So I decided that over the summer......

[n00bonicPlague]

......I would purchase and read the Starcraft novels. I bought Liberty's Crusade about a week ago and got it in the mail Monday. I read it from cover to cover yesterday. I'm glad I read it -- it was a great story. It made the Terran campaign a great deal more real for me, and I could produce images in my mind based on what I have seen in the artwork and graphics of starcraft.

On a side note, I found some lore justification as to why Protoss psi is blue and why Raynor should have sandy blond hair. One typo that I can remember was a place where it said "look a look" instead of "took a look". Also, my favorite quote from the book was from the bottom of page 89 to the top of page 90:
She bent over to check some plugs.

Mike recognized the equipment.

[Novasquadron]

Im glad to hear that you enjoyed the book.
Out of all of them that is my favorite one.
It is literally reliving all the event from SC.
If you liked that one you might enjoy the others.

My list of fav.:
Liberty's Crusade
Speed of Darkness
Starcraft Ghost Nova
Shadow of the Xelnaga

I havent read the other or the manga.
How is it by the way?

[sandwich_bird]

I wish someone would do a UMS of the books so I don't have to read them... I did read liberty crusade though, it was ok.

[n00bonicPlague]

I wish someone would do a UMS of the books so I don't have to read them... I did read liberty crusade though, it was ok.

I actually thought about that while I was reading the books. If I ever have the time in my life to do a let's play of Starcraft and Brood War, I think I might actually integrate the story into the video series somehow.

[LordofAscension]

You guys should all pick up and read Queen of Blades. Sure it slaughters some of the lore but it still a pretty good read. Though I warn you... it makes Raynor look whiny...

I just re-read it cover to cover last Monday. I definitely recommend it if you are a lore buff... and there may be some stuff coming in a few months from SC:L that has to do with the book ^^

<3

~LoA

[Novasquadron]

Oh really?
Sound interesting, the SC:L part.
Raynor whiny?
That doesnt please me. :D

[Pandonetho]

I recommend, and my recommendations are A+ by the way.

First, the Dark Templar Saga by Christie Golden
And second, I, Mengsk by I forget his name, Neil Graham or something.

And then, despite the horrid monstrosities of SC Ghost: Nova, I found myself reading it from front till end in one day. It was kind of interesting, i think it was because of Kelerchian's character. Interesting guy.

[GentleBen]

Speed of Darkness and Ghost: Nova were the best novels that I have read. The only ones I havent read yet are I, Mengsk and parts 2 and 3 of the dark templar saga.

[Hammy]

I wish someone would do a UMS of the books so I don't have to read them... I did read liberty crusade though, it was ok.

haha that's pretty hilarious :p
You make it sound like UMS maps are the new "movie" when it comes to novel interpretation for people who don't like to read ;)

More on topic: could you tell us a bit more about your impressions? How well written is it? Do you think someone who isn't looking to improve his knowledge of Starcraft lore would still enjoy them? I've been thinking of trying them out for a while, as a starcraft fan, but on the other hand I hate reading books that are merely "entertaining"... So this would probably have to be pretty good in that departement for me to enjoy it.

[LordofAscension]

Not many of the older SC books are that well written - and the lore can def be slaughtered in places but overall they provide a lot of the "nonsense" lore that is neat.

~LoA

[Runei]

The Dark Templar Saga is a fun read and if im not mistaken even involves characters from the "Enslavers" custom maps. The Dark Archon guy Ulrazej or however you spell it.

[n00bonicPlague]

Yeah, from what I've learned the books are just to give the lore a little more meat.

I don't think one could enjoy them that well if they hadn't played the game.

[LordArreat15]

All of the SC novels are great in my opinion. Shadows of the Xel'naga was so so.
Those who want some more lore, Medievaldragon had a interview with Christie Golden (8-12 questions I would think.) part 1 and 2 of 4 ready on Blizzplanet, but just ARTHAS.
Edit: Part 3 ready now.

Medievaldragon @ Scrolls of Lore:

Christie Golden - Book Revue Videos
For those who weren't able to attend the event at the Book Revue Bookstore in Huntington, New York you can watch the videos now.

