First, I want to thank Blizzrd PR for arranging this review copy, and Chris at Tourmaline for sending the copy. Many of you likely know this, but I did want to mention that my former co host of All Things Azeroth, Anne ‘Shadesogrey’ Stickney is the co author of this book, though she has not asked nor received any preferential treatment in this review.
Now to the book. Let me start off by saying that World of Warcraft: Ultimate Visual Guide definitely lives up to it’s title. Some ‘ultimate guide’ books are puny and have scant info on the subject. This book does not in any way fall into that category. It is a heavy, heavy book, with pretty much every piece of info you could want about the world of Azeroth. While I will not deny I did not cross check every page, knowing that the lore custodians at Blizzard, as well as Shade worked on this book leaves me to believe it is as accurate as possible for a world that has such a massive amount of history and background.
the art in this book is beautiful, and in many cases was so perfectly chosen for the page that it took my breath away. I am certain that there is stuff in this book that even the most knowledgeable lore nerds in the Warcraft community will likely find a piece or two of lore they were not aware of. From the different schools of magic, to the different Warcraft titles, even down to the history of the different kingdoms and factions, this book has it all.
If you are looking for a one stop resource for pretty much any fact in the World of Warcraft, this book is it. It will have all the information you need on the world of Azeroth and it’s connected world. It’s not light, but what do you expect from a book that is truly the World of Warcraft: Ultimate Visual Guide? I recommend picking this up if you have ever wondered what happened somewhere, who did it, and every little nugget of back story that led to it.
