Warcraft: Durotan: The Official Movie Prequel

Just want to preface this with one major detail: This is not meant to be in continuity with her other book, Rise of the Horde.

I didn't realize the detail above when I first started reading it, and as an avid reader of the WoW novels and lore, I almost threw the book out the window after reading just the first chapter, so many details had changed. I did, however, come to realize a new perspective: If you read it as a retelling of the *Legend* of Durotan, the essence of the story remains the same. Draenor is still suffering, Orgrim and Durotan are still friends, and the Frostwolves are still the leading clan in rebellion against Guldan, the first orc warlock. The finer details have changed, which leads to a different story, but again: read it like a legend, not a history book. It was a very pleasant read, and I kind of like the new version of the story. Draka and Garona play vastly more significant roles in this version, whereas Garona wasn't even mentioned at all in Rise of the Horde. Looking forward to the movie!

I have read several of Golden's Warcraft books and thoroughly enjoyed them, and this one did not disappoint. As a prequel to the Warcraft movie, it does an excellent job of showing us what led to the orcs traveling to Azeroth in a way that even those unfamiliar with the game lore can understand. Yes, there are differences in lore here, and I think the choices Golden made in trying to simplify the story and history for those who are coming to Warcraft via the movie were quite smart.

Lore aside, it was an entertaining, exciting story. I loved reading the relationship between Durotan and Draka (I LOVE Draka!) as well as the close friendship between Durotan and Orgrim. An excellent read for both those who already love Warcraft and those who are coming to it for the very first time.

It's not the original story, but it truly embodies a Warcraft storyline. Originally Orgrim was not apart of the frost wolf clan and that seemed to bother me though the whole book. Regardless of the changes Christie Golden still writes a magnificent tale.

The book mostly felt like a series of random events collected for the sake of setting the scene for the upcoming movie. Most of the characterization was simply told to the readers, instead of shown. The characters react simply, always in alignment to their role, and the scenes play out with no clear resolution.

Christie Golden introduces us to some of the most iconic characters in the Warcraft universe, beloved as these characters are there are a few differences in the movieverse that some of us readers/gamers/loregeeks will immediately notice. These differences serve to enhance the readers experience going into the Warcraft film, I can only hope for the story telling in the movie to be as good as the story telling in this book.

Blizzard decided to change the lore of Warcraft for the upcoming movie. It's hard to be overly critical of this book as a prequel to the movie, because it accomplishes what it sets out to do - it introduces the movie version of Durotan; however, having read the other books, including three of Christie Golden's other WoW books, its really hard not to be influenced by them.

The characters feel flatter. The book doesn't really paint a story of why Durotan and Ogrim are friends, or why Durotan falls for Draka. We're just told these things as fact and they're not painted for us the same way they were in Golden's "Rise of the Horde." It's hard to critique the ending without being spoilerish, but in broad terms, the ending seems a little jumbled. The book never really gets straight what the problem with Draenor is. Where it tries to offer some answers with the fading Spirits and the Red Walkers, there's a bit of chicken and the egg confusion toward the end.

If you see the movie and want to know more about the character of Durotan, then you'll probably get some enjoyment out of this book. If you are a fan of the games first, I would avoid it.

Incredible. Honestly. I have been a World Of Warcraft player since 2004, and have played WarCraft 2 and 3 more than enough. This drew me to the book because of the lore those games.
This book captivated me from the start, and was always intriguing. Let me just start by saying I am not a reader normally! The only novels/stories I have personally read through are the Lord of the Rings books and The Hobbit. I picked up this book about 4 days ago and could not put it down. I even fell asleep reading it late at night because of how much I wanted to find out what was going to happen to Durotan and his clan. This book obviously follows the movie lore rather than the game, but the world and characters are refreshingly familiar. The orcs are such a rich race, and this book really delves into the side of the Frostwolves that I never even knew existed before.
The plot was well developed and fluid, with no dragging out of events or lulls of explanation. If you have not yet or are thinking about picking up this book, do it! You will love it.

This book met my expectations plus some. It really gets you a feel for the tradition and life of the Frostwolves and the plague that starts to overtake Draenor.

Read it. Especially if you will be going to see the movie.

Everything about this story is wrong, and if the movie follows this path I’m going to be angry.
-Let me pause and say I have no issue with writing or the telling of this story other than it spits on the current lore.
Orgrim was never a frost wolf. He was a part of the Blackrock clan. It dismisses the idea of the Orcs festival in Nagrand. While it is true that the clans tend to stick with their own they all come together for this festival, and where Durotan and Orgrim become friends. It talks nothing about how all the Orcs drank from the demon’s blood. That it was Ner’zhul first, and Gul’dan second. Nothing about the war / massacre of the Draenei that the frost wolves participated in. It was because of this war that the spirits pulled away from the Orcs, and so the Orcs turned to the Demons magic, and introducing the first Orcish warlocks. Please, just read Rise of the Horde.