I've played Warcraft II, Warcraft III, and World of Warcraft. I've even seen the film. Now, I'm interested in the books. Should I just read them in the order that they were published, or is there another recommended reading order?
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Do you mean chronological order in-universe (e.g. in the order in which events occurred) or in the order that the books were published?– ValorumSep 23, 2020 at 11:49
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2 Answers
I would first suggest playing the original Warcraft games starting at the first one. And then go through the books in the order below (based on publication order) seeing as they have a tendency to refer to events that occur in previously written books.
Also do expect some retcons and inaccuracies... Like characters being dead and suddenly alive again because they forgot he or she got killed off.
Warcraft series
- Book 1: Of Blood and Honor
- Book 2: Day of the Dragon
- Book 3: Lord of the Clans
- Book 4: The Last Guardian
War of the Ancients Trilogy
- Book 1: The Well of Eternity
- Book 2: The Demon Soul
- Book 3: The Sundering
World of Warcraft series
- Book 1: Cycle of Hatred
- Book 2: Rise of the Horde
- Book 3: Tides of Darkness
- Book 4: Beyond the Dark Portal
- Book 5: Night of the Dragon
- Book 6: Arthas: Rise of the Lich King
- Book 7: Stormrage
- Book 8: The Shattering: Prelude to Cataclysm
- Book 9: Thrall: Twilight of the Aspects
- Book 10: Wolfheart
- Book 11: Jaina Proudmoore: Tides of War
- Book 12: Dawn of the Aspects
- Book 13: Vol'jin: Shadows of the Horde
- Book 14: War Crimes
- Book 15: Illidan
- Book 16: Traveler
- Book 17: Traveler: The Spiral Path
- Book 18: Before the Storm
- Book 19: Traveler: The Shining Blade
- Book 20: Shadows Rising
- Book 21: Rise of the Horde & Lord of the Clans: The Illustrated Novels
And for the love of the Titans, forget the Warcraft movie... It's not in the same canon as the rest of the Warcraft franchise. They only used the names and the locations, nothing from the original lore of the books or the games.
The films have two tie-in novels that are not part of the main canon, but personally I would avoid them due to insane amount of contradictions towards the canon lore.
- Warcraft: Durotan
- Warcraft: The Official Movie Novelisation
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Am I missing something or are there other Warcraft books that aren't in your list? goodreads.com/series/63701-warcraft-the-sunwell-trilogy / goodreads.com/book/show/41074068-a-tale-of-two-factions– ValorumSep 23, 2020 at 11:55
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Having seen the movie, OP might also be interested in the movie tie-in novels; Warcraft: Durotan, Warcraft: Bonds of Brotherhood, Warcraft: The Official Movie Novelization– ValorumSep 23, 2020 at 11:59
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@Valorum those are comic book series, not part of the novel series. Seeing the comics weren't mentioned in his question i assume that would be for a different question?– A.bakkerSep 23, 2020 at 12:01
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A Tale of Two Factions appears to be two mid-length novellas combined into a novel. Obviously the movie books are novels.– ValorumSep 23, 2020 at 12:04
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1@VienLa they took events from Warcraft 1 2 and 3 and even events from World Of Warcraft spanning over 3 decades...and plot them in a film that takes place over les then half a year. Some characters, Durotan for example was never there in the original lore but the main character in the movie. Thrall was supposed to be born after the Second War...not before the first one even started...and the first war ended with Stormwind Destroyed...and the Portal did not close until the end of the second war... If somebody would ask a question on what the differences are i would gladly answer them :)– A.bakkerSep 23, 2020 at 14:46
This french article give a complete and explicite reading order for the books and comic: https://worldofwarcraft.judgehype.com/article/chronologie-des-livres-et-bandes-dessinees-de-warcraft/
Of course, the books title are mostly given in french, so a little translation should help.
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2Link-only answers are frowned upon because if the link dies, your answer becomes worthless. Also, the link appears to be in French. SE sites are English-language, so it would be useful if you provided a translation of the contents. Also, what order are they suggesting and why do you think it's better than the one in the answer above?– ValorumSep 24, 2020 at 7:56