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World of Warcraft #18
Sylvanas
The epic, definitive story of Sylvanas Windrunner, one of World of Warcraft’s most enduring and iconic characters, as chronicled by bestselling author Christie Golden.
Ranger-General. Banshee Queen. Warchief. Sylvanas Windrunner has borne many titles. To some, she is a hero... to others, a villain. But whether in pursuit of justice, vengeance, or something more, Sylvanas has always sought to control her own destiny.
The power to achieve her goals has never been closer, as Sylvanas works alongside the Jailer to liberate all Azeroth from the prison of fate. Her final task? Secure the fealty of their prisoner — King Anduin Wrynn.
To succeed, Sylvanas will be forced to reflect on the harrowing path that brought her to the Jailer’s side, and reveal her truest self to her greatest rival. Here, Sylvanas’ complete story is laid bare: from the breaking of the Windrunner family and her rise to Ranger-General; to her own death at the hands of Arthas and her renewed purpose in founding the Forsaken; to the moment she first beheld the Maw, and understood the true consequences of what lay beyond the veil of death. But as her moment of victory draws near, Sylvanas Windrunner will make a choice that may ultimately come to define her. A choice that’s hers to make.
Duration: 660 minutes.
Ranger-General. Banshee Queen. Warchief. Sylvanas Windrunner has borne many titles. To some, she is a hero... to others, a villain. But whether in pursuit of justice, vengeance, or something more, Sylvanas has always sought to control her own destiny.
The power to achieve her goals has never been closer, as Sylvanas works alongside the Jailer to liberate all Azeroth from the prison of fate. Her final task? Secure the fealty of their prisoner — King Anduin Wrynn.
To succeed, Sylvanas will be forced to reflect on the harrowing path that brought her to the Jailer’s side, and reveal her truest self to her greatest rival. Here, Sylvanas’ complete story is laid bare: from the breaking of the Windrunner family and her rise to Ranger-General; to her own death at the hands of Arthas and her renewed purpose in founding the Forsaken; to the moment she first beheld the Maw, and understood the true consequences of what lay beyond the veil of death. But as her moment of victory draws near, Sylvanas Windrunner will make a choice that may ultimately come to define her. A choice that’s hers to make.
Duration: 660 minutes.
Audiobook
First published March 29, 2022
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About the author
Christie Golden
173 books1,878 followersAward-winning author Christie Golden has written over thirty novels and several short stories in the fields of science fiction, fantasy and horror. She has over a million books in print.
2009 will see no fewer than three novels published. First out in late April will be a World of Warcraft novel, Athas: Rise of the Lich King. This is the first Warcraft novel to appear in hardcover. Fans of the young paladin who fell so far from grace will get to read his definitive story.
In June, Golden’s first Star Wars novel, also a hardcover, sees print. Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi—Omen is the second in a nine-book series she is co-authoring with Aaron Allston and Troy Denning. Also in June comes the conclusion of Golden’s StarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga with the release of Twlight, the third book in the series. The first two are Firstborn and Shadow Hunters.
2004 saw the launch of an original fantasy series called The Final Dance, from LUNA Books. The first novel in the series, On Fire's Wings, was published in July of that year. The second, In Stone’s Clasp , came out in September of 2005. With In Stone’s Clasp, Golden won the Colorado Author’s League Top Hand Award for Best Genre Novel for the second time. The third book, Under Sea’s Shadow, is available only as an e-book
Golden is also the author of two original fantasy novels from Ace Books, King's Man and Thief and Instrument of Fate, which made the 1996 Nebula Preliminary Ballot. Under the pen name of Jadrien Bell, she wrote a historical fantasy thriller entitled A.D. 999, which won the Colorado Author's League Top Hand Award for Best Genre Novel of 1999.
Golden launched the TSR Ravenloft line in 1991 with her first novel, the highly successful Vampire of the Mists , which introduced elven vampire Jander Sunstar. Golden followed up Vampire with Dance of the Dead and The Enemy Within . In September of 2006, fifteen years to the month, The Ravenloft Covenant: Vampire of the Mists enabled Jander Sunstar to reach a whole new audience.
Other projects include a slew of Star Trek novels, among them The Murdered Sun , Marooned , and Seven of Nine , and "The Dark Matters Trilogy," Cloak and Dagger , Ghost Dance and Shadow of Heaven .
The Voyager novel relaunch, which includes Homecoming and The Farther Shore , were bestsellers and were the fastest-selling Trek novels of 2003. Golden continued writing VOYAGER novels even though the show went off the air, and enjoyed exploring the creative freedom that gave her in the two-parter called Spirit Walk, which includes Old Wounds and Enemy of my Enemy .
Golden has also written the novelization of Steven Spielberg's Invasion America and an original "prequel," On The Run , both of which received high praise from producer Harve Bennett. On The Run, a combination medical thriller and science fiction adventure, even prompted Bennett to invite Golden to assist in crafting the second season of the show, if it was renewed.
Golden lives in Loveland, Colorado, with her artist husband and their two cats.
2009 will see no fewer than three novels published. First out in late April will be a World of Warcraft novel, Athas: Rise of the Lich King. This is the first Warcraft novel to appear in hardcover. Fans of the young paladin who fell so far from grace will get to read his definitive story.
In June, Golden’s first Star Wars novel, also a hardcover, sees print. Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi—Omen is the second in a nine-book series she is co-authoring with Aaron Allston and Troy Denning. Also in June comes the conclusion of Golden’s StarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga with the release of Twlight, the third book in the series. The first two are Firstborn and Shadow Hunters.
2004 saw the launch of an original fantasy series called The Final Dance, from LUNA Books. The first novel in the series, On Fire's Wings, was published in July of that year. The second, In Stone’s Clasp , came out in September of 2005. With In Stone’s Clasp, Golden won the Colorado Author’s League Top Hand Award for Best Genre Novel for the second time. The third book, Under Sea’s Shadow, is available only as an e-book
Golden is also the author of two original fantasy novels from Ace Books, King's Man and Thief and Instrument of Fate, which made the 1996 Nebula Preliminary Ballot. Under the pen name of Jadrien Bell, she wrote a historical fantasy thriller entitled A.D. 999, which won the Colorado Author's League Top Hand Award for Best Genre Novel of 1999.
Golden launched the TSR Ravenloft line in 1991 with her first novel, the highly successful Vampire of the Mists , which introduced elven vampire Jander Sunstar. Golden followed up Vampire with Dance of the Dead and The Enemy Within . In September of 2006, fifteen years to the month, The Ravenloft Covenant: Vampire of the Mists enabled Jander Sunstar to reach a whole new audience.
Other projects include a slew of Star Trek novels, among them The Murdered Sun , Marooned , and Seven of Nine , and "The Dark Matters Trilogy," Cloak and Dagger , Ghost Dance and Shadow of Heaven .
The Voyager novel relaunch, which includes Homecoming and The Farther Shore , were bestsellers and were the fastest-selling Trek novels of 2003. Golden continued writing VOYAGER novels even though the show went off the air, and enjoyed exploring the creative freedom that gave her in the two-parter called Spirit Walk, which includes Old Wounds and Enemy of my Enemy .
Golden has also written the novelization of Steven Spielberg's Invasion America and an original "prequel," On The Run , both of which received high praise from producer Harve Bennett. On The Run, a combination medical thriller and science fiction adventure, even prompted Bennett to invite Golden to assist in crafting the second season of the show, if it was renewed.
Golden lives in Loveland, Colorado, with her artist husband and their two cats.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 306 reviews
April 2, 2022
I was *extremely* skeptical to say the least. The writing in the game had ruined Sylvanas' character for me (what with the genocide) and I used to be a huge sylvanas fangirl. Christie Golden did a great job reconciling her character, patching the in game plot holes, and bringing back the characterization of someone mortal and human. It also didn't let her off the hook for any of her actions though, which I appreciated. No spoilers but worth the read, even if you're a skeptic.
