WoW: Traveler - Reading tip & competition

When the story gurus at Blizzard take up their pens, the result is usually a novel aimed at the hardcore adult fans among WoW players. There is a lot of blood, a lot of drama, and the protagonists in the novels about the online role-playing game make one serious decision after another. Most of the time, these are also well-known people of the lore, whose opinions and influence affect the game - sometimes in a positive sense, sometimes in a negative one. An important prerequisite for understanding the material you read is often that you are fairly well versed in the events of the Warcraftverse in order to understand what is happening on the pages of the books.

But the World of Warcraft series of novels (buy now €14.99) shows that this can also be done differently: Traveler. From the point of view of twelve-year-old Aramar Dorn, usually called Aram, you experience Azeroth from a completely different perspective, that of a child. Yes, Traveler is written for teenage readers, but it still belongs to the canon of the Warcraft universe, and it doesn't skimp on dramatic scenes either. However, especially for those of you who want to get into the more advanced WoW material for the first time, the Traveler trilogy of novels offers an excellent introduction. So forget all the heroic deeds your character has done so far, dump the Warcraft knowledge from your head for a cozy day of reading and get into the charmingly written adventure story about Aram and Makasa, who meet new friends and enemies on their odyssey across Azeroth.

All beginnings are ... wet

At this point, we will only give you a rough overview of the story, which covers more than 1,200 pages and was divided into three books, translated into German by Andreas Kasprzak and published by Fischer Verlag between 2017 and 2020. Because, of course, we don't want to spoil anything about Aram's journey. However, it is quite interesting to know who Aram actually is. The boy, a self-proclaimed artist who always carries a drawing pencil and sketchbook with him, grew up in Seenhain, though most of the time without his father. The world-famous explorer Greydon Dorn simply left his wife and children behind years ago to set off on a new, bold voyage of discovery. Aram was only six years old at the time, and he is not particularly thrilled when his father, who was thought to have disappeared, suddenly reappears at the door and wants to take Aram

on

adventurous voyage.

Of course, he ends up on board the Wave Rider and has to deal with the gruff crew, who don't care much for a landlubber like Aram. Especially Makasa Flintwill, second mate of the sailing ship, has taken a fancy to the clueless youngster and bullies him wherever he can. But before Aram can get into a serious confrontation with the bane of his shipboard life, something unexpected happens: the Wave Rider is attacked by pirates led by the mysterious Malus. Apparently, only Aram and Makasa manage to escape from the burning inferno that had once been a proud sailing boat, and after a long and anxious journey across the open sea, they land on a shore: Feralas. Equipped with not much more than themselves, a harpoon, a few maps, and by all appearances a malfunctioning compass, the mismatched duo try to find a way home.

Also suitable for adults

As mentioned earlier, Traveler was written for teenagers and so is the authors' writing style; a bit light and, most importantly, very understandable. This means, above all, that Traveler can be easily read away without any major difficulties in understanding. In addition, there are the numerous allusions to the world of Warcraft, because they awaken a lot of familiarity in the reader. Although hardly any familiar characters play a role in the novels, WoW connoisseurs always know what's going on and where Aram and Makasa are hanging out.

addition, there are numerous, lovingly drawn illustrations that Aram captures in his drawing book during the adventures.

In the first book, these are made by Samwise Didier, a Blizzard veteran who has decisively influenced the Warcaft style through the years. In the second book, The Goblin City, the drawings are by Aquatic Moon founded by Trent Kaniuga, and in the third, The Shining Sword, by illustrator Brandon Dorman. A good idea, especially to reflect Aram's growing expertise. Aram's and Makasa's adventures are again penned by Greg Weisman (books 1 and 2) and Madeleine Roux (book 3). Although we don't know why Weisman, known among other things for producing the Gargoyles series, didn't write all of them, it's nevertheless gratifying that the novels don't differ blatantly in terms of writing style. You'll find plenty of wit and charm between the covers of all three books. Speaking of Madeleine Roux, the Shadowlands book Rise of the Shadows comes from the author who primarily focuses on the horror genre! So there's more reading material to come!

Win Traveler: The Shining Sword

If you want to get a taste of the conclusion of Aram's adventure, then you have the chance to do so in our sweepstakes organized with Fischer Publishing, as we are giving away three copies! If you want to take part in the competition, then use the following form to answer a question and leave your email address.

The sweepstakes will be active until October 15, 2020 at 11:59pm. We will then randomly select the lucky winners from all valid participants. The legal process is excluded, a cash payment is not possible. Our general terms and conditions apply! Good luck!

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