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Diablo: The Sin War #2
Scales of the Serpent
Since the beginning of time, the angelic forces of the High Heavens and the demonic hordes of the Burning Hells have been locked in the Eternal Conflict for the fate of all Creation. That struggle has now spilled over into Sanctuary -- the world of men. Determined to win mankind over to their respective causes, the forces of good and evil wage a secret war for mortal souls. This is the tale of the Sin War -- the conflict that would forever change the destiny of man.
Bent on destroying the evil cult of the Triune, Uldyssian does not yet suspect that Inarius -- secret Prophet of the Cathedral of Light -- has been subtly aiding his quest. Obsessed with restoring Sanctuary to its former glory, Inarius has been playing Uldyssian against the two great religions in a reckless attempt to topple them both. But another player has slipped back into the equation. The demon Lilith, once Inarius's lover, seeks to use Uldyssian as her own pawn in a scheme to turn humans into an army of naphalem -- godlike beings, more powerful than any angel or demon, who could overturn all Creation and elevate Lilith to supreme being.
An original tale of swords, sorcery, and timeless struggle based on the bestselling, award-winning M-rated computer game from Blizzard Entertainment. Intended for mature readers.
Bent on destroying the evil cult of the Triune, Uldyssian does not yet suspect that Inarius -- secret Prophet of the Cathedral of Light -- has been subtly aiding his quest. Obsessed with restoring Sanctuary to its former glory, Inarius has been playing Uldyssian against the two great religions in a reckless attempt to topple them both. But another player has slipped back into the equation. The demon Lilith, once Inarius's lover, seeks to use Uldyssian as her own pawn in a scheme to turn humans into an army of naphalem -- godlike beings, more powerful than any angel or demon, who could overturn all Creation and elevate Lilith to supreme being.
An original tale of swords, sorcery, and timeless struggle based on the bestselling, award-winning M-rated computer game from Blizzard Entertainment. Intended for mature readers.
327 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 27, 2007
56 people are currently reading
1124 people want to read
About the author
Richard A. Knaak
282 books1,478 followersRichard A. Knaak is the bestselling author of Dragonlance novels, the Dragonrealm and Black City Saint series (his own creations), six novels for Blizzard Entertainment's Diablo series, and six works in the Warcraft universe. He has also written several non-series fantasy books.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews
August 5, 2008
The book continues my experience with the first of the series, which was good as long as one knows what to expect. To be completely honest, considering that the Blizzard gaming company threw its endorsement behind the writing of these book, I did expect a bit more as far as literary quality.
I've heard someone say that these books sound 'too much like fan fiction', which I'd say is dead on, though in all honesty that IS what these books are. The criticism is valid, however. My main complaint with these books is that Knaak breaks the cardinal rule of fiction writing--he 'tells' far, far more often than he 'shows'. While this helps in keeping the books accessible and very quick reads for those fans that may not want to digest a more textured set of novels, to me it feels like a lost opportunity to bring the canon of the Diablo universe to a more visceral level.
However, if one goes in with the right expectations, these books are quite enjoyable. The equivalent perhaps of the 'trashy romance novel', these books so far are solid fantasy escapism, and bring in a great deal of back story that any Diablo fan, I think, would enjoy.
I've heard someone say that these books sound 'too much like fan fiction', which I'd say is dead on, though in all honesty that IS what these books are. The criticism is valid, however. My main complaint with these books is that Knaak breaks the cardinal rule of fiction writing--he 'tells' far, far more often than he 'shows'. While this helps in keeping the books accessible and very quick reads for those fans that may not want to digest a more textured set of novels, to me it feels like a lost opportunity to bring the canon of the Diablo universe to a more visceral level.
However, if one goes in with the right expectations, these books are quite enjoyable. The equivalent perhaps of the 'trashy romance novel', these books so far are solid fantasy escapism, and bring in a great deal of back story that any Diablo fan, I think, would enjoy.
September 20, 2014
This book was MUCH better than first, however I can still not give it a 4 star due to same problems I had with the first - the writing style and lack of character development. While I have adjusted to Knaak's style, I am still not a fan of it, and I believe that may be due to the lack of character development. The story itself is great, and truly did keep me turning from page to page, but I felt the book could have been so much more. I really wish he could focus just a little more on the character themselves.
