I dont mean to offend anyone, but have you guys read any fantasy by authors not tied to a franchise like George RR Martin, Gene Wolfe or Steven Erikson? Not trying to be elitist since I like and read books based for instance on the Mass Effect game or the Forgotten Realms books.
Also before I start ranting I should say thar I kind of enjoyed the books and will probably read the others except the last sin war book. Its like watching a really bad cheesy tv show like Buffy can sometimes be enjoyable.
Thats the thing that dissapoints me the most ruins the books for me. All the parts with the super powerful mythical beings like Inarius and Lucion, where i expect something really cool to happen, plays out like an episode of a soap opera with some generic fantasy mixed in. The way the author portrays these beings they might as well have been powerful, influential humans, not cold, calculating inhuman overlords determined to enslave the human race to their will.
Then there is the story of Uldyssian. The unassuming nobody suddenly gains powers and wants to use them for good! Where have I read that before? The beautiful noblewoman randomly develops a crush on a nobody. What? She had an ulterior motive? Never saw that coming. Also, his adventures seem really trivial and stupid. He wins his fights by really wanting to win, and his superpowers just takes care of the rest.
Even the subplots suck. A demon in a ancient building in the jungle sends "rage" at him so he goes over ther and wishes it dead. Uh what? Thats it? Can you at least explore the building for a cool artifact?
I also got the books for the cool factor of the Diablo universe, but the author has turned it into generic fantasy. I guess i was just expecting a much darker and complex story.
The "Ask Lore Questions Here" thread is more enjoyable and informative to read than the books, ant to top it off, better written.
THANKS FOR THIS VARY AWSOME POST!!!!!!! YOUR AWSOME!!!!!!!:thumbsup:
ALot ofthe "Ask Lore Questions Here" are from the Sin War. READ BOOK THREE!!! YOU WONT BE DISAPOINTED!!!!
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If you want to arrange it
This world you can change it
If we could somehow make this
Christmas thing last
By helping a neighbor
Or even a stranger
And to know who needs help
You need only just ask
I dont mean to offend anyone, but have you guys read any fantasy by authors not tied to a franchise like George RR Martin, Gene Wolfe or Steven Erikson? Not trying to be elitist since I like and read books based for instance on the Mass Effect game or the Forgotten Realms books.
I have tried to read some, but its hard knowing what is out there and what I will like. I read the first book in The Dark Tower series, but I didn't like it enough to continue. I didn't like the feel of it. I've also read another demon book, but I didn't like the feel of that one either. If you know of any other books with the same or similar feel of Diablo, let me know. I'd especially like it too if it was more extreme than Diablo is.
Also before I start ranting I should say thar I kind of enjoyed the books and will probably read the others except the last sin war book. Its like watching a really bad cheesy tv show like Buffy can sometimes be enjoyable.
The Black Road is written by a different author, and its pretty tricky with all this fate and destiny, and has a really nice chapter about the difference between angels and demons (where there isn't much difference at all). Though if you do read it, just hold out until the end. The beginning is extremely generic and cheesy, but it gets much better as it goes along.
Thats the thing that dissapoints me the most ruins the books for me. All the parts with the super powerful mythical beings like Inarius and Lucion, where i expect something really cool to happen, plays out like an episode of a soap opera with some generic fantasy mixed in. The way the author portrays these beings they might as well have been powerful, influential humans, not cold, calculating inhuman overlords determined to enslave the human race to their will.
Ahh yeah, because they didn't really use their demonic or Heavenly powers? That is true. But I still like it.
Then there is the story of Uldyssian. The unassuming nobody suddenly gains powers and wants to use them for good! Where have I read that before? The beautiful noblewoman randomly develops a crush on a nobody. What? She had an ulterior motive? Never saw that coming. Also, his adventures seem really trivial and stupid. He wins his fights by really wanting to win, and his superpowers just takes care of the rest.
