World of Warcraft: War Crimes [Kindle Edition]

Christie Golden

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Book Description

THE BRUTAL SIEGE OF ORGRIMMAR IS OVER.

Alliance and Horde forces have stripped Garrosh Hellscream, one of the most reviled figures on Azeroth, of his title as warchief. His thirst for conquest devastated cities, nearly tore the Horde apart, and destroyed countless lives throughout the...
WORLD OF WARCRAFT®

Now, on the legendary continent of Pandaria, he will stand trial for his transgressions.

Renowned leaders from across the world have gathered to witness this historic event. As the trial unfolds, agents of the bronze dragonflight present shocking visions of Garrosh's atrocities. For many of those in attendance, these glimpses into history force them to relive painful memories and even question their own innocence or guilt. For others, the chilling details stoke the flames of their hatred.

Unbeknownst to anyone, shadowy forces are at work on Azeroth, threatening not only the court's ability to mete out justice…but also the lives of everyone at the trial.

© 2014 Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Blizzard Entertainment and World of Warcraft are trademarks or registered trademarks of Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Christie Golden has written more than forty novels and several short stories in the fields of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Among her many projects are over a dozen Star Trek novels and several original fantasy novels. An avid player of World of Warcraft, she has written two manga short stories and several novels in that world. Golden lives in Tennessee. She welcomes visitors to her website: ChristieGolden.com.

Product Details

• File Size: 9016 KB
• Print Length: 369 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1451684487
• Publisher: Gallery Books; 1st edition (May 6, 2014)
• Sold by: Simon and Schuster Digital Sales Inc
• Language: English
• ASIN: B00GPOYEPM
• Text-to-Speech: Not enabled
• X-Ray:
  Enabled
• Word Wise: Enabled
• Lending: Not Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #22,053 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #21 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Humor & Entertainment > Puzzles & Games > Role Playing & Fantasy
  • #21 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Humor & Entertainment > Puzzles & Games > Science Fiction & Fantasy Gaming
  • #82 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Contemporary Fiction > Fantasy

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Great characterization and back story May 7, 2014

By Gabriela

Format:Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase

The book was very well composed, really setting the stage and giving back story for each of the characters with the flashbacks that brought the entire story together and gave credence to everyone's motivations. There was also a lot of excellent character development. However the book asked for the reader to suspend disbelieve too many times in my opinion, such as certain characters suddenly being expert lawyers and a few other things that would be spoilers if I put them here. In the end, that's the only thing that keeps me from giving it a 5-star review, but I would definitely recommend it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Golden has hit Gold again. August 20, 2014

By Thilix

Format:Hardcover|Verified Purchase

Golden has to be my favorite World of Warcraft writer to date. I've followed her in other genre's and she always seems to strike gold when she does write for them. I loved the Arthas book and I eagerly snatched this book up once it came out.

The depth of the characters in this book are absolutely amazing. I've been playing WoW since right after Vanilla dropped and so I've spent the last ten years(almost) playing and watching the story evolve around the faction leaders of the Horde and Alliance. The creators of WoW do a good job, but they've struck amazing talent in Golden writing for them. The review is so very difficult to write without giving any spoilers but needless to say the depth she gives every single faction leader is amazing.

After the finish of the Siege of Orgrimmar is when the story picks up. Everything has been moved to Pandaria for the trial, a new technology/magic is being used to assist in the trial which really gives Golden an opportunity to explore certain parts of the past and bring things to light. One of the best things about this book is that it doesn't follow the standard court approach that we all see during the reruns of Law and Order(or any other justice based series). Golden took some of the standard court aspects but also really created her own idea of how the Pandarians would have a court system.

The read a good solid read and I ended up reading it in a couple of days just because I wanted to spread it out. I could have easily finished it in one sitting though if I hadn't forced myself to stop reading to take breaks. If you're a fan of the game at all I highly recommend picking up the book and reading it. Especially with Warlords just a few months away from its release date.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars World of Courtcraft August 4, 2014

By Joseph C Bonaparte

Format:Hardcover|Verified Purchase

A very good, enjoyable read from Christie Golden as she fills in the blanks left in the story by the famous MMORPG. In this novel, hated and disposed Warchief of the Horde, Garrosh Hellscream, is put on trial for his crimes against Azeroth. As no one is in doubt over Garrosh's guilt for his actions, what follows is more of a sentencing hearing to decide his fate. Meanwhile, others plot to take matters into their own hands.

Christie Golden has done very well depicting the major lore figures of Warcraft by almost making them her own since The Shattering: Prelude to Cataclysm. War Crimes continues that trend with the added bonus of showing us interactions between characters who under the usual circumstances do not get the chance to face each other in non-hostile situations. The novel largely is a courtroom episode with two faction leaders suddenly are expert litigators. This is easily forgiven though as the alternative was to make up two minor characters just for this purpose. It also has the bonus though of putting one of the faction leaders in a very awkward position. It does tie in nicely with Golden's previous Warcraft novels as well as a handful of moments from the game are referenced during the course of the trial. As it is mostly a fantastical law procedural story there is not much in the way of action scenes, but a good one does occur even though it feels a little rushed.

