Review Me Twice - Jaina Proudmoore: Tides of War by Christie Golden

So part of the reason that Alex picked this book this week was because she wanted to know how the book holds up to a non-WoW player (that would be me.)

And, honestly, it wasn't terrible.  I got the big conflict and the creatures were all pretty stereotypical fantasy characters (Orks, Elves, etc.)  I know enough of about WoW to know who the "bad" guys and "good" guys are (Horde vs. Alliance), but that's as far as it goes.

I think there was a lot before this book that I didn't know about.  They kept referring to all these battles/conflicts that happened before the book and, honestly, I don't know if they're something that happened in the game, or if they're events I could find out about if I had picked up the series at the beginning.

I also didn't recognize anyone.  I get the feeling that, were I a WoW player, I would know who Jaina Proudmoore is and why she's important and who the Horde people are and... just generally what everything thing is and what it means.  There were a lot of words thrown around, taking for granted that the reader already knew it.

Overall, it the book was fine, enjoyable to read, but I feel like as a non-WoW player, I missed a lot of references and plot points in the book because I just didn't know.

I think it would have been helpful to have my husband read this book as well, because then we'd have the full spectrum of WoW familiarity. I play, but let's face it... I just got my first level 90 last week. I started playing shortly before Cataclysm dropped, but my husband started in vanilla, and he actually reads the quests he's accepting... I just sort of skim until I get to the number of objects I need to collect or the name of the guy I have to kill or talk to or throw a turnip at or whatever.

I had a vague familiarity with a lot of the characters and battles and history, but if the book didn't bother going into detail, I just assumed it wasn't important. And that technique worked really well for me. I don't think I'm missing much by doing that, and if I want all the details, I can go back and read all the other WoW books (or pay closer attention while I level my shadow priest).

The biggest surprise with this book was when I noticed the "New York Times best-seller" sticker on the front. I never would have guessed that. But either that means the vast majority of the 7 million players read the book (which I don't think is true) or it means the book works as a stand-alone story without having to earn the Loremaster achievement.