Uldyssian's powers kind of get better in the end of The Sin War trilogy. His powers go way out of control, like a mind of their own. Though you probably think thats really cheesy too. So what do you think of Mendeln then? I really like him the most, is his story cheesy, generic and cliche too?
I also got the books for the cool factor of the Diablo universe, but the author has turned it into generic fantasy. I guess i was just expecting a much darker and complex story.
The "Ask Lore Questions Here" thread is more enjoyable and informative to read than the books, ant to top it off, better written.
I guess it depends how much you read. In a way, I'm lucky that I haven't read many fantasy books so I can really enjoy the Diablo books without feeling like its too generic.
THANKS FOR THIS VARY AWSOME POST!!!!!!! YOUR AWSOME!!!!!!!:thumbsup:
So are any of the Diablo books any good? I have read the first 2 books of the Sin War trilogy and they are very very bad. The language and story of those books are comparable to internet fanfiction, which is a shame since the setting from the games is very interesting.
try mel odom's The Black Road. Best suggestion I have.
I found a Book in Amazon.com named Diablo Archives saying that it contains the 4 tales of Diablo in the world of Blizzard"!
Anyone has info bout that book?
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Be a Gamer or Die Tryin'
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- " And So our Tale ends, Bruenor BattleHammer.. In battle, as it should" -Drizzt Do'Urden -Ice Wind Dale-
Its basically just four previous books re-released into one massive book. If you haven't read the stories in it yet, then sure, buy it in one nice little package. But it could make reading somewhat difficult, being so thick.
Its basically just four previous books re-released into one massive book. If you haven't read the stories in it yet, then sure, buy it in one nice little package. But it could make reading somewhat difficult, being so thick.
K thanks for help
But I'll prefer TakinG all the 7 books separated, it's just more appealing ^^
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Be a Gamer or Die Tryin'
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- " And So our Tale ends, Bruenor BattleHammer.. In battle, as it should" -Drizzt Do'Urden -Ice Wind Dale-
I never read the books in english, but when i read them in polish they were an amazing read (all of them!) So if anyone hear loves diablo but didn't like it in english(it is a relatively young language after all) , then I reccomend trying it in another language (considering you can read another language) XD
Because thats just the order they were published in.
Legacy of Blood 2001
The Black Road 2002
Kingdom of Shadow 2002
Moon of the Spider 2006
The Sin War: Birthright 2006
The Sin War: Scales of the Serpent 2007
The Sin War: The Veiled Prophet 2007
I'm not sure if thats the year they were actually released in though, I thought the last Sin War book came out in 2008. But those are the copyright dates printed on the books, so it'll do.
The first three books (other than Demonsbane, which is sort of a special case) were published as a series, even though they aren't a series at all. Then Moon of the Spider came as an individual book, and then The Sin War trilogy came.
The concept of there being a 'Sin War' was established in the first Diablo game. It basically means the war between Heaven and Hell on Earth (Sanctuary). The Sin War trilogy describes the beginning of the war, and it won't stop until both Heaven and Hell leave Sanctuary alone (not likely, ever).
Also before I start ranting I should say thar I kind of enjoyed the books and will probably read the others except the last sin war book. Its like watching a really bad cheesy tv show like Buffy can sometimes be enjoyable.
I certainly don't agree with you here. I thought the politics within The Sin War Trilogy were fantasticly complex, and to point that out I am going to give you the list of the different factions and their interactionsn with one another that web them together.
You have the Three Prime Evils and their relationships with their children and followers, you have Inarius' relationship with both the Prime Evils and Angiris Council, you have Tyrael's relationship with the Angiris Council as well as with the Naphalem which are both seperate entities, and you have the Angiris Council's political relationship directly with the Prime Evils themselves. Not to mention, you have the Naphalem caught in the middle of this who could potentially be a power to be reckoned with, and you have the Mage Clans who up to this point aren't even part of the Naphalem. Oh and don't let me forget Trag' Oul, Rathma, and Mendeln who eventually become yet another faction all by themselves who are tyring simutaneously to keep all the others in check.
