New excerpts from World of Warcraft's upcoming lorebook, Exploring Azeroth: Northrend, have been shared by Amazon on its UK page. The new World of Warcraft book launches on November 15, alongside the second phase of the Dragonflight Pre-Patch.
Exploring Azeroth: Northrend is World of Warcraft’s third installment in the Exploring Azeroth lorebook series. Written by Alex Acks, Exploring Azeroth: Northrend will act as a tour of the frozen continent from Wrath of the Lich King, and will add commentary from Magni, Muradin, and Brann Bronzebeard.
The new Amazon excerpts give World of Warcraft fans a taste of what is to come in the new lorebook. It seems the primary narrator of Exploring Azeroth: Northrend is Muradin, with informal commentary added by his older and younger brother throughout. The excerpts themselves cover the Argent Tournament Grounds in Icecrown, the Howling Fjord, and Zul’Drak.
While the excerpts provide interesting commentary by the brothers Bronzebeard, Exploring Azeroth: Northrend doesn't seem to add many new details to the continent itself. The book chronologically takes place after Shadowlands, as it makes reference to there being no Lich King, but otherwise does not seem to change the status quo from how the areas appeared in Wrath of the Lich King: the Vrykul are still in the Howling Fjord, Zul’Drak is still largely abandoned and swarming with aimless Undead Scourge, and the Argent Tournament Grounds are mostly the same as they were many in-game years ago.
On one hand, players aren’t too pleased with how safe it seems World of Warcraft is playing it with Exploring Azeroth: Northrend. Though the new art is absolutely stunning, the book mostly seems to be regurgitating information players already know without providing any new context. With a timeskip of several years confirmed between Shadowlands and Dragonflight, many players are dismayed to see World of Warcraft is not using those years to change the world state.
On the other hand, many players think that may be for the best. Exploring Azeroth: Kalimdor, the second book in the series, fell on some problematic stereotypes from World of Warcraft’s earlier years. These excerpts at least seem to avoid any such problems–the one instance where Muradin dismisses troll religious practices as “shaman stuff” prompts scolding from his big brother. While most players agree they want substance from lorebooks, they want them to be respectful too.
World of Warcraft recently announced The Dragonflight Codex: A Definitive Guide to the Dragons of Azeroth–a sister lorebook focusing on the Dragon Isles–for July 2023. If Exploring Azeroth: Northrend ends up doing well, The Dragonflight Codex may have the chance to soar to even greater heights.
World of Warcraft is available now on PC. Exploring Azeroth: Northrend releases on November 15.