Pixels to paper - 10 videogame novels reviewed

Features
By published

From Halo's prequel to Perfect Dark's sequel, we rate the reads

World of Warcraft: Cycle of Hatred

What is it?
A vague socio-commentary on ingrained racism, setting up the orcs vs humans universe of World of Warcraft.

Who wrote it?
Keith R.A. DeCandido, who's also written Star Trek, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Doctor Who, Supernatural, Andromeda and Farscape novels. And he's a professional musician, too. Where doeshe get the time?

Fanboy factor?
It's hard to see how this pretty humdrum novel expects to capture the grind-happy masses of World of Warcraft's online community. It certainly doesn't echo the epic scale or thrill of adventure that makes the MMO so popular. Though it has got orcs in it, so someone will like it.

Is it any good?
It's not terrible, it's just terribly boring. Like many videogame novels, Cycle of Hatred reads like it's been written to fill a word count, with lumbering conversation and descriptions that never really go anyway or say anything. It also reads like a first draft - basic, under-developed and probably written in a matter of days.

Further reading
Perhaps avoid DeCandido's other WoW novels (he doesn't seem to have much love for the universe) and try these by other authors:Rise of the Horde,Tides of Darkness,or Beyond the Dark Portal, which is out later this year.

Ben_Richardson

Ben Richardson is a former Staff Writer for Official PlayStation 2 magazine and a former Content Editor of GamesRadar+. In the years since Ben left GR, he has worked as a columnist, communications officer, charity coach, and podcast host – but we still look back to his news stories from time to time, they are a window into a different era of video games.