March 29, 2022
Such a great book, definitely a great POV without trying to justify Sylvanas's actions, but still giving her perspective. But having Anduin to call her out and bring her back to reality was nice to have. 5 stars, though it wasn't really a lot of groundbreaking new information, it is just an account of her life and a lot of info readers probably already know, just well written and a bit more in depth on things. Excellent read!
April 1, 2022
“You fail to see the greatness you are capable of. You have been underestimated. Unappreciated. But you failed no one.”
What a wild ride. I’m so thankful to Christie Golden for telling the story we have waited years to hear. This book was an incredible insight to the torment Sylvanas went through shaping who she became.
What a wild ride. I’m so thankful to Christie Golden for telling the story we have waited years to hear. This book was an incredible insight to the torment Sylvanas went through shaping who she became.
October 28, 2022
Sylvanas really said “I will never serve,” and then served.
April 12, 2022
This was a funky read. As an avid player of WoW, I'd say this does a pretty decent job of weaving a cohesive story around a character who has been much maligned over several recent expansions. There's no way pulling this off was anything short of walking across a tight rope, and high praise to Golden for figuring out how to weave all the painfully disparate parts together to make something whole.
The book is probably at its best before it gets into events covered within WoW. Once it get there it reads much more disjointed and feels very much like it's filling in blanks rather than telling a fully fleshed out story. However, the story is effectively a biography so this isn't a terrible thing. It does read a bit weird though since the first half-ish of the novel reads much more like a traditional story.
On the other hand, the use of third person for all of the parts where Slyvanas is relating bits of her life seemed like a bad decision to me. I think it would have worked much better in first person and I can't imagine why this wasn't done. I'd also say the transition from where the novel is telling stories set before WoW to those set during WoW makes the second half-ish of the novel feel rushed; like someone was given an hour to do a presentation and did an amazing job conveying everything on the first two slides and then were told they only had ten minutes left to cover the last two slides.
(super mild spoiler) The internet rage over the "lava eels" is absurd and just tells me those people didn't understand what they read. I will say that I feel there ample better scenarios that could have been used to convey the same message and impact though.
The book is probably at its best before it gets into events covered within WoW. Once it get there it reads much more disjointed and feels very much like it's filling in blanks rather than telling a fully fleshed out story. However, the story is effectively a biography so this isn't a terrible thing. It does read a bit weird though since the first half-ish of the novel reads much more like a traditional story.
On the other hand, the use of third person for all of the parts where Slyvanas is relating bits of her life seemed like a bad decision to me. I think it would have worked much better in first person and I can't imagine why this wasn't done. I'd also say the transition from where the novel is telling stories set before WoW to those set during WoW makes the second half-ish of the novel feel rushed; like someone was given an hour to do a presentation and did an amazing job conveying everything on the first two slides and then were told they only had ten minutes left to cover the last two slides.
(super mild spoiler) The internet rage over the "lava eels" is absurd and just tells me those people didn't understand what they read. I will say that I feel there ample better scenarios that could have been used to convey the same message and impact though.
March 31, 2022
For her ability to somehow bridge the mess and failing that has been recent in game “lore” with classic lore Golden deserves 5 stars alone.
She manages to do both the Ranger-General and Dark Lady justice and each rightly have their own voice. Everything with the Jailer I can’t hold against her and she did the best she could with an established and illogical plot.
I wish she had better to work with for my favorite character, and I’m thankful for what she did do. This is a good place to leave the Warcraft lore books for me.
She manages to do both the Ranger-General and Dark Lady justice and each rightly have their own voice. Everything with the Jailer I can’t hold against her and she did the best she could with an established and illogical plot.
I wish she had better to work with for my favorite character, and I’m thankful for what she did do. This is a good place to leave the Warcraft lore books for me.
July 14, 2023
I picked up this book because I wanted to learn more about Sylvanas' adventures without having to play the entirety of World of Warcraft or watch hours of cutscenes on YouTube. Unfortunately, I would have been better off doing either of those things rather than struggling through this book. I went into this book with next to no other context except having played a handful of hours of WOW classic and that was simply not enough. This book basically assumes that you have played every expansion of retail WOW (which is hundreds of hours of content) and does not elaborate on events already covered by the game.
Now I do not believe this to be the author's fault. Based on the author's notes it seems like she was very strictly monitored and guided through what she was allowed to cover. Making an educated guess here, the first half of the book felt the most fleshed out and I think that is because it is not covered in the game, so Christie was able to write more of a coherent story for Slyvanas' early life. As soon as Sylvanas' story becomes exciting we the reader are subjected to frequent time skips with no explanation. It wasn't until I was discussing this with my partner that he realized the time skips were glossing over what happens in the game. For a WOW expert this might not effect the fluidity of the story but, for me these time skips made the story almost incoherent. There were many moments where I wished to stop reading but essentially used my partner as a WOW Lore crutch to slog through to the end. Anytime a name is dropped or a reference is made it almost always alluded to something from the game which is cool but with no other context it is lost on your casual reader.
If the book had to skip over content based on Blizzard's guidelines, I wish they would have included references or footnotes. Like hey this time skip is covered by the Burning Shadows expansion! If you're interested we have a playlist on YouTube of these moments. Or something along those lines where if they aren't allowing Christie the freedom of context, give us literally anything to help make this a cohesive story. At the end of the day, if I am just looking at this book as a singular entity, it does not work.
Now I do not believe this to be the author's fault. Based on the author's notes it seems like she was very strictly monitored and guided through what she was allowed to cover. Making an educated guess here, the first half of the book felt the most fleshed out and I think that is because it is not covered in the game, so Christie was able to write more of a coherent story for Slyvanas' early life. As soon as Sylvanas' story becomes exciting we the reader are subjected to frequent time skips with no explanation. It wasn't until I was discussing this with my partner that he realized the time skips were glossing over what happens in the game. For a WOW expert this might not effect the fluidity of the story but, for me these time skips made the story almost incoherent. There were many moments where I wished to stop reading but essentially used my partner as a WOW Lore crutch to slog through to the end. Anytime a name is dropped or a reference is made it almost always alluded to something from the game which is cool but with no other context it is lost on your casual reader.
If the book had to skip over content based on Blizzard's guidelines, I wish they would have included references or footnotes. Like hey this time skip is covered by the Burning Shadows expansion! If you're interested we have a playlist on YouTube of these moments. Or something along those lines where if they aren't allowing Christie the freedom of context, give us literally anything to help make this a cohesive story. At the end of the day, if I am just looking at this book as a singular entity, it does not work.
April 6, 2023
Ok, so this is a bit weird review for me to write, as I'm definitely not the target audience for this book. I've been rather obsessed with Warcraft lore around W3, kinda followed it until the Wrath of the Lich King (whenever I think about Kael'thas in BC I want to go all Vito Corleone "What did they do to my boy?!) I completely stopped following it afterwards. Oh, and I've never played WoW. So I guess starting with 18th volume that takes place sometime during 9th (I think) expansion is rather weird. Either way, I'm going to review this book with the knowledge I have, as I believe stories like that should stand on their own.
(By the way, seeing how Blizzard is famously inconsistent with their lore, I wonder how books such as these are written. Did Christie Golden receive a list of contradictory facts about Sylvanas and was she told: "Make it make sense"? I like to imagine that a more experienced writer came to her and told her: "Write what you want, we'll retcon it anyway". By the way, it's been some 17 years since I played Frozen Throne, but I thiiiiink I recall Sylvanas regaining her body before the Frozen Throne campaign, not during).
Ok, so the book.
It's not bad. In fact I've rather enjoyed it (with a caveat about which later). The biggest problem to me was the pacing, but I'm just one of those guys who dislikes stories starting with childhood and then going through formative years before actually kicking off the plot (I'm looking at you, Peter V. Brett). Sylvanas's childhood was quite interesting and well written, but I have my doubts if it was necessary to include here (though some parts of it had their pay-off later). The issue is that after Sylvanas gets turned into an undead (after 20 years since W3 came out I don't think it qualifies as a spoiler) she becomes a much more interesting character (yey!) but the plot starts going on breakneck speed (nay!). With me being unfamiliar with WoW, I can't say for sure if it described only events from the game or describes events AROUND the things that happened in the game. Either way, we get plenty of time-skips, basically every other chapter, with makes for a rather disjointed narrative.
