my favorite World of Warcraft character. His wisdom and strength has led the Horde well. But he has to leave. Thanks to this book I finally understand why he had to. Though I do think his relationship with Aggra did seem a little forced I think it was written well.
One of the things that was missing about this book is that it didn't go into detail about the Cataclysm itself.
A word of advice Christie Golden. I would like to see more books about than just Orcs, Humans, and Night Elves. I would like to see novels that focus on the other races of Warcraft. Gnomes, Tauren, Draenei, Blood elves, Trolls, and WORGEN! Gotta have more Worgen! As well as the other characters, such as Velen and Vol'jin.
If you are a Warcraft fan, buy this Book!

Disclaimer: This review is NOT a spoiler. Read on assured :)

This book is a well written fantasy read and could be enjoyed by folks who never experienced the WoW fictional world. However, if you've played the game for years, and know the characters from in game as I have come to, the story will hold that much more power for you.

My critique of Christie Golden's writing style: She provides the perfect balance of detail to aid your mind's eye in envision spectacular scenes, while moving a story quickly and not providing verbose, irritating descriptions. The only negative I could find in her writing style were too nominal to mention (frequent peculiar use of the word "so", particularly in dialog among completely different characters, overuse of "if" instead of "and" when describing with multiple adjectives, etc).

My critique of the storyline: Inspiring! This new twist in the Warcraft storyline takes a more powerful turn than any before and has left me more excited to play this damn game than ever before. Characters are as real and heart felt as ever, if not more, and the lore becomes truly intriguing.

I've read and reviewed many fiction novels. This is the first time I cannot find a reason to remove a star or comment on a negative. 5 stars, wonderful read.

**Warning: There are minor spoilers in this review.

Christie Golden's appropriately titled, The Shattering: Prelude to Cataclysm, covers the earthshaking events leading up to latest World of Warcraft expansion being released this winter.

The Shattering contains story arcs for both the Horde and the Alliance, with a few intertwining scenes to tie them altogether. Two of the major arcs are parallel to each other, but are set within the context of one of the two factions.

Golden navigates the reader through these plotlines masterfully. Alliance and Horde politics are entertainingly explained, and Golden performs her magic of fleshing out characters that most Warcraft fans vaguely have seen in other media or not at all; specifically, Anduin Wrynn and Baine Bloodhoof, whose storylines are the focus in this novel.

However, considering the length of the novel and its' purpose, the multiple story arcs does contain a few tangles. Some plot-lines are rather rushed, specifically Thrall's visit to Nagrand.

Thrall's journey involves a romance that came off rushed and unconvincing due to the limited screentime the two characters had. The romantic interest IS interesting as a character, but the way their relationship developed could've been better off developed later versus all at once in The Shattering.

Additionally, considering it's a novel containing both factions, there's a lot of names and locales exclusive to those factions that a casual fan wouldn't recognize. Golden tries to mitigate this by providing a brief background or title on anything notable, but it still can come off as a tangled net of pronouns.

At best, The Shattering will satiate your desire to know under what circumstances the Horde and Alliance go into the Cataclysm that will change Azeroth forever.

At worst, The Shattering might have have been better off as a collection of short stories.

Nevertheless, the narrative is gripping and as cliche as it sounds, it'll keep you going through the wee hours of the morning just to see how things resolve.

WARNING: Review contains spoilers! Don't read if you don't want to know some major plot points!

Christie Golden has always been my favorite Warcraft author. Far better than Knaak (though thats not saying much). Here, she once again proves how amazing she is at writing Warcraft lore. This book was both sad and chilling. The Grimtotem coup and Cairne's death had me almost spitting with rage. Magatha has earned my eternal hatred. What happened to Magni, and then Moira's story, nearly brought tears to my eyes. They both misunderstood each other and I hope that Magni can be revived in the future so that he and Moira can have a long talk like they need to. Anduin and his storyline also intrigued me. The Light responding to Anduin like it did could easily mean he's going to become a priest or paladin in the future. His father wants him to be a warrior, but I can very easily see him becoming a paladin, since thats basically a warrior that can heal and touch the Light, and Anduin so wanted to help everyone in this book. His grief over the dead was very real and believable for a thirteen year old.

