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    Before the Storm: Seven Ways the Novel Sets the Stage for Battle for Azeroth

    Before the Storm: Seven Ways the Novel Sets the Stage for Battle for Azeroth
    Christie Golden's next novel, Before the Storm has finally released. This novel details the events preceding Battle for Azeroth. You can see a larger preview from Amazon here.
    Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
    Author Christie Golden talks about her latest World of Warcraft novel—Before the Storm—and why you should read it before heading into Battle for Azeroth™. Before the Storm is available to purchase on Amazon now.

    Christie Golden: As the author of Before the Storm, and a Blizzard Entertainment employee to boot, I’m a bit biased. I have always found great joy writing World of Warcraft novels, but this one? Well, it’s special. And it’s going to be something you’ll want to read before Battle for Azeroth arrives. There are a lot of reasons for this, but here are the seven I think are most important—and, I hope, ntertaining.”

    Delve deeper into moments from the cinematics through a new medium
    CG: One of the amazing things about working for Blizzard is that they let me do insanely fun stuff like collaborate with brilliant people like in-game cinematics director Terran Gregory! You might remember the Horde and Alliance epilogue cinematics for Patch 7.5.3. Those were adapted from scenes I had already written for Before the Storm.

    I was able to attend the voice recording sessions for those cinematics, and I read several paragraphs of Before the Storm’s manuscript to actors Josh Keaton (Anduin Wrynn) and Patty Mattson (Sylvanas Windrunner) to explain how their characters felt when they first encountered the powerful material known as Azerite. It helped inform their performances, and when you read the scenes from the novel for yourself, you’ll get even more dialogue, context, and description. For instance, before he speaks at the memorial, Anduin recalls a similar service after the events of Wrath of the Lich King. You’ll also learn that there were a lot of other Horde members celebrating with Sylvanas in Grommash Hold. (And of course, after reading the book, you can go back and rewatch the cinematics!)

    Embark on a world tour (mostly)
    CG: Azeroth is a big world, and Before the Storm gets to roam around in it. From Teldrassil to Thunder Bluff, from Orgrimmar to Ironforge (where the dwarves may or may not be starting to brew “Anduin’s Amber”), from the sands of Silithus to the shadows of the Undercity, you’ll visit some familiar and loved places—and a few that might not be quite so pleasant—before the upheaval of Battle for Azeroth.

    Spend time with iconic characters . . . and meet some new ones
    CG: You’ll catch up with Lady Jaina Proudmoore and the woman who was her childhood friend—Calia Menethil, sister of Arthas himself. You’ll meet another representative from Lordaeron, Archbishop Alonsus Faol, who doesn’t look much like his portraits these days. We’ll also spend time with the noble Baine Bloodhoof, the slimy Jastor Gallywix, and a pair of living legends recently returned to Azeroth, High Exarch Turalyon and Alleria Windrunner. While the novel can’t show every main character, race, or class, we’re aware that players love their toons and want to see representation. As a player myself, I always keep that in mind when I’m writing WoW novels.

    I think, though, from the cover, you should be able to tell that this particular novel focuses on. . . .

    Warchief Sylvanas Windrunner and King Anduin Wrynn
    CG: These two couldn’t be more different. Before the Storm examines their psychologies, philosophies, and values as Sylvanas and Anduin grapple with the pressures of leading their factions and healing a broken world. The Dark Lady, of course, has been with us since before there was a World of Warcraft. She has a long and achingly tragic backstory, and I’ve had the chance to write her multiple times. Anduin, on the other hand, was only a ten-year-old child in the game until the novel The Shattering, where I got a chance to help develop him. It’s been so much fun to watch him “grow up” in the books and the game.

    With the discovery of Azerite, which has the potential to heal, change, or destroy the world, the young and idealistic king finds himself increasingly at odds with the brilliant, focused warchief, who most definitely has her own agenda. As tensions rise, Anduin seeks common ground. He reaches out to what seems, at first, to be unlikely allies: a group of Forsaken.

    Get a whole new view into Forsaken society
    CG: This novel has lots of Forsaken, with names, histories, and people that they love. We’ve not seen a lot of these free-willed undead in the novels, and I had a terrific time exploring them—what makes them tick, how they survive in this world, what they’ve lost, and what they’ve gained. How they’re viewed by the living, and how they view the living in turn. They have a lot of heart for people whose hearts no longer beat.

    Hear the voice of King Anduin Wrynn tell the story
    CG: The terrific Josh Keaton, who has voiced Anduin throughout almost all of World of Warcraft, was chosen to narrate this novel. So if you decide you want the audiobook, you’re in for an extra treat. I’m absolutely thrilled we all get to hear his work on this!

    But what I’m most excited about is. . . .

    Before the Storm interweaves with the game on a whole new level
    CG: Now that I’m a Blizzard employee, the gates to the innermost sanctums have been opened to me. When I was writing novels before I officially joined the studio, I always felt welcomed and appreciated, and everyone was very helpful. But I didn’t know what I didn’t know... and being aware of all that was going on around this expansion sparked so very many ideas! You’ll find callbacks to the novel as you progress in-game. There’s has never been a World of Warcraft novel written by someone with so much access, and readers will feel that connection.

    As ever, thanks for joining us on this journey, and I hope you enjoy reading Before the Storm as much as I enjoyed writing it.

