World of Warcraft: Folk & Fairy Tales of Azeroth

World of Warcraft

by Allison Irons (Editor, Contributor), Garth Nix, Catherynne M. Valente

Monsters, mystery, and magic abound in this stunning, illustrated collection of original fairy tales from the World of Warcraft universe, as told by an all-star cast of bestselling, award-winning storytellers.

The power of stories is felt and known in every corner of Azeroth. From the windswept fields of the Eastern Kingdoms to the bustling city of Gadgetzan, differences were bridged by common tales of average people overcoming incredible odds. Lessons learned from cautionary tales tempered many brave heroes and brought them safely home, while stories of adventure spurred history's most remarkable actors to greatness. Now you too can shed your armor and settle in to listen to the wonderous tales of adventure and peril in the Folk and Fairy Tales of Azeroth.

Brimming with gorgeous artwork and twelve inspired stories crafted by fantasy's brightest authors including Garth Nix, Catherynne M. Valente, Kami Garcia, and more, this enchanting anthology brings new voices, new meaning, and new wonder to World of Warcraft.

Genres: Fantasy, Warcraft, World Of Warcraft, Gaming, Fiction

252 pages, Hardcover

First published April 14, 2021

Reviews

[Timothy Pitkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

First off, this book is beautiful as well as the art and I love the touch of how the pages have a gold colored trim. And I do like that the stories are from a variety of different races and places within Azeroth.
Eyes of the Earth Mother: A great start as we finally get to learn about the Earth Mother which I believe is a first since we hear a lot about her from Tauren dialogue but we know next to nothing about her but now we do and it is a great start and we even get some protentional for future story seeds from this.
One Small Tuskarr: A kind of forgettable story, but I am glad that Blizzard actually remembers these guys but still kind of forgettable just like the race its based on.
Law Down My Bones: A cool story from one of my favorite new race addition to Warcraft. It is a nice story about responsibility and it feels like a classic Grimm Fairytale for how dark it gets towards the end.
The Uninvited Guest: A funny story as it made me laugh because of what the Uninvited Guest actually does to the goblins. Also might be an interesting creature/entity to explore for future Goblin Lore.
Sister Is Another Word For Always: A nice tie in for the current content of Shadowlands and out of all of the stories within the book it feels like it might have the most impact on the game. Which might be interesting.
The Paladin's Beast: This one the most interesting for me as it feels like a hint about future content that might be in the game as we learn that Uther visited a different world which might be the focus of future content.
For Lies and Liberty: This was another good one as we learn about former humans now undead bonding and learning the truth about someone they all know and how to deal with it.
Stones, Moss, and Tears: Another kind of forgettable one but it is nice that the sentinels get some lore dedicated to them.
The Embrace: A very cool story which seems to be about Elune and how the moons were created and I kind of wished we do get some more Elune lore later as like with the Earth Mother we know next to nothing about her.
Why the Mermaids Left Boralus: A cool story about the formation about Kul Tiras but it was a little confusing since I am not sure if the Mermaids are meant to be Naga but still a cool love story.
The Courageous Kobold and the Wickless Candle: Cool to finally learn that Kobold are more then just annoying rat guys in a mine and that they actually have a culture and folklore. A nice story.
Visage Day: My favorite as we get some really cool insight into dragon culture and we learn about why some of the major dragon characters chose their mortal form and it is nice to get some psychology about the way some of our favorite dragons think.

[Elena Druță · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un volum foarte frumos realizat - teme, povești subiecte și prezentare. Mi-a plăcut să citesc tot felul de întâmplări din folclorul popoarelor de pe Azeroth - multe dintre ele foarte triste, dar minunate în același timp. Volumul oferă mai multe detalii despre tot felul de personaje din WoW, dar și despre credințele și tradițiile popoarelor ce împânzesc planeta însuflețită, fiind o lectură plăcută pentru cititorii pasionați de joc și pentru cei care vor să facă cunoștință cu lumea fantastică de pe Azeroth.

[Nightstar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Any compilation of short stories is difficult to rate, as some stories are stronger than others, so I've decided to rate and summarize each story separately in hopes of giving the book as a whole a more accurate review. There are some minor spoilers in a few of my summaries, but not enough to ruin the actual experience of reading each story.