Thrall's interactions with Aggra were the only things in the novel that didn't seem perfect. He chose her for a mate rather fast, with very little build up. It almost seemed rushed and forced. I don't blame the author, she may have had a deadline to meet and may not have been able to add any more. With more build up, I could see Thrall and Aggra as mates. In this novel, I just couldn't. In this WoW player's mind, Thrall has always belonged with Jaina, human or not. Garrosh was also played in a more sympathetic light. Brash and hot headed, like his father, but also honorable, like his father. He is truly Grom's son in The Shattering, and I don't hate him anymore (I play Horde, and have hated Garrosh since he was a whiny brat in Nagrand), and think Thrall made the right decision making him Warchief. Saurfang would have been a good choice, too, but like Thrall thinks in the book, he's too set in the old ways and could not rally the Horde like Garrosh can (don't cleave me, Saurfang, but its true!)

This book evoked powerful emotions from me and I just couldn't put it down until I was finished, despite the minor flaws. Any author that can do this is truly amazing.

I got this book for Christmas and loved every page. It is really helpful if you want to understand the state of Azeroth in the Cataclysm expansion. It explains Thrall's departure from the Horde and the rise of Garrosh Hellscream. One of the key features of the book in my opinion is the development of the character Anduin Wrynn, son of King Varian. It is an interesting dichotomy between Varian and Anduin, one is hot-headed and aggressive, and the other is peaceful and temperamental. One of favorite parts of the story is the foundation of the friendship between Prince Anduin and Baine Bloodhoof, Chieftan of the Tauren. I personally hope that their friendship will be similar to the one between Thrall and Jaina Proudmoore, one of favorite relationships in the lore.
Speaking of which...Thrall is my favorite World of Warcraft character. His wisdom and strength has led the Horde well. But he has to leave. Thanks to this book I finally understand why he had to. Though I do think his relationship with Aggra did seem a little forced I think it was written well.
One of the things that was missing about this book is that it didn't go into detail about the Cataclysm itself.
A word of advice Christie Golden. I would like to see more books about than just Orcs, Humans, and Night Elves. I would like to see novels that focus on the other races of Warcraft. Gnomes, Tauren, Draenei, Blood elves, Trolls, and WORGEN! Gotta have more Worgen! As well as the other characters, such as Velen and Vol'jin.
If you are a Warcraft fan, buy this Book!

Disclaimer: This review is NOT a spoiler. Read on assured :)

This book is a well written fantasy read and could be enjoyed by folks who never experienced the WoW fictional world. However, if you've played the game for years, and know the characters from in game as I have come to, the story will hold that much more power for you.

My critique of Christie Golden's writing style: She provides the perfect balance of detail to aid your mind's eye in envision spectacular scenes, while moving a story quickly and not providing verbose, irritating descriptions. The only negative I could find in her writing style were too nominal to mention (frequent peculiar use of the word "so", particularly in dialog among completely different characters, overuse of "if" instead of "and" when describing with multiple adjectives, etc).

My critique of the storyline: Inspiring! This new twist in the Warcraft storyline takes a more powerful turn than any before and has left me more excited to play this damn game than ever before. Characters are as real and heart felt as ever, if not more, and the lore becomes truly intriguing.

I've read and reviewed many fiction novels. This is the first time I cannot find a reason to remove a star or comment on a negative. 5 stars, wonderful read.

**Warning: There are minor spoilers in this review.

Christie Golden's appropriately titled, The Shattering: Prelude to Cataclysm, covers the earthshaking events leading up to latest World of Warcraft expansion being released this winter.

The Shattering contains story arcs for both the Horde and the Alliance, with a few intertwining scenes to tie them altogether. Two of the major arcs are parallel to each other, but are set within the context of one of the two factions.

Golden navigates the reader through these plotlines masterfully. Alliance and Horde politics are entertainingly explained, and Golden performs her magic of fleshing out characters that most Warcraft fans vaguely have seen in other media or not at all; specifically, Anduin Wrynn and Baine Bloodhoof, whose storylines are the focus in this novel.

However, considering the length of the novel and its' purpose, the multiple story arcs does contain a few tangles. Some plot-lines are rather rushed, specifically Thrall's visit to Nagrand.

Thrall's journey involves a romance that came off rushed and unconvincing due to the limited screentime the two characters had. The romantic interest IS interesting as a character, but the way their relationship developed could've been better off developed later versus all at once in The Shattering.

Additionally, considering it's a novel containing both factions, there's a lot of names and locales exclusive to those factions that a casual fan wouldn't recognize. Golden tries to mitigate this by providing a brief background or title on anything notable, but it still can come off as a tangled net of pronouns.

At best, The Shattering will satiate your desire to know under what circumstances the Horde and Alliance go into the Cataclysm that will change Azeroth forever.