    Book summary:

    Azeroth is dying.

    The Horde and the Alliance defeated the demonic Burning Legion, but a dire catastrophe is unfolding deep below the surface of the world. There is a mortal wound in the heart of Azeroth, struck by the sword of the fallen titan Sargeras in a final act of cruelty.

    For Anduin Wrynn, king of Stormwind, and Sylvanas Windrunner, warchief of the Horde and queen of the Forsaken, there is little time to rebuild what remains and even less to mourn what was lost. Azeroth’s devastating wound has revealed a mysterious material known as Azerite. In the right hands, this strange golden substance is capable of incredible feats of creation; in the wrong ones, it could bring forth unthinkable destruction.

    As Alliance and Horde forces race to uncover the secrets of Azerite and heal the wounded world, Anduin enacts a desperate plan aimed at forging a lasting peace between the factions. Azerite jeopardizes the balance of power, and so Anduin must gain the trust of Sylvanas. But, as ever, the Dark Lady has her own machinations.

    For peace to be possible, generations of bloodshed and hatred must be brought to and end. But there are truths that neither side is willing to accept and ambitions they are loath to relinquish. As Alliance and Horde alike grasp for the Azerite’s power, their simmering conflict threatens to reignite all-out war—a war that would spell doom for Azeroth.

  2. #2
    So yeah just finished Before the Storm (audiobook, very good) and it is indeed the best WoW novel I've ever absorbed.

    The only non-spoiler opinion I'll give is that I can now confirm, with knowledge of the whole thing that all of the "game relevant" bullet points in this book were covered throughout the clearly intentional free excerpts released via Amazon and fansites over the past few months. The book is certainly worth your time, but if you keep up on fansites and news and have read all of the free excerpts, you know the gist of what WoW players "need" to know to set the stage for BFA.

    You get a lot of context and very powerful emotions by taking in the whole thing, but it's clear that the excerpts released were to please the "I shouldn't need to buy a book to know the game lore" crowd.

  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by Omedon View Post
    So yeah just finished Before the Storm (audiobook, very good) and it is indeed the best WoW novel I've ever absorbed.
    Christie, is that you?

  4. #4
    Bloodsail Admiral Enrif's Avatar
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    i finished it yesterday(the kindle version) and it was pretty good. some small criticism for using the words "hitherto" and "lithe" a little too often.

    Besides that, i would recommend it.

    the story, yeah, most of the plot was leaked, besides some details. And if you actually read it without a biased mind, it's really good.

    IF you actually think that Sylvanas is a Evil mustache twirler and Anduin a good two shoes Mary Sue, thats what you will read out of it. But for a critical reader, both characters are shown to have deep personalities. And no, in my opinion, after reading the book, i would not call Sylvanas evil, not yet.

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by Enrif View Post
    i finished it yesterday(the kindle version) and it was pretty good. some small criticism for using the words "hitherto" and "lithe" a little too often.
    Golden uses the word "lithe" way too fucking much. I dunno what it is with fantasy writers and lousy editing when it comes to repetitive turns-of-phrase. Literally every single fantasy author I can think of is guilty as hell for reusing phrases or words multiple times in a single book.

    Anyways, my girlfriend got it for me and it came today (physical copy) going to read it quick before bed and write my opinion on it sometime tomorrow.

  6. #6
    Bloodsail Admiral Enrif's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bjoramier of Lordaeron View Post
    Where is number 8: Destroys forsaken and horde lore even more.
    there was nothing that i would consider "destroying horder or forsake lore". IF any, it fleshed out some things, and that in a good way

  7. #7
    Bloodsail Admiral Enrif's Avatar
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    and obviously you only got your information from another thread and didn't actually read the book.

    Also, discouraging hanging onto their old lives is in a way an act of mercy. It is often said by Sylvanas in this book that she does not wish harm to her people. and hanging to what they can't be, can't have back will only make it worse. So, in a way, she tries to save the forsaken from their own past and encourage them to move on and embrace what they have become instead of hating themselves. For a living person it is difficult to understand that. But imagine you get into an accident and loose your Face(stuff like that happened). Is it helpful to mourn the loss of who you where and be reminded of it, every time you look into a mirror, or is it better to get past it and move on. It is hard and difficult and not pleasant. But it's better then loosing yourself to grief and hate for what happened.

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Enrif View Post
    and obviously you only got your information from another thread and didn't actually read the book.

    Also, discouraging hanging onto their old lives is in a way an act of mercy. It is often said by Sylvanas in this book that she does not wish harm to her people. and hanging to what they can't be, can't have back will only make it worse. So, in a way, she tries to save the forsaken from their own past and encourage them to move on and embrace what they have become instead of hating themselves. For a living person it is difficult to understand that. But imagine you get into an accident and loose your Face(stuff like that happened). Is it helpful to mourn the loss of who you where and be reminded of it, every time you look into a mirror, or is it better to get past it and move on. It is hard and difficult and not pleasant. But it's better then loosing yourself to grief and hate for what happened.
    Wow you must be very dense.

  9. #9
    Bloodsail Admiral Enrif's Avatar
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    And you apparently as insightful as a meme from 2005

  10. #10
    Love how the trolls who didn't read the book know better than the people who read it.

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