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Learn About WarCraft Lore: The Novels

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The Stories Behind the Game

So, you just downed the latest raid boss in World of WarCraft, your guild is handing out the loot, and everyone is celebrating. This is a big achievement for all of you, but have you ever wondered why you did it? Of course you did it for the fun, for the prestige, and for the loot, but in the game, in the world you've been playing around inside for so much of your free time... what did this person do to deserve to die at the hands of ten or twenty five random adventurers? What is the meaning behind all of it? What's the story behind the person who sent you on the kill quest to begin with?

There are many places to check out the details of World of WarCraft's lore, in fact, just reading quest text gives you a wealth of information and makes things far more interesting than just running around killing everything in your site. Starting with the release of WarCraft: Orcs & Humans in 1994, Blizzard Entertainment has put a significant amount of work into giving their players an amazing, immersive experience with characters to care about, story twists, and what eventually amounts to a living, breathing world to exist in.

In this Lens, I will point you in the direction of novels which will fill in a lot of the gaps in history that you might be curious about, doing my best to list them in chronological order to form the most cohesive and comprehensive history, and give brief, spoiler-free descriptions of the stories.

As time goes on, I will add more books to this list, but to start, I'll show the books that detail the Second War between Orcs and Humans, as well as major events that occurred shortly afterwards.

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War of the Ancients Trilogy

Tales of Early Azeroth

This trilogy of books, available in a complete collected edition, tells the story of the War of the Ancients, the war ten thousand years in the past of WarCraft's history which shaped the culture of the Night Elves and shaped the very face of the continents themselves. In these books you will largely discover the deeper motivations of Illidan Stormrage, the final boss of the Burning Crusade-era Black Temple raid; the history of Tyrande Whisperwind, racial leader of the Night Elf people; and Malfurion Stormrage, the long-missing leader of the druids who recently resurfaced with the events in World of WarCraft: Cataclysm.


WarCraft War of the Ancients Archive

Rise of the Horde

The Corruption of the Orcs

In this book, the deep, dark history of the Orcish clans is brought to light, as well as the milennia-old mysteries of the Draenei. Discover how the Orcs turned from the peaceful, brown-skinned Mag'har into the vicious, savage Horde they were up until the end of the Second War. This book is an absolute must-read for Horde players who want to gain a deeper understanding of the horrors unleashed by the Orcs prior to the leadership of Thrall, and for anyone who is concerned at the current direction the Horde seems to be taking under its new warchief, Garrosh Hellscream, whose father, Grom, is featured rather heavily in this book.


World of Warcraft:
Rise of the Horde
(No. 4)

The Last Guardian

The Coming of the Orcs to Azeroth

This book details the events leading up to the first war between the Orcs and Humans, and how Medivh, the Last Guardian of Azeroth, dealt with great internal conflict concerning the eventual fate of the world - a burden which weight upon since before his birth. It also tells of his young apprentice, Khadgar, and how this young wizard, along with the half-orcish assassin Garona, had their hands in the events that shaped every aspect of the future of the lands of Azeroth, and the eternal conflict between the Orcs and Humans.


The Last Guardian
(Warcraft, Book 3)
(No.3)

Tides of Darkness

The Second War

In this novel, the details of the Second War come to light. Here, we see very few characters that we actually interact with in the current World of WarCraft, however, we see the events that set the stage for much of the current politics and groups within the factions of Azeroth. The founding of the Order of the Silver Hand, the first paladins, is shown, as well as the story of how the Blackrock clan came to dwell within Blackrock Mountain, and the story behind the large monument outside of the mountain in the Burning Steppes.


World of Warcraft:
Tides of Darkness
(Worlds of Warcraft)

Beyond the Dark Portal

The Alliance Comes to Outland

Almost immediately following Tides of Darkness, this book shows the Alliance expedition which crossed over through the Dark Portal to Draenor to push back the Orcish Horde once and for all. Locations and characters which were quite important during the Burning Crusade, including Danath Trollbane, Khadgar, and Kurdran Wildhammer, are heavily featured, as well as the dark origins of Hellfire Citadel and Auchindoun. Also shown are the events which directly lead to Draenor becoming the mass of shattered earth it is to this day.


World of Warcraft:
Beyond the Dark Portal

Day of the Dragon

The Dragon Aspects Return

The Dragonmaw orc clan has gotten their hands on a terrible artifact that, unbeknownst to them, could ultimately spell the end of Azeroth as they know it. The cocky, maverick mage Rhonin is sent to investigate the dark dealings of these orcs, while his master and mentor, Krasus, carries out a mission of his own: rousing the aide of the ancient Aspects of each dragonflight to aide the dragon queen Alexstrasza, held captive by the Dragonmaw orcs and forced to watch her children become instruments of destruction at the hands of the orcs.


Day of the Dragon
(WarCraft, Book 1)
(No.1)



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Lord of the Clans

Rise of the New Horde

In this book, the tale of the great orc warchief Thrall is told, starting with his humble beginnings as a gladiator for the entertainment of cruel human lords. With assistance from his childhood friend Taretha, Thrall escapes and discovers just how fall his people have fallen with their time in the internment camps which the humans rounded them up into like cattle. Inspired by the shaman Drek'thar and the famous warrior Grom Hellscream, Thrall begins on his path to free his people and return them to their former glory, this time free of the influence of demons.


Lord of the Clans
(Warcraft, Book 2)

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Questions and Comments



  • CarlittoDunaway Mar 10, 2012 @ 11:56 am | delete
    I did not know about these novels. Awesome!
  • agoofyidea Dec 13, 2011 @ 8:27 am | delete
    WoW really is a world someone can dive into in so many ways. Great selection of books. Nice lens.
  • bhavesh Nov 27, 2011 @ 1:33 pm | delete
    Never heard of Warcraft but it sound very intriguing, especially the Ancients. I will definitely be checking it out.
  • jtmcwill Nov 5, 2011 @ 10:57 am | delete
    awesome lens!
  • SilmarwenLinwelin Oct 26, 2011 @ 11:02 am | delete
    Great lens! NE ftw!
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Last updated 6/1/2012
  1. Other WarCraft Lenses
  2. War of the Ancients Trilogy
  3. Rise of the Horde
  4. The Last Guardian
  5. Tides of Darkness
  6. Beyond the Dark Portal
  7. Day of the Dragon
  8. Lord of the Clans
  9. T-Shirts by Nevermore
  10. Looking For More Good Reads?
  11. Questions and Comments
  12. Earn Money Online!
  13. About the Author

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JoshK47

Hello everyone, I'm Josh, and I enjoy a wide variety of things, from physical fitness to video games to sci-fi TV shows. Squidoo is giving me the oppo... more »

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