How many stories in general leave you a feeling of really not knowing who the bad guy is? You have Inarius betraying Heaven, and Lilith whose betrayal of Hell is essentially just as severe; both the Prime Evils and Angiris Council being equally pissed off about this. The Angiris Council, who supposedly represents total goodness, openely makes dealings with the Prime Evils essentially out of respect. Even the Naphalem could potentially become Sanctuary's worst enemy - as seen by Uldyssian's inability to control his powers - that you can't even rule them out as being the potential villian somewhere down the line. In my opinion, The Sin War Trilogy cleary deviates from the cookie-cutter fantasy stories that we've heard so many times.
Quote from "Calamity" »
Thats the thing that dissapoints me the most ruins the books for me. All the parts with the super powerful mythical beings like Inarius and Lucion, where i expect something really cool to happen, plays out like an episode of a soap opera with some generic fantasy mixed in. The way the author portrays these beings they might as well have been powerful, influential humans, not cold, calculating inhuman overlords determined to enslave the human race to their will.
I sort of see your point here, but we need to remember that they faced Uldyssian, who was clearly created to show us the potential power of the Naphalem to identify them as one of the power houses of the universe. If the humans are helpless or significantly inferior to the Angels and Demons then you don't have a story. Lets also remember that the Naphalem are essentially half angel and half demon; it's not like they are just a normal mortal species like the wildlife in the Torajian Jungles.
Quote from "Calamity" »
Then there is the story of Uldyssian. The unassuming nobody suddenly gains powers and wants to use them for good! Where have I read that before?
Again, you have to look at Uldyssian as the extreme case. His purpose is to show us the maximum potential of the Naphalem's powers, hince why Heaven and Hell would even want to be involved in the first place.[/quote]
Quote from "Calamity" »
The beautiful noblewoman randomly develops a crush on a nobody. What? She had an ulterior motive? Never saw that coming.
Yeah I suppose it was obvious that she was more than she seemed but I thought her story was pretty interesting. Yes she was a demon and did horrible things to Uldyssian, but the Naphalem were her children. How far would you go to save your children? Her story is no where near cookie-cutter in my opinion.
Quote from "Calamity" »
Also, his adventures seem really trivial and stupid. He wins his fights by really wanting to win, and his superpowers just takes care of the rest.
I suppose I was a little dissapointed in how well a mere "human" could match up against immortals from other planes of existence, but we need to remember that Uldyssian altered the Worldstone in such a way that it essentially became his world. I would assume that if they were in Heaven or Hell that he would not be able to accomplish what he did.
Quote from "Calamity" »
Even the subplots suck. A demon in a ancient building in the jungle sends "rage" at him so he goes over ther and wishes it dead. Uh what? Thats it? Can you at least explore the building for a cool artifact?
The book explains why the spirit was restless with rage when it gives you the backstory between the demon and his angel lover. What this does is it adds yet another issue for both Heaven and Hell to focus on instead of just focusing on one another and thus making the story more complex. This "mix breeding" was esentially another way to put angels and demons on the same level instead of clearly making one of them good and one evil.
Quote from "Calamity" »
I also got the books for the cool factor of the Diablo universe, but the author has turned it into generic fantasy. I guess i was just expecting a much darker and complex story.
The "Ask Lore Questions Here" thread is more enjoyable and informative to read than the books, ant to top it off, better written.
As someone else said, arguing about writing styles is futile and very subjective. However, I will respectfully disagree with you that the story is generic and not complex. I would have to say that having a 10-year-old child (Cedric) being skinned alive by Malic so it could be worn by a Morlu as a desguise is a pretty dark element to have in any story. I could go on but I think that illustrates my point.
Yes, all the stories are independent of each other, except that Kingdom of Shadow and Moon of the Spider revolve around the same main character Zayl. But I actually read those two out of order and it still made sense to me. The Sin War is just a nice beginning read because it establishes the background of Sanctuary and how everything came to be. Though thats not essential to the other stories.
