Customer Reviews

World of Warcraft: Beyond the Dark Portal

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Please keep in mind I am rating this at 5 stars for what it is; I wouldn't rate it at 5 stars in the whole list of books and literature. But, for a fantasy book based on a game, I think it's great. The orc chapters in particular, which I am assuming were written by Golden (as orcs seem to be her focus) were enjoyable. *SPOILER* I do wish there was more development as to why Nerz'hul reversed his "good guy" stance and became a "bad guy" - yeah, we know that Gul'dan's skull is tempting him, but why isn't he able to resist it? I enjoyed her portrayal of the other orc "heroes", and if this book is read in combination with Rise of the Horde, I think she still maintains the orcs as a sympathetic race. If you read this book alone they would certainly seem like they were being demonized, but I don't think it is really meant to be read alone. The alliance characters were a bit overly stereotypical, particularly Danath and Alleria with their burning desire for revenge, and the love story between Turlayon and Alleria felt a bit cliche. But, again, I doubt anyone is reading these and expecting A list literature; it is a readable, enjoyable story that explains the lore and history behind World of Warcraft. I got exactly what I was looking for, and I found it a quick and very enjoyable read (my favorite book since Rise of the Horde - although I am only half way through the series), so I give it 5 stars.

Received product as described. Thanks for a fast, easy and smooth transaction. Great experience and A+++ quality product would repeat anytime.

Parts of this book were really awful, but once again the overall story is fun. The plot is the only thing saving this from a 1 or 2 star review.
The point of view changes so often I had to keep rereading paragraphs to figure out what person "he" referred to.
When Turylon has his epiphany on why they must go through the portal, it completely contradicts why he was able to fight the orcs at the end of Tides of Darkness.
I thought the romance in the previous book was pointless, it was even more so in this one

I've read four or five of the World of Warcraft novels, and generally have found them pretty entertaining. Christie Golden's books, while sometime starting slowly, usually pick up and are very good. After I finished reading this, I looked back at the cover; surprised to see her name on it.

What happened to the orcs from the other books? Although they were ultimately defeated, those orcs were strong and challenging opponents to the Alliance. If you were reading those books and were unfamiliar with the lore, it was not inconceivable that the orcs would win. In this book, the Alliance rolled over the orcs at virtually every turn. They lost or ran from virtually every confrontation. Did someone replace the orcs from Azeroth with their first level counterparts from Dungeons & Dragons?

In order for the Alliance's victory to be interesting, it needs to be challenging. These confrontations were anything but. Just because the Alliance will win in the end doesn't mean that they need to win virtually every confrontation.


**Spoiler Section**

If the orcs were emasculated, what about the black dragons? They were dominated by dwarves on griffons, ogres, gronns and gnomes on tricycles (okay, I made the last one up). Best of all was Deathwing, the aspect of death was essentially defeated by a low level spell from a single mage.

*** End Spoiler ***

I'm glad this wasn't the first World of Warcraft book that I read, because if it had been, it would have been the only one.

I have read all of the WoW books I could get my hands on... and I have enjoyed almost all of them. This one was fun and a nice brainless read. I think I liked most WoW books so much because I spent 5 years of my life playing the game. Now, I'd rather read the lore than play so I find the novels a fun break from some of the more serious reading I do.

Novelization of the classic "Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness" computer game's expansion - "Beyond the Dark Portal".
The story centers around numerous key figures of both the alliance and Horde, and previews the "World of WarCraft: Burning Crusade" expansion's key areas. It tells the story of the original expedition to defeat the Horde in their homeworld of Draenor after they have threatened Azeroth a second time.

Golden's depiction of the character's invloved are true to the letter. Telling the tale of Ner'Zhul and his morbid side that would ultimately lead to him becoming the original "Lich King". You won't see the battles or warfare described in the novel as you would the game, but that is to be expected. Overall it is an excellent job by an author who is given material that has already "been written" and drafting it out into novel form. It is also an interesting look at how Draenor was devestated and destroyed from the world that it was to the continent that it became.

Many issues and points could have been elaborated on a bit more, but that would have easily turned both "The Tides of Darkness" and "Beyond the Dark Portal" into a trilogy (if not an entire series of it's own). \

This is a definate must-read for any fan of WarCraft or World of WarCraft alike.

World of Warcraft: Beyond the Dark Portal, by Aaron Rosenberg and Christie Golden

"Beyond the Dark Portal" is a novelization of the video game Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal. Because it is a novelization, the authors are somewhat limited in what they can do, but all said, it's a decent novel for Warcraft fans. I found it particularly useful for background on the previous Warcraft games, because while I haven't played them I have been an avid World of Warcraft player for a few years.

While most of the orcs left their planet to wreck havoc on Azeroth, some remained exiled on Draenor, or escaped back to Draenor through the Dark Portal after their disastrous war with the humans. Ner'zhul, the orc responsible for the corruption of the orcs, plays a starring role as he once again takes control of the remaining orcs on Draenor, reforming the Horde with the intent of finding another planet for the orcs to invade. The heroes of "Tides of Darkness," the previous book (and video game) in the series - Khadgar and Turalyon, learn of the orcs' plans and take the Dark Portal to Draenor, intent on stopping Ner'zhul to save Azeroth - and other worlds - from the devastation of the Horde.

I wish Christie Golden had solo written this book, rather than pairing with Aaron Rosenberg. "Beyond the Dark Portal" suffers from some of the same issues as "Tides of Darkness," which was written by Rosenberg. It's somewhat one-sided, focusing on the humans, while leaving the orcs as flat villains. The characterization is better, probably due to Golden's assistance. There's even a bit of a romance; some happiness amid the carnage. The battle scenes are far from realistic or even possible, with undefined numbers of orcs being killed. The Horde left on Draenor is supposed to be small, but they can't be too small if they're getting killed in every chapter. The pacing of travel also seems unrealistic, with both sides covering vast distances in what seems like no time at all.

I enjoy this book because I am a World of Warcraft fan and player. If you're a WoW player and considering this book, you'll probably enjoy it as it does give a lead in to The Burning Crusade expansion, and provides some nice background and lore.

3/5.