It is a pity because some conflicts and dilemmas here are really, really interesting (at least to me, a guy who hasn't played WoW) and I'd love to know more about what makes Sylvanas make the decisions she did, how did she feel about them, what were the consequences etc. And I could forever read about Sylvanas sassing Arthas (what a jerk) while she's enslaved to him. Pity we get only one chapter of that.
And then we get into the epilogue that takes place after all the conflicts have been resolved off-screen (during the game, I suppose). That's why I think some fans were dissatisfied with Sylvanas acting out of character in some expansions so Christie Golden was told "make her decisions make sense". The book basically reads as a giant explanation for her reasonigs and motive rant - which actually makes some sense, seeing as it's framed as she's trying to convince Anduin to join her. It just doesn't make for the most fascinating story.
So that concludes the main part of the review, but I need to say one more thing. Recently a dear friend of mine listened to an audiobook of a disappointing book which had almost been elevetated by Christopher Lee's narration. Finally I understood what she meant. Despite all my criticisms, after finishing this book, I wanted immediately to:
1) Give it five stars.
2) Start reading it again.
3) Spend thousands of $ and hundreds of hours, ignoring my family, playing World of Warcraft, a game I know I wouldn't enjoy, just to listen to all cutscenes featuring Sylvanas.
Why?
Two words: Patty Mattson.
It will forever be one of my biggest life regrets (together with the fact that a whole year after being born my son STILL can't recite the whole Silmarillion by heart) that, to the best of my knowledge, this is the only audiobook she has ever narrated. The voice actress for Sylvanas and narrator of this audiobook delivers a performance that can only be described as beyond flawless. There are plenty of narrators (I'm looking at you, guy who narrates Piekara's audiobooks) who try to out-Mercer Matt Mercer, changing their voices so that they are absolutely ridiculous and make it impossible to actually listen to the books. Patty provides "just" a supreme narration, while changing her voice in very subtle ways to hint at the characteristics of the person speaking, without going into exaggeration and absurd. I need to drop her a message, saying how great she was. And listen to her songs. Seriously, I would even listen to 50 Shades of Grey if she were to narrate it. Bravo, Patty.
"Sylvanas" was by no means a terrible book, but not a great one either, especially to someone like me, not up to date with WoW lore. With Patty's delivery, the audiobook was truly supremely enjoyable and I don't regret a second spent on it. (In fact, I listen to all audiobooks on 1.25 speed. This one I set to 1.00 just to enjoy it longer.)
(By the way, seeing how Blizzard is famously inconsistent with their lore, I wonder how books such as these are written. Did Christie Golden receive a list of contradictory facts about Sylvanas and was she told: "Make it make sense"? I like to imagine that a more experienced writer came to her and told her: "Write what you want, we'll retcon it anyway". By the way, it's been some 17 years since I played Frozen Throne, but I thiiiiink I recall Sylvanas regaining her body before the Frozen Throne campaign, not during).
Ok, so the book.
It's not bad. In fact I've rather enjoyed it (with a caveat about which later). The biggest problem to me was the pacing, but I'm just one of those guys who dislikes stories starting with childhood and then going through formative years before actually kicking off the plot (I'm looking at you, Peter V. Brett). Sylvanas's childhood was quite interesting and well written, but I have my doubts if it was necessary to include here (though some parts of it had their pay-off later). The issue is that after Sylvanas gets turned into an undead (after 20 years since W3 came out I don't think it qualifies as a spoiler) she becomes a much more interesting character (yey!) but the plot starts going on breakneck speed (nay!). With me being unfamiliar with WoW, I can't say for sure if it described only events from the game or describes events AROUND the things that happened in the game. Either way, we get plenty of time-skips, basically every other chapter, with makes for a rather disjointed narrative.
It is a pity because some conflicts and dilemmas here are really, really interesting (at least to me, a guy who hasn't played WoW) and I'd love to know more about what makes Sylvanas make the decisions she did, how did she feel about them, what were the consequences etc. And I could forever read about Sylvanas sassing Arthas (what a jerk) while she's enslaved to him. Pity we get only one chapter of that.
And then we get into the epilogue that takes place after all the conflicts have been resolved off-screen (during the game, I suppose). That's why I think some fans were dissatisfied with Sylvanas acting out of character in some expansions so Christie Golden was told "make her decisions make sense". The book basically reads as a giant explanation for her reasonigs and motive rant - which actually makes some sense, seeing as it's framed as she's trying to convince Anduin to join her. It just doesn't make for the most fascinating story.
So that concludes the main part of the review, but I need to say one more thing. Recently a dear friend of mine listened to an audiobook of a disappointing book which had almost been elevetated by Christopher Lee's narration. Finally I understood what she meant. Despite all my criticisms, after finishing this book, I wanted immediately to:
1) Give it five stars.
2) Start reading it again.
3) Spend thousands of $ and hundreds of hours, ignoring my family, playing World of Warcraft, a game I know I wouldn't enjoy, just to listen to all cutscenes featuring Sylvanas.
Why?
Two words: Patty Mattson.
It will forever be one of my biggest life regrets (together with the fact that a whole year after being born my son STILL can't recite the whole Silmarillion by heart) that, to the best of my knowledge, this is the only audiobook she has ever narrated. The voice actress for Sylvanas and narrator of this audiobook delivers a performance that can only be described as beyond flawless. There are plenty of narrators (I'm looking at you, guy who narrates Piekara's audiobooks) who try to out-Mercer Matt Mercer, changing their voices so that they are absolutely ridiculous and make it impossible to actually listen to the books. Patty provides "just" a supreme narration, while changing her voice in very subtle ways to hint at the characteristics of the person speaking, without going into exaggeration and absurd. I need to drop her a message, saying how great she was. And listen to her songs. Seriously, I would even listen to 50 Shades of Grey if she were to narrate it. Bravo, Patty.
"Sylvanas" was by no means a terrible book, but not a great one either, especially to someone like me, not up to date with WoW lore. With Patty's delivery, the audiobook was truly supremely enjoyable and I don't regret a second spent on it. (In fact, I listen to all audiobooks on 1.25 speed. This one I set to 1.00 just to enjoy it longer.)
April 19, 2022
"By the light of the sun, with perfect equanimity, General-Ranger Sylvanas Windrunner died a hero on the battlefield, shouting defiance to the pale prince whose subjects were dead things, as Frostmourne cut into her with the coldness of ice and death."
"The breaking of so great a thing should make
A greater crack: the round world
Should have shook lions into civil streets,
And citizens to their dens."
- Shakespeare, Anthony and Cleopatra
What is this? The ultimate book about my most beloved Sylvanas Windrunner, Lady Moon, Ranger-General of Silvermoon, Banshee Queen, the Dark Lady, Queen of the Forsaken, Warchief of the Horde that took me on a rollercoaster of heavy emotions that spawned 34 previous Warcraft novels that were quite difficult to revisit (Alleria's disappearance through the Dark Portal, Varian's return, the injustice of Alexstrasza, Arthas and the Burning Legion, The Blight hidden in bags of grains, the burning of my beloved Ashenvale Forest), written by the only person who could ever give justice to what was always such a deeply controversial character?
Fantastic!
"Alleria placed the arrow in her empty quiver. Sylvanas thought it looked lonely, with none of its fellows surrounding it."
Warcraft has always been the universe in which male and female have shared strength and leadership surprisingly equally, but Sylvanas stands out as the one character who has always tipped the scales of power dramatically to her own favour, alive or undead.
