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<b>[REVIEW] Day of the Dragon by Richard A. Knaak (SPOILERS)</b>
[REVIEW] Day of the Dragon by Richard A. Knaak (SPOILERS)
Title: Day of the Dragon
Author: Richard A. Knaak
Back Cover:
Writing Rating: 3 out of 10
The writing is bad. Really bad. Understand, I enjoy pulp fantasy as much as the next person. I've read all of the currently-released Warcraft novels. This book is by far the worst of the lot. It is, to be fair, also the first of the lot as well.
One of the worst problems with this book is that the author uses his narrator's voice to give us information that we probably wouldn't have otherwise been privy to. Under some circumstances, this can be forgiven when the story is told from the viewpoint of a single character. Unfortunately, the author has a problem maintaining viewpoint between characters, with characters switching viewpoints within chapters without warning - sometimes even trading off within the same paragraph. It's amateurish, shoddy and it makes for a very difficult read at times.
Characterization is one-dimensional at best. The bad guys are vindictive, evil and without redeeming qualities. The good guys are flawless paragons of virtue - even their failings are never really their fault, but are merely the result of selflessly taking the blame for things that were out of their control. Everyone's motivations are similarly one-dimensional. Bad guys do bad things for bad reasons, and good guys do good things for good reasons. Even when you think a character might be showing a little dimension and pushing the characterization envelope, it turns out they were really acting within their good-evil boundaries after all.
Plot Rating: 3 out of 10
Every single twist, turn and surprise is telegraphed with such ham-handed ferocity that by the time they reveal 'the big surprise,' you're just relieved that the secret is finally out in the open. The entire plot is thin, tired and cliched. There's not much more to say than that, really.
Lore Rating: 5 out of 10
If you're interested in the history surrounding Grim Batol in the Wetlands, this is the book for you. It explains a lot of what we see when we venture there: the burned out caravans, the red dragons, as well as the occasional orc in the Wetlands. There's also some back-history on the Dragonmaw clan, naturally, so if you're doing the Netherwing Quests in Outland, you might find skimming the book useful. Outside of that, the few insights we gain into the workings of the Wildhammer Dwarves, the Kirin Tor and the five great dragonflights are interesting. Overall, this book will likely be more interesting to Alliance players than to Horde players.
There are canonocity issues, of course, but they are few and easily explained away.
Overall Rating: 4 out of 10
Overall, I can't recommend this book to anyone but lore-hounds and Warcraft completists. If you do decide you want to read the book, I recommend picking it up as part of the Warcraft Archive rather than by itself. You'll save money and get three other Warcraft books to boot.
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[REVIEW] Day of the Dragon by Richard A. Knaak (SPOILERS)
Title: Day of the Dragon
Author: Richard A. Knaak
Back Cover:
............................................
Writing Rating: 3 out of 10
The writing is bad. Really bad. Understand, I enjoy pulp fantasy as much as the next person. I've read all of the currently-released Warcraft novels. This book is by far the worst of the lot. It is, to be fair, also the first of the lot as well.
One of the worst problems with this book is that the author uses his narrator's voice to give us information that we probably wouldn't have otherwise been privy to. Under some circumstances, this can be forgiven when the story is told from the viewpoint of a single character. Unfortunately, the author has a problem maintaining viewpoint between characters, with characters switching viewpoints within chapters without warning - sometimes even trading off within the same paragraph. It's amateurish, shoddy and it makes for a very difficult read at times.
Characterization is one-dimensional at best. The bad guys are vindictive, evil and without redeeming qualities. The good guys are flawless paragons of virtue - even their failings are never really their fault, but are merely the result of selflessly taking the blame for things that were out of their control. Everyone's motivations are similarly one-dimensional. Bad guys do bad things for bad reasons, and good guys do good things for good reasons. Even when you think a character might be showing a little dimension and pushing the characterization envelope, it turns out they were really acting within their good-evil boundaries after all.
Plot Rating: 3 out of 10
Every single twist, turn and surprise is telegraphed with such ham-handed ferocity that by the time they reveal 'the big surprise,' you're just relieved that the secret is finally out in the open. The entire plot is thin, tired and cliched. There's not much more to say than that, really.
Lore Rating: 5 out of 10
If you're interested in the history surrounding Grim Batol in the Wetlands, this is the book for you. It explains a lot of what we see when we venture there: the burned out caravans, the red dragons, as well as the occasional orc in the Wetlands. There's also some back-history on the Dragonmaw clan, naturally, so if you're doing the Netherwing Quests in Outland, you might find skimming the book useful. Outside of that, the few insights we gain into the workings of the Wildhammer Dwarves, the Kirin Tor and the five great dragonflights are interesting. Overall, this book will likely be more interesting to Alliance players than to Horde players.
There are canonocity issues, of course, but they are few and easily explained away.
Overall Rating: 4 out of 10
Overall, I can't recommend this book to anyone but lore-hounds and Warcraft completists. If you do decide you want to read the book, I recommend picking it up as part of the Warcraft Archive rather than by itself. You'll save money and get three other Warcraft books to boot.
............................................
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