Interview with Madeleine Roux about Shadows Rising.
Very interesting, made me really like this new author, she is also a WOW players which is great.
Best things I found is
1-She is wrote this novel featuring 14 Lore characters mainly racial leaders
2-She is incredibly honest about how the writing process works between author/Blizzard, she does not sugar coat anything loved that.
3-Her main is a Night Elf 
4-She wanted to explore every character beyond their Warmongering attitude, she wanted to show us their depth, their likes/dislikes beyond the battlefield.
5-They way she has written Nathanos makes him seem less black/white
6-She talked about every character featured in the Novel pretty much but called Veto when referencing Tyrande 
which means Tyrande will be doing something big !
7-The way she has written Talanji implies a lot of depth,and realism which is awesome, she will give the Horde council serious challenges.
8-A lot of Elune speculation and how Blizzard kept her in the Dark on purpose.(Elune is not explored in the Novel directly)
Hopefully Tyrande is actually properly featured.
We still don’t know how much of Ashenvale the Horde has gotten and the Night Elves should move into Hyjal. We also don’t know how bad the extinction problem of the Night Elves is so I hope that some things will be mentioned in the book. I also hope Tyrande will be kicking some Horde butt for once in a while.
I don’t think Tyrande will be doing anything big because it was mentioned that the books aren’t supposed to have major lore events. Out of curiousity, when does she say that with Tyrande?
Edit: Just watched it, he asked if Tyrande is featured and she said that she can’t talk about that so it doesn’t mean that she’s doing anything big.
Opinions aside regarding her personal views on the setting, I gotta say that I admire how upfront and honest she is. And I admire the amount of effort she seems to put on the story.
I think they already have. Didnt they mention in in Dialogue with Shandris and Tyrande in Stormwind. They are positioned there at the moment. Darkshore is also taken.
Only Tyrande and Shandris went there (and Malfurion according to an excerpt), but I don’t think it was ever mentioned that the Night Elves would go there.
We don’t even know if Hyjal is inhabitable as far as I know
Two hours? With Accolon? I guess I will listen to clips at most, and take you guys at your word when you talk about the contents…
On the praise for her openness, though…
These kinds of events certainly don’t happen without Blizzard having a say in the topics, and what kinds of answers are okay. And even if Blizzard didn’t directly require it, which is unlikely, an author that wants to work for these guys in the future would be really stupid not to get the okay from above first. Have no doubt that she is no more open than Blizzard wants her to be.
Which is not a bad thing at all, really. Blizzard has shifted their WoW-PR-strategy considerably since BfA, towards more communication and openness, so this fits the Blizzard-trend for me. That’s much more important than any one author being relatively open.
In fact, they stated Nordressil is base of operations for them.
Plus why wouldnt it be habitable.
Damn you were faster.
On that bit, I did find some certain degree of self-awareness regarding what she could or could not write about. And to have her state that there are certain shades in between the stark white and black, even if she did so while acting as Bluzzards mouthpiece, made me instantly start seeing her in a much more favourable light.
Of course, I am sure in two hours enough of her personality shone through to have an opinion about her. I won’t listen to it, though, so my impression of her is still mostly painted by Traveler 3, which was a look at her approach in action, and not just in theory. I’ll probably read Shadows Rising, and that might change my views, but… words are cheap, and these ones were bought and paid for.
I left it as some background podcast I zoned in and out while I did other stuff.
Try maybe doing that.
There are interesting bits.
Overall, I won’t delve much into the whole thing, but she did come across as some authentic ‘nerdy’ girl that knows what buttons to press for a young-adult audience.
She doesn’t seem to be this sort of burnt “Former Nerd Gone Dad” like Metzen or Danuser, nor the overly emotional middle age woman worried about getting across some politically correct message like Golden.
Of course I might be in for some nasty surprise in the end. But the overall interview did give me some good first impression.
Probably the main spoiler is that she told, that Sylvanas haters will not going to be happy…
We know that Tyrande and Night Elves are ignoring the Alliance in the beginning of the book. But in the starting of Shadowlands Tyrande stands with Alliance leaders.
So there will be some drama in the book regarding Alliance relationship.
But according the mood she took in the interview, soon there will be no Alliance as we know it now. Probably 3 faction, or no factions at all.
She didn’t say that. She said that those with a predefined view on the character will remain with such opinion no matter what.
But for those that keep some open mind, and are willing to see things from a different point of view, she has planned several moments that will make them stop and reconsider that stuff isn’t as black and white.
Her take home message throughout the entire interview was to highlight that she didn’t want to paint some cartoonishly differentiated dichotomy between the “good” and the “bad” guys. That she has tried to highlight the lights and shades of both sides.
She did. The question was about Sylvanas endgame, and will everyone who hate her will be satisfy.
Her answer was, that haters will not going to be satisfy. But if they will look on Sylvanas with neutral side than… bla bla bla.
Main thing that Haters will not going to be happy. Means that probably Sylvanas will play "Shadowlaaaands is Freeeee"© in the end.
She did not.
I could quote her word by word, and the message remains the same: she acknowledges that those that hate or love the character will remain doing so no matter what.
But that she has left several controversial points for those that keep an open mind and rather try to see the picture from all sides, may stop, and reconsider the situation while noting that there is more to it than some cartoon villain or a shiny white knight story.
Your wailing about it all being some redemption arch is your own head canon.
She did. She did not say any single word about those who loves Sylvanas. You are missing the question on which she was giving an answer. Her answer was about those who want Sylvanas dead.
And for those her answer was that they will not going to be satisfy, but those who looks neutral on her will.
Doesn’t seem like this will end well for Tyrande then. Tyrande hunts Sylvanas but if Sylvanas is going to survive that means Tyrande will have to die.
Sounds like “Sylvanas haters will not be happy” to me. It’s not exactly unexpected, since any dive into Sylvanas’ motiviation was bound to make her a little less cartoonish (it can’t possibly make her more so), but it is what it is. Writing that is trying to humanize her. Sylvanas haters will certainly not be happy. And I guess as a member of the “the less we have to deal with her the better” faction, I qualify. No, humanizing her doesn’t neccessitate redemption, but it does entail trying to sell us on someone we see as irredeemable. Not interested.
If your take on Sylvanas is about having her be the most one dimensional cartoonishly villain possible, would loath to have anything that says otherwise and would rather they kept her be this sort of cardboard bad guy…then sure.
You’ll be disappointed.
Guess my take on Sylvanas hating was assuming said people were those that took everything that accompanied it, good and bad, and still hated the whole thing.
Factoring deliberate narrowing regarding what you think, or want the character to be? Well, guess THOSE sort of haters will indeed end up disappointed.
Much like those that want the Alliance to be the immaculate heroes will probably be too.
Still, no talks regarding further “spits” about redemption archs.
Extra tip bit, Zandalari aren’t allied with the Horde anymore. They’re part of it.