Overall though, book 2 was greatly improved and no-doubt better than first. I completely intended to read book 3 of the trilogy.
Overall though, book 2 was greatly improved and no-doubt better than first. I completely intended to read book 3 of the trilogy.
January 22, 2023
Stay a while and listen....
Carrying on the struggles of the Nephalem this book had more action, though it also had lots of needless repetition that started wearing on me. Thankfully it wasn't the same Uldyssian woe is me that plagued the first. While still present in this one, it was greatly lessened. Aside from obvious spelling errors the book was not bad.
Carrying on the struggles of the Nephalem this book had more action, though it also had lots of needless repetition that started wearing on me. Thankfully it wasn't the same Uldyssian woe is me that plagued the first. While still present in this one, it was greatly lessened. Aside from obvious spelling errors the book was not bad.
June 6, 2023
Den är inte som den första boken.
Den första boken visade Diablos stora, expansiva värld, vilket denna bok inte riktigt för vid samma grad. Dock skiner den ett ljus på något som varit mystiskt för mig länge - Rathma och Trag'Oul, och jag känner som att jag lärt mig nåt.
Själva handlingen är inte lika bra, den första halvan av boken känns väldigt fel. Detta är meningen, det är meningen att någonting ska kännas fel, men jag tror Knaak lyckades lite för väl med detta. Det känns lite för fel, lite för obehagligt.
Achilios förtjänade återigen bättre.
Det är inte lika många interaktioner mellan karaktärer här. Lite synd, men jag skulle säga att karaktärerna individuellt är bättre.
(Tydligen återkommer både Lilith och Inarius i Diablo IV, vilket är roligt. Jag började läsa dessa böcker utav nyfikenhet utan att beta att det skulle bli relevant senare. Men det har inte riktigt att göra med bokens kvalité)
Den sista striden är inte heller lika spännande som i den första boken, speciellt eftersom den sista striden i den första hade storartade konsekvenser som djupt påverkade handlingen.
I sammanfattning är den inte lika bra som den första. Achilios förtjänade bättre.
Den första boken visade Diablos stora, expansiva värld, vilket denna bok inte riktigt för vid samma grad. Dock skiner den ett ljus på något som varit mystiskt för mig länge - Rathma och Trag'Oul, och jag känner som att jag lärt mig nåt.
Själva handlingen är inte lika bra, den första halvan av boken känns väldigt fel. Detta är meningen, det är meningen att någonting ska kännas fel, men jag tror Knaak lyckades lite för väl med detta. Det känns lite för fel, lite för obehagligt.
Achilios förtjänade återigen bättre.
Det är inte lika många interaktioner mellan karaktärer här. Lite synd, men jag skulle säga att karaktärerna individuellt är bättre.
(Tydligen återkommer både Lilith och Inarius i Diablo IV, vilket är roligt. Jag började läsa dessa böcker utav nyfikenhet utan att beta att det skulle bli relevant senare. Men det har inte riktigt att göra med bokens kvalité)
Den sista striden är inte heller lika spännande som i den första boken, speciellt eftersom den sista striden i den första hade storartade konsekvenser som djupt påverkade handlingen.
I sammanfattning är den inte lika bra som den första. Achilios förtjänade bättre.
January 31, 2014
After reading Diablo Archive, Moon of the Spider and the first book of the Sin War trilogy Birthright, this one is yet the best so far. Not that the writing got any better nor the characters more realistic, but the tale is picking up momentum. It has a lot more action than the first one, so that's a good thing. Apparently, Richard Knaak played the Necromancer in the game, for it is the most mentioned class in all the books.
What I dislike about all these books are the conversations and reactions. Everything is so dramatic, like a terrible soap opera. It just doesn't feel like the characters are real people, with their own human range of feelings (aside from anger, which they feel all the time).
Yet, if you forget all that, you will be able to get further into the ancient days of Sanctuary, understanding what caused the rise and demise of some major sects, classes, demons, angels and nephalem (or Edyrem, as now they're also called). In this book you also get a glimpse of you-know-what, inside Mount Arreat. Overall, an OK book.
