Exploring Azeroth: Kalimdor

Exploring Azeroth: Kalimdor
Author(s)	Sean Copeland
Artist(s)	Various
Pages	144
Publisher(s)	Blizzard Entertainment
Publication date	December 7, 2021
Format(s)	Hardcover, Digital
Retail price	US: $20.99; UK: £19.99
ISBN 10	1950366618
ISBN 13	978-1950366613

For other books in this series, see Exploring Azeroth.

Exploring Azeroth: Kalimdor is an official Warcraft book by Sean Copeland presenting information on Kalimdor. It is the second book of the Exploring Azeroth series, released on 7 December, 2021.

Description

Cover art, depicting the Valley of Strength.

By fang and feather, explore the vibrant lands of Kalimdor!

Join famed hunter Rexxar, his animal companions, and Horde Ambassador Zekhan as they make the perilous journey across the lush and vivid reaches of Kalimdor to learn the secrets of the realm. Leave no stone unturned and no tracks unfollowed as Rexxar and Zekhan reveal lore, insights, equipment, and breathtaking landscapes from the ramparts of Orgrimmar to the golden plains of Mulgore to the wilds of Un'Goro Crater―and share one final kindness with a friend along the way. Featuring stunning, immersive artwork and new insights crafted by Blizzard's own loremaster, Sean Copeland, Exploring Azeroth: Kalimdor is your next step in a remarkable journey across Azeroth.^[1]

Characters

Narrators

Appearances and mentions

Artists

Original and reused (edited) art is used in the book of the following artists:

Francesca Baerald, Tom Baxa, Justin Donaldson, Matt Gaser, Lars Grant-West, Brandon Kitkouski, Joseph Lacroix, Matthew KcKeown, Chris Metzen, Christopher Moeller, Mats Myrvold, Bill Petras, Dmitry Prozorov, Chris Rahn, Glenn Rane, Dan Hee Ryu, Gus Schmidt, Audre Schutte, Lianna Tai, Konstantin Vavilow, Bayard Wu.

Some of the items and creatures bolded in the text have accompanying art.

Retcons and inconsistencies

Given the fact that the entries are written from Zekhan's point of view, these could, theoretically, be considered as in-universe mistakes instead of retcons.

Mistakes

It is mentioned that Rexxar followed Grommash Hellscream in the Second War. However, Grommash didn't participate in the Second War, he led the invasion of the Blasted Lands during the events of the Invasion of Draenor, two years after the Second War.
The book mentions that the Burning Legion used the Dark Portal to invade Azeroth during the War of the Ancients. It was, however, an unnamed portal made from the corrupted Well of Eternity that allowed the Legion to enter.
- It also mentions it was a thousand years ago, but the Legion's invasion was ten thousand years ago.
- Calling the Well of Eternity portal a "Dark Portal" was only ever used once before.^[2]

Inconsistencies

Gazlowe's title is referred to as "Trade Lord" when it should be "Trade Prince" like other cartel leaders, and like it is on the official website.^[3]
- His manner of speaking is also more akin to Jastor Gallywix than his usual persona.
The books say that today the Great Gate of Mulgore protects the tauren tribes from the quilboar and the Alliance's many needling strikes. After the Fourth War, there is an armistice between the two factions with no further battles, so the Alliance should no longer be attacking the Horde.
Zekhan says that he "heard" that there were no Horde survivors in the Taurajo attack. This contradicts the game where on the Horde side, while there were dead civilians, players can find civilian survivors in Camp Una'fe and Vendetta Point,^[4] and where on the Alliance side and mentioned in Jaina Proudmoore: Tides of War, the civilians were explicitly allowed to leave in order to avoid casualties.^[5]^[6]
Northwatch Hold is mentioned to have been built inside Horde borders. Cycle of Hatred specifically mentions that "The Barrens are neutral territory, that was agreed to from the beginning",^[7] however, in-game quests like [23] Gann's Reclamation and items like [Khazgorm's Journal] contradict Cycle of Hatred's claim of the Barrens being neutral territory.
The book mentions Thrall sending Rexxar to visit the Stonemaul clan in Dustwallow Marsh. In Old Hatreds, it was just Crol'ka who came to find help from Vol'jin and Rexxar, with the mok'nathal agreeing to aid in his problem with Kor'gall and simply seizing the opportunity to have the ogres help in the fight against Admiral Proudmoore.
The Horde and its blood elf allies are blamed for the Exodar's crash and the damage done to Azuremyst and Bloodmyst Isles. While Silvermoon's faction of blood elves was nominally loyal to Kael'thas until the Battle for Quel'Danas, the two did not act in concert and Kael'thas's direct subordinates, including the Sunhawks who antagonized the draenei, were as hostile to the Horde as they were the Alliance. Further, Kael'thas and the Exodar's saboteurs' allegiance to the Burning Legion was revealed to both the draenei and the Alliance before either faction reached Outland, and World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 3 canonized Kael'thas and his minions as Silvermoon and the Horde's primary antagonists during The Burning Crusade.

Trivia

The book mentions a new variant of [Cinderbloom]. The plant and its property were mentioned two years after the book's release in [Ashwood Research Binder] with patch 10.2.0, becoming the first in-game reference of the book.
On page 76, the Scythe of Elune is in bold, but there is no accompanying art of the weapon. The art index lists page 76 as having art, but there's none (but the following page depicts a worgen warrior from a different artist instead). Similarly, page 101 was supposed to have a piece of art, seemingly of Alzzin the Wildshaper, bolded on page 100 (although a satyr is in bold and depicted by the same artist when speaking about the satyrs on the Azuremyst Isles). The art depicting Teldrassil is not indexed.
The book reveals Gazlowe's first name to be Monte, 18 years since the character was first introduced in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne.
Zekhan mentions that Sahi Cloudsinger is no longer accepting new students, which might be a reference to her (and the other class trainers in Orgrimmar and Stormwind) losing their titles and quests in favor of the new class hubs in Shadowlands.
Its original planned release date was October 15, 2021 but later pushed for October 19 and again for December 7.
- The hardcover version has since been pulled, with Amazon stating a release of January 25, 2022.
After its release the book has received criticism, specifically for reinforcing negative, harmful, and racial stereotypes in its handling of Horde races and characters.^[8]^[9]
The audiobook version is read by Valence Thomas, the voice actor for Zekhan.
Both the Grand Expedition Yak and the Mighty Caravan Brutosaur are depicted in the cover artwork.