Diablo novel: The Sin War: Birthright
After the announcement of Diablo 3, I got worked up to know more lore of the world of Diablo. Recently I finished reading “The Sin War: Birthright” which is written by Richard A. Knaak. Chronologically, it is the first among other novels.
It happens 3000 years before the events of Diablo I. The world of Sanctuary is actually created by angels and demons tired of the eternal war between the High Heavens and the Burning Hells. The first inhabitants of the world, called Nephalem, are actually “children” of angel and demon. They turned out to be more powerful than either of the parents, so the magical Worldstone was used to inhibit their power. The story in this book centers about the unleashing of this magical power inside Uldyssian ul-Diomed, first stimulated by a demon Lilith for her own purposes.
Some points of cultural interest:
- It mentions that the cathedral follower don’t grow their beard because the prophet doesn’t. This might be influenced by the Islamic teachings in which some people (many? any statistics?) grow their beard to follow the prophet.
- There is the Temple of Triune which worships the three Gods of creation, love, and determination. Influenced by trinity?
- Lastly, it mentions a town in the jungle named Toraja. It’s actually the name of an ethnic group in Indonesia :).
I think this is the first game-based novel that I read. It is part of The Sin War trilogy.
July 19th, 2008 at 5:45 am
Wow, I think Diablo is a nice topic for your AdSense Gro …
July 19th, 2008 at 6:46 am
The ads that I see now are unexpected. I had thought game-related ones will appear, but currently novel and religious ones are on the show :). But indeed, they’re quite interesting…