The Shattering Prelude to Cataclysm by Christie Golden - Book Review

This amazing novel takes us to the events after the Lich King's defeat and the triumphs of both the Alliance and Horde against the undead forces of the scourge in Northrend. It gives you a peek at what happened before the cataclysm and how the world was shattered and splintered.

Christie Golden brilliantly shows us different key characters and succeeds in making us empathize with every single one of them in her writing style, whether the characters were good or bad.

I was annoyed at Drek'thar's caretaker who didn't listen to his warning. If he had just listened then Thrall might have received the warning and could have made different decisions. But I guess this is how the story becomes so intriguing. We got to see Thrall grow more than just a simple shaman warrior.

He had to become one with the elements and focus on communing with them to understand why the world was falling apart. We got to see Aggra and how she helped Thrall focus his energies well. It was cute seeing how they totally despised each other at first, but then they grew closer and they actually fell in love later on in the story.

Thrall had to leave someone in charge of the horde, so he left Garrosh as the new Warchief, even though the other leaders refused. Thrall saw greatness in him and he was the right choice in his eyes.

But Garrosh's actions were questionable and it was extremely sad to see Cairne die in their dual together. Even though it wasn't Garrosh's fault and Magatha poisoned his ax, it was still sad to see a beloved character like Cairne go.

The Alliance had some turmoil too, King Magni's storyline of getting petrified and how it lead to his exiled daughter Moira taking over with force was interesting. Even though her methods were wrong and she was inches away from dying by King Varian's hand, I loved how Anduin saved her by convincing his father to let her live and rule over Ironforge with the council of three hammers.

Overall, the book was well written and I felt the pacing was just right. The sensible context that Christie gave us was just too perfect and poetic. I enjoyed every moment reading this book and I would recommend it to anyone.