Christie Goldens The Shattering, followup to The New York Times best-selling Arthas, is thankfully just as good (if not better) than its predecessor. Weve given you a spoiler-free review, and now its time to dive into the meat and potatoes, the spoilery goodness contained within the crunchy hardcover shell.
The Shattering covers a lot of ground, but you should know ahead of time that the main players in this story are orcs, tauren, humans and dwarves. The other races are mentioned only in passing or have very minor roles, but thats OK. Theres a lot here to love, and we finally have clarification on some rumors that weve heard second- and third-hand for a year now.
Rather than going in full chronological order, Ive instead divided the summary by character, so you can follow each of their particular storylines. Todays summary is for Thrall.
Remember, this summary is full of spoilers, so dont read it if you dont want the book spoiled!
Thrall
Drekthars increasing senility caused Palkar only pain and a fierce desire to wish the world were otherwise, the world that DrekThar was so convinced was about to be broken. Little did the old orc know that for those who loved him, the world was broken already.
It all starts with DrekThar. Hes growing old and senile. His caretaker is worried about him. Hes tormented by nightmares of the elements raging all over Azeroth. He wakes in the middle of the night, screaming that he must warn Thrall, that the world will burn, but his caretaker thinks hes just in the throes of senility. DrekThars message never reaches Thrall.
When a fire rages loose in Orgrimmar, Thrall attempts to calm the flames with his shamanistic powers. He cant. He first asks nicely, then pleads, then threatens, but the flames are angry and apparently afraid -- afraid of something much worse than Thrall. Orgrimmar burns. Not all of the city is destroyed, but a large portion of it is.
Gazlowe, the goblin who originally built Orgrimmar, is tasked with repairing the city, but the cost is steep. Very steep. Too much for an already-suffering Orgrimmar city coffer, but Thrall has little choice -- the city cant go unrepaired. Gazlowe repeatedly lowers the price out of respect for Thrall, but its still exorbitant.
Thrall mulls over how to get more supplies for Orgrimmar. Durotar has been suffering droughts, which caused the fire that raged through the city, and the night elves have cut off trade with the Horde after the incident at the Wrathgate. Garrosh recommends attacking the night elves and taking what they need from Ashenvale, but Thrall reminds him that, post-Northrend, a truce is in effect between the Horde and Alliance. Hostilities have ceased in even the smallest theaters (like Warsong Gulch).
When word gets back to Orgrimmar of a night elf village in Ashenvale being brutally devastated (its inhabitants skinned alive and chopped to pieces), its assumed that Garrosh was the one who ordered it. He denies it. Varian Wrynn catches wind of it thanks to some night elf sentinels crashing the memorial service for the over 50,000(!) Alliance members, mostly human, who died in the Northrend war. He sends a message to Thrall stating that he demands an apology, an open condemnation of the attacks, a reaffirmation of his support of the truce, and finally that he send the offenders to Wrynn personally to meet Alliance justice.
Jaina meets with Thrall secretly to discuss the order. Thrall says that the only demands hell meet are a reaffirmation of the treaty and a condemnation of the attacks. He wont send over the offenders, mainly because he has no idea who they are but also because he knows that Wrynn would never send over Alliance criminals to face Horde justice. And he wont apologize for the violence, because doing so would be downplaying how severely the night elves cutting off trade has affected his people. Jaina is disappointed and leaves.
A pity, Eitrigg said, apropos of apparently nothing.
What is? asked Thrall.
That she is not an orc, Eitrigg said.
A weary Thrall decides that its time to revisit his shamanistic roots and talk to the elements of Draenor to determine whats wrong with the ones on Azeroth. He wants someone to lead the Horde in his stead while hes away, but his options are few. Orcs wouldnt accept an old tauren as their leader, so Cairne Bloodhoof is out. Varok Saurfang is essentially retired, holding down the fort in Grommash Hold following the extended Northrend campaign and his sons two deaths. Saurfang the Younger, who wouldve been the perfect choice, is out for obvious reasons. VolJin is occupied with rebuilding the Echo Isles. Only one suitable alternative remains.
With some trepidation, he appoints Garrosh Hellscream not as Warchief but as temporary leader, thinking that this kind of responsibility could put Garrosh in his place. Garrosh doesnt even want the job. He begs Thrall to find him a position more suited to him -- leading an elite group of soldiers, fighting battles, claiming territories for the Horde, anything -- but finally caves under Thralls insistence. He accepts the honor with respect. Thralls advisors and friends disagree with the decision, but his mind is made up. He leaves Orgrimmar after a heated discussion with Cairne, who vehemently opposes Thralls interim replacement.
You are Thrall, son of Durotan, she said without preamble.
I am, he replied.
A filthy name. Here, you will be called Goel.
In Nagrand, Thrall meets up with a young female orc shaman named Aggra, an apprentice of Greatmother Geyah. He had hoped to study under Geyah, but the training Thrall needs requires travel, and shes an invalid. She appoints Aggra as Thralls instructor. Neither of them are pleased about this. Aggra believes that Thralls use of his slave name is demeaning to him and to every orc. Thrall cant stand Aggras acerbic nature. But they both deal with the situation for the sake of saving Azeroth.
It turns out that the ritual DrekThar originally gave Thrall to help him become a true shaman wasnt a true shamanistic vision quest, just a placeholder performed when the Frostwolf clan was just trying to survive. If Thrall wants to really speak with the elements, he needs to go through a real vision quest. Geyah and Aggra note that he dresses like a warrior, but if he wants to become a true shaman, he needs to shed his skin. He loses the plate armor and the Doomhammer, taking up the ritual robe and prayer beads instead. He spends weeks training with Aggra and learning more about natural order of things -- and more about Aggra.
Through his vision quest and conversations with the Four Furies at the Throne of the Elements, he learns some important information. Gordawg, the earth fury, tells that Thrall that based on the chunk of Azeroth he brought through the portal, the elements on Azeroth are terrified and wont listen to anyone. He says that the last time he saw behavior like that was when his world (Draenor) was about to shatter. The fire elemental, lamenting that he cannot provide his flame to the flames of Azeroth, gives Thrall the fire of passion to do what must be done. The rest impart their knowledge to Thrall, who leaves the Throne of Elements with a new goal: Find out what force has the elements so frightened.
We also offer players the cheapest wow gold and fast delivery at the same time
It is wow gold sale here. You will never be banned as buying wow gold from us. We provide cheap wow gold to our loyal and reliable wow gold us customers.
We are a world class wow gold store online. We supply cheap wow gold, the cheapest wow gold to our loyal and reliable customers buy gold.
You may buy cheap gold wow here. There is wow gold of sale; you can buy really cheap wow gold here.
We have mass available stock of wow gold buy on most of the gold in wow servers, so that we can do a really instant way of wow gold delivery.
Unfortunately, hes too late. Shortly after Thralls discussion with the furies, every shaman on Azeroth feels the Maelstrom churn, a chaotic rift forming in its center, sending shockwaves all over Azeroth. Menethil Harbor is flooded, Stonewrought Dam destroyed, The Barrens split in half, Theramore beset by tidal waves, Thousand Needles flooded ... The destruction is unbelievable.
With a new mission -- heal the world at any cost -- Thrall heads back to Azeroth, with his new mate at his side.
|