I've rated the stories below from my favorites to my least favorites:

5/5 - For Lies and Liberty: This was a wonderful tale focused on the Forsaken, who are one of my favorites races both in the game and the book series. We're introduced to a newly risen batch of Forsaken who are struggling to cope with their new un-life and all the terrifying implications that come with it, including a young foot soldier who believes his name is Abel. He's incredibly quiet and withdrawn as they talk about how they died, but he opens up and becomes more animated when he talks about the heroic Captain Whitney, the man who inspired Abel to join the fight in the first place. But all is not as it seems surrounding the story of the fabled Captain, and Abel and the rest of the Forsaken struggle with standing up for themselves and embracing the truth, even if it means letting go of the only shreds of hope they still have in their new lives.

This story was both heartbreaking and humorous, and one of my favorites in the book. I laughed, I cried, and I loved the Forsaken even more after reading this!

5/5 - The Courageous Kobold and the Wickless Candle: I never would have expected a story about Kobolds to bring tears to my eyes, but here we are. The story begins with Twig telling her favorite story to all the little Kobold girls and boys, about how her Granny Whiskersnoot went against Kobold tradition and dug above her snout, tunneling up through the caverns and revealing the light of the "wickless candle." Of course, no one believes the story but Twig and Tallow, and many of her family view it as silly nonsense that will only lead to cave-ins and death. When Tallow goes in search of the legendary wickless candle, it's up to Twig to save him and prove to her people that not all folk tales are made up.

I love that they included the Kobolds in this story compilation, and really gave them personalities and a culture of their own. However, it is going to be slightly more awkward when I'm told to ruthlessly slaughter them in the game.

5/5 - Why the Mermaids Left Boralus: This was a really touching story about the people of Boralus and their somewhat troubled relationship with the mermaids, and how a mermaid and a tidesage helped them overcome their prejudice. As humans (or Kul Tirans, in this case) tend to do when other intelligent beings are involved, the people of Boralus mistook the benevolent behavior of the mermaids and attributed just about every natural disaster and calamity to them. Eventually, the mermaids grew tired of being blamed and hated for simply existing and stopped trying to help the Kul Tirans, instead doing their best to keep their distance. However, one mermaid, Halia, becomes so entranced with the tidesage Ery that she can't help but try to show her her true feelings. Ery falls in love with her over time, but they must remain apart and keep their relationship a secret due to the prejudice of the Kul Tirans and the strict duty of being a tidesage. During a particularly bad storm that threatens to destroy Boralus, Ery and Halia work together to build a protective wall against the violent sea, eventually inspiring the other mermaids to help, at great cost to their species.

This was a wonderful, heartbreaking story about duty and honor and the strength of love in the face of adversity and prejudice. The relationship between Ery and Halia felt natural and was written well, rather than feeling as though the author had an agenda, which I appreciated :)

5/5 - Sister is Another Word for Always: Another emotional and heartbreaking story about Vereesa Windrunner attempting to save the soul of her sister, Sylvanas. I loved the way this was written, as it really focused on how the events of Sylvanas' death and transformation into the Banshee Queen affected her for years afterward. After having a vision/flashback of a moment in their childhood, Vereesa leaves the battlefield and her duties to wander the world, eventually traveling to Ardenweald and the Maw, where she encounters the Jailer. She comes so close to retrieving her sister's soul, or what's left of it, but a good-intentioned action to save her ends up backfiring, and she is cast out from the Maw to return to her duties and accept the fact that her sister is truly lost forever.

This was such a well-written, poignant story, and well-timed as I had just watched a very relevant cinematic concerning Sylvanas. This story really gave it more meaning and emotional depth, and it was one of the best in the story compilation.

5/5 - The Uninvited Guest: A great story about the goblin Boogeyman, known only as the Uninvited Guest, which targets goblins who get just a little too greedy (which is saying something when it comes to their race). It feeds on their greed, stealing it from them and driving them to give away their possessions and *gasp* give back to the community, until they have nothing left...

