Project Lore

Before you get your "ZOMG Cataclysm Is Coming Out In August" panties in a bunch, let's be clear, the release date of the book makes no mention of the third expansion launching side-by-side with it.  Technically the date isn't even official, no matter how accurate Amazon has been in the past, Blizzard is Blizzard, even with the extended universe stuff.  The novel, titled World of Warcraft: The Shattering: Prelude to Cataclysm (Semicolons of Destruction), is available for hardcover pre-order at the exuberant price of $26.00 and should hit your doorstep around August 31. Believe it or not, you are currently in the process of reading right now.  So stop being all high and mighty, claiming that you aren't so nerdy as to read a book about a video game, and give it a shot.  After all, Christie Golden absolutely bowled everyone over with her treatise on Arthas, his fail at horseback riding and Jaina.  She's also written other solid books and stories set in the Warcraft universe. There's currently no information available on the plot, but considering the subtitle, I expect there to be a good chunk of the novel dedicated to Deathwing's awakening.  Who, what, or why it happens will be up to Golden's creative mind - with some input from Metzen for sure - but I hope Rhonin dies. Actually, Knaak should be the one to put his own character down.  No, Rhonin deserves to die twice.  Knaak has a perfect opportunity to kill Rhonin in February as part of World of Warcraft: Stormrage, a novel that's to revolve around the Emerald Dream and Malfurion Stormrage.  Okay, enough Rhonin hating, he may cry about it. Anyways, being a prelude I expect The Shattering will come out well before Cataclysm.  The exact opposite of the release schedule for the Arthas novel. Who's going to geek out on lore with me?