@stealthyslyth: What first attracted you to write for the Warcraft universe?

Knaak: Blizzard had created a world so rich in character and history that one could not help be drawn into it. It had many of the features that I’ve always enjoyed in fantasy with its epic feel, its intertwined storylines, and terrific creations such as the Dragon Aspects, the Lich King, and Varian Wrynn. When Blizzard asked if I would like to contribute to the world, how could I resist?

Of the many characters in the books that you’ve written about, which character’s story have you most enjoyed writing and sharing with others?

Malfurion’s story is the one I enjoyed the most, although finally getting to use Varian has been a great pleasure and I hope to write about him in the future. Of my own creations, Krasus/Korialstrasz was also a favorite and I’m pleased he became a favorite of so many readers and gamers.

What were your main inspirations for Wolfheart?

The Arthurian tales had influence, as did other older works of fantasy. Varian is very much a traditional hero, striving to overcome his shortcomings in order to do what must be done to save those around him. I think that he is potentially one of World of Warcraft’s best characters.

In the book, there is a lot of talk regarding the mortality of the Night Elves, will this become a bigger issue lore/story wise?

That is something that only Blizzard can fully answer, although it certainly seems to be leading in that direction.

In Wolfheart, Varian seems to go through a great change, and the way the book leaves off it seems that it’s for the better. Does this mean we can expect a stronger leader from him in the future?

For the sake of the Alliance, let’s hope so. He’s learned a lot, but he’ll still be learning. I think he will make some mistakes, but the future of the Alliance looks a lot brighter now than it did only a short time ago.

Where in your opinion do you see the story of Azeroth leading?

That would be difficult to answer without giving away things I know. I’ll have to pass on that.

Is there one not too talked about character (or characters) who you would love to write a story about, even if it was just a short story?

I would have said Jarod Shadowsong, but I’ve now done something with him. Wouldn’t mind doing more. Perhaps a bit more about Genn Greymane, who in his own way is almost as complex in nature as Varian.

Twilight of the Aspects and Wolfheart came out relatively near each other. Should we expect another novel from you set in the WoW universe again soon?

Not that soon! The storylines dictated that these come out fairly close, but now we have the opportunity to let the Cataclysm settle a bit while we work on what’s next.

It’s uncertain as to whether you are a fan of the Alliance or Horde, do you carry a preference of one over the other and if so, how do you maintain to stay objective in your narration?

I play Alliance and Horde. I like worgen and tauren, especially. I might lean a bit more to the Alliance, but the Horde deserves its respect. Both sides have had their share of heroes and villains.

And on a closing note, if you could bring back one character, who would it be and why?

Trag Highmountain. I want to explore his existence as a tauren deathknight further.

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Look for my own review of Richard Knaak’s latest novel Wolfheart on Gaming Angels soon!

When Azeroth was young, the noble titans appointed the five great dragonflights to safeguard the budding world. Each of the flights’ leaders was imbued with a portion of the titans’ vast cosmic powers. Together, these majestic Dragon Aspects committed themselves to thwarting any force that threatened the safety of the World of Warcraft.

Over ten thousand years ago, a betrayal by the maddened black Dragon Aspect, Deathwing, shattered the strength and unity of the dragonflights. His most recent assault on Azeroth—the Cataclysm—has left the world in turmoil. At the Maelstrom, the center of Azeroth’s instability, former Horde warchief Thrall and other accomplished shaman struggle to keep the world from tearing apart in the wake of Deathwing’s attack. Yet a battle also rages within Thrall regarding his new life in the shamanic Earthen Ring, hampering his normally unparalleled abilities.

Unable to focus on his duties, Thrall undertakes a seemingly menial task from an unexpected source: the mysterious green Dragon Aspect, Ysera. This humble endeavor soon becomes a journey spanning the lands of Azeroth and the timeways of history itself, bringing Thrall into contact with ancient dragonflights. Divided by conflict and mistrust, these dragons have become easy prey to a horrific new weapon unleashed by Deathwing’s servants . . . a living nightmare engineered to exterminate Azeroth’s winged guardians.