This was a fun little story that takes a common conception in human folk tales - being charitable and sharing your good fortune with others - and turns it into a horrible fate that can only be avoided by tricking the creature and pretending to be charitable. I chuckled several times during the story, and thoroughly enjoyed it :)

4/5 - Visage Day: A cute story about Chronormu the bronze dragon and his struggle to choose a mortal form in time for Visage Day. I never considered that choosing a mortal form would be such a big event in a dragon's life, nor that it would be something incredibly difficult (and permanent), but I think this story adds quite a bit to the lore and personalities of the individual dragons we meet in the game and book series. Chronormu speaks to a few well-known dragons - Nozdormu, Onyxia, and Kalecgos - about how they made their own decisions, and each one reveals how their mortal form represents them and how they want to be seen by the mortals of Azeroth. Through their help, Chronormu learns more about himself and how he wants to be seen outside of his dragon form, and chooses the form of everyone's favorite gnome, Chromie.

This story and the characters did feel a bit simplistic compared to some others, and perhaps that's only because the dragons weren't written as old and wise and mature as I expect them to be. However, it is a folk/fairy tale likely meant for the children of Azeroth, so perhaps I'm being a bit too critical of the writing here. Overall, I really enjoyed reading about the origin of Chromie and love her even more than I already did!

4/5 - Lay Down My Bones: I was thrilled to see the Vulpera included in this book, and right after my fiance and I started our own adventures as Vulpera! It follows Hava and Siy, two young Vulpera who were tasked with using the ceremonial "Wailing Bone" to find the final resting place for one of their elders. Of course, being young, impatient, and dismissive of such fables, they grow tired of the long journey and decide to just let the river do their work for them. It... doesn't go well, as you can imagine.

This was a darker story than I was expecting, and was definitely a surprise after the first two stories, which were a bit more simplistic and/or light-hearted in nature. I really enjoyed the story overall and was delighted to read more about the Vulpera!

4/5 - The Paladin's Beast: An interesting story about Uther Lightbringer and his first solo adventure as a paladin. He and his fellow paladins are tasked by their archbishop to find ways to prove their resolve and their dedication to the light. While traveling through inclement weather, his horse is spooked by lightning and tosses him into a lake, where he travels to another realm and meets a princess named Miatharas. After learning of a tournament her father holds each year, in which knights repeatedly attempt to slay a monster and fail, he decides to join the tournament to prove his might as a paladin, despite her warnings. During the tournament, as he watches each of his fellow champions be slain by the monster, he realizes the monster isn't simply an aggressive, cruel beast, but shackled and in pain. Rather than try to kill the creature, he lays his sword down, choosing the path of peace, and wins the tournament. After finding out the truth about the monster, he returns to Lordaeron with no memory of the events. Feeling as though he hasn't done anything brave or heroic to merit the title of paladin, he is instead rewarded for choosing the peaceful and compassionate path.

This was an interesting story about how oftentimes peace and compassion is the best option, and I loved that there were several hints at his later death at the hands of Arthas.

3/5 - Eyes of the Earth Mother: This was the first story in the compilation, and appropriately timed as my fiance and I had just entered Mulgore with our Vulpera. The story tells of the creation of the world and the Tauren, and how the Earth Mother managed to fight back the evil and corruption that threatened to infect the Tauren and destroy her creations, but at a great cost to herself.

It was a really interesting story and definitely set up the tone of the "folk tales" aspect of this book, and I appreciated that it was written in such a way that it could be read without any knowledge of World of Warcraft lore.

3/5 - One Small Tuskar: A cute little story that essentially boils down to "The Little Tuskar Who Could." It follows Taruka, an undersized Tuskar girl whose father died at a young age, forcing her to learn everything she knows about fishing on her own. She's often picked on and underestimated by others of her clan, and feels guilty that she can't support her family as well as she wants to. When one of the village elders tell her to avoid a particularly dangerous fishing area, she assumes they're trying to sabotage her efforts, and goes out on her own to prove herself. She manages to kill a gigantic and fearsome creature, and triumphantly returns to her village, where she is greeted happily by everyone.

