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JAMES HIPKISS chooses five books that let you escape into fantasy worlds.
WORLD OF WARCRAFT, TIDES OF DARKNESS
by Aaron Rosenberg.
ON the cover it states "based on the game universe from Blizzard Entertainment", thereby signifying that this novel is a spin off from a successful computer game. So what should one expect of a book selling off the back of a computer game? Presumably many Warcraft fans will be buying it regardless. But for us unenlightened ones, ignorant of Warcraft, is it a good read? Well, although Tides of Darkness is a story in its own right, it is also a continuing story from previous Warcraft novels which if the reader is not familiar with them means that a lot of new names, places and relationships have to be picked up quickly in the first chapters.
The narrative and setting is very much in the mould of Lord of the Rings. Set in a mythical world, it's a tale of humans, warriors and princes, often with rather Celticsounding names, battling and forming alliances to face an evil common enemy, the Horde. Look out for magic, and all manner of strange creatures, elves, trolls, orcs, dwarfs in this fantasy world. It is not in the league of Tolkien, lacking the same breadth, depth or poetic quality, but is competently written and an entertaining read for lovers of fantasy tales.
BEOWULF
By Caitlin Kiernan
Again, on the...