Review: WORLD OF WARCRAFT: SHADOWS RISING Is A Great Appetizer For Upcoming WoW: Shadowlands Expansion

World of Warcraft: Shadows Rising is a fine precursor to the upcoming expansion, Shadowlands. As this book takes place fairly closely to the coming events in the game, it is a great way for players to bide their time for the expansion’s release. The story itself brings a number of World of Warcraft characters to life and adds some interesting drama and character growth that we would never see otherwise. Madeleine Roux does a good job with the source material, bringing a well thought out journey into the hands of hardcore fans.

The story follows Talanji and her difficulties with being the new queen of the Zandalari. She has to work with other Horde faction leaders to fight the impending darkness coming. Other people like Anduin, Zekhan and other WoW characters weave in and out of the story working on their own missions that all have the same goal: find and get ready to defeat Sylvanas.

For those who know the lore well and are familiar with the Warcraft series, a lot of the names, places and lore bits all make sense and this book is filled to the brim with intertwined characters and individual arcs. However, if someone is just a more casual player or unfamiliar with this universe, this book will be very hard to follow. I loved all the references, usage of lesser known characters and so forth, but for anyone coming fresh to the world, it will be almost impossible to really enjoy (or even keep track of/understand) what is happening. I understand that books like this have their place and are meant for the players/fans, but a little more explanation, introduction and exposition would have gone a long way.

An issue with Shadow Rising is that some character arcs and “page time” seemed too shallow and short. A handful of major characters in WoW were reduced to quick cameos and the main villain Sylvanas could have been more showcased and interacted with than she actually was in the book. She felt like the title, a literal shadow growing, but she never grew big enough to cast a real sense of dread and darkness through the story. These problems don’t ruin the book at all, but I would have loved to see those areas fleshed out a bit more, it could help readers become much more invested overall.

If players are excited for the upcoming expansion and are big Warcraft fans, then this book offers a lot of great reading, some good battles and cool interactions. But if you don’t know the story very well or the characters, other books will probably be much better suited for you.