This was a cute story, but was a bit too simplistic, especially considering how little we get to see of the Tuskar as it is. I did feel as though the Tuskar were written a bit more callous in this story than they really are. It seems as though a clan that depends on each other for survival in a harsh environment would try to help each other as much as possible, rather than alienating those who were unlucky enough not to be taught everything by their fathers. Tradition is one thing, but it seemed a bit strange that everyone would be so unsympathetic toward Taruka.

3/5 - The Embrace: This story tells of the origin myth of the second moon of Azeroth, and a rare celestial alignment known as "the Embrace." Like "The Eyes of the Earth Mother," it was definitely written more like a standard folk tale that doesn't require any knowledge of WoW lore, and gives emotion and meaning to celestial events like tidal shifts, and how even the smallest change can cause great devastation to the land and people of Azeroth.

This was a well-written story, but to be honest, I was expecting a bit more considering it was written by Christie Golden. I feel as though they should have let her take the reigns on a different story, though perhaps her strength just doesn't lie in short stories.

2/5 - Stones, Moss, and Tears: This was my least favorite story out of the compilation, which is a shame, because it could've been great if handled differently. This story follows Keda Bloomblade, a night elf Sentinel who struggles to admit her feelings for the Lorekeeper, Toreth. She feels as though she needs to impress him throughout the story, as she doesn't feel she is good enough to be worthy of his attention. We find out throughout the story that she struggles with her identity and lack of acceptance from her family, who don't agree with the path she has chosen in life. Eventually, she comes to realize that just being herself is good enough, and she is worthy of love no matter what her family may think.

I liked the concept of this story, but their choice to use a night elf Sentinel for a premise that feels more suited for a younger, less mature character was completely wrong, as it seems a bit silly to have an ordinarily stoic, fierce warrior acting like a nervous teenager with a crush. And unlike the stories of Chromie and Halia/Ery, the LGBT aspects felt forced in this story. I love that Blizzard is becoming more inclusive, and there are a few examples where they've done it well, but it really felt as if they had an agenda and let the writing/story take a backseat on this one.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story compilation, as I can never seem to get enough of WoW lore! While some of the stories were weaker than others, the stories that were written well were really memorable, and added quite a bit of depth to characters and races that haven't been explored as well in the game and book series so far.

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

From my previous experience with these authors and this world I think I expected more. This is certainly aimed more at kids which is fine, but I only really found the final tale particularly engaging.

[Joshua Gross · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book. It's very large, with beautiful cover art and gilded pages. The illustrations are all lovely, and it is a fun collection of short stories.

I was very glad to have stories from Northrend, particularly one about the Tuskarr by Garth Nix that was really great. There is wonderful queer representation, including two stories featuring trans characters and one story featuring lesbian mermaids.

I wish we had gotten a story from Pandaria, but the stories we did get were interesting, diverse, and fun to read.

[Kryptomite · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed about half the stories in this book. Some were truly inspired, and really allowed lesser known aspects of the lore to shine (or added new lore altogether), and some honestly felt like they were written by people who knew nothing of the Warcraft universe. The Courageous Kobold, Why the mermaids left Boralus, Sister is another word for always, The uninvited guest, Visage day, and Lay down My bones were all quite good in my opinion. The others were either decent, or petered out a bit for various reasons. Definitely worth the read, though, and the publishing quality makes it the best looking book Blizzard has made.

[Merryn Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved seeing a range of different perspectives in this book who’s stories had yet to be told. Surprisingly, I think the kobold story was my favourite, but there were so many goodies in this collection.

[Hidekisohma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having read a bunch of warcraft books in the past, i came across this one and thought it would be neat to read a bunch of short stories based on warcraft in the form of fairy tales.... it was not that exciting. There were 12 stories so here we go.

1. Eyes of the earth mother: a native american-esc story about creation with Tauren. It was dull. It was told in one of those old timey native american ways and was pretty boring. I find myself skimming my eyes through this one a lot. 2 out of 5.

2. One small tuskar: a story about a female tuskar who goes off to find better fish and be approved by her community. doesn't listen to her elders and goes off to deadly waters and fights a sea serpent. Weird moral to have in a fairy tale book. 'don't listen to your elders and you'll be rewarded'. eh. 2 out of 5.

