World of Warcraft: Arthas: Rise of the Lich King,   ISBN:9781416550778

Customer Rating: 

As this book was a gift for a friend, I never got to read the whole thing. However, what I did get to read was very good. Fun to learn more of a key person in the world of Warcraft!

Besides from the book, I would like to give a quick comment on the service from Amazon. There is thing bad/negative to say here. Choosing the "Expedited International Shipping" and being told it could take between 8-16 days before receiving the purchased item was no problem, but it was a delight to actually receive the item even before 8 days :) In less than a week I had the book in my hands :) (Don't know if this is common or not to happen, but happy none the less!)

- A happy buyer

Customer Rating: 

If you have read the Richard Knaak warcraft books, this will be a poor follow-up read to his trilogy and you will be left very disappointed. Golden's writing seems rushed, and if you blink or skip a paragraph you might miss a key component in the book. Not everyone plays the game, and I think handing this book to a non-warcraft person who likes to read fantasy will just confuse them. Too many gaps for non-players to fill in. And as someone who once played the game and quit a while back, I was a little confused myself in some parts.

Its an easy read, and I read it in a bout a day, but I think I would have preferred a larger volume that took more time, and was better filled out and well-rounded. I do normally enjoy the author's work, which makes this 2 star review hard to write.

Customer Rating: 

I'm a huge fan of Blizzard Entertainment and the WarCraft universe in particular. I've read most of the WarCraft novels and stories to this point and am an avid World of Warcraft player, so when my copy of Arthas: Rise of the Lich King came in the mail I knew what to expect. Christie Golden, who wrote the equally superb Rise of the Horde and Lord of the Clans, detailing Thrall and the orcish Horde, weaves a masterful tale of WarCraft's currently most prominent villain in Arthas. At about 300 pages, the book could stand to be a little longer but most of it moves at a fair pace. The biggest flaw of the novel is not Golden's fault but simply a caveat of writing a book about a character who's latter portion of life was already covered extensively in Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos and the expansion, The Frozen Throne. Quite simply, the second half of Arthas is almost entirely a retelling of those games with some additional details and background thrown in. This is not a horrible thing, seeing as those games tell a great story and the action often shifts from Arthas in them, whereas in the novel we get to entirely focus on the fallen prince. But if you've played those games, a lot of it will seem rehashed...but still interesting, I assure you, as we get to bear witness to Arthas' inner struggles with Frostmourne.

Where the book really shines is the opening 100 pages or so, and the very end (which I will not spoil here). While Warcraft 3 introduces us to Arthas when he is a fully grown man and already investigating the rumors of the undead plague, "Arthas: Rise of the Lich King" takes the reader all the way back to the events of Warcraft 2, when Arthas was but a wide-eyed, easily embarrassed 9-year old child. Through the beginning, we get to see for the first time his interaction with big time lore characters such as Varian Wrynn, Jaina Proudmoore, Uther the Lightbringer, and Muradin Bronzebeard...all when Arthas was just a boy. For example, we never got to see twelve year old Arthas and Jaina meeting for the first time, sharing an adventure and wishing they could spend more time together before Jaina must depart. The venture into Arthas' childhood and teenage years are perhaps the most compelling portion of Golden's novel, mainly because it deepens the impact of Arthas' later actions and his fall from grace.

So, if you're a fan of WarCraft and its lore, do yourself a favor. At the very least, find a way to get your hands on a copy and read it. You'll appreciate Arthas as a villain and as a character in World of Warcraft much more after doing so; you will gain valuable insight into his childhood and how he was shaped by it, as well as the relationships he has with some of the biggest names in WarCraft lore today; and lastly, if you're a WoW player like myself, you'll definitely enjoy the upcoming encounter with Arthas in Icecrown Citadel that much more.

Customer Rating: 

I disliked reading this book. As I'm an avid Warcraft player and lover of fantasy fiction I saw this as a must read and was excited about the novel as I read up on it on the World of Warcraft homepage. However, it was one of the worst reads that I've ever finished. The characters have no development, the plot makes little sense, and the only reason to read this would be for Warcraft players like myself that are curious about the story behind the game. The game is still awesome and I love playing it and cannot wait for the next expansion. For great fantasy fiction I would recommend checking out anything by Brandon Sanderson (amazing), Brent Weeks, George r.r. Martin, Robin Hobb, along with the older stuff (that I grew up on) like Robert Jordan, David Eddings, and RA Salvatore. That being said I do plan to continue to read every World of Warcraft book out there in hopes something good appears - I spend so much time playing that game after all that I can't help myself but to anyone asking for a recommendation that isn't going to automatically read anything with World of Warcraft on the front - avoid this one.

Customer Rating: 

Hey, first of all, I want to mention I got the book like 10 days after I ordered it, which is quite amazing, since I live in Israel.
Thank you Amazon, for your fast delivery!

Second, I started reading the book last week and i'm enjoying every minute of it!

it's written in a very interesting and easy-to-read manner, which makes it fun to read.
Maybe i'll come back after I finish in a few more days, if not, just know, all you Warcraft fans out there - this book is WORTH IT!

thanks for reading (and Christie Golden for writing!) my comment, Adam.


hey again. editing after finished the book.
It was great, just as I suspected! very recommended to all you Warcraft lore fans out there!