This is an easy recommendation for fans of the MMORPG and its lore. It is also a given that if one has already read Golden's previous World of Warcraft novels then this novel is also heavily recommended. If one has never played the game or read any Warcraft related materials at all, then this not a good place to start. To that end, I would point towards The Shattering if one is wanting to get into the story without playing the game. Overall, an enjoyable read and looking forward to future tie-in novels to World of Warcraft.

4.0 out of 5 stars A serious World of Warcraft courtroom drama--crazy but fun! September 28, 2014

By CT Phipps

Format:Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase

This is a World of Warcraft courtroom drama.

It's played entirely serious.

Now, either this is awesome and hilarious at once or it's suspension of disbelief breaking. I lean more toward the former than the latter. Does it make sense that Baine Bloodhoof and Tyrande Whisperwind have either the training or formal speech patterns of a trial lawyer? No. Does it make sense that Azeroth has any of the legal traditions of a modern Western trial? I dunno, does it make sense Gnomes can build rocket-trains? No, but we love them anyway. Lastly, is it fun?

Yes, very much so.

Which is bizarre because this is about an unrepentant war criminal. High fantasy things like keeping the Red Dragon Aspect Alexstrasza as a slave to breed mounts, mana-bombing Theramore, and blowing up dissident orcs are treated with all the gravity of their equivalents in real-life. War Crimes isn't a parody, being a straight example of the genre, but it might qualify as satire. Fictional characters in an absurd (but awesome) fantasy world taking conduct in war more seriously than Earthlings today seem to be doing.

The premise is Garrosh Hellscream, much-disliked leader of the Horde, has been captured by Thrall (I will never call him Go'el) and Varian Wrynn. This is, of course, references events which happened in-game. I always feel kind of bad for the player characters involved in these sorts of in-universe climatic battles because they almost never get even referenced. You'd think they'd get a mention now and then like, "The Heroes of Azeroth" assisted them or something.

Oh well.

Garrosh committed many crimes during his tenure of Warchief from elevating the orcs above the other races, destroying island nation of Theramore, and worse. Both sides want him executed but Varian believed that having tried and found guilty would have a greater effect. They, thus, turn to the Celestials of Pandaria to serve as neutral judges. This is an astoundingly bad idea as Sylvanas points out since all-loving gods are unlikely to deliver a verdict motivated by political expediency.

This book is almost devoid of action and, instead, focuses on characterization. We get Jaina dealing with her continuing PTSD (albeit, a more violent form than in real-life), Anduin trying to understand the monstrous activities of Garrosh so he can offer him solace as a priest, and Vereesa Windrunner's simmering desire for revenge against her husband's killer. We also have a nice little bit of characterization from Sylvanas who has been see-sawing between good and evil for awhile now. I especially liked the take of the book on her, which is that Sylvanas is kinda-sorta evil but really mostly insane now.

Some might see it as a cop-out that Sylvanas is mentally ill but I think Christie Golden does an excellent job of illustrating just how twisted her thinking has become. I won't spoil the ending but her redemption seems further away than ever. How does redeem someone who has come to the conclusion it is better to be a monster? Even if the transformation is against your will? I think that's an appropriate question to ask as part of what makes Sylvanas so interesting is she's not just misunderstood but filled with spite and hatred from her eyes down to her toes. Whether she can recover from her current state or not is anyone's guess but I'd love to see a Windrunner novel from the author.

I'm kind of iffy on some of the characterization. Jaina Proudmoore's sudden turn toward warmonger never quite sat right with me because while the destruction of your homeland would set ANYONE on a roaring rampage of revenge, the fact is that she's survived it twice before. Jaina was neck-deep in the zombie genocide of Lordaeron and the destruction of Dalaran in Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos. Jaina Proudmoore was never naive but a hardened piece of steel willing to do anything for peace. She's closer to Princess Leia meets Rick Grimes than the character presented here, I think.

Then again, clearly people should be listening to my fanboy interpretations over the who has helped develop this character better than anyone.

Hehe.

Still, mostly this book does very well in establishing why the Horde and the Alliance has such problems reconciling. Thrall stands by his decision to appoint Garrosh as Warchief because he's showing he accepts responsibility for his choices. He has a very Orcish attitude that you don't wring your hands about the past but move forward. To the Alliance in the audience, however, he may come off as self-justifying. Cultural differences are a serious hurdle for both sides to overcome. Garrosh, himself, may feel all manner of horrible feelings about his actions but he is so much of a proud warrior to ever admit it. He'd rather go down in history as a hated villain than a broken man.

I regret this book never got into the head of Garrosh Hellscream. I would have been glad to have a point of view which finally gave us just what the hell he was thinking half-the-time. I suppose that would defeat the purpose of the book, however, which is to analyze how a monster's actions may be interpreted by others. Still, I hope we get a resolution in book form. This is too complicated a character to be resolved with a simple raid boss fight.

In conclusion, I recommend War Crimes. If you can get over the somewhat surreal use of kings, queens, and warlords as lawyers in a Hague-style situation then it has a lot to go for it. Others may find Jaina Proudmoore's characterization or others to be grating. I trust Christie Golden, however, and am looking forward to the sequel.

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