If your knowledge of Warcraft lore mostly comes from quest text you definitely read, cinematics you watched three expansions later on YouTube and that one guild member who confidently explains everything while being slightly wrong, Amazon currently has a rather convenient alternative.
The World of Warcraft 5-Book Collection is currently listed at 32% off, bringing together five novels covering some of the most important characters and eras in Warcraft history.
You can check the current World of Warcraft 5-book deal on Amazon here. As always with Amazon deals, the price and discount can change without warning.
We actually covered this same Warcraft collection earlier this year, but a fresh 32% discount makes it worth dragging back out of the library.
What Books Are Included?
The collection contains five World of Warcraft novels:
- Arthas: Rise of the Lich King by Christie Golden
- The Shattering: Prelude to Cataclysm by Christie Golden
- Thrall: Twilight of the Aspects by Christie Golden
- Stormrage by Richard A. Knaak
- Vol'jin: Shadows of the Horde by Michael A. Stackpole
Amazon's product title can make the collection look as though the entire set is written by Christie Golden. It is not. Golden wrote three of the five novels, while Stormrage comes from longtime Warcraft author Richard A. Knaak and Vol'jin: Shadows of the Horde is by Michael A. Stackpole.
That also gives the collection a little more variety than the listing initially suggests.
Arthas Is Still the Obvious Place to Start
If there is one book here that justifies the collection by itself, it is probably Arthas: Rise of the Lich King.
Golden follows Arthas Menethil from young prince and Paladin through Stratholme, Northrend, Frostmourne and eventually the Frozen Throne. We went much deeper into why it works in our full review of Arthas: Rise of the Lich King, but the short version is simple: Warcraft's most famous villain works considerably better when you understand the man who existed before the helmet.
It is also a useful companion to Wrath of the Lich King, which remains one of the defining chapters in our complete history of World of Warcraft expansions.
Then Things Get Very Cataclysmic
The Shattering and Thrall: Twilight of the Aspects are particularly good choices if Cataclysm was one of those expansions where you remember Deathwing destroying everything but are slightly hazier on why Thrall suddenly became Azeroth's most important shaman.
The Shattering deals with the political and personal upheaval immediately surrounding the Cataclysm, while Twilight of the Aspects pushes Thrall deeper into the crisis involving Deathwing and the Dragon Aspects.
Golden has spent decades writing some of Warcraft's most important characters, and if you want more Thrall afterwards, our review of Christie Golden's Lord of the Clans covers the earlier story that helped define him in the first place.
Stormrage and Vol'jin Fill in Two Very Different Corners of Azeroth
Stormrage moves the focus toward Malfurion, the Emerald Dream and the Nightmare, giving readers a chunk of Druid lore that the game itself has often delivered in scattered pieces.
Vol'jin: Shadows of the Horde, meanwhile, takes place during the Mists of Pandaria period and follows Vol'jin after Garrosh's attempt to have him killed. It is a much more character-focused story involving Vol'jin, Chen Stormstout, Pandaria and the question of what the Darkspear leader actually believes the Horde should be.
Together, the five books jump across Wrath, Cataclysm and Mists of Pandaria rather than forming one continuous five-volume series. That is actually part of the appeal. This is less “read books one through five” and more “here are five substantial pieces of Azeroth's history.”
At 32% Off, It Is an Easy Lore Bundle to Recommend
This is not a complete Warcraft library, and nobody should buy it expecting every gap in twenty-plus years of lore to suddenly disappear.
But it covers Arthas, Thrall, Deathwing's era, Malfurion and Vol'jin in one box, and that is a fairly respectable amount of Warcraft history for a single purchase.
With the collection currently 32% off, it is considerably easier to justify than buying all five novels separately.
If the deal is still live when you read this, you can see the Warcraft 5-Book Collection on Amazon here.
Worst case, you end up owning five Warcraft books.
Best case, you finally become the person in guild chat who is confidently explaining the lore.
Just try to be slightly less wrong.
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