One's own Warcraft playing days are long over, but the lore is still irresistibly readable. Especially when it comes to the Dark Lady. This book has been strongly desired since Sylvanas first appeared in 2002 in patch 7.0 of Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos. And only Golden could understand the subtlety of the fearless Banshee Queen having feelings for a lonely arrow.
Whether one fraternises with the Alliance or the Horde, everybody loves Sylvanas. She represents all the sins we don't actually have the courage to commit: rebellion.
Sylvanas is, above else, a rebel. A rebel with her own cause, the most dangerous kind.
"Kael caught her arm for a moment, then said softly, for her ears only, "Had I asked for your hand... the last thing I would wish would be to change who you are.""
One can only chuckle at Kael's childlike nature, in comparison. It's almost amazing she herself resisted the temptation. She, who was broken by the Lich King only to break him in return.
"I am the woman with an arrow pointed at your heart."
Christie Golden says Sylvanas is like chocolate, dark and bittersweet.
Well, this reader fucking loves chocolate.
"Her gloved hand clenched into a fist, a gesture of rage and defiance. The first gesture she had been able to make when she was once again a creature of free will."
Realistically, Sylvanas should have been with Illidan...
"My lady, you are too smart to be so foolish..." - Nathanos Marris
But that would have been too practical a relationship and they never met, even though their destinies are quite mirrored. A Fall, followed by a return to the Light.
"power does not mate with power"... Brunhilde and Sigurd and all that....
... as it would have ripped the fabric of reality in ways no Warcraft baddie ever even dared to imagine.
This reader used to think there was something poetic in these two Tragically Beautiful characters, mercifully, never meeting. But by the end, Illidan would have named her his own Queen (see reference here). And, as the lore eventually proves, they would have seen the Light, they would have rebuilt the world with their own hands. If nothing else, as a gesture of defiance towards their own narrowmindedness that prevented them from seeing the Light to begin with.
"not a banshee, not a ranger general, but always a Windrunner..."
***
Sylvana's song Lament of the Highborne here.
***
MUSE
- Anna Akhmatova -
When, at night, I wait for her to come,
Life, it seems, hangs by a single strand.
What is glory, youth, freedom, in comparison
To a dear, welcomed guest, a flute in hand?
She enters now. Pushing the veil aside,
She stares through me with her vigilance.
I ask: "Was it you who dictated the Inferno to Dante?"
She answers: "I".
"The breaking of so great a thing should make
A greater crack: the round world
Should have shook lions into civil streets,
And citizens to their dens."
- Shakespeare, Anthony and Cleopatra
What is this? The ultimate book about my most beloved Sylvanas Windrunner, Lady Moon, Ranger-General of Silvermoon, Banshee Queen, the Dark Lady, Queen of the Forsaken, Warchief of the Horde that took me on a rollercoaster of heavy emotions that spawned 34 previous Warcraft novels that were quite difficult to revisit (Alleria's disappearance through the Dark Portal, Varian's return, the injustice of Alexstrasza, Arthas and the Burning Legion, The Blight hidden in bags of grains, the burning of my beloved Ashenvale Forest), written by the only person who could ever give justice to what was always such a deeply controversial character?
Fantastic!
"Alleria placed the arrow in her empty quiver. Sylvanas thought it looked lonely, with none of its fellows surrounding it."
Warcraft has always been the universe in which male and female have shared strength and leadership surprisingly equally, but Sylvanas stands out as the one character who has always tipped the scales of power dramatically to her own favour, alive or undead.
One's own Warcraft playing days are long over, but the lore is still irresistibly readable. Especially when it comes to the Dark Lady. This book has been strongly desired since Sylvanas first appeared in 2002 in patch 7.0 of Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos. And only Golden could understand the subtlety of the fearless Banshee Queen having feelings for a lonely arrow.
Whether one fraternises with the Alliance or the Horde, everybody loves Sylvanas. She represents all the sins we don't actually have the courage to commit: rebellion.
Sylvanas is, above else, a rebel. A rebel with her own cause, the most dangerous kind.
"Kael caught her arm for a moment, then said softly, for her ears only, "Had I asked for your hand... the last thing I would wish would be to change who you are.""
One can only chuckle at Kael's childlike nature, in comparison. It's almost amazing she herself resisted the temptation. She, who was broken by the Lich King only to break him in return.
"I am the woman with an arrow pointed at your heart."
Christie Golden says Sylvanas is like chocolate, dark and bittersweet.
Well, this reader fucking loves chocolate.
"Her gloved hand clenched into a fist, a gesture of rage and defiance. The first gesture she had been able to make when she was once again a creature of free will."
Realistically, Sylvanas should have been with Illidan...
"My lady, you are too smart to be so foolish..." - Nathanos Marris
But that would have been too practical a relationship and they never met, even though their destinies are quite mirrored. A Fall, followed by a return to the Light.
"power does not mate with power"... Brunhilde and Sigurd and all that....
... as it would have ripped the fabric of reality in ways no Warcraft baddie ever even dared to imagine.
This reader used to think there was something poetic in these two Tragically Beautiful characters, mercifully, never meeting. But by the end, Illidan would have named her his own Queen (see reference here). And, as the lore eventually proves, they would have seen the Light, they would have rebuilt the world with their own hands. If nothing else, as a gesture of defiance towards their own narrowmindedness that prevented them from seeing the Light to begin with.
"not a banshee, not a ranger general, but always a Windrunner..."
***
Sylvana's song Lament of the Highborne here.
***
MUSE
- Anna Akhmatova -
When, at night, I wait for her to come,
Life, it seems, hangs by a single strand.
What is glory, youth, freedom, in comparison
To a dear, welcomed guest, a flute in hand?
She enters now. Pushing the veil aside,
She stares through me with her vigilance.
I ask: "Was it you who dictated the Inferno to Dante?"
She answers: "I".
March 26, 2022
Read an early copy that came into my bookstore. Honestly much better than I was expecting. Gives a lot of context to the story that I wish was in game but better than nothing. Not enough to make me sympathize with Sylvanas but we can at least understand how the Jailer played her so easily.
October 16, 2025
4/5 stars for a world of warcraft novel
3/5 for my standards of fantasy books
Honestly, for a characters whose in game writing has been... lacking.. for 3 expansions this was pretty good.
3/5 for my standards of fantasy books
Honestly, for a characters whose in game writing has been... lacking.. for 3 expansions this was pretty good.
December 9, 2022
It's a nice tie in of major events in WoW last several expansions and big story arc. Good Sylvanas childhood story, and that's about the only part that is good and creative. The rest of the book is just hindsight driven writing, not to mention incredibly slow & lacking any dynamism or action. Feels like a lengthy explanation to make Sylvanas and her entire arc seem plausible.
April 15, 2022
No worries: Spoiler Free Review
First of all, since first it was announced and after I heard it would be voiced by Patty Mattson, my initial plan was always to both read it from text and meanwhile listening to her. Oh, and what a satisfying experience it was! I especially read it slowly in a 10 day time, I stopped, turned back, read and listened some parts once more.
So, this must be said while beginning the review, as I have also replied to the tweet of Christie Golden while she was also praising Patty Mattson's performance:
She was indeed truly amazing! Yes, it was like Sylvanas herself was telling her story to me in person but that was already expected, also the characters beyond Sylvanas, the range in her voice acting is unbelievable, from cute children to Lich King, Jailer... And more! Again, with the true definition of the word: Amazing.
Audio book production quality is really good too, all clear and easy to follow, occasional background music etc. (and again as I said) *chef's kiss* Super tasty!
But of course, the "Audible" part aside, this is after all a literary work and I have read it as an avid World of Warcraft player and a Loremaster; a title which I don't just already have in game but also by loving and learning the lore of the game and its deep and long story by reading all the books, comics, short stories etc. some several times and most of those repeats had either whole or at least some work of "Master" Christie Golden already.
And in this book, I must say, she excelled her craft; took it to a new level. The storytelling, the captivating construct of the plot and the flow of the fluent dialogues and stories were all perfect.
