Dawn of the Aspects - Part 3
I just finished reading the third installment of the Warcraft ebook, Dawn of the Aspects.
Spoilers follow...
So we finally get some kind of hint about the Titan keepers and their role in the earliest days of dragonkind, but it's only a hint, and I'm frustrated. I had thought this story was going to be about what the Fab Five were like before, during and immediately after they were blessed by the Titans. And yes, technically that's what it is about, but we get so little about their characters and too much (IMHO) about Kalec's magical malfunctions.
It would have been a much stronger story if it was all set in the past, with no trace of Kalec or Jaina or anyone else from the current time frame. It's not even that I dislike Kalec or Jaina. I actually enjoy both characters in other contexts, but this really isn't supposed to be their story.
I want to know exactly how and why the Aspects were selected, how they were empowered, how it changed them, and what happened to the other colors of dragons who didn't get an Aspect. Jaina wandering around talking to ghost taunka just isn't as interesting as FINALLY getting answers to some of those long-standing questions about the history of the dragonflights on Azeroth.
Maybe we'll still get some of those revelations in the future installments of DotA, but as of right now it's shaping up to be an adventure tale of a bunch of barely-sentient dragons fighting undead and each other. While that wouldn't be a bad plot if it also contained more substantial information about the Titans and their purpose/method for making the Aspects, right now it feels more like a particularly gruesome Saturday morning cartoon. ("Stay tuned for next week's episode where our dragon friends almost get crushed by rocks, eaten by monsters, and learn about the power of teamwork!")
I also worry that the Titans themselves aren't going to show up to personally bless the Aspects. Tyr mentions that the other keepers are bored with the dragon project and he's the only one still messing around with it. Now, maybe this takes place right before the Titan's second visit in which they sealed away the Old Gods and did damage control. If the Aspects' purpose was to prevent the Hour of Twilight (i.e. the Old Gods winning), it would make sense that they were empowered at that time. It also appears that Yogg Saron may be responsible for Galakrond's corruption (oh yay, more Old God corruption, that hasn't been done to death already). Perhaps the Titans are going to swoop down, give Tyr a pat on the back for his work on the dragons, open a can of whoopass on the Old Gods, and leave the Aspects to protect what's left. Or maybe it's the eredar debacle all over again.
Regardless, I still don't like the characterization for Neltharion in this. I know he's at a primitive stage of development, but some nuance beyond "Can we fight something now? I fight good! Let's fight something! Can we fight soon? I like fighting!" would be awfully nice.
I liked the bit in an earlier installment where Alexstrasza tries to kill her prey as quickly and humanely as possible, because it rang true with her later role as Life Binder. In that same section Nozdormu seems to almost know where his prey is going before it darts in that direction, which hints at his connection to time. Malygos' intelligence is repeatedly emphasized, which fits for the future Spellweaver. The foreshadowing of Ysera's future is a bit more subtle, and I'm still not sure exactly how this "peace at all costs, let's all be friends" thing ties in to being the Dreamer, but at least it's something.
Neltharion really is a one-note character so far, which is disappointing to me because (shocker) I love black dragons.
In part three, when a bunch of proto-dragons are sealed away beneath a huge landslide, I was really hoping the future Earth Warder would say, "Hey, you guys, I've got this thing where I can, like, work with rocks and stuff. I bet I can clear that rubble away really fast. Like, rocks and I get each other, y'know?" But no, he's the dumb jock in a high school sitcom, like "Can we go fight something now?" /facepalm
Spoilers follow...
So we finally get some kind of hint about the Titan keepers and their role in the earliest days of dragonkind, but it's only a hint, and I'm frustrated. I had thought this story was going to be about what the Fab Five were like before, during and immediately after they were blessed by the Titans. And yes, technically that's what it is about, but we get so little about their characters and too much (IMHO) about Kalec's magical malfunctions.
It would have been a much stronger story if it was all set in the past, with no trace of Kalec or Jaina or anyone else from the current time frame. It's not even that I dislike Kalec or Jaina. I actually enjoy both characters in other contexts, but this really isn't supposed to be their story.
I want to know exactly how and why the Aspects were selected, how they were empowered, how it changed them, and what happened to the other colors of dragons who didn't get an Aspect. Jaina wandering around talking to ghost taunka just isn't as interesting as FINALLY getting answers to some of those long-standing questions about the history of the dragonflights on Azeroth.
Maybe we'll still get some of those revelations in the future installments of DotA, but as of right now it's shaping up to be an adventure tale of a bunch of barely-sentient dragons fighting undead and each other. While that wouldn't be a bad plot if it also contained more substantial information about the Titans and their purpose/method for making the Aspects, right now it feels more like a particularly gruesome Saturday morning cartoon. ("Stay tuned for next week's episode where our dragon friends almost get crushed by rocks, eaten by monsters, and learn about the power of teamwork!")
I also worry that the Titans themselves aren't going to show up to personally bless the Aspects. Tyr mentions that the other keepers are bored with the dragon project and he's the only one still messing around with it. Now, maybe this takes place right before the Titan's second visit in which they sealed away the Old Gods and did damage control. If the Aspects' purpose was to prevent the Hour of Twilight (i.e. the Old Gods winning), it would make sense that they were empowered at that time. It also appears that Yogg Saron may be responsible for Galakrond's corruption (oh yay, more Old God corruption, that hasn't been done to death already). Perhaps the Titans are going to swoop down, give Tyr a pat on the back for his work on the dragons, open a can of whoopass on the Old Gods, and leave the Aspects to protect what's left. Or maybe it's the eredar debacle all over again.
Regardless, I still don't like the characterization for Neltharion in this. I know he's at a primitive stage of development, but some nuance beyond "Can we fight something now? I fight good! Let's fight something! Can we fight soon? I like fighting!" would be awfully nice.
I liked the bit in an earlier installment where Alexstrasza tries to kill her prey as quickly and humanely as possible, because it rang true with her later role as Life Binder. In that same section Nozdormu seems to almost know where his prey is going before it darts in that direction, which hints at his connection to time. Malygos' intelligence is repeatedly emphasized, which fits for the future Spellweaver. The foreshadowing of Ysera's future is a bit more subtle, and I'm still not sure exactly how this "peace at all costs, let's all be friends" thing ties in to being the Dreamer, but at least it's something.
Neltharion really is a one-note character so far, which is disappointing to me because (shocker) I love black dragons.
In part three, when a bunch of proto-dragons are sealed away beneath a huge landslide, I was really hoping the future Earth Warder would say, "Hey, you guys, I've got this thing where I can, like, work with rocks and stuff. I bet I can clear that rubble away really fast. Like, rocks and I get each other, y'know?" But no, he's the dumb jock in a high school sitcom, like "Can we go fight something now?" /facepalm