At worst, The Shattering might have have been better off as a collection of short stories.

Nevertheless, the narrative is gripping and as cliche as it sounds, it'll keep you going through the wee hours of the morning just to see how things resolve.

NOTE: Some spoilers, primarily those I would expect someone who plays the game to already be aware of.

This book, while not entirely what I was expecting, was a good enough read. I was expecting this to cover Deathwing's plotting and his emergence from Azeroth, as well as the immediate aftermath - which, as others have said, it doesn't touch on at all. I don't think Deathwing was even mentioned. I was disappointed to not get some of Deathwing's story immediately prior to the Cataclysm as, after all, this expansion is really Deathwing's story. That is really why I gave it 3 stars instead of 4. I assume she wrote the story WOW developers wanted her to focus on, but I was definitely disappointed that it didn't tell the story I was expecting. I am hoping more of that will be told in Twilight of the Aspects.

On the other hand, we saw more of Thrall, which is always interesting. His romance didn't bother me as much as some others - ok, yes it was cliched and a bit sappy, but it's hard to have people fall in love without some cliche. It wasn't overdone, and it was a side plot rather than a main focus (as it should be). And, it's honestly probably about time that Thrall found a mate - that seems to be a mainstay of Orcish culture, and most of the other Alliance leaders have/had mates, so it makes sense that he would have one at some point as well. I have a feeling the relationship will get old in Twilight of the Aspects, though.

Unlike some others, I liked Anduin's portions of the story. While I agree it does defy believe that Jaina would send him into danger, I didn't think it ALL was as unbelievable as some others have stated. Anduin ruled for a time while his father was away, and for that and other reasons doesn't seem to be your typical teenager. Furthermore, I imagine it would be standard practice to groom future rulers by sending them on diplomatic missions, such as his to Ironforge. He served his purpose; to have a character present to show us Moira's story. Granted, a dwarf could have done it, but this way we were able to see both the Ironforge and Stormwind perspectives.

I really enjoyed Garrosh and Cairne (and Baine) as characters; I was not very familiar with either of them, so it was interesting to see them "in action". Garrosh was a much more complex character than I was expecting, given how he is portrayed by much of the gaming community. I really enjoyed the Cairne story arc. That said, I am wondering why Blizzard (as I assume they agreed to or dictated the overall plot line) decided to remove so many leaders at once? I take it they wanted a fresh generation of racial leaders, but I don't know why they decided to do them all at once. I suppose it adds to the chaos in the world following the shattering, but other than that I am not sure what purpose it serves.

All in all good read, if not what I was expecting. Worth it to follow the WOW story.

I really enjoyed reading The Shattering. It contains all the major events since the War against the Emerald Nightmare to the Cataclysm. The Shattering focuses on all the chaotic events that lead to the shattering of Azeroth. Garrosh Hellscream is the newly appointed warchief of the Horde, the alleigance of the orcs, trolls, tauren, undead, blood elves, and goblins. I really liked the shaman Thrall, the old warchief, as he was understanding, intellectual, and kind. Garrosh, however, is none of these. The plot of this book is really good. While Garrosh leads the Horde, the Ironforge dwarves have their own problems, with the death of King Magni. To make things even worse, Magni's estranged dark iron dwarf daughter Moira comes in with her dark iron subjects to take the throne. Back with the Horde, Cairne Bloodhoof, chieftan of the noble tauren, is slain as well. Baine, his son, must rise to the role of chieftan and fight the taurens old enemy, the Grimtotem. Varian, the king of the humans, is faced with his dual personality problems, Lo'Gosh the Gladiator and Varian Wrynn the king, as well as raising his son. Thrall had to leave his Horde to try and save the world from the ravaging elements who are upset because of the return of Deathwing, the corrupt Aspect of the Earth. Deathwing is a huge, molten dragon. With chaos erupting in Azeroth, heroes must fight against Deathwing and rediscover their broken, shattered world.

This may be the most epic warcraft book ever written!!!!! I am still wowed, speechless, and enthralled by what i just put down. I've never been this excited to play a game expansion in my life. I don't want to spoil the experience for anyone, so i will not hit on the plot scenarios of the book. So much happens. I got to understand characters i've seen in game for years so much more. Golden did her masterwork with this one. Also, is it just me or has blizzard's books just been kicking ass these last few years? Golden has been doing an amazing job, but even the other lesser talked about books like the manga and more have all been really good.

