Random Review of the Week: Arthas: Rise of the Lich King

In 2002, Blizzard released Warcraft 3, a Role-Time Strategy game that began telling the story of Arthas Menethil.  In November 2008, they released the second expansion to World of Warcraft, titled Wrath of the Lich King.  The expansion continued the story of Arthas, telling the players more of the Arthas story, reliving certain aspects of it and showing us the full scope of what the power of the Lich King has become.

In 2009, Christie Golden released Arthas: Rise of the Lich King.  This story did some retelling of the story in Warcraft 3, but also added a major amount of back story to the character of Arthas.  It introduces one of the major catalysts of his personality, the death of his first horse, as well as more insight into his mental state as he went from a young boy to a paladin, then a death knight of the scourge to becoming the Lich King himself.

The book is wonderfully written, with both action an narrative standing out to keep the reader entertained.  The narrative forces the reader to use a good chunk of their own imagination, but Christie Golden does enough with her writing where someone who isn't as well versed in the Warcraft Universe will be able to stay along with the story.

The greatest bit of story for anyone who has followed the lore of World of Warcraft through the expansion however, is the opening and closing scenes of the book.  In these scenes, there are only three characters, gathered around a table in a traditional orcish hut..  Two of these characters have been seen by the players at some point.  Arthas is one of these characters, along with a sickly, young boy who players of Wrath of the Lich King have come to know as Matthias Lehner.

The third character is the former shaman named Ner'zhul, and all three of these characters are important to think about as the story progresses.  These three people represent certain parts of the psyche of Arthas as he progresses from Paladin of the light to King of the damned.  One of the main things that Warcraft 3 failed to fully show the player before they turned Arthas into the lich king was the was Arthas felt about what he was doing.  The weight of his crown as the prince of a human kingdom was a heavy and terrible burden, but it's what bolstered his personality.

Ner'zhul took control of the body of Arthas for certain points, but Arthas had the strength and the will to fight him for control as well.  Ner'zhul represents the corruption that turned Arthas against everything he once stood for.  Matthias stands for the innocence that was once present in him. And Arthas stands in the room as the person he wants to be.  Each of these three will have a hold of him through the book, and it is these three figures that are the most important characters of the story.

The rest of the story unfolds over a number of years, ranging from Prince Arthas from the age of a child up until his time of undeath and becoming the Lich King.  Anyone who has played both the RTS Warcraft games as well as World of Warcraft would find the book immensely satisfying.  As a gamer who has played Warcraft 3, its expansion, as well as World of Warcraft and its subsequent expansions, the story of Arthas has always been once of my favorites.

It was because of this love for his story, and that we finally are awarded the chance to square off with him, that I love this book.  While the end of that fateful battle ended in a cliched and predictable way, the end of Arthas was a satisfying one.  When the lore is viewed in order, it is a very exciting story, one of not only corruption and betrayal, but one of wanting to do the right thing by your people, although you may not know what that is.

My review:
4/5 Stars

I do apologize for the late review, some surprise research for Thursday's post came spur of the moment and affected the release of this, but next week's review, "The Shattering" will be on time (hopefully)!