Customer Reviews

Cycle of Hatred (World of Warcraft) (Bk. 4)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

Before we start, I'd like to confess that I only made it to Chapter 7 before throwing this book against my wall, to lie forever alone and dejected beneath the chair it slid under. This book is a travesty of both the English language and the Warcraft universe it purpotedly takes place in.

Why do the orcs and humans have Southern accents? Why is Thrall a mysoginist who considers women unfit for a warrior's duty, despite his strong, heroic mother? Why did Blizzard actually allow this book to be published?

I'm a Warcraft geek, as you probably are, too, if you're considering buying this novel. I love the universe, and the heroic characters within it. I've argued that certain races should be affiliated with one side or the other, and whether the Horde of the Alliance are the true "good guys" of Warcraft. I even edit the Wikipedia entries. And so, as a fellow geek and fan of the setting, let me warn you: do not waste your money on this garbage.

This book sucks. I'm embarassed to have owned it.

This is without a doubt, the worst warcraft novel ever written. I have read and own all the warcraft novels ( and the manga as well), and for the most part they are well done and greatly add to the richness of the Warcraft universe.
The plot is flat, easily guessed in advance and reveals no new lore. The characters are stale, and worst and most unforgivable of all, the staple characters in the novel don't act at all as they should. I wonder if DeCandido did any research at all before writing. He makes Jaina look stupid and severely downplays her power as a wizard, while increasing her importance to the alliance. He makes Thrall even stupider and a woman hater, which is laughable considering he of all members of the horde actually fights for womens rights.
If we are lucky DeCandido, will never be allowed to pen another Warcraft novel. Do yourself a favor and stay away from this one, unless you can bear to see your favorite characters butchered ( personality wise) in an effort to glean what little lore this novel possesses.

See that phrase I wrote above? Keith R.A. DeCandido puts this type of phrase with the word "latter" at least once in every chapter. Considering the book takes a few hours to read, you end up coming by this word every 10 mins. It's like he based his sentences not around fitting to the storyline - but rather to fit his new found word in his book so he may look semi intelligent.....There are not many books I can say look like they have been written by a 15 year old (no offense SE Hinton), but sadly this is one of them.

Now I am a World of Warcraft freak - so anything that has to do with WoW, I will devour. This book wasn't bad. But it certainly wasn't good. I couldn't believe Decandido is a USA today's bestselling author....perhaps he wrote the phonebooks one year and they brushed aside the fact everyone gets one, and deemed him a bestseller? Who knows.

All I know is that I don't recommend you spending any money on this book. If you find yourself stuck at grandmas house for the day and have nothing to do other than watch her nod of from her afternoon morphine nap - then you find this book in the ditch while sneaking one of nannys menthols....perhaps you might enjoy a few hours of Mr. Decandidos repetative blabber.

- epi

This book holds the honor of being the only book I have ever thrown in the garbage in anger before finishing. It's a terribly written book with a mediocre plot. Checking the author's personal web site revealed why he painted the characters the way he did. The plot just seems to ooze with the author's personal socio-politcal beliefs which might not be a bad thing if such beliefs furthered the plot along. It's not enough for the author to paint women as strong and influential (which is often done, and done well, in the Warcraft universe). No, the author also has to paint nearly all males in the book as mean and/or ignorant. I'm not hard to please when it comes to fantasy novels but this book was unbearably bad. If you're craving some more Warcraft lore, go back and re-read one of the books by Knaak, Golden, Rosenburg, or Grubb. I read them and enjoyed them all. How Blizzard let this book slip by their quality control is simply beyond me.

this is definitely the worst of the warcraft book series...
a large portion of the novel just doesnt feel like it belongs in the warcraft universe... the method with which the differing races communicate, their approach towards each other, it feels like it was written by a child... like a 5th grade project or something... terrible

I've read all of the Warcraft novels released thus far, played all the games, and spent 2 years playing World of Warcraft. Knowing all that coming into this book, I was left with feelings of disappointment when I finished.
The book really brings nothing to the table concerning the major characters of Jaina and Thrall. As other reviewers have noted, they just don't seem like themselves in this book compared to how we've seen them characterized in the past. The main villain is hardly memorable and just seems to be thrown in as a plot device rather than fleshed out into something evil and interesting.
The saving grace for this book is a deeper look into the history of the Guardians of Tirisfal and Aegwynn. Other than Jeff Grubb's The Last Guardian, there doesn't seem to be much out there on this chapter of Warcraft's history. Even that isn't enough to justify purchasing the book though.
This book is only for hardcore fans who can tolerate a bad book, or for those who absolutely have to experience all things Warcraft. I'd recommend Richard Knaak's Warcraft novels if you're just looking at diving into Warcraft books.

I was excited to start reading this book when I got it. I was a little disappointed though. It's not a BAD book, it's just not good. The plot is not strong and there isnt enough character developement. Most of the book is people standing around talking about who did what and discussing the past. I thought the book started strong and there are some high points and interesting characters, but when I finished the book I remember thinking... "that's it?"

World of Warcraft: Cycle of Hatred, by Keith R. A. DeCandido

Set a year prior to the opening of the World of Warcraft MMO, "Cycle of Hatred" would perhaps better be titled "Cycle of Blah." Unlike most novels set in the Warcraft universe, this one doesn't really add anything at all to the world.

The plot is mediocre and has no twists or turns - it's straightforwardly flat. You easily guess what's going to happen. Jaina Proudmoore and Thrall aren't true to their established characterization; it feels like the author didn't do any research before writing this book. There are three strong female characters in the book; DeCandido constantly harps on how a woman has to work harder than a man to be in power. It's very overdone, and I was rolling my eyes the second time it came up, let alone the third, the fourth, etc. The characters and plot feel very flat, very one dimensional.

For me, this is the worst of the World of Warcraft novels. I've read all multiple times, and this is my least favorite and the least enjoyable. It's blah - not good, not bad - just blah. If you're a WoW player, or curious about the universe, and want to read some of the books, I recommend you pick something other than this one.

1/5.

I picked this up after reading and thoroughly enjoying Richard Knack's War of the Ancients trilogy. All I can tell you is to stay away from it. The plot is unimaginative and plain boring, it lacks any type of character development, and just over all is pretty poorly written. I'll continue to read the other Warcract novels, but I'm going to stay away from this particular author from now on.

When compared to other World of Warcraft books such as the War of the Ancients trilogy this book is highly disappointing. There is little to no character development. The story itself is completely predictable and offers no real hook or suspense to it. Perhaps the most disappointing thing about this book is the use of Rexxar as a plot hole filler.