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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great read, too short to buy, March 8, 2003
I have played Warcraft since 1993 so I had to read this. If I had recognized the author's name I may not have bought it though since I hated her book "Vampire of the Mist" (1st book in the Ravenloft series). However I'm glad I read this since it provided depth and background that was sorely lacking in regards to the orcs. Instead of stupid savage brutes bent on destruction, Warcraft3 portrayed them as noble and civilized, but there wasn't too much story there (it was only a game though so I'm not complaining). Thrall's character is completely revealed and I actually cared about him. The antagonist was well done also as I wanted Thrall to kill him, but the author didn't make him a cheesy villian type; rather he was just an abusive SOB alcoholic. It's too bad these types can't get the sword more often in real life because the author made his character so realistic that I believe she has had experience with these people. Overall the plot was interesting, although it mainly just introduced a portion of the Warcraft world (just like the other two Warcraft books). The character development was excellent. The action was great too; it was exciting without the unbelievable heroics of a Jean Rabe character (yuck). My only criticism is that the book weighs in at a palty 278 pages, which I blasted through in about 2.5 days (it's very easy reading). This to me was not worth the seven bones plus tax that I coughed up for it. Better to borrow it.
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21 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Enjoyable but predictable, October 3, 2001
"Lord of the Clans," the second WarCraft novel (third if you count the eBook), is yet another worthy addition to the series. Taking place over a number of years, it takes place after "Day of the Dragon" and before "Of Blood and Honor." Basically, this book is just an adaptation of the cancelled adventure game of the same title that was in the works at Blizzard a couple of years ago. While Christie Golden doesn't have as fluid or readable a writing style as Richard Knaak, this book still flows very nicely, as it has a much smaller focus. Unfortunately, the story itself is very familiar - the outcast, in this case an orc, raised among humans as a slave and fighter, finds freedom, tries to fit in with his own people, and ends up, of course, excelling beyond all expectations. "Lord of the Clans" really has nothing to do with "Day of the Dragon," but the direction this series of novels seems to be taking overall is that of a lead-in to the game "WarCraft III: Reign of Chaos," in which it seems that the Orcs and Humans, if still not friendly, are at least fighting together against a common foe. "Day of the Dragon" started out somewhat boring, with lots of expository writing, and served to introduce us to the various races of the Alliance at the end of the time of WarCraft II - namely Humans, Dwarves, and Elves. By the time of the beginning of "Lord of the Clans," the wars are over - the Orcs are essentially wiped out or being kept in large internment camps. This novel is about an Orc named Thrall, raised by humans as a gladiator, who has also picked up some other human traits - mercy, tactical thinking, and has also managed to pick up on the nobility of the Orcish clans before they were united by the evil Gul'Dan into the Horde. Thrall, once he gains freedom, begins a quest to find out who he is and ends up becoming...well, the title says it all. This book gives us a fair amount of background on the Orcs, and is in fact very readable. Aside from a glaring grammatical error right on the first page, I found very few typos, although this novel does suffer, though not as badly, from the same problem that plagued "Day of the Dragon" - how hard would it be for them to copy a map from an old WarCraft manual and stick it in the front of the novel? Overall, this book isn't technically as good as "Day of the Dragon," but it's very readable, and the relationships don't seem quite as forced in this book as in the previous one. J.R.R. Tolkein it's not, but "Lord of the Clans" is an engaging and entertaining fantasy novel in its own right, setting down an important chapter in the history of the World of WarCraft.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent introduction to Warcraft III, November 24, 2003
When I purchased Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos well over a year ago, Future Shop included many free items with the game, including this book. At first I thought the book was going to be really cheesy and lame, but I decided to start reading it one night anyways. I was very impressed with the book. Right from the get-go, there is a great story. Any fan of the Warcraft series will be able to relate to the book, and even those who aren't should be able to to pick it up and understand what's going on. Obviously, someone who hasn't played the game won't be familiar with all the names and characters mentioned, but you don't need to have a firm grasp on the Warcraft storyline to appreciate the actual book. I agree with most of the other reviews saying that the book is rather predictable, but it's predictable in a good way, I found. You don't feel bored reading it. You have a sense of knowing what will happen, but you still enjoy reading it when it does. The thing I enjoyed most about the book was the way it explains the transition from Warcraft II to Warcraft III. It perfectly explains the events leading up to Warcraft III. After reading this book and thoroughly enjoying it, I decided to pick up the other two books from the series. I didn't enjoy either one as much as this one, but that's not to say they were bad. Unlike the other two, this book fits right into the game's storyline. I think that's why I enjoyed Lord of the Clans much more than the other two. Conversely, some people may in fact enjoy the other two more because of this, since they are more independent, not relying on the game's story to form their own plots. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of the Warcraft games, and even encourage reading it before playing Warcraft III, since it gives great depth into Thrall's character in the game.
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