Great background for the expansion to really understand what sylvanas is thinking. ( )

If Goodreads allowed half stars, I'd have rated this 3.5 out of 5 stars. I'll round up though because its Christie Golden. This was a good book and in typical Christie Golden fashion, the characters and settings were well described and made you feel as if you were there. But the story felt a bit lacking in a few areas. It didn't have the "oomph" I was expecting. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't great. I still recommend reading it though. ( )

About 80% of this novel deserves a 5 star rating; it's another fantastic adventure in the world of Azeroth, rich with lore and incredible characters. With a particular perspective from priests and the Forsaken this time around, there is an abundance of lore and incredible scenes involving both which ask some questions that outside of roleplay you've probably never thought to ask (such as, how do the Forsaken heal?). If you're a lore fan this is a must read, and it also touches on the events and characters of Legion and Lorderon history. There's some great tie ins with the game itself, not just in the shape of well known familiar NPCs but also lesser known quest givers like Ol' Emma that wanders about Stormwind.

As someone who has played a priest since Classic reading the scenes involving Netherlight Temple were just awe-inspiring and to have the feeling of such a place described vividly through a character gave me a whole new way of looking at this in game location.

The remaining 20% of the book is where it fell flat for me. Everything led up to a pivotal moment, to a big event and then - oh wait, that's the end of the book?! It would have been nice to have had at least another chapter or two especially considering the MASSIVE event that happens at the end of the book and is just pushed under the rug as if it never happened. To date in game it has yet to be addressed as far as I'm aware (I purposefully do not keep up with the PTR so please refrain from spoiling future content for me).

I am glad that the new patch that was released this week at least answers one question about something that happens in the book, even if it does feel a little rushed and just an excuse to give us a cool pet. I love pets, but after reading the book I feel the quest is more than a little out of character. ( )

A bit slow, but fascinating insights. ( )