Notes for parents: a light read. No swearing and small hints of sexual content. A lot of gore, violence, death, demons and all that stuff. Sadly, not scary though..
What I dislike about all these books are the conversations and reactions. Everything is so dramatic, like a terrible soap opera. It just doesn't feel like the characters are real people, with their own human range of feelings (aside from anger, which they feel all the time).
Yet, if you forget all that, you will be able to get further into the ancient days of Sanctuary, understanding what caused the rise and demise of some major sects, classes, demons, angels and nephalem (or Edyrem, as now they're also called). In this book you also get a glimpse of you-know-what, inside Mount Arreat. Overall, an OK book.
Notes for parents: a light read. No swearing and small hints of sexual content. A lot of gore, violence, death, demons and all that stuff. Sadly, not scary though..
January 20, 2024
Book 2 in this trilogy is a massive improvement over the first one. I don't think this book is very good, but I enjoyed it as a sort of pulpy Gothic horror. The characterization is really bad, the prose is poorly written, but the pacing, action, and overall story are really solid.
Mendeln is Uldyssian's brother. You know how I know this? Because it is mentioned roughly 825,000 times in the book.
As an aside, I listened to this one and read the first one on my Kindle. I mean no disrespect to the voice actor, because I hope this is direction over choice, but it ranged from really good to hilariously bad. Here are some examples:
Uldyssian: Here are two references: if you've watched the show Supernatural, I'd like for you to remember the episode where they go to a fan convention that's actually haunted. At this convention, the fans are doing terrible impressions of 2 hunters. This is how Uldyssian sounds.
Alternatively, if you've watched Parks and Rec I'd like for you to remember the episode where Leslie is running for city council and they are attempting to make an attack ad against Bobby Newport. There's a scene where Tom, Jerry, and Ben are using a bad political campaign ad voice to make it sound comically sinister: "Bobby Newport hasn't had a real job his entire life." This is how Uldyssian, brother of Mendeln, eldest son of Diomedes (ask me how I know all of this) sounds.
Diablo sounds like Rakanishu going through puberty. C'mon, man. We have amazing sound clips from the games to reference.
Serenthia may as well have been voiced by a teenage boy attempting a falsetto.
Anyway, if you like Diablo it's worth the read.
Mendeln is Uldyssian's brother. You know how I know this? Because it is mentioned roughly 825,000 times in the book.
As an aside, I listened to this one and read the first one on my Kindle. I mean no disrespect to the voice actor, because I hope this is direction over choice, but it ranged from really good to hilariously bad. Here are some examples:
Uldyssian: Here are two references: if you've watched the show Supernatural, I'd like for you to remember the episode where they go to a fan convention that's actually haunted. At this convention, the fans are doing terrible impressions of 2 hunters. This is how Uldyssian sounds.
Alternatively, if you've watched Parks and Rec I'd like for you to remember the episode where Leslie is running for city council and they are attempting to make an attack ad against Bobby Newport. There's a scene where Tom, Jerry, and Ben are using a bad political campaign ad voice to make it sound comically sinister: "Bobby Newport hasn't had a real job his entire life." This is how Uldyssian, brother of Mendeln, eldest son of Diomedes (ask me how I know all of this) sounds.
Diablo sounds like Rakanishu going through puberty. C'mon, man. We have amazing sound clips from the games to reference.
Serenthia may as well have been voiced by a teenage boy attempting a falsetto.
Anyway, if you like Diablo it's worth the read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 8, 2012
The impression that this book gave me after reading it is quite similar to the first one in the series. It's not quite in tune with the Diablo universe portrayed in the second game of the series. It's not at all dark and gritty and in my opinion it is written for teenagers only. In fact, the main character of the book acts like a stupid and stubborn teenager.
I am quite certain that I would not have read this book unless I liked the game so much.
I am very displeased at the level of shallowness the author had when writing this book. The Diablo universe could have been so much more in a book. Why hasn't Blizzard tried to get some better writer to this job is beyond me. George R.R. Martin or someone like him would have been a far better choice.
I will continue to read the next book just because I am looking forward to the Diablo 3 game so much.
