Blizzard is turning Warcraft into a Children's Novel

When you think “Warcraft”, what’s the first thing that pops into your mind? Is it the MMORPG that rocketed it to fame? The FPS’s that first established it as an IP? The card game that has come to dominate the TCG world? Well, if you’re Blizzard--first of all, I’m extremely flattered and confused that you’re choosing to read this article--and second of all, you think “this could probably be a children’s book for the 8-12 year old demographic."

So, in an effort to reach even younger audiences than before (although let’s be honest, age has never stopped anyone from playing the Warcraft games), Blizzard and Scholastic have announced that they’re teaming up to bring the world of Azeroth to today’s reading-inclined youth. And the effort of that collaboration will be--World of Warcraft: Traveler!

It's been years since twelve-year-old Aramar Thorne, a clever boy who is never without his precious sketch book, has seen his father. So when Captain Greydon Thorne comes ashore and asks his son to join him at sea, it feels as if someone has redrawn Aram's entire world. Before he knows it, Aram is aboard the Wavestrider with Lakeshire fading to a distant dot on the horizon. But the thrill of adventure quickly fades, as Greydon relentlessly schools Aram on how to handle his cutlass and how to relate with the strange and diverse creatures of Azeroth. In addition, Aram struggles to get along with the Wavestrider's crew—especially second mate Makasa, a tough teenaged girl who has been reluctantly placed in charge of him. Just as Aram starts to get his head above water, a band of vicious pirates attack the Wavestrider, turning his world upside down once again. As Aram tries to find his way home with his father's compass in hand, he'll travel across Azeroth's beautiful and hostile terrain, encountering creatures both terrible and wondrous. He'll seek to understand Azeroth's denizens as he draws them in his sketchbook, forming unlikely friendships along the way. But the journey is hindered by Greydon's compass, which never points north. If the compass isn't leading Aram and Makasa home--to safety--to what destiny is it leading them?

So it’s a project that aims to tell a story in the World of Warcraft universe that’s perhaps more slow and thoughtful, and also looks to introduce the World of Warcraft lore and story to a group of people who are either unfamiliar with it, or simply never paid attention to it. I don’t think I have anything against that in theory, the World of Warcraft universe is full of cool and wonderful stuff that it could easily be plundered for the use in a children’s novel.

But in practice, something about this rubs me the wrong way. Now, I’m as much a proponent of video games as art as the next guy, and I’ll be the first to admit Blizzard’s lore is rich and hearty, but… I mean, come on, “war” is right there in the name. Azeroth is an innately violent, conflict-prone place. Either this novel is going to have to mute that significantly, which seems disingenuous, or it’s going to have to present a world ripe with warfare as somehow… good? Fun? Somehow I doubt it’s going to be the piece of work that tackles the question of how a civilization would look if it thrived off unending war and is so saturated with bloodshed and death it's literally the backbone of their economy.

But, then, I could just be overthinking things.

World of Warcraft: Traveler will be out in November of this year, which means it won’t be long before you can pick up a copy for the youngin’ in your life… or for yourself.