Shadows Rising (World of Warcraft: Shadowlands)

By Madeleine Roux

Shadows Rising (World of Warcraft: Shadowlands) - Madeleine Roux
  • Release Date: 2020-07-14
  • Genre: Fantasy
Score: 4.5
4.5
From 159 Ratings

Description

An all-new official prequel novel to Shadowlands, the next expansion for Blizzard Entertainment’s legendary online game World of Warcraft
 
“The Horde is nothing!” With those infamous words, Sylvanas Windrunner betrayed and abandoned the Horde she vowed to serve. The Dark Lady and her forces now work in the shadows as both the Horde and Alliance, including her own sister, Alleria, race to uncover her next move. Struggling to shoulder the crushing weight of leadership, King Anduin entrusts the void elf and High Exarch Turalyon to uncover Sylvanas’s whereabouts.
 
The Horde now stands at a crossroads. The various factions form a council, leaving the mantle of warchief to rest. Thrall, Lor’themar Theron, Baine Bloodhoof, First Arcanist Thalyssra, and many other familiar faces rise to this new challenge. But the threats are numerous, and the distrust runs too deep.
 
When the council is derailed by a failed assassination attempt on Talanji—the Zandalari queen and a key ally—Thrall and the rest of the Horde leaders are forced into action. They empower the young troll shaman Zekhan, still grieving the loss of Varok Saurfang, with a critical mission to aid Talanji and help uncover the rising threat against her.
 
Meanwhile, Nathanos Blightcaller and Sira Moonwarden have been tasked by the Dark Lady with a terrifying gambit: to kill the troll loa of death himself, Bwonsamdi.
 
As Zekhan and Talanji work to save Bwonsamdi, their journey will be a key turning point in bolstering the Horde against the coming darkness and finding themselves along the way. Failure to save their allies and the trickster god will surely doom them—but through success, they may rediscover what makes the Horde strong.

Reviews

  • Perfect Setup for a New Expansion

    5
    By Gamermb617
    This book is absolutely wonderful. It’s basically canonical fan fiction and I absolutely love it. The author portrays the characters exactly as I imagine them. Also the way that she plants the little seeds of foreshadowing for Shadowlands makes my little writer heart so inspired. The only real gripe I have with this book is that I just wanted more! Highly recommend for any fan of the Warcraft universe as this is a great addition!
  • Not as good as expected or as hoped

    3
    By Mr. Sheppy
    Given various reviews I’ve seen and heard, I expected this to be a rip-roaring story full of good fun. But while it certainly has its moments, it largely feels like a plan for a great book, a summary, or even a rough first draft. It lacks a lot of detail in the action, resulting in a very hand-wavy form of storytelling. Many of the characters’ individual storylines are good in general but still lack enough detail to really punch home. It’s too bad. This book has so much going for it in terms of lead-in and follow-up lore that it should have been excellent. Instead, it’s so-so.
  • Fantastic!

    5
    By Paacreek
    Honestly a breath of fresh air to welcome in the new expansion. Madeleine Roux absolutely handles the story and characters with such grace and care, Susan Wokoma is a fantastic narrator and does an awesome job! Highly recommend every WoW player to check this out before Shadowlands releases, or after, either time is a great time for this book!
  • Unlistenable

    1
    By Siraphyn
    Are you kidding me?? BLIZZARD? Do you not listen to the fans or even this audiobook? This is horrible! It’s like my sister reading me a book… why not the last narrator or Scott Brick? Who approved this for production?? This is not how you start a new chapter. God this is awful.