PS. Nice post Hyperversity, I've always liked the books but could never really put into words why.
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I read the books by the way they came out cuz i got the first three books at once and at the time that was all they had.
i got two questions...
1)any news on when the new books will be out? can't wait to get my hands on them.
2)while they all be taken place during D3 or will some take place in different eras? i would love to read the stories of how they captured the prime evils before D1.
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My life is like a dragon, first praised, then hated, now lost.
PlugY for Diablo II allows you to reset skills and stats, transfer items between characters in singleplayer, obtain all ladder runewords and do all Uberquests while offline. It is the only way to do all of the above. Please use it.
Supporting big shoulderpads and flashy armor since 2004.
Thanks Atrumentis for this thread, I was thinking about getting into the books since it is likely I won't get into the beta and need something to pacify me until the release of the game. I was wondering what order the books should be read in and this helped.
Hey guys.I've never read any diablo books and now I am thinking to read them before the game come out.What do you think should I buy all books or just the book of cain for a nice recap of the story?
If you just want a recap and get up to date on the current state of the lore, then the Book of Cain is definitely the one you want to get.
If you want some additional lore and an in-depth look at what happened during the Sin War, try the Sin War novels, starting with Birthright.
The other books you could check out if you want to, but they're not considered canon.
PlugY for Diablo II allows you to reset skills and stats, transfer items between characters in singleplayer, obtain all ladder runewords and do all Uberquests while offline. It is the only way to do all of the above. Please use it.
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ALot ofthe "Ask Lore Questions Here" are from the Sin War. READ BOOK THREE!!! YOU WONT BE DISAPOINTED!!!!
If you want to arrange it
This world you can change it
If we could somehow make this
Christmas thing last
By helping a neighbor
Or even a stranger
And to know who needs help
You need only just ask
I have tried to read some, but its hard knowing what is out there and what I will like. I read the first book in The Dark Tower series, but I didn't like it enough to continue. I didn't like the feel of it. I've also read another demon book, but I didn't like the feel of that one either. If you know of any other books with the same or similar feel of Diablo, let me know. I'd especially like it too if it was more extreme than Diablo is.
The Black Road is written by a different author, and its pretty tricky with all this fate and destiny, and has a really nice chapter about the difference between angels and demons (where there isn't much difference at all). Though if you do read it, just hold out until the end. The beginning is extremely generic and cheesy, but it gets much better as it goes along.
Ahh yeah, because they didn't really use their demonic or Heavenly powers? That is true. But I still like it.
Uldyssian's powers kind of get better in the end of The Sin War trilogy. His powers go way out of control, like a mind of their own. Though you probably think thats really cheesy too. So what do you think of Mendeln then? I really like him the most, is his story cheesy, generic and cliche too?
I guess it depends how much you read. In a way, I'm lucky that I haven't read many fantasy books so I can really enjoy the Diablo books without feeling like its too generic.
Hahahaha
try mel odom's The Black Road. Best suggestion I have.
Anyone has info bout that book?
" And So our Tale ends, Bruenor BattleHammer.. In battle, as it should" -Drizzt Do'Urden -Ice Wind Dale-
Its basically just four previous books re-released into one massive book. If you haven't read the stories in it yet, then sure, buy it in one nice little package. But it could make reading somewhat difficult, being so thick.
K thanks for help
But I'll prefer TakinG all the 7 books separated, it's just more appealing ^^
" And So our Tale ends, Bruenor BattleHammer.. In battle, as it should" -Drizzt Do'Urden -Ice Wind Dale-
Legacy of Blood 2001
The Black Road 2002
Kingdom of Shadow 2002
Moon of the Spider 2006
The Sin War: Birthright 2006
The Sin War: Scales of the Serpent 2007
The Sin War: The Veiled Prophet 2007
I'm not sure if thats the year they were actually released in though, I thought the last Sin War book came out in 2008. But those are the copyright dates printed on the books, so it'll do.