Yes, there were some rare small splinters that took my attention and made me wince, a little contradiction with the previously told stories every now and then, some gaps, some retellings, but they were so miniscule and did not bother me in the general construct of the story, at all. Just caused one small star out of perfection, but I guess Master Golden would understand and forgive me for that.
For me, as a reader and whose main World of Warcraft character is a Sylvanas Loyalist, my greatest expectation from this book was to know Sylvanas Windrunner better, and this book succeeds in giving me; the reader exactly that.
As a Loyalist, I can promise everyone, you will understand Sylvanas. Our former Warchief and our eternal Dark Lady, and of course our Queen.
She will remain all those for me still, because now after reading this book, I truly know her and now, love her character a lot more. I now know the reasons and underlying thought process of her actions.
After all, that is something everyone deserves: Being able to tell their side of the story. As proven here too, it works, she may seem "punished" in game when you look from outside, but the story of our Queen does not end here with this book, this is at the same time a new beginning.
Some may even say "A New Hope"...
Overall:
I would personally strongly suggest every World of Warcraft player to read this great book. Especially if you love the lore of the game and want to know its characters a lot better.
First of all, since first it was announced and after I heard it would be voiced by Patty Mattson, my initial plan was always to both read it from text and meanwhile listening to her. Oh, and what a satisfying experience it was! I especially read it slowly in a 10 day time, I stopped, turned back, read and listened some parts once more.
So, this must be said while beginning the review, as I have also replied to the tweet of Christie Golden while she was also praising Patty Mattson's performance:
She was indeed truly amazing! Yes, it was like Sylvanas herself was telling her story to me in person but that was already expected, also the characters beyond Sylvanas, the range in her voice acting is unbelievable, from cute children to Lich King, Jailer... And more! Again, with the true definition of the word: Amazing.
Audio book production quality is really good too, all clear and easy to follow, occasional background music etc. (and again as I said) *chef's kiss* Super tasty!
But of course, the "Audible" part aside, this is after all a literary work and I have read it as an avid World of Warcraft player and a Loremaster; a title which I don't just already have in game but also by loving and learning the lore of the game and its deep and long story by reading all the books, comics, short stories etc. some several times and most of those repeats had either whole or at least some work of "Master" Christie Golden already.
And in this book, I must say, she excelled her craft; took it to a new level. The storytelling, the captivating construct of the plot and the flow of the fluent dialogues and stories were all perfect.
Yes, there were some rare small splinters that took my attention and made me wince, a little contradiction with the previously told stories every now and then, some gaps, some retellings, but they were so miniscule and did not bother me in the general construct of the story, at all. Just caused one small star out of perfection, but I guess Master Golden would understand and forgive me for that.
For me, as a reader and whose main World of Warcraft character is a Sylvanas Loyalist, my greatest expectation from this book was to know Sylvanas Windrunner better, and this book succeeds in giving me; the reader exactly that.
As a Loyalist, I can promise everyone, you will understand Sylvanas. Our former Warchief and our eternal Dark Lady, and of course our Queen.
She will remain all those for me still, because now after reading this book, I truly know her and now, love her character a lot more. I now know the reasons and underlying thought process of her actions.
After all, that is something everyone deserves: Being able to tell their side of the story. As proven here too, it works, she may seem "punished" in game when you look from outside, but the story of our Queen does not end here with this book, this is at the same time a new beginning.
Some may even say "A New Hope"...
Overall:
I would personally strongly suggest every World of Warcraft player to read this great book. Especially if you love the lore of the game and want to know its characters a lot better.
April 17, 2022
Sylvanas Windrunner is one of the most intriguing and complex characters in the Warcraft universe and I'm so glad she finally got her own novel.
I have to admit that I haven't bothered to keep up with the lore in the latest WoW expansions so my knowledge is limited to the main story beats. I was therefore delighted to find out that most of the book (around 3/4) recounts Sylvanas' early life up until WotLK. Some parts are glossed over but that happens quite often with books based on video games so I understand why it was done. I simply have to mention Nathanos - he was surprisingly one of the highlights of the novel for me and the moments he shared with Sylvanas added so much to both of their characters.
However, when I got to part IV things started to falter even though I think Golden did her best with what she had to work with. I knew the introduction of the Jailer was inevitable but I expected it to happen much later. Anyway, let me quote Sylvanas herself: “No. I refuse to believe this nonsense.” I just can't get over how the Jailer retroactively ruins decades of great storytelling..
Overall though, I had a great time with this novel despite feeling bitter about all things Shadowlands and my final rating is a solid 4/5 stars.
I have to admit that I haven't bothered to keep up with the lore in the latest WoW expansions so my knowledge is limited to the main story beats. I was therefore delighted to find out that most of the book (around 3/4) recounts Sylvanas' early life up until WotLK. Some parts are glossed over but that happens quite often with books based on video games so I understand why it was done. I simply have to mention Nathanos - he was surprisingly one of the highlights of the novel for me and the moments he shared with Sylvanas added so much to both of their characters.
However, when I got to part IV things started to falter even though I think Golden did her best with what she had to work with. I knew the introduction of the Jailer was inevitable but I expected it to happen much later. Anyway, let me quote Sylvanas herself: “No. I refuse to believe this nonsense.” I just can't get over how the Jailer retroactively ruins decades of great storytelling..
Overall though, I had a great time with this novel despite feeling bitter about all things Shadowlands and my final rating is a solid 4/5 stars.
September 12, 2023
• There's my Lady Moon!
And there's my Little Lord Sun! •
🌙🏹💀
Der Einstieg von Sylvanas' Rahmenerzählung geschah etwas zu plötzlich dafür, dass sich diese als Erzählung zwischen Sylvanas und Anduin darstellen sollte. Auch erschien dieser Austausch zunächst etwas out of character.
Die gesamte Hintergrundgeschichte gefiel dann sehr gut. Sie wurde, wie erwartet, zunehmend tragisch, aber verband schlüssig die verschiedenen WoW-Expansions und die Handlungen der neueren Romane.
Und das Ende erklärte dann auch, warum dieser out of character-Dialog in dieser Form stattgefunden hat. Ein toller Story-Abschluss für die Shadowlands-Expansion!
And there's my Little Lord Sun! •
🌙🏹💀
Der Einstieg von Sylvanas' Rahmenerzählung geschah etwas zu plötzlich dafür, dass sich diese als Erzählung zwischen Sylvanas und Anduin darstellen sollte. Auch erschien dieser Austausch zunächst etwas out of character.
Die gesamte Hintergrundgeschichte gefiel dann sehr gut. Sie wurde, wie erwartet, zunehmend tragisch, aber verband schlüssig die verschiedenen WoW-Expansions und die Handlungen der neueren Romane.
Und das Ende erklärte dann auch, warum dieser out of character-Dialog in dieser Form stattgefunden hat. Ein toller Story-Abschluss für die Shadowlands-Expansion!
May 11, 2022
Christie Golden is a veteran of the Fantasy and Sci-Fi genres and has been a staple writer for novels of the Warcraft franchise since Warcraft: Lord of the Clans in 2001. Her 2009 Warcraft novel World of Warcraft: Arthas: Rise of the Lich King was not only Golden's first New York Times Bestseller, but is also one of my personal favourite books.
Golden's latest novel in the franchise, Sylvanas, shares many similarities with the highly regarded Rise of the Lich King. Both novels serve to provide a deeper understanding of the character and motivation of an iconic Warcraft character and Sylvanas' first death by Arthas' soul-stealing mourneblade has left the legacy of the two characters entwined to this day.
Sylvanas takes the concept of exploring the history of Sylvanas and frames it as her attempt to sway the imprisoned Alliance King, Anduin Wrynn, to hers and the Jailors' cause. Sylvanas recounts the events, and traumas, that shaped her life and are, in her view, the fuel behind the recent actions she has taken within the World of Warcraft: Shadowlands narrative. This framing device is later used to create a knowing, satisfying, conclusion.