So far, the series has been quite disappointing. I am starting to hate Knaak...
I am quite certain that I would not have read this book unless I liked the game so much.
I am very displeased at the level of shallowness the author had when writing this book. The Diablo universe could have been so much more in a book. Why hasn't Blizzard tried to get some better writer to this job is beyond me. George R.R. Martin or someone like him would have been a far better choice.
I will continue to read the next book just because I am looking forward to the Diablo 3 game so much.
So far, the series has been quite disappointing. I am starting to hate Knaak...
October 7, 2013
A nice continuation of Birthright that focuses on Uldyssian's hate towards the Triune. I love how Lilith is portrayed and to see her relationship with Inarius; before I read this novel I barely knew who Lilith was despite having played all of the Diablo games, which is kind of funny seeing how important she is to the storyline. She and Inarius are two very bold characters with a lot of personality. It's also nice to see how the main characters grow and evolve over the course of this novel and how some famous characters from the games make their entrance.
The one negative thing I have about Scales of the Serpent is that it's a lot more focused on fighting and is full of gory scenes which isn't really that interesting to me. As I mentioned in my Birthright review, Knaak does write in-depth about everything including battles, which just makes them last too long to keep my interest up.
The one negative thing I have about Scales of the Serpent is that it's a lot more focused on fighting and is full of gory scenes which isn't really that interesting to me. As I mentioned in my Birthright review, Knaak does write in-depth about everything including battles, which just makes them last too long to keep my interest up.
January 12, 2009
Book 2 of The Sin War continues much as Book 1 went: okay. If you have interest in the history of the Diablo universe, this is a decent read. For those that know nothing of the game franchise, nor care about it's lore, don't bother. You most likely won't find much to be interested in.
January 29, 2015
Knaak is a terrible writer. If I didn't find something utterly captivating about this dialectical good-evil bifurcation that the Diablo series has cultivated, I certainly wouldn't read anything by Knaak. Unfortunately he's basically the only writer for the series. Tragic, but it is what it is.
August 31, 2016
This book is so bad that it makes me sad. I love Diablo's universe and franchise, but it's just sad to have such a major plot point frol the game's lore so poorly told.
I would rate a 0 star of I could.
I would rate a 0 star of I could.
August 31, 2010
Great second book.
October 16, 2019
Too many ellipses and garbled descriptions. This would probably be a better video game (obviously) or perhaps a DnD game. I am not a fan of this author at all.
August 24, 2014
Because we don't have enough cliches from the first book, this one's climax ends with a take on the Sampson and Delilah story with the main character trying to bring a temple down on his own head.
April 9, 2024
Very entertaining all the way through! Is it a piece of High Art Literature? Not really, but it doesn't have to be. It is nothing more than it needs to be: a straightforward fantasy adventure that expands upon the lore of the games.
As it is a piece of literature related to a game that is considered very male-oriented - and as a product of its time, perhaps - it is very focused on atound the male characters. However, I am pleasantly surprised that some of the stereotypes are avoided: sex is very non-explicit, with very tasteful fade-to-black sequences and Uldyssian's feelings towards Serenthia mostly revolve around their childhood friendship and less about her appearance or other superficial characteristics.
[spoiler ahead]
This book also gave me a bit of a bait-and-switch with Serenthia and Lilith. I was happy when Serenthia finally got a lot more agency and was shown to have powers of her own, but then disappointed that it was all due to Lilith possessing her. But then, thankfully, Serenthia seemed to actually retain much of her agency when she Lilith was exorcised from her. In general I think Serenthia's character has been handled surprisingly well.
I will say though, that I think Knaak's strength lies much more with the world building and the setting, rather than with the characters. Neveryheless, I'm still excited to continue with the third, and also other Diablo books!
As it is a piece of literature related to a game that is considered very male-oriented - and as a product of its time, perhaps - it is very focused on atound the male characters. However, I am pleasantly surprised that some of the stereotypes are avoided: sex is very non-explicit, with very tasteful fade-to-black sequences and Uldyssian's feelings towards Serenthia mostly revolve around their childhood friendship and less about her appearance or other superficial characteristics.
