Blood Ties (World of Warcraft: Midnight)

By: Christie Golden

Narrated by: Yuri Lowenthal

An official prequel novel to World of Warcraft: Midnight

Arator the Redeemer was born to heroism. The son of High Exarch Turalyon and the legendary Alleria Windrunner, Arator has long borne the weight and expectations of their legacy . . . a legacy he inherited as a babe, the day his parents disappeared through the Dark Portal.

Alleria and Turalyon’s journey took them farther afield than they’d intended. While their absence spanned mere decades on Azeroth, the heroes experienced a thousand years at war against the Burning Legion—a demonic army seeking the destruction of all worlds. When at last they reunited with their son, Arator was a man grown, pledged to the very order of paladins for which they had once fought. The Legion fell quickly in a decisive final battle, yet the millennium of distance between the family was less easily conquered.

Now, on the other side of recent events in Khaz Algar, Arator embarks on a new journey, investigating rumors of a strange glow emanating from the ruins of a long-abandoned Legion base. Turalyon and Alleria volunteer to assist, eager to eliminate their ancient enemy before it can threaten their world anew. As the family delves further into the mystery, Arator works to reconcile his parents’ heroic legacy with the flawed people he has come to know. He sees both of his parents in himself: his father’s high standards, his mother’s intellect, their unwavering commitment to the defense of Azeroth. But Arator exists at the conflux of their greatest strengths and weaknesses—weaknesses that are revealed as the demonic threat proves to be a former lieutenant of the Burning Legion, intent on using Azeroth to launch a new campaign of destruction.

Slow and Meandering

This book starts out very strong and leads to some interesting places, but ultimately it failed to hold my attention. It was a struggle to finish; while I did like that Golden gave some oft-unseen characters some of the spotlight, the neverending family drama between the main cast quickly became tedious. Turalyon's anger issues are a constant threat to the mission and family, and no amount of Alleria accepting the blame for his immature behavior can save the plot. The story is abruptly slowed about three quarters in and never recovers.

If you want to read a story about a dysfunctional straight couple with more baggage than a passenger train attempting to pretend their relationship still works while their adult son kills monsters, this is for you. If not, the only part of this story that might impact the plot of Midnight happens in the last few pages, so take that as you will.

It got boring pretty quick

I love Christie Golden’s other books. This one had so much potential but never really took off.

Overall pretty good

I enjoyed the book, and I usually like this particular narrator. However, I do think they missed the mark on the characters racial dialects which regularly brought me out of the story.

Great lore building and set up

I have always loved the Warcraft tie in books and this one is no exception. We get back story clarity on two major lore characters and further development of a more recent edition. The story also helps set up events for the upcoming expansion but can serve as a standalone story on its own. This is probably one of my favorite book in the franchise only behind Arthas. Anyone who is a fan of these characters or even the Legion expansion need to read or listen.

Amazingly Narrated

i don’t think I’ve listened to another audiobook in the Warcraft series performed with as much gusto and passion as this one. This was a true treat.