Monday, October 31, 2016

Happy Halloween review of Rise of the Horde, By Christie Golden

Okay. So I know I promised to review Maestro by R.A. Salvatore as my next review, except... Problems happened. Ya see, Hero just released and I jumped right on that, and shortly thereafter realized I remember precisely two things about Maestro.

Baubles.
Gromph Baenre touching himself.

Yeah. That last scene stuck with me. My daughter also reminded me of Jarlaxle's internal monologue quipping about his relationship with the dragons. That was gold. There was also a big demon that needed taken care of, Yvonnel up to something nefarious, yada, yada, ect, ect, but the book was split. One half followed Catti-brie while the other half followed Drizzt. It was not my favorite book of the series, but it wasn't the worst, either. I am, however, extremely disappointed that Salvatore did not let us know if the carpet matched the drapes, ya know... referring to Gromph and the state of the Dark Elves. Do they even have carpet? I don't know. Perfect learning opportunity missed if you ask me. For science!

 I think Grom needs a snickers. 
Anyway... On to a book I can remember because I just finished it Saturday. Oy, my mind is split up into too many worlds as it is. Ferelden, Faurun, Tamriel, Westeros, Randland, Azeroth.. just the tip of the iceberg. It's no wonder I can't keep track.

Rise of the Horde by Christie Golden is not currently available in ebook. I think this is the reason why I put off reading it for so long. I stumbled across a copy a few months ago, so figured I'd give it a go. Took a while for me to get hooked, as it normally does, then somewhere a little before the halfway point, I was sucked in, did my obsessive read-it-all in one day thing, and the verdict? The book is fucking depressing, and I loved it.

I'm actually a huge Warcraft lore fan, and this is not the first Warcraft book I've read, but after some research, I decided to start my journey chronologically. I'm surprised it's taken me this long to actually start 'at the beginning' since I've been a fan of the franchise since '95 when the first game I purchased was Warcraft: Orcs vs Humans. Oy, feel old now. Moving on.

Rise of the Horde is mostly told in Durotan's perspective, son of Garad, Chieftain of the Frostwolf Clan. He is an orc who loves and cherishes their traditional way of life, but he's caught in a tide of destruction he's unable to fight against when Kil'Jaeden begins to manipulate the orc leaders. He must obey or risk his loved ones and clan members being murdered for his disobedience. The near complete genocide of the Draenei that follows is absolutely heartbreaking.

Of course, going into the book, I already knew the fate of the Draenei, as well as what's in store for Durotan down the line. That didn't change the emotional impact the text had on me once I was absorbed. It was a great start to this journey. I've already got my copy of The Last Guardian ready to go. Not sure when I'll be able to pick it up since...

NaNoWriMo starts tomorrow!!

My 5th year of writing furiously. I think all my TPC fans out there will appreciate what I've chosen as my NaNo project for 2016. Dreamland - Part Three. Yes! I'm shooting for the next installment to be released early/mid 2017, and I have my last year's NaNo project ready to be edited. I am in total love with that book and can't wait to get it ready to present to you all!

One thing at a time, though. Priority still being Dreamland - Part Two, but now the majority of the project is  resting on my editor, BUT NO PRESSURE. He has had some real life shenanigans jump in his way as well. Oh real life. Quit being so silly.

Countdown to the Dreamland - Part Two cover reveal starts tomorrow, so if you aren't currently following me on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, you can keep an eye on the webpage. Thar be changes ahead, soon!

http://www.thephoenixcurse.com/books
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Happy reading, everyone!