The Well of Eternity

by Richard A. Knaak

Mass Market Paperback, 384 pages

English language

Published March 29, 2004 by Pocket Books.

ISBN:: 978-0-7434-7119-0
OCLC Number:: 54938594

(10 reviews)

Many months have passed since the cataclysmic Battle of Mount Hyjal, where the demonic Burning Legion was banished from Azeroth forever. But now, a mysterious energy rift within the mountains of Kalimdor propels three former warriors into the distant past -- a time long before orcs, humans or even high elves roamed the land. A time when the Dark Titan Sargeras, and his demon pawns persuaded Queen Azshara and her Highborne to cleanse Azeroth of its lesser races. A time when the Dragon Aspects were at the height of their power -- unaware that one of their own would soon usher in an age of darkness that would engulf the world of Warcraft.

In the first chapter of this epic trilogy, the outcome of the historic War of the Ancients is forever altered by the arrival of three time-lost heroes: Krasus, the dragon mage whose great power and memories of the ancient conflict have inexplicably diminished; the human wizard Rhonin, whose thoughts are divided between his family and the seductive source of his now-growing power; and Broxigar, a weathered orc veteran who seeks a glorious death in combat. But unless these unlikely allies can convince the demigod, Cenarius, and the untrusting Night Elves of their queen's treachery, the Burning Legion's gateway into Azeroth will open anew. And this time -- the struggles of the past may well spill over into the future...

1 edition

XolokReads reviewed The Well of Eternity by Richard A. Knaak (War of the Ancients Trilogy, #1)

Tommy Wiseau failed to capture the human experience in The Room so he turned to night elves and dragons in these novels

1 star

This is my 2nd or 3rd attempt at this book. I enjoy the games it is based on, so I figured I would be inclined to enjoy it. I was able to soldier through this time around, but it was more of a struggle than it should have been. It starts off with a character named Rhonin and his wife, Vereesa, expecting children. I do not care about either of these characters and they are unfortunately the main characters that Knaak uses in his Warcraft novels. Rhonin is fairly bland and devoid of personality and Vereesa is very defined through Rhonin's eyes. i.e. she's physically attractive and Rhonin loves Vereesa so much. O hai Krasus! Krasus is the dragon that accompanies Rhonin, but he spends all of his time in elf form. Dragons can be fun characters, but they're usually difficult to relate to. We also have standard orc veteran character Broxigar. He is, get this, grizzled and direct. He has a tortured past too. Brox has relatively elaborate development compared to Rhonin and Krasus in that he amounts to almost a whole character you'd want to learn more about. Lastly, we have the night elf trio, Illidan, Malfurion, and Tyrande. Tyrande's main attribute is that she's physically attractive and she loves Malfurion so much. Illidan... Tyrande loves him as a person. As an elfin bean. This love triangle and the different ways these characters approach the same problems plaguing their world (of warcraft) is better portrayed in the video game. In this book we are told rather than shown people's emotions towards each other. Some characters are better developed than others, but the characters are by far the weakest part of this book (and its sequels.) Many things happen, but I sometimes forget who is where and why. The villains are cartoonish in their motivations. Hakkar is motivated by being mean, Xavius is power hungry, Azshara is physically attractive and everyone loves her so much. Oh hai Mannoroth! That would be fine, but the heroes also don't feel real. Some secondary characters show some promise though. We'll see.

J. J. Zepfanman @book reviewed The Well of Eternity by Richard A. Knaak (War of the Ancients Trilogy, #1)

Review of 'The Well of Eternity' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

3 1/2 stars, really. I often give up on books halfway through, and this was one of them. It's not so much that I didn't like it, I'm just not really into this genre anymore. The story is reminiscent of Robert Jordan and Tolkien, which I enjoyed in high school, but they're literally too fantastic for me these days - I feel this speaks to a lack of creative flair in my game. Plus, I have too many other books sitting on my shelf waiting to be read (The Disappearing Spoon, People's History of the United States, Hornets' Nest, etc.).