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A review by namaria
War Crimes by Christie Golden
2.0
After the defeat of Garrosh Hellscream, he stands trial in a Pandaren court. While many are crying out for a swift execution, it is the August Celestials who are the jury and will render a verdict after a fair trial has been performed. Meanwhile, the Dragonmaw are amassing allies to free Garrosh, and the Windrunner sisters are working together to try and poison Garrosh before the final verdict is given.
I struggled with this book. I've read most of the Warcraft novels, and to this date, I'd only been disappointed in one. When I picked up this book, I really wanted to like it as I had the others. But I didn't. Until the final chapter, this book was nothing but a courtroom filled with characters we're familiar with. Many of those characters were warped beyond recognition (e.g. Tyrande Whisperwind). I found myself incredibly bored of the trial, which felt like something straight off of Court TV. There was very little drama at all. There were formal phrases used in the trial ("With respect, I protest!") that are variations of what are used in today's courtrooms ("I object!"), and they felt very out of place in a Warcraft novel.
I've come to expect a changing, smoothly flowing storyline from Warcraft novels with lots of action scenes. This isn't present in War Crimes. You get the one scene (the Temple of the White Tiger and the trial), the same characters, and they're doing the same motions chapter after chapter. There are a few scenes here and there that break up the tedium and make things just a tad bit interesting, but it's not enough to save this book.
I wish I had saved my money and time and left this book off my Kindle. I wasn't sure whether to give this book a one star or two star rating. Since I've enjoyed Christie Golden's previous novels, like her writing style, and understand she has certain guidelines to work with when writing a Warcraft novel, I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt and give this novel a two star rating. But don't squander it, Ms. Golden. If your next book doesn't live up to expectations (which have lowered after reading War Crimes), you'll lose more than just an extra star in my rating.
I struggled with this book. I've read most of the Warcraft novels, and to this date, I'd only been disappointed in one. When I picked up this book, I really wanted to like it as I had the others. But I didn't. Until the final chapter, this book was nothing but a courtroom filled with characters we're familiar with. Many of those characters were warped beyond recognition (e.g. Tyrande Whisperwind). I found myself incredibly bored of the trial, which felt like something straight off of Court TV. There was very little drama at all. There were formal phrases used in the trial ("With respect, I protest!") that are variations of what are used in today's courtrooms ("I object!"), and they felt very out of place in a Warcraft novel.
I've come to expect a changing, smoothly flowing storyline from Warcraft novels with lots of action scenes. This isn't present in War Crimes. You get the one scene (the Temple of the White Tiger and the trial), the same characters, and they're doing the same motions chapter after chapter. There are a few scenes here and there that break up the tedium and make things just a tad bit interesting, but it's not enough to save this book.
I wish I had saved my money and time and left this book off my Kindle. I wasn't sure whether to give this book a one star or two star rating. Since I've enjoyed Christie Golden's previous novels, like her writing style, and understand she has certain guidelines to work with when writing a Warcraft novel, I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt and give this novel a two star rating. But don't squander it, Ms. Golden. If your next book doesn't live up to expectations (which have lowered after reading War Crimes), you'll lose more than just an extra star in my rating.