[spoiler ahead]
This book also gave me a bit of a bait-and-switch with Serenthia and Lilith. I was happy when Serenthia finally got a lot more agency and was shown to have powers of her own, but then disappointed that it was all due to Lilith possessing her. But then, thankfully, Serenthia seemed to actually retain much of her agency when she Lilith was exorcised from her. In general I think Serenthia's character has been handled surprisingly well.
I will say though, that I think Knaak's strength lies much more with the world building and the setting, rather than with the characters. Neveryheless, I'm still excited to continue with the third, and also other Diablo books!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 19, 2025
As a huge fan and long time diablo player (since I was 10 years old) I love to learn about everything extra game that is related to the lore.
I liked this book in general, especially with the appearance of Rathma and Mount arreat + worldstone plot. Maybe is the nostalgia speaking, but this plot and the whole battle with Lilith and Inarius brought back those good old memories of a younger self slaying Lilith while hoping to loot a Stone Of Jordan. Or those amazing memories of leveling your character and getting to Act5, dealing with the ancients in Mount Arreat.....ahhh good old days.
The thing I did not like about the book is the use of teleportation. It is not particular to this book, but any book I read where characters can vanish and teleport at will to random places just throws me off and opens up a path for plot holes. Lilith knew where Uldyssian was at all times, and yet she never used her teleportation to kill him in his sleep, but many times during the book, she vanishes out of thin air when the plot needs her to survive. Same with Rathma and Melden, they could easily teleport together with uldyssian and the elderym army to fight Lilith instead of crossing the whole jungle.
other than this minor plot device that I do not like, the book itself was well written, good characters for most part and brought me back a lot of nostalgia and childhood memories.
I liked this book in general, especially with the appearance of Rathma and Mount arreat + worldstone plot. Maybe is the nostalgia speaking, but this plot and the whole battle with Lilith and Inarius brought back those good old memories of a younger self slaying Lilith while hoping to loot a Stone Of Jordan. Or those amazing memories of leveling your character and getting to Act5, dealing with the ancients in Mount Arreat.....ahhh good old days.
The thing I did not like about the book is the use of teleportation. It is not particular to this book, but any book I read where characters can vanish and teleport at will to random places just throws me off and opens up a path for plot holes. Lilith knew where Uldyssian was at all times, and yet she never used her teleportation to kill him in his sleep, but many times during the book, she vanishes out of thin air when the plot needs her to survive. Same with Rathma and Melden, they could easily teleport together with uldyssian and the elderym army to fight Lilith instead of crossing the whole jungle.
other than this minor plot device that I do not like, the book itself was well written, good characters for most part and brought me back a lot of nostalgia and childhood memories.
July 15, 2024
czy ksiazka to masterpiece? totalnie nie, ale czytam dalej bo w sumie enjoyable i kochan diablo lore (rathmo kocham cie wroc do mnie kochany)
November 30, 2023
No i poległam. Skończyłam lekturę na 240 stronie i:
1) nie wydarzyło się nic ciekawego,
2) to co się wydarzyło było tak "istotne", że prawie wszystko uleciało mi z głowy,
3) nabawiłam się tylko niechęci do czytania :/
Drugi tom powiela błędy swojego poprzednika (tj. bohaterowie nie stali się ani odrobinę bardziej ciekawi), a nawet np.: dodaje zastoje w akcji, zalicza praktycznie zero world buildingu...
Bardzo bym chciała powiedzieć coś więcej o tej książce, ale to, co w niej napisano, jest tak bez znaczenia, że wleciało mi z pamięci w przeciągu miesiąca. Chyba nawet opis na okładce powiedział mi więcej niż 3/4 lektury powieści pana Knaaka. Nie czuć tu w ogóle klimatu "Diablo". Potencjał na super historię uważam za zmarnowany, a rozdzielenie całości na 3 tomy to droga przez mękę - i może na tym polega cała intryga armii Płonących Piekieł. Wtedy Diablo wypada naprawdę jako mistrz Terroru.
Nie polecam :/
1) nie wydarzyło się nic ciekawego,
2) to co się wydarzyło było tak "istotne", że prawie wszystko uleciało mi z głowy,
3) nabawiłam się tylko niechęci do czytania :/
Drugi tom powiela błędy swojego poprzednika (tj. bohaterowie nie stali się ani odrobinę bardziej ciekawi), a nawet np.: dodaje zastoje w akcji, zalicza praktycznie zero world buildingu...