Part 1 covers half of the speech. Christie read the prologue of World of WarCraft: Arthas and the scene where Arthas is ordained into the Order of the Silver Hand at age 19.

Part 2 covers the other half of the reading, and half of the Q&A with the audience.

Part 3 has the remaining Q&A session with the audience.

Part 4 is the entire book signing and the moment Jaime handles Christie a copy of StarCraft: The Dark Templar Twilight -- on sale June 30th.

http://www.blizzplanet.com/blog/comm..._revue_videos/

As for the StarCraft: The Dark Templar Twilight interview, I will transcribe and add sub-titles. I won't show it to the public yet until Blizzard takes a look at it to filter out anything that might seem too spoiler-ish of StarCraft II.

[Praetor_Ixab]

I'm currently reading through the Dark Templar saga for the first time - I just ordered the books last week and they arrived on wednesday. I finished Firstborn in a day and a half, and due to work and time constraints, I'm about 1/3rd of the way done with Shadow Hunters.

I've also read:
Liberty's Crusade - good because it really shows how big a jackass Mengsk was to Kerrigan.
Queen of Blades - enjoyed it because it finally filled those huge retcon gaps, such as how in the world Raynor, Zeratul, and Tassadar became pals, and gives great details to how Raynor and Kerrigan's relationship has evolved with her becoming a Zerg.
Shadow of the Xel'Naga - cool, but not really canon I don't think. Kinda odd, doesn't feel like it fits into the timeline anywhere very well.
Speed of Darkness - I loved it because it's such a dark, forboding story and the descriptions really help you imagine what being a resocialized Marine may be like.

I haven't read any of the mangas, comics, or Ghost novels.

As a side note, anyone know if the 3rd DT saga (Twilight) is definitely coming out June 30th?

[LordArreat15]

As a side note, anyone know if the 3rd DT saga (Twilight) is definitely coming out June 30th?
Oh it is finally coming at last, Christie herself even confirmed on the ARTHAS public interview at Worldofwar.net or Blizzplanet.com when I ask for some info. I think she said even Zamara secret be revealed too.

[Praetor_Ixab]

Oh it is finally coming at last, Christie herself even confirmed on the ARTHAS public interview at Worldofwar.net or Blizzplanet.com when I ask for some info. I think she said even Zamara secret be revealed too.

well that's good to know. i just finished shadow hunters earlier today, so i am ready to pre-order Twilight. and the big secret damn well better be revealed! what a lame ending it would be if it wasn't! it better be something that leads DIRECTLY into SCII, or they'll have built it up for nothing, IMO. ah well, still gonna buy it and read it!

[n00bonicPlague]

Though I'm a bit disappointed about today's announcements,
I am happy right now because I got the SC novels I ordered:

Shadow of the Xel'Naga
Speed of Darkness
I, Mengsk
Queen of Blades
Nova
Frontline v1
Frontline v2

I already have Liberty's Crusade
_

[Pandonetho]

Hey n00b, read the terrible ones first, then you can finish off with the good ones.

Hmm, which reminds me, I always thought that Char was an inhospitable planet that was extremely hot and stuff, but apparently Jim Raynor can walk on it no problem without any protection. I'm not sure if it's a contradiction or not, because according to the starcraft2.com info page on Char (I haven't checked it in a while) there's lots of radiation and whatnot.

[Capsblock]

Wow wow wow wo oh oh oh! people actually buy that stuff?

[n00bonicPlague]

K so I already had read LC, and I've now finished reading SotXN, SoD, and QoB. Those three were great, and I didn't see too many weird lore contradictions (save for the few flat-out obvious *hey-this-guy-wasn't-here* moments). Though, I now see where QoB made Raynor look like a whiny nerdgin. At first I passed it off as necessary, since the entire story was from his PoV; however, it got to be a bit much near the end. My favorite moment was:

[RAYNOR]: Can you override the override?

[HORNER]: That would defeat the purpose.

Not a perfect quote but that was essentially it :D

I'm gonna read SCG:Nova next.

EDIT: Also, now I see where Dustin got his bnet nick.