Illidan by William King
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Just finished the audio book. Audio books aren’t my thing, but this format was the one available from my public library, and ever since I started running my max-level characters through legacy raids, I’ve been getting that lore-nerd itch. And Patrick Beja raved about both the book and its audio version on The Instance (“The World of Warcraft podcast (so you don’t have to)”) so I decided to try and plow through.
You know what else isn’t my bag? This kind of writing. And I freely admit that that’s a reflection on me, not on the book’s value or it’s fans. I’m talking about that “fantasy genre” language, that pseudo-medieval way of speaking: “I would see you in chains, betrayer.” Why do people have to shout their intentions before a sword fight? “Today you die, fool!”
Anyway, now that I’ve alienated audio-books lovers and fantasy fans, let me at least praise the story. I half-expected this to read like one of those movie novelizations that were popular back in the 80s. But credit where credit’s due: you get more than just a retelling if Illidan’s fall at the Black Temple from the end of Burning Crusade. You get a lot of lore that jibes with experiences in Legion, and the author does an excellent job of fleshing out what it means to become a demon hunter. I am certain I won’t be the only person who says that Vendel was my favorite character in the book, and I am excited to see if we get to have him in-game at some point.
Least favorite character: Maiv. I get that she’s supposed to kind of BE Illidan: consumed by her mission, willing to make sacrifices, than forced to make even larger sacrifices than she ever intended, and then finally left empty when her mission is complete. But still. What a stubborn, self-important, hard-ass.
As for Illidan himself: damn. I don’t want to give away too much… but I get it now, how lore nerds can’t rely on just paying attention in-game if they want to know everything. I guess I have more audio-books in my future. Maybe I’ll get used to the fantasy-ese they’re all written in. I think it might even be worth it.