Shadowlands is considered by many to be a narrative low point in the almost 20 year history of World of Warcraft, and so I approached this tie-in novel with tempered expectations. I was intrigued to see Sylvanas given more depth, yet equally weary that this narrative might tarnish who I consider one of Warcraft's strongest characters.
I listened to the audiobook of Sylvanas, which was narrated by Patty Mattson, Sylvanas' voice actor since 2004. The addition of the Blood Elf racial music at the start of each chapter helped fueled deep nostalgia for my time spent in the stunning Blood Elf starting zone, and Mattson's engaging performance helped to sell the love, loss and suffering Sylvanas has endured and the pain, hatred and remorse she holds onto long after her death.
Ultimately I enjoyed Sylvanas far more than I expected. The novel has a lot of backstory to get through and many of the events it touches upon have been covered in greater depth in other novels and tie-in material but the tight focus of Sylvanas, who I treated as an unreliable narrator considering the framing of the novel, and her own, deeply personal, perspective gave many those events new life and a fresh take.
Sylvanas is a deeply personal journey through some highlights of the Warcraft lore, framed as Sylvanas' attempts to justify her actions, and sway Anduin to her cause. Far more enjoyable than may be expected, it is certainly a treat for both veterans of the franchise and newcomers who have been following recent lore and are eager to learn more about a pivotal character in the current story.
Golden's latest novel in the franchise, Sylvanas, shares many similarities with the highly regarded Rise of the Lich King. Both novels serve to provide a deeper understanding of the character and motivation of an iconic Warcraft character and Sylvanas' first death by Arthas' soul-stealing mourneblade has left the legacy of the two characters entwined to this day.
Sylvanas takes the concept of exploring the history of Sylvanas and frames it as her attempt to sway the imprisoned Alliance King, Anduin Wrynn, to hers and the Jailors' cause. Sylvanas recounts the events, and traumas, that shaped her life and are, in her view, the fuel behind the recent actions she has taken within the World of Warcraft: Shadowlands narrative. This framing device is later used to create a knowing, satisfying, conclusion.
Shadowlands is considered by many to be a narrative low point in the almost 20 year history of World of Warcraft, and so I approached this tie-in novel with tempered expectations. I was intrigued to see Sylvanas given more depth, yet equally weary that this narrative might tarnish who I consider one of Warcraft's strongest characters.
I listened to the audiobook of Sylvanas, which was narrated by Patty Mattson, Sylvanas' voice actor since 2004. The addition of the Blood Elf racial music at the start of each chapter helped fueled deep nostalgia for my time spent in the stunning Blood Elf starting zone, and Mattson's engaging performance helped to sell the love, loss and suffering Sylvanas has endured and the pain, hatred and remorse she holds onto long after her death.
Ultimately I enjoyed Sylvanas far more than I expected. The novel has a lot of backstory to get through and many of the events it touches upon have been covered in greater depth in other novels and tie-in material but the tight focus of Sylvanas, who I treated as an unreliable narrator considering the framing of the novel, and her own, deeply personal, perspective gave many those events new life and a fresh take.
Sylvanas is a deeply personal journey through some highlights of the Warcraft lore, framed as Sylvanas' attempts to justify her actions, and sway Anduin to her cause. Far more enjoyable than may be expected, it is certainly a treat for both veterans of the franchise and newcomers who have been following recent lore and are eager to learn more about a pivotal character in the current story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 17, 2022
The first 3-5 chapters was the most I've enjoyed the Warcraft universe in about a decade.
May 31, 2022
Quite frustrating
February 23, 2023
No sé qué es lo que esperaba de este libro, pero no me ha satisfecho como hubiese deseado. No sé, puede que el hecho de ser la historia de un personaje que nunca me ha caído bien haya hecho que lo puntúe tan bajo. Pero es que el final... me ha parecido precipitado e inconcluso.
Como positivo, el hecho de seguir constatando que Christie Golden escribe fabulosamente bien.
Como positivo, el hecho de seguir constatando que Christie Golden escribe fabulosamente bien.
August 6, 2022
This was an amazing walk through the life of the Banshee Queen. Through out the book it changed my mind about my feelings about Sylvanas!
December 6, 2023
Loved the first two thirds of this book; getting to know Sylvanas and her backstory. The last third though? UGH. The jailer storyline is just so meh, such a cop out. Obviously that’s not the authors fault as she was working with the storyline already established in the game, but yikes.
November 4, 2022
If you play the game you will know most of this story, it just fills in some blanks from Warcraft 3 to Shadowlands .
Well written and fast read, only for fans who want to know that little bit extra about Sylvanas and her story arc/motivations.
Well written and fast read, only for fans who want to know that little bit extra about Sylvanas and her story arc/motivations.
August 10, 2022
Am citit cu sufletul la gură Sylvanas, roman semnat de Christie Golden, care explorează personajul meu preferat din universul World of Warcraft. Deși sunt multe lucruri pe care le știam deja despre Sylvanas, modul în care autoarea le înlănțuie în proză este unul înduioșător. Sylvanas nu este un personaj bun sau rău, ci complex, care crește, se destramă, se transformă încontinuu, având o viață (și tot ce înseamnă dincolo de aceasta) lipsită de banalitate.
Recenzia mea, pe blog.
Recenzia mea, pe blog.
August 3, 2022
So, let me preface this that I used to be a fan of the Warcraft franchise. I played a ton of the original Warcraft games, I enjoyed World of Warcraft up to Cataclysm's release, and I've always been invested in the lore of the world. I even read a few of the novels in that time, and thoroughly enjoyed them back then. I'm not implying the world or games got bad, I just grew out of it.
Well, fast-forward to the present day and I hear a word of Sylvanas novel coming out. Well, great! A book about my favourite Warcraft character by an author whose book I've enjoyed… dear god, 15 years ago… I had no choice but to give it a shot.
Well, let me break this down. This novel fails to be a book. I mean that because it reads more like a fan-fiction and seems to fail to realize that Freytag's Pyramid is actually a nice thing. Neither of these things by themselves would pose too much of an issue. This could all be well salvaged, were it not for the restrictions that are placed upon this by the massive world it's adapting. This book tries to capture a point of view of a single character in a world that is actively being developed for decades as a video game universe. It very much limits the plot development and pacing of the book. There's not enough time to cover all of Sylvana's arcs in the grander scheme of things, and the author needs to decide what to give more attention to.
On the storytelling side of things, the book is all over the place. The plot is all over the place, there's time skips that are not apparent unless you know why they are there, there's almost no exposition because the book expects you to know about the world. The characters are one dimensional and follow the character development of Generic Fantasy Character™. Even though I liked most of the characters, it was all because of my previous connection to them. The ending fails to provide any real resolution and is so disorganized, that it's hard to follow unless you're fully caught up on the universe. It at that point feels more like a breakdown of the cinematics, than an actual story telling.
I'll divide my recommendation, or lack there of, into three categories.
Firstly, if you are a World of Warcraft fan and are fairly familiar with the world and the stories of at least the major points in history and the main characters that follow them, this should be a decent read. Well, provided you like Sylvanas. The things missing from the book as a generic story will mostly get filled by your knowledge, and you'll enjoy the book for what it is. A glorified list of references with a hint of plot attached to it. You probably won't mind the lack of character development, because you should be familiar with the characters from the games, and that's as far as they go in the book.
Secondly, if you are like me, and you enjoyed the games in the past, you still remember the world and some major points to an extent, then this book might be a decent experience. You can probably get a nostalgia hit, “enjoy the scenery,” recognize names and places and forgive some failings of the overarching narrative. Overall, I wouldn't recommend this to you, unless you really want to remember the old times and enjoy a little insight into Sylvana's past years.
Thirdly, if you have no idea what Azeroth means, just avoid this book. There's so much good literature out there, I am sure you can find one objectively better than this in no time.
Well, fast-forward to the present day and I hear a word of Sylvanas novel coming out. Well, great! A book about my favourite Warcraft character by an author whose book I've enjoyed… dear god, 15 years ago… I had no choice but to give it a shot.