The first three books (other than Demonsbane, which is sort of a special case) were published as a series, even though they aren't a series at all. Then Moon of the Spider came as an individual book, and then The Sin War trilogy came.
Happy readings
I certainly don't agree with you here. I thought the politics within The Sin War Trilogy were fantasticly complex, and to point that out I am going to give you the list of the different factions and their interactionsn with one another that web them together.
You have the Three Prime Evils and their relationships with their children and followers, you have Inarius' relationship with both the Prime Evils and Angiris Council, you have Tyrael's relationship with the Angiris Council as well as with the Naphalem which are both seperate entities, and you have the Angiris Council's political relationship directly with the Prime Evils themselves. Not to mention, you have the Naphalem caught in the middle of this who could potentially be a power to be reckoned with, and you have the Mage Clans who up to this point aren't even part of the Naphalem. Oh and don't let me forget Trag' Oul, Rathma, and Mendeln who eventually become yet another faction all by themselves who are tyring simutaneously to keep all the others in check.
How many stories in general leave you a feeling of really not knowing who the bad guy is? You have Inarius betraying Heaven, and Lilith whose betrayal of Hell is essentially just as severe; both the Prime Evils and Angiris Council being equally pissed off about this. The Angiris Council, who supposedly represents total goodness, openely makes dealings with the Prime Evils essentially out of respect. Even the Naphalem could potentially become Sanctuary's worst enemy - as seen by Uldyssian's inability to control his powers - that you can't even rule them out as being the potential villian somewhere down the line. In my opinion, The Sin War Trilogy cleary deviates from the cookie-cutter fantasy stories that we've heard so many times.
I sort of see your point here, but we need to remember that they faced Uldyssian, who was clearly created to show us the potential power of the Naphalem to identify them as one of the power houses of the universe. If the humans are helpless or significantly inferior to the Angels and Demons then you don't have a story. Lets also remember that the Naphalem are essentially half angel and half demon; it's not like they are just a normal mortal species like the wildlife in the Torajian Jungles.
Again, you have to look at Uldyssian as the extreme case. His purpose is to show us the maximum potential of the Naphalem's powers, hince why Heaven and Hell would even want to be involved in the first place.[/quote]
Yeah I suppose it was obvious that she was more than she seemed but I thought her story was pretty interesting. Yes she was a demon and did horrible things to Uldyssian, but the Naphalem were her children. How far would you go to save your children? Her story is no where near cookie-cutter in my opinion.
I suppose I was a little dissapointed in how well a mere "human" could match up against immortals from other planes of existence, but we need to remember that Uldyssian altered the Worldstone in such a way that it essentially became his world. I would assume that if they were in Heaven or Hell that he would not be able to accomplish what he did.
The book explains why the spirit was restless with rage when it gives you the backstory between the demon and his angel lover. What this does is it adds yet another issue for both Heaven and Hell to focus on instead of just focusing on one another and thus making the story more complex. This "mix breeding" was esentially another way to put angels and demons on the same level instead of clearly making one of them good and one evil.
As someone else said, arguing about writing styles is futile and very subjective. However, I will respectfully disagree with you that the story is generic and not complex. I would have to say that having a 10-year-old child (Cedric) being skinned alive by Malic so it could be worn by a Morlu as a desguise is a pretty dark element to have in any story. I could go on but I think that illustrates my point.
PS. Nice post Hyperversity, I've always liked the books but could never really put into words why.
You think well i think
I started the sin wars first book and it is superb
i got two questions...
1)any news on when the new books will be out? can't wait to get my hands on them.
2)while they all be taken place during D3 or will some take place in different eras? i would love to read the stories of how they captured the prime evils before D1.
They are available in the Blizzard Europe Store.
If you want some additional lore and an in-depth look at what happened during the
The other books you could check out if you want to, but they're not considered canon.