3. Lay down my bones: a vulpera cautionary tale about listening to your heritage and not disrespecting it. Completely the opposite of the previous one. Dark and depressing, but not poorly written. 2.5 out of 5.

4. Uninvited guest: Goblin cheaps out on giving an appropriate gift at a funeral and gets possessed by a spirit of charity and ends up going broke. Funny, if not drags on a little too long. 3 out of 5.

5. Sister is another word for always: a blood elf misses her dead sister and tries to bring her back. what do you think happens? kind of weird for a game that has like 6 classes that can resurrect, undead resurrection and death knights. Could see the ending coming from a mile away and a story with "move on from grief" would hit a lot better if the game didn't explicitly have multiple ways of bringing people back from the dead. 2 out of 5

6. The paladin's beast: best of the bunch. Uther the paladin gets transported off to another world where he shows that mercy is a very strong weapon. Told like an actual story, had a good if not bittersweet ending, and was overall enjoyable. 4 out of 5.

7. For lies and liberty: newly undead guy in undercity realizes the guy he looked up to in life was a giant jerk and they deal with it. Not bad. Good story about not trusting your heroes blindly. 3 out of 5.

8. Stones, moss, and tears. Night elf story. lame story about how a night elf is too shy to tell a guy she likes him so she has a potion brewed to give her confidence. it's as lame as it sounds. 2 out of 5.

9. The embrace: this had nothing to do with anything. it's a story about a nature spirit who is lonely, makes a kid, loses the kid, is lonely, the kid comes back. it has some in common with eyes of the earth mother only written more terribly and pointless. didn't have ANY of the races from wow and could have literally been in any game or location. didn't have anything to do with the races of azeroth. most pointless of all of them. 1.5/5.

10. Why the mermaids left boralus: a lesbian story about a mermaid in love with a sea priest. Kul Tiran race. it was....fine? but i found myself very bored for most of it and didn't really care. The climax took too long and the story beforehand was boring. 2/5.

11. The courageous kobold and the wickless candle: a kobold hears a story about a wickless candle and runs after their sibling after the sibling hears the story and they find the "candle". this one was pretty good. i liked the characters and it was the only one to actually wrench any kind of emotion from me. good characterization and i actually cared about the characters. 3.5 out of 5.

12: Visage day: a male dragon can't decide on a visage (what he'll look like to not scare human sized people) after farting around for a bit he decides on a female gnome. Because...sure why not. pointless. it was a story about walking around and asking other dragons their opinion. it's as exciting as that sounds. 2.5 out of 5.

If you average all those numbers that comes out to an even 2.5. Which is EXACTLY what this book deserves. a FEW are good, but the rest are either nonsense or boring.

Best 3: 1. Paladin 2. Kobold 3. For lies and liberty
Worst 3: 1. The embrace 2. Eyes of the earth mother 3. stone moss and tears.

If you come across this book, only read paladin, kobold, for lies, and MAYBE uninvited. you can kinda skip the rest. Was this book worth the time i invested?...eh?

the quality was uneven at best, and sigh worthy at worst.

I wouldn't read it again. it was an interesting experiment..but if they ever do another one of these, i'd say, try harder. 2.5 out of 5 rounded up to a 3.

[Sierra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing fairy tale book, and has a lot of lore from past to current expansion. I'm going to rate each story and give a little bit on each one.

Eyes of the Earth Mother - it's basically the beginning of Azeroth, but it also has a lot of lore connection to Taurens. 4 ⭐

One Small Tuskarr - I actually didn't like this one as it made the Tuskarr culture seem...cruel? In a way. 2 ⭐

Lay Down my Bones - This was an awesome spooky story. It also gives lore to why they're nomadic. 5 🌟

The Uninvited Guest - Another super good spooky story. Explains why Azeroth has random quests involving piles of coins lol.
5 🌟

Sister is Another Word for Always - This was amazing and made me cry. I actually read this out loud to my sister, not knowing the context, soooo, yah. That made it way more impactful. Love it, made me cry hard. 5 🌟