Well, let me break this down. This novel fails to be a book. I mean that because it reads more like a fan-fiction and seems to fail to realize that Freytag's Pyramid is actually a nice thing. Neither of these things by themselves would pose too much of an issue. This could all be well salvaged, were it not for the restrictions that are placed upon this by the massive world it's adapting. This book tries to capture a point of view of a single character in a world that is actively being developed for decades as a video game universe. It very much limits the plot development and pacing of the book. There's not enough time to cover all of Sylvana's arcs in the grander scheme of things, and the author needs to decide what to give more attention to.
On the storytelling side of things, the book is all over the place. The plot is all over the place, there's time skips that are not apparent unless you know why they are there, there's almost no exposition because the book expects you to know about the world. The characters are one dimensional and follow the character development of Generic Fantasy Character™. Even though I liked most of the characters, it was all because of my previous connection to them. The ending fails to provide any real resolution and is so disorganized, that it's hard to follow unless you're fully caught up on the universe. It at that point feels more like a breakdown of the cinematics, than an actual story telling.
I'll divide my recommendation, or lack there of, into three categories.
Firstly, if you are a World of Warcraft fan and are fairly familiar with the world and the stories of at least the major points in history and the main characters that follow them, this should be a decent read. Well, provided you like Sylvanas. The things missing from the book as a generic story will mostly get filled by your knowledge, and you'll enjoy the book for what it is. A glorified list of references with a hint of plot attached to it. You probably won't mind the lack of character development, because you should be familiar with the characters from the games, and that's as far as they go in the book.
Secondly, if you are like me, and you enjoyed the games in the past, you still remember the world and some major points to an extent, then this book might be a decent experience. You can probably get a nostalgia hit, “enjoy the scenery,” recognize names and places and forgive some failings of the overarching narrative. Overall, I wouldn't recommend this to you, unless you really want to remember the old times and enjoy a little insight into Sylvana's past years.
Thirdly, if you have no idea what Azeroth means, just avoid this book. There's so much good literature out there, I am sure you can find one objectively better than this in no time.
June 13, 2022
My 3 star rating is related to the source material not to the craftsmanship to which is written by Christie Golden. She continues to excel at her craft and create a world where you can visualize each detail and be entirely captivated by the story. However, it still took me entirely too long to finish this book.
This story starts in Sylvanas' youth; it is relevent to information we have never been privy to before and was quite fascinating. The connection and the bond between the sisters, the desire to prove herself, the missing brother, and the lineage of The Ranger-General. It was fascinating. It was too bad that all of her good deed had a hint of chaos in her life but she had a beautiful eternity ahead of her and her family, and a long love with Nathanos.
And as the book progresses to modern day, not withstanding the conversation with Anduin, there is more about what I have grown to dislike about Sylvanas. The same lackluster empowerment behind her in the retail version of the game is OVERWHELMINGLY PRESENT in this book. The way that Sylvanas has been crafted to be unknowningly manipulated (instead of unwillingly) is sad and baseless. Her entire story feels like a ret-con to fit their current narrative and it makes me sad.
When I first started playing the game in 2007, Sylvanas was a savior. A ranger-general in life, serving her people, and in death saving people from the mindless existence of being Scourge and giving them purpose. She seemed to love her people and they her. They'd give life AND LIMB (pun) for her. But this demolishes this story. And perhaps, you could argue the Necklace quest (referenced in the book btw) shows true character, but I would be sad, too. She isn't a bad undead for being done with the living. But this... this... use of her people as a pawn and tool... seems dirty and wrong.
She could have pioneered true change for Azeroth. She could have been the Calia Menethil that everyone pines for now. But they wrote her into the ground as a puppet destined to serve someone and now she must spend her afterlife atoning. What a waste.
This story starts in Sylvanas' youth; it is relevent to information we have never been privy to before and was quite fascinating. The connection and the bond between the sisters, the desire to prove herself, the missing brother, and the lineage of The Ranger-General. It was fascinating. It was too bad that all of her good deed had a hint of chaos in her life but she had a beautiful eternity ahead of her and her family, and a long love with Nathanos.
And as the book progresses to modern day, not withstanding the conversation with Anduin, there is more about what I have grown to dislike about Sylvanas. The same lackluster empowerment behind her in the retail version of the game is OVERWHELMINGLY PRESENT in this book. The way that Sylvanas has been crafted to be unknowningly manipulated (instead of unwillingly) is sad and baseless. Her entire story feels like a ret-con to fit their current narrative and it makes me sad.
When I first started playing the game in 2007, Sylvanas was a savior. A ranger-general in life, serving her people, and in death saving people from the mindless existence of being Scourge and giving them purpose. She seemed to love her people and they her. They'd give life AND LIMB (pun) for her. But this demolishes this story. And perhaps, you could argue the Necklace quest (referenced in the book btw) shows true character, but I would be sad, too. She isn't a bad undead for being done with the living. But this... this... use of her people as a pawn and tool... seems dirty and wrong.
She could have pioneered true change for Azeroth. She could have been the Calia Menethil that everyone pines for now. But they wrote her into the ground as a puppet destined to serve someone and now she must spend her afterlife atoning. What a waste.
March 23, 2023
i could make this review a mile long if i wanted to…but i’ll keep it short
first off i despise blizzard for taking such a wonderful beloved character and ruining her history and all she stood for…but for what story was there…this made me weirdly emotional?
the thought of sylvanas going through all that pain and suffering only to me manipulated and controlled until the very end? bawling. and that line about hope at the end literally had me on the floor.
for anyone who cares in my brain bfa and sl simply did not happen. the horde and alliance signed a peace treaty and sylvanas lives in a lil modest house w jaina in a regrowing and healing quel’thalas and all is well
gonna go cry about this now 🫡
first off i despise blizzard for taking such a wonderful beloved character and ruining her history and all she stood for…but for what story was there…this made me weirdly emotional?
the thought of sylvanas going through all that pain and suffering only to me manipulated and controlled until the very end? bawling. and that line about hope at the end literally had me on the floor.
for anyone who cares in my brain bfa and sl simply did not happen. the horde and alliance signed a peace treaty and sylvanas lives in a lil modest house w jaina in a regrowing and healing quel’thalas and all is well
gonna go cry about this now 🫡
April 13, 2022
World of Warcraft: Sylvanas was written by New York Times Best-Selling Author, Christie Golden. The book was published by Del Rey, and serves a media tie-in novel to Blizzard's World of Warcraft game. This story takes place after the novel, Shadow's Rising.
SUMMARY: Sylvanas Windrunner reflects on her life, from childhood all the way up to current day (in game). We follow her down the light and dark paths she took throughout her life, exposing the devastating details as to how and why she came to be so fierce. Sylvanas meets The Jailor in a place called the Maw. He reveals to Sylvanas that the afterlife is corrupt and unjust; that it needs to be transformed. If Sylvanas allies with The Jailer, together they can rebuild the afterlife to bring fairness and justice to the souls of not just Azeroth, but the universe.
OVERALL THOUGHTS: This book is packed with excellent character development, it has an entertaining plot, it's loaded with emotion, and it's tragic. It's got all the elements needed to be a great World of Warcraft fantasy story.
This book has such an emotional story! Christie Golden managed to bring a tear to my eye a few times with this wonderfully tragic tale. Sylvanas Windrunner suffered great loss throughout her life, but her biggest flaw was her pride. She was forced into a life she did not want, being reborn to a world of chaos and endless pain, once she became the Banshee Queen. It was easy to feel sympathy for Sylvanas; but when she broke through her bondage to walk a new path, her swollen pride and eagerness for revenge, kept her enslaved to darkness.
Christie Golden explored the early life of Sylvanas Windrunner, and she did an outstanding job penning the family dynamic in the Windrunner household. Each character is unique; the love between them felt so authentic! I really enjoyed reading the backstory of the youthful Sylvanas and the times she had with her family; she had such a strong bond with her younger brother. The introduction of a man named Nathanos and how the relationship with Sylvanas came to be, was also written very well.
