Beyond the Dark Portal (World of Warcraft) [Audio CD]

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Tantor Media; Unabridged edition
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400111455
• ISBN-13: 978-1400111459
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good characterization, weak plotting and set-up, June 3, 2009

By 

Brett "Reviewer" (Salt Lake City, UT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: World of Warcraft: Beyond the Dark Portal (Mass Market Paperback)

This book by Christie Golden continues the process of "novelizing" the classic Warcraft II computer and its expansion, Beyond the Dark Portal. The story centers around the characters Khadgar, Turalyon, Alleria, and so forth, and tells the story of the human expedition to defeat the Orcs in Draenor once they threaten the world of Azeroth a second time.

Golden, as in her earlier books, does a fairly good job of characterization. She tends a bit towards the "soft, misunderstood" side (she's not that great at making complex "evil" characters), but generally tries to create a decent characterization for the purpose of the story.

The weakness is in Golden's execution of both the story and setting. Although Golden didn't really have control over the sequence of events in either, it is really in her descriptions that the story shows its weakness. Golden is not great at describing either battles or greater strategic warfare within this novel, but more to the point, she fails to capture the SIZE and grandeur of the conflict. Remember, this is a war that devastated the greater part of a CONTINENT, in epic battles of warfare and magic - yet with Golden, you never really get a good feel for its size and scope.

I would strongly suggest you get this from a library first, before deciding on whether or not to buy it. Golden is a decent author, but she is clearly not the best within the Warcraft novel genre - that belongs to Jeff Grubb.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An amazing,well written Warcraft book., November 6, 2008

By 

Mr. Grace - See all my reviews

This review is from: World of Warcraft: Beyond the Dark Portal (Mass Market Paperback)

If you want to know more about the events of Warcraft 2:Beyond the dark portal,the backstory of WOW:The burning crusade,or just want to read a good Warcraft book then get your hands on this one.Rosenberg and Golden combined efforts in this book are amazing and you will enjoy every moment of reading.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great WoW novel and fantasy book, May 3, 2009

By 

S. Nisbet (Fort Belvoir, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: World of Warcraft: Beyond the Dark Portal (Mass Market Paperback)

Okay, so I am biased toward World of Warcraft novels. On the other hand, I have read WoW novels that I was sorely disappointed in. This, however, was not one of those.

The story follows the adventures of the wizard Khadgar, the High Vale elf Ranger Alleria Windrunner, and the Paladin Turalyon as they try to deal with Nerzhul, the original Lich King. Even if I wasn't a fan of the lore behind the game, I still would've enjoyed this novel. The authors do a good job of sticking to story-telling and writing a good fantasy novel, rather than just trying to make a product for WoW fans.