This is a must read. I just pre-ordered the game after reading the end. can't wait.

A wild ride from beginning to end. Anduin, son of Varian, has been through more in this book than legally should be allowed. Thrall I honestly do not quite know how he hasn't lost his mind yet, poor Drek'Thar and his visions, Garrosh and his war with Cairne...amazing from cover to cover.

The more I read these books (14 so far), the more I can envision Azeroth actually existing somewhere. One must remember, we do live in a universe of infinite possibilities.

To Christine Golden: Absolutely phenomenal job. A must read for fans of the game.

Final note: I only pray that if someone makes a movie out of these books, they do not butcher it like they have other books. And for the love of all that's good, leave Leonardo Decraprio off the list. I cannot personally stomach his acting...just my opinion folks.

This is probably the best book in the Warcraft franchise, next to Rise of the Horde. It holds the distinction of getting me to cry not once, but twice...and I don't really cry at books. I expected some of it, but a lot of it caught me off-guard. Definitely worth getting and reading and loving. Even if you've never read a Warcraft novel before now, you won't be lost. Even if you've just followed the Warcraft storyline and haven't played any WoW, you'll still understand. And if you do play WoW and haven't considered reading any of the Warcraft novels, you should read this one. Your playtime in Cataclysm will greatly benefit knowing about this bridge between the current storyline and where things are at the start of Cataclysm. Quests, cities, zones...it'll all make a lot more sense, even if you are like me and tend to not read the quest text beyond where to go or what to gather.

I cannot wait for the expansion now! All my questions about the way things are at the start of Cataclysm have been answered, and I can't wait to participate in helping the story unfold even more!

A bit of warning, though. There's some fantastic artwork at the end of the book depicting various scenes in the novel, but don't look at them until you're done. One in particular was the thing that caught me most off-guard, and if I'd known about it ahead of time, the impact wouldn't have been nearly as great.

I purchased this novel doubting all the hype around it. I was proved wrong to be apprehensive.

It is a wonderful book. Whether you play world of warcraft or not you will enjoy the well developped characters and vibrant settings. A good balance of action, suspense and even a love story to boot.

This was a poor excuse of the brigde between wotlk and catayslism. I have played wow since two weeks before TBC and I have read Rise of the Horde [bad] and War of the ancients [really good]. The problem is the book is really predictable, has no true climax, nor does it explain why the world is shattering. I felt like this book was just a cash grab for blizzard and Golden.
The book did not explain anything the game did not go over. It did not introduce any new charcters or events. It did not exlain anything new in the game [classes, races, new eneimes] And she did a poor job explaining what things looked like. Deathwing got no mention in the entire bok and he caused the shattering. I would only recomend this book to a wow achievement slave.

This review has some, sort of, spoilers. Beware!

As many have mentioned, this is a enjoyable read, but I was seriously dissappointed in the information connecting it to the game. I play the game and the opening cinematic is short and once the game starts the world is changed. The actual Cataclysm is sort of just skipped over. Cities have been basically rebuilt, new regions exist, and life has moved on. I read the book to see the actual events and how the world became as it did. While the book does explain how somethings come to be, it also basically skips over the Cataclysm. When the Cataclysm does occur, I thought it was a regular earthquake. Deathwing, who actually causes the Cataclysm is never mentioned in the book and the Twilight's Hammer Cult is barely mentioned.

I would recommend this book to anyone that loves WoW lore or to anybody that loves to read science fiction. The author--Ms. Golden--enfolds her readers into a whole new world that you able to forget what is going around you; it's hard to put this book down once you get into it. I love this book, because it explains a lot what when on behind the scenes of the game that I play. I now know why people look at Thrall as a Hero; Ms. Golden shows her readers a different side of this character that you might normally not get to see when you play this mmorpg.World of Warcraft: The Shattering: Prelude to Cataclysm

...but not worth the full read unless the current expansion - Cataclysm - lore has you really confused. Considering the multiple story lines, this book would have been better served by much longer length so (1) the plots and narrative aren't so rushed, and (2) allow greater character depth. Otherwise, the single novel should have been broken up into short stories. (I suppose, though, the novel could be worse: it could've been written by Richard A. Knaak, instead.) I also add that this novel is more for readers with some knowledge of Warcraft lore - either from other Warcraft novels or the game itself.

I suppose a younger Warcraft fan will not mind these shortcomings, but for Warcraft players like me who are used to Isaac Asimov, David Weber, Mercedes Lackey... you can find something better to spend your money on. Check it out from a library instead.