Christie Golden always does a wonderful job giving excellent descriptions. However, there are some elements in the story that I felt needed more explanation, such as the outcome of certain characters and events. I turned to web, browsing to see if some of these missing elements were found in other stories or videos published by Blizzard, some were.
I no longer play World of Warcraft, so I'm happy Blizzard has a YouTube channel with many videos that are highly entertaining and informative. The channel really is a helpful resource. World of Warcraft also has good sized library of short stories, comics, and books, which are a great substitute to spending hours in front of a screen playing the game.
Rating: This book receives a B+. Had more gaps been filled in to explain what happens to specific characters and event for non-gamers, I would have given the story an A+.
SUMMARY: Sylvanas Windrunner reflects on her life, from childhood all the way up to current day (in game). We follow her down the light and dark paths she took throughout her life, exposing the devastating details as to how and why she came to be so fierce. Sylvanas meets The Jailor in a place called the Maw. He reveals to Sylvanas that the afterlife is corrupt and unjust; that it needs to be transformed. If Sylvanas allies with The Jailer, together they can rebuild the afterlife to bring fairness and justice to the souls of not just Azeroth, but the universe.
OVERALL THOUGHTS: This book is packed with excellent character development, it has an entertaining plot, it's loaded with emotion, and it's tragic. It's got all the elements needed to be a great World of Warcraft fantasy story.
This book has such an emotional story! Christie Golden managed to bring a tear to my eye a few times with this wonderfully tragic tale. Sylvanas Windrunner suffered great loss throughout her life, but her biggest flaw was her pride. She was forced into a life she did not want, being reborn to a world of chaos and endless pain, once she became the Banshee Queen. It was easy to feel sympathy for Sylvanas; but when she broke through her bondage to walk a new path, her swollen pride and eagerness for revenge, kept her enslaved to darkness.
Christie Golden explored the early life of Sylvanas Windrunner, and she did an outstanding job penning the family dynamic in the Windrunner household. Each character is unique; the love between them felt so authentic! I really enjoyed reading the backstory of the youthful Sylvanas and the times she had with her family; she had such a strong bond with her younger brother. The introduction of a man named Nathanos and how the relationship with Sylvanas came to be, was also written very well.
Christie Golden always does a wonderful job giving excellent descriptions. However, there are some elements in the story that I felt needed more explanation, such as the outcome of certain characters and events. I turned to web, browsing to see if some of these missing elements were found in other stories or videos published by Blizzard, some were.
I no longer play World of Warcraft, so I'm happy Blizzard has a YouTube channel with many videos that are highly entertaining and informative. The channel really is a helpful resource. World of Warcraft also has good sized library of short stories, comics, and books, which are a great substitute to spending hours in front of a screen playing the game.
Rating: This book receives a B+. Had more gaps been filled in to explain what happens to specific characters and event for non-gamers, I would have given the story an A+.
January 2, 2026
I am so grateful for this book. It finally provides nuance for one of Warcrafts most divisive characters.
I had little faith going into this, as an avid fan of our dark lady and saddened by the way the game has portrayed her and lost her narrative, this is a good redemption. The beginning half is amazing, covering her lore from Warcraft 3 etc, however when it gets to the main xpacs it feels jumpy, however this is no fault of Golden purely due to the fact trying to write all of Sylvana’s story from in game would be a huge book.
Getting to later xpacks, justification for Sylvana’s actions is clearer here than in the game.
Its also nice to see her relationships and inner thoughts and her love for the forsaken :)
Some parts however, were poorly handled on Golden’s behalf
Saying she committed suicide due to the fact ‘Someone stole her kill’, immediately put me off, obviously she goes on to justify but this is just diabolical in my opinion.
Another odd thing for Sylvanas to say is that Arthas was right. I personally feel the warcraft story isnt prepared enough to deal with trauma like this and for the victim to push these feelings- it seems destructive and bizarre.
Other than these personal complaints, I really enjoyed this book and found I couldn’t put it down, looking forward to Sylvanas’s return in midnight and hopefully her character can be redeemed in the games narrative as she was in this book.
I had little faith going into this, as an avid fan of our dark lady and saddened by the way the game has portrayed her and lost her narrative, this is a good redemption. The beginning half is amazing, covering her lore from Warcraft 3 etc, however when it gets to the main xpacs it feels jumpy, however this is no fault of Golden purely due to the fact trying to write all of Sylvana’s story from in game would be a huge book.
Getting to later xpacks, justification for Sylvana’s actions is clearer here than in the game.
Its also nice to see her relationships and inner thoughts and her love for the forsaken :)
Some parts however, were poorly handled on Golden’s behalf
Saying she committed suicide due to the fact ‘Someone stole her kill’, immediately put me off, obviously she goes on to justify but this is just diabolical in my opinion.
Another odd thing for Sylvanas to say is that Arthas was right. I personally feel the warcraft story isnt prepared enough to deal with trauma like this and for the victim to push these feelings- it seems destructive and bizarre.
Other than these personal complaints, I really enjoyed this book and found I couldn’t put it down, looking forward to Sylvanas’s return in midnight and hopefully her character can be redeemed in the games narrative as she was in this book.
March 31, 2022
Sylvanas siempre ha sido uno de mis personajes preferidos de World of Warcraft, y Christie Golden una de mis autoras favoritas dentro de las novelas del WoW. Juntas ambas y añades a la mezcla la voz de Sylvanas en el audiolibro, y tienes la mezcla perfecta. Puede que haya pequeños detalles que no me terminan de gustar, pero nada teniendo en cuenta el camino que lleva el personaje desde hace expansiones.
En la novela se nos explican muchas cosas que creo que tendrían que estar ingame y se nos pone mucho más contexto a las acciones de Sylvanas y a su relación con el Carcelero. Se nos explican también más sus sentimientos para con Nathanos y la relación que ambos tenían, algo que en el juego se entrevé, pero no se termina de profundizar.
Si os gustó el libro de Arthas, este sigue la misma estela.
En la novela se nos explican muchas cosas que creo que tendrían que estar ingame y se nos pone mucho más contexto a las acciones de Sylvanas y a su relación con el Carcelero. Se nos explican también más sus sentimientos para con Nathanos y la relación que ambos tenían, algo que en el juego se entrevé, pero no se termina de profundizar.
Si os gustó el libro de Arthas, este sigue la misma estela.
July 3, 2025
A great compiled work of chronological quasi short stories of the Queen’s life up until Shadowlands. The stories showcase where she “came” from (literally and figuratively) going forward with her ideas and how she sought to end the blight of all plights, suffering.
Often I found myself walking alongside Sylvanas through iconic places in history, such as the art filled galleries of Silvermoon or the grime and decay filled sewers of Undercity. Vividly re experiencing gameplay and cinematics with my own aged sense of history.
At times though, I wished for more clarity or rather a thorough explanation of current events. I could tell the author knew exactly what Sylvanas felt in certain moments and where she wanted the story to progress next but omitted small but crucial details to maintain flow of continuity.
For me personally, still 5/5 stars when taking into consideration the huge task the author accomplished in order to fully flesh out such a complex, vital and especially long lived character over the decades of World of Warcraft. ❤️
Often I found myself walking alongside Sylvanas through iconic places in history, such as the art filled galleries of Silvermoon or the grime and decay filled sewers of Undercity. Vividly re experiencing gameplay and cinematics with my own aged sense of history.
At times though, I wished for more clarity or rather a thorough explanation of current events. I could tell the author knew exactly what Sylvanas felt in certain moments and where she wanted the story to progress next but omitted small but crucial details to maintain flow of continuity.
For me personally, still 5/5 stars when taking into consideration the huge task the author accomplished in order to fully flesh out such a complex, vital and especially long lived character over the decades of World of Warcraft. ❤️
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