Of even greater concern is a bleak and terrifying possible future glimpsed by Ysera: the Hour of Twilight. Before this apocalyptic vision comes to pass, Thrall must purge his own doubts in order to discover his purpose in the world and aid Azeroth’s dragonflights as they face the Twilight of the Aspects.

As a bonus, Blizzard has released an excerpt of the novel on the official WoW site for those who want more of a preview of the novel. I’ve always been a fan of the novels since I’m such a lore nerd, and I have enjoyed Golden’s previous novels set in the WoW universe so I’ll be picking this up eventually. The book is available at local book stores as well as online at Barnes and Noble and Amazon.

The Shattering

As a warning this review will contain some spoilers so if you don’t want to be spoiled with pre-Cata events, do not read further!

This book contains a lot of different aspects to the lore that I’m surprised that the length is so short. Even so, I think what I liked was the fleshing out of Anduin Wrynn, Varian’s son, as a character with thoughts and feelings. Reading the book you really get a good glimpse into his thoughts and feelings, and how much he dislikes his father. Now the dislike is too severe, but it’s definitely more than that teenage “I hate my dad because he has all the power.” We get to see Anduin’s reaction when Varian goes into one of his Lo’gosh fits regarding the massacre of some Night Elves by the Horde (or what seems to be the Horde).

On the flip side, we get to see more into why Thrall abandons his post as warchief and leaves Garrosh in his stead. Now after knowing that this was going to happen and that Garrosh has a hand in the death of Cairne, I was anxious to read about the backstory. In fact, the book opens with Cairne going to Northrend to bring Garrosh and his troops back home, and the juxtaposition between the two makes for some interesting plot points. In general you are able to get to know more about Garrosh and his personality. It made me understand his motives more, but I’m still not a fan of the guy.

Shattering also gives us a good look into the Tauren society with the massive takeover orchestrated by Magatha Grimtotem. It’s actually a pretty brutal scenerio where the Grimtotem tribe massacre any and all Tauren who are not of their tribe or supportive of their views. Thankfully Bane, Cairne’s son, is not part of the massacre and escapes with some others in order to return again and hopefully seek vengeance.

Within all this is the curious position that Jaina is in as a mediator between the Horde and the Alliance. She’s been known to meet and talk with Thrall regarding political issues, and in Shattering winds up talking with and advising Bane on his situation. Anduin even plays a role in this by giving Bane an ancient weapon that was given to him by Muradin. It’s actually a touching scene and it gives me hope that if we loose Varian, at least his son is diplomatic enough to handle dealing with members of the Horde.

End of spoilers.

All in all though I really do wish the book was a bit longer. It felt short to me, even with so much packed into it. Granted maybe that’s because it ends right before Deathwing bursts from the earth and starts burning the countryside. Now a book about what happens next is something I would like to read, even though it may encompass in-game events. Not sure if I’m going to make it to Loremaster right away with all of the new quests and I’d like to read about all the upheaval within the leading bodies of the Alliance and Horde, not to mention what’s going on with the different remaining dragonflights.

But if you’re a lore fan and want more of an insight into what happened before Deathwing came back? I highly recommend reading The Shattering.

The story that this novel could potentially tell should be intriguing to say the least. We may get more backstory on Deathwing’s thoughts and reasons. We may get a deeper glimpse into Goblin society and what’s happening in Gilneas. We could even hear more about the final fight with the Lich King since this novel is labeled as a “Prelude to Cataclysm.”

I’m also pleased that Christie Golden will be writing this novel. I really enjoy her writing, and Arthas: Rise of the Lich King is one of my favorite Warcraft novels. This novel should be a great read, and I think will really shed some light on the lore that we will see or that we should expect to see in the next expansion. The Amazon page shows it as being available for pre-order for $26USD, and you can order it now or wait on more details to be officially released.

Via WoW.com