Book Review- ‘Warcraft: Durotan: The Official Movie Prequel’

So to prepare for the coming release of the Warcraft movie, I decided to take a gander at it’s prequel novel. It’s written by Christie Golden, who’s penned a couple of other novels for the Blizzardverse, namely Warcraft and Starcraft.

In this tome, we’re introduced to an orc clan called the Frostwolves. We meet young Durotan and Orgrim, who if you’ve played World of Warcraft, should be familiar the with locales named after these two. There’s assorted strife that affects the clan, but we also meet the mysterious Gul’dan, who promises of a better way of life. Gul’dan promises that if they join his ‘Horde’, they will never have to worry about the safety of their numbers, food to keep their bellies full, and able to keep their traditions alive. I should also mention that while the Frostwolves clan have brown skin, Gul’dan and his slave Garona have green skin!

The chieftain refuses his offer, and hardship falls upon the clan. Gul’dan comes again, later. Another refusal. After more strife strikes the Frostwolves, Durotan finally makes the hard choice: to ensure the safety of his dying clan, they will join the Horde.

Having never read any of the Warcraft novels, but being an avid WoW player, I really enjoyed the story. I should also admit I was pretty much an Alliance player until recently. The story encouraged me to play an orc, therefore dipping my toes into the world of the Horde. (I’ve since spent about two days doing little else but playing my Orc and really appreciating seeing things from a new perspective.)

Durotan and Orgrim are likeable characters, and their duty to see the clan survive and endure show pretty clearly. We also meet Draka, a female orc who’d been outcast due to being weak, returning years later being a really badass woman. I felt a lot of compassion as members of the clan fell due to old age, assorted natural disasters (The ‘Spirits’ being angry or in pain.) and a murderous group called the Red Walkers. While I personally was pro-Alliance, this comes in the days before the Horde and the Alliance. I wanted to see them live and succeed.

For those of you who are seeking something to tide you over until the film comes out June 10th (the Europeans got lucky with being able to see it ‘now’), I totally recommend this story as an appetizer for the main course. I know I am excited to learn of the early days of Draenor and Azeroth, having come into the Warcraft franchise too late to play Warcraft II and such. We’ll be seeing the birth of the Horde and the Alliance, as the film is supposed to be set during the ‘Orcs Vs. Humans’ game.

I’ll also have a review coming of the film itself, so I’d love to hear your thoughts on both!

Be Well
-Jen