Diablo: Moon of the Spider Book

Fans of the computer game "Diablo II", will find a real treat with this novel. Aside from "Diablo III: The Book of Cain" chronologically, this is the latest book in the Diablo Universe timeline, and continues the adventures of the necromancer Zayl after his exploits in the Knaak's first Diablo novel "The Kingdom of Shadow". Zayl, along with his ghostly partner Humbart, finds himself unwillingly pulled into a deadly plot to revive and unleash the Spider Demon, Astrogha, upon the Mortal Plane. Caught between unfavorable locals and the Church of Zakarum who hate and fear him, and a corrupted fellow Necromancer bent on unleashing the demon, Zayl must quickly unravel the mysteries of House Nesardo and stop Hell on earth, literally.

This book had a lot of action and mystery, with a well-crafted pace that maintained a level of suspense throughout, but what I loved most was that "Moon of the Spider" actually pulls in a lot of elements from the game itself. This is the only Diablo book I've read that actually included enemies from the game, and featured real, useable Necromancer skills and abilities that players of Diablo II will recognize if they create a Necromancer character. It was apparent that the author had some playing time with the game and I applaud Richard A. Knaak for writing a book as a fan FOR THE FANS.

On the downside, the dialogue was pretty terrible at times, and much too repetitive. It seemed that almost every time a character spoke they had too many comments like "Lad" or "Sister Dear", just for the purposes of "selling" the setting and granting an authentic accent or speaking style. If written corrently, an author shouldn't have to beat readers over the head with evidence of place and setting. This is fantasy! Readers will believe you if you write the setting descriptions well enough.

Overall, "Moon of the Spider" was a blast to read, and kept me entertained, but book's romance and environmental dialogue were a little too cheesy. But it wasn't enough to taint my enjoyment of the story.

This dark fantasy is hands-down my favorite of the Diablo fiction entries.