Warcraft #1: Day of the Dragon [Import] [Unbound]

Richard A. Knaak (Author)

Product Details

• Unbound
• Publisher: Pocket Books (June 2001)
• ISBN-10: 0743423151
• ISBN-13: 978-0743423151
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Richard A. Knaak is the New York Times bestselling author of some three dozen novels, including the The Sin War trilogy for Diablo and the Legend of Huma for Dragonlance. He has penned the War of the Ancients trilogy, Day of the Dragon and its upcoming followup, Night of the Dragon. His other works include his own Dragonrealm series, the Minotaur Wars for Dragonlance, the Aquilonia trilogy of the Age of Conan, and the Sunwell Trilogy -- the first Warcraft manga. In addition, his novels and short stories have been published worldwide in such diverse places as China, Iceland, the Czech Republic, and Brazil.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sors immanis et inanis, rota tu volubilis..., March 21, 2001

By 

Nathan (Wilmington, DE United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Day of the Dragon (WarCraft, Book 1) (No.1) (Mass Market Paperback)

I am pleased to say, and surprised to find myself saying, that Day of the Dragon far exceeded my expectations in nearly every way. I was skeptical when I picked this novel up off the shelf - I expected typical fantasy series fluff, meaning mediocre writing, little plot, and adequate characters. However, the world of WarCraft has been well and lovingly developed by Blizzard since day one, so there was an abundance of backstory to draw on - and draw on it Knaak did. As has been noted by other reviewers, this story starts a little slowly and overwhelmingly simply because of the sheer amount of backstory dumped on the reader. Fortunately, this information is buffered by a much more complex plot than I would have had expected, engaging characters, and solid if not exactly evocative writing.

Picking up sometime not too long after the events of the game WarCraft II (you certainly need not have played the game to understand the book, but having played it sure adds some depth to this novel), the Orcs have pretty much been beaten. Most of them are held in internment camps, but those still holding their conquered lands are fighting every step of their retreat. Their one true asset is the Dragonqueen, a dragon that they captured during the war, and have been breeding for dragons with which to terrorize their human, elven, and dwarven enemies. Enter Rhonin. A maverick Mage, he has been an outcast since his last mission ended in disaster. He is sent on a quest to observe the Orcs' movements by the Magi council, and on an additional, secret quest by one of the head Mages - to free the Dragonqueen, thus ending the Orcs' airborne reign of terror (and in the process redeeming his own failure and allowing him to regain a position with the Magi). Meanwhile, a mysterious nobleman, Lord Prestor, plays the leaders of the Lordaeron Alliance like instruments, bending them to his will and having himself named heir to the Lordaeron throne. Moreover, and perhaps worst of all, chaos-loving Black Dragon DeathWing is up to something, which can only mean no good for the forces of humanity. As all of this ties together, we get a solid novel with good character development, great suspense, and a slam-bang climax.

I had only two qualms with this novel. One was the lack of any sort of cartographic assistance. In the WarCraft II manual there was a perfectly good map - one to which I found myself constantly referring to figure out exactly where various events were taking place. It would have been a simple matter simply to include the map in the front of the book. My second problem is humor. Though the WarCraft games told a serious story, the games themselves were loaded with humor, none of which makes its way through to this book. It would have been a nice touch just to hear a character spontaneously shouting, "Stop poking MEEEE!" Make that three qualms. I thought that the obvious and almost obligatory love emerging between Rhonin and Vereesa was not handled well. It seemed more like a lust/duty relationship than any kind of true love.

This book paves the way for the canceled-game-cum-upcoming-novel Lord of the Clans, and has a whole bunch of hints and foreshadowing towards the forthcoming game WarCraft III. Overall, I'd say Richard Knaak has interpreted the world of WarCraft perfectly, with the result being a surprisingly good, engaging, and interesting fantasy adventure novel. Hopefully the next novel in the series will be this good. Recommended.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An outstanding read!, August 8, 2003

By 

Michael Pappalardo (Ronkonkoma, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Day of the Dragon (WarCraft, Book 1) (No.1) (Mass Market Paperback)

As a long time fan of the Warcraft games, ever since its humble beginnings in the early 90's, I have often wondered about the battles that you do not hear about or participate in during the game. Day of the Dragon is an excellent story set in the final days of the Second War, after the tremendous victory of the Alliance over the Horde.

I found this book impossible to put down. Normally, a book based on a video game would be received as silly and pointless. Not so with Day of the Dragon. The Warcraft saga itself has a huge, detailed story, which has always been the backbone of the games. Bringing the story to novel form not only proves to be a great idea, but a huge success as well. I felt strongly for the characters in this book, and everytime I told myself that I was going to read 'just a few more pages', I ended up spending another hour tearing through the book.

True fans of Warcraft have always appreciated the deep story, and Day of the Dragon delivers. When the Second War ends, the Alliance forces begin to round up the last of the Orcs. However, internal struggles within the Alliance lead to border disputes and even the threat of war between the once allied nations. When a mysterious individual befriends noble King Terenas of Lordaeron, he is chosen to be the new leader of Alterac, a nation that betrayed and was ultimately subjugated by the Alliance during the height of the second war.

The Kirin Tor of Dalaran is alarmed that they have not been informed about this, and yet a bigger threat still remains. The Dragonmaw clan still maintains control over the once free and noble Dragons. The conclave of mages selects a young, trouble-making yet resourceful wizard named Rhonin to look into this matter, accompanied by a beautiful and devoted elven ranger. Along the way, they will make new allies, and face new enemies...as well as a terrifying nemesis thought killed during the second war.

This book kept me reading from beginning to end. The author's storytelling is superb and all of the facts in the book are true to Warcraft lore. There were virtually no inconsistencies, and the descriptive imagery strongly reminded me of the Warcraft games, and I was able to picture all of the events with ease. My only gripe is that the ending seemed a little rushed, as if the author realized he was running out of time or nearing his limit and had to close several of the loose ends rather quickly. Otherwise, the shocking twists and surprises in this book, combined with the excellent action sequences and engaging dialogue make this a great read for any true Warcraft fan. I recommend this strongly to those versed in Warcraft lore however, since those unfamiliar with the games may find the read too confusing or difficult, with many questions that onlyWarcraft veterans would know. Otherwise, this is probably one of the best books i've read in a while.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A solid fantasy novel by a very respected author!, February 13, 2001

By 

Ron Cole - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Day of the Dragon (WarCraft, Book 1) (No.1) (Mass Market Paperback)

I don't know any other way to put it: The beginning of this novel is slow, and lacks Richard Knaak's usual beauty and intricacy. Blame it on the need to establish the world for new readers, the importance of making the major characters known, whatever - the bottom line is, it starts off slow, and seems like it will be just another "generic" fantasy novel.

But then it starts picking up speed, and once you're through the first half of the book, you're hopelessly addicted. The plot becomes more complex than it first appears, and major changes that affect the Warcraft line occur. But don't let the "Warcraft" label scare you off - this is not only a solid debut for Warcraft fiction, but a solid fantasy novel that you can read WITHOUT knowing anything about the Warcraft computer game.

Those familiar with the Warcraft RTS (Real Time Strategy) game, though, will find a number of interesting details to enjoy. Though I won't go into specifics (so as to avoid spoiling potential parts of the plot), one of my favorite parts was when a "peon" gets slapped around and works faster. If you play the game, that makes sense.. trust me. ;)