The Paladins Beast - Interesting for the most part. 3 ⭐

For Lies and Liberty - This was really good, especially as it takes place when the undead are breaking free of the Lich King. Undercity just became the new home to the undead. Gives a lot of insight. 4 ⭐

Stones, Moss, and Tears - I love that this has such strong messages.
5 🌟

The Embrace - This one was ok. It has a good message but I wasn't overly fond of the story itself. 3 ⭐

Why Mermaids Left Boralus- This gives a lot of lore to Boralus and the tidesages. Reminds me of a Grim's fairy tale, loved it.
5 🌟

The Courageous Kobold...- Super cute, enjoyed this a lot. 4 ⭐

Visage Day - this was awesome cause it's about one of the best dragons in warcraft. I was surprised as I thought about it, but I was like wait, it can't be...oh...that's so cool! No spoiling 5 🌟

[Danielle Palmer]

DNF. I only read one story, and there were a lot of references that people who play the game probably would understand or care about but as I do not play the game I was not in that category. The story I read was about a human woman and a mermaid who pretty much start kissing the first time they are ever physically close enough to, and basically immediately fall in love and a bunch of mermaids use up all their life force building a giant wall even though it says right in the beginning of the story that mermaids are very conservative with their life force and would never do something like that. 🤷‍♀️

[E.J. Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this, both on the level of enjoying the lore (a couple of the stories in particular are clear nods to major plot details) and in the surprise level of representation. If I have to pick a favourite...Probably between Earth-Mother, Mermaids and the Wickless Candle.

I didn't mention this on my previous review but for those unaware, my reading has been hampered by breaking my thumb two months ago, hence my reading slowing down considerably in recent times, but I'm trying to return it to some form of normality

[Cata Grui · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great for both Warcraft fans, but also non-fans. Taken as individual fairy tales, they’re definitely something to read to your kids, or have them read the book themselves when able to. Well written stories, awesome art and great paper quality. An overall great book for kids. Not a bad one for Warcraft fans either.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book design and illustrations. The stories were enjoyable: spooky, funny, interesting, and touching. I liked that many featured some of the more overlooked desiens of Azeroth.

All in all, a fun, good example of what a book of folktales and legends should be! Any WoW fan should read it.

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book - it felt like bedtime stories and brought comfort in their own charming way. While some have some actual lore relevance, many are just stories/folk tales of the races of azeroth.

[Denis Nikolov · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read all the tales, except for the one written by Madeline Roux, of course. And the last tale was a little confusing to me - so it turns out Chromie is a transgender? WTF?

[Jennifer Bentley · Rating 3 out of 5]

A tauren sent me here.

[LaShawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

For “Why the Mermaids Left Boralus” by Tamsyn Muir

[Lily Highwind · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's beautiful and chalk full of amazing authors that already fill my bookshelves! Highly recommend for those looking for more adventures in Azeroth!

[Lea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will read these stories to my future children and they will be fu*ing awesome

[Matthew Vanderhevel · Rating 2 out of 5]

More misses than hits

[nekrow]

Why the Mermaids Left Boralus - Tamsyn Muir

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is absolutely gorgeous. For those of us who love WoW lore and artwork, it's perfect.

[toasty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this collection! My favourites were Lay Down My Bones, by Alyssa Wong, and Sister Is Another Word For Always, by Catherynne Valente.

Lay Down My Bones is a horror/ghost story I really enjoyed! I wouldn't consider it 'canonical' to the game, but that doesn't affect my enjoyment. This is the kind of story that you can imagine being told to unruly Vulpera around the campfire. I'm told this has some Chinese folkloric flavour to it, in the way it speaks to the value of respecting tradition, as well as fulfilling your duties and promises. The included art is very nice and matches the in-game look of Vulpera very well.

Sister Is Another Word For Always is about loss, grief, and eventually acceptance. This story was very vivid, and helped give some additional emotional context to some of the characters I met in Shadowlands (I started playing WoW in Shadowlands). I enjoyed it as a standalone story even before I found out the elves were known characters.

Some other stories I liked were Stones, Moss, And Tears, by Molly Ostertag, and Why The Mermaids Left Boralus, by Tamsyn Muir.

[Envaria · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was mf gorgeous and I loved all the stories