Bardzo bym chciała powiedzieć coś więcej o tej książce, ale to, co w niej napisano, jest tak bez znaczenia, że wleciało mi z pamięci w przeciągu miesiąca. Chyba nawet opis na okładce powiedział mi więcej niż 3/4 lektury powieści pana Knaaka. Nie czuć tu w ogóle klimatu "Diablo". Potencjał na super historię uważam za zmarnowany, a rozdzielenie całości na 3 tomy to droga przez mękę - i może na tym polega cała intryga armii Płonących Piekieł. Wtedy Diablo wypada naprawdę jako mistrz Terroru.
Nie polecam :/
May 11, 2019
This book is surprisingly entertaining and fun for being based on a video-game, but Richard A. Knaak has previously demonstrated to deliver fantastic books of this kind.
In this second installment of the Sin War series, Uldyssian is focusing on destroying the evil cult of the Triune, and he does not yet suspect that Inarius, the head of the Cathedral of Light and creator of Sanctuary, has been subtly aiding his quest. But another player has slipped back into the equation. The demon Lilith, once Inarius's lover, seeks to use Uldyssian as her own pawn in a scheme to turn humans into an army of naphalem, godlike beings, as powerful as angels and demons, who could overturn all creation and elevate Lilith to supreme being.
In this second installment of the Sin War series, Uldyssian is focusing on destroying the evil cult of the Triune, and he does not yet suspect that Inarius, the head of the Cathedral of Light and creator of Sanctuary, has been subtly aiding his quest. But another player has slipped back into the equation. The demon Lilith, once Inarius's lover, seeks to use Uldyssian as her own pawn in a scheme to turn humans into an army of naphalem, godlike beings, as powerful as angels and demons, who could overturn all creation and elevate Lilith to supreme being.
November 5, 2010
Great ending in the book with so much revealed and yet so much still veiled with a whole hell of a lot of powers going on. I like it a lot and recommend it to someone just reaching out for something other than the classic fiction, well of course simply put fantasy. Good progression, all that I didn't like about it was a couple of author idiosyncrasies but hey that sure didn't stop me, 4 out of 5 for me XD
August 2, 2014
Thinking straightly as a book that is part of a game, the three star rating comes from the feeling of confusion. the characters walk around seemly in circles, to find themselves in the places they want to be (or need to be) by mere chance. we loose the notion of how many really die and how many live. and how the army keeps growing nevertheless. yet I loved the "fall" and Love Achillios.
Going to read the end of the story in the third book with curiosity.
Going to read the end of the story in the third book with curiosity.
June 1, 2017
Book 2 of Diablo: The Sin War was a much better read than the first, IMHO. The pacing was much better, and so was the character development. There were twists and turns that I didn't expect, and it ended on an interesting note. Looking forward to Book 3 to find out how this all ends, and sets the stage for the story arc in the game.
June 15, 2011
I absolutely couldn't get enough of the twists and turns of the story. No matter how complicated and twisted the story gets, it's a simple read and with the rich and likeable characters it's fun to read.
August 5, 2015
This was much better than the first book, but still... the book could be much more, not enough character development D: I only keep reading because the story is good enough to make me stay until the end D:
October 16, 2020
*sigh*
Only a Diablo fan would suffer through this bland mess.
Still no character development and still stuck treading mud.
Add to that the middle book syndrome - this is just a pathway to the third and final chapter.
Only a Diablo fan would suffer through this bland mess.
Still no character development and still stuck treading mud.
Add to that the middle book syndrome - this is just a pathway to the third and final chapter.
September 16, 2007
The hero still does not catch on too quickly. I enjoyed the material on Rathma and the necromancers, but that was always my favorite class in the game anyway.
April 25, 2008
I didnt learn much but i always wanted to read more.
April 25, 2008
its ok two
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 14, 2010
pretty awesome, didn't really expect the ending.
September 23, 2011
2nd book in a trilogy. Really enjoying them.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews