World of Warcraft Chronicle Volume 2 is available on Amazon
Here is my review:
World of WarCraft is a nearly 25 year old franchise that was originally created to be an extension of the WarHammer universe. When GamesWorkshop decided that they wanted to go another direction, Blizzard said 'Okay, sure, we will make our own game franchise'. The rest, as they say, is history.
Which is why they need these books. Lets be honest. Things have changed in 25 years. Things that the development team wrote way back then probably seemed super cool and awesome to include. But now, looking back on it, they see gaps, holes in the stories that they had decided would work awesome as a straight RTS story but simply does not work or service the story that they are trying to tell today. The Chronicle Books attempt to fill in some of those holes and make the rest of the WarCraft universe better.
WarCraft Chronicle Volume 2 continues down the same lane that the first began, with one major exception. This book handles a lot more of what happened on the Orc's homeworld, Draenor, and how that world came to be and how the orc race came to be. It describes how the orcs came to Azeroth, what pushed them to do that, and more importantly, WHY they ultimately chose to come to Azeroth. The book completes itself by going in depth into both the First and Second Wars on Azeroth, filling in many more of the gaps that people have been wondering about for many years. I won't 'spoil' any of the revelations, but just know that they are some of the most welcome additions and clarifications to that timeline that Blizzard has put in since the games themselves were created.
I would like to note that there is very little, if any, retconning going on in this book. What we mostly get is clarifications and stories to help make the world better and more developed. It is especially a boon for Roleplayers because it gives them more knowledge and more story with which to play. It also does not answer every single question that we have about the WarCraft universe. Rather than doing that, the clarifications actually offer more chances for individual interpretation and wacky theories to emerge.
For any kind of fan of the lore of WarCraft, this book is amazing, well worth the five stars. The book is laid out beautifully, flowing very well from the first opening page all of the way to the last. The artwork scattered throughout this 200 page tome is some of the most beautiful artwork I have ever seen. I really enjoyed this book and I highly recommend reading it if you are a fan of the lore that has a great knowledge of the lore of the WarCraft universe or simply getting started. It is well worth your purchase, time, and effort.
For Azeroth!!!!!