One of the Warcraft novels I've actively been looking forward to is Arthas, Rise of the Lich King. It's set to be released to the world on April 21, 2009 but BlizzPlanet.com has gotten its hands on a few bound galleys of the book early.
Some of them are being given away, but he's also reading one on his own and has gifted us with a quick review.
The review makes the book sound incredible, though perhaps a bit too cluttered. The novel is roughly 300 pages in length (I believe)
and the first 100 pages covers his childhood from the arrival of the Stormwind refugees in Lordaeron to the beginning of Warcraft III. That covers about fourteen years, and that's potentially a lot of territory to cover!
Still, if it's pulled off well,
it has a lot of room to be incredibly awesome. BlizzPlanet says we'll see some interaction between Young Varian Wrynn and Young Arthas, which should be really, really cool. I'd love to see what Varian is like in the hands of a capable author. There will also be a deeper look into the love triangle between Kael'thas, Jaina, and Arthas.
I strongly recommend checking out the review over on BlizzPlanet if you're at all interested in this novel, or even if you're not. He hasn't finished the book,
so take is more of a review preview. It made me very excited for the book, so hopefully it'll do the same for you.
BlizzCon 2009 announced
BlizzCon 2009 will be held from Friday August 21st through Saturday August 22nd at the Anaheim Convention Center outside of Los Angeles, CA. This year's BlizzCon will feature an expanded space, going from three conventions halls to four. This is no doubt due to the extreme demand for tickets last year. The announcement is present on the press release section of Blizzard's EU site.
This year's BlizzCon will feature:
Hands-on play time with upcoming Blizzard Entertainment games
Discussion panels with Blizzard Entertainment developers
Competitive and casual tournaments for players to showcase their talents
Community contests with great prizes
Commemorative merchandise based on Blizzard Entertainment's game universes
A silent auction
More exciting activities and attractions
to be announced
WoW Insider had a ton of coverage the last two years, and we're looking forward to bringing you coverage this year as well.
And to clarify a few things: there is no announcement about the mysterious unannounced MMO that Jeff Kaplan is
now working on, and there is no announcement about the third expansion. At least no announcements yet.
Ticketing information is not available at this time. As soon as we have any information on ticket prices, availability, and methods of purchase, we'll let you know.