Diablo: The Kingdom of Shadow

Epic Fantasy Young Adult Fantasy Dark Fantasy Adventure Fiction Video Game Tie-In Fiction Horror Fantasy Media Tie-In

Richard A. Knaak’s Diablo: The Kingdom of Shadow is the essential bridge novel every Diablo fan needs to own. Set between the events of Diablo II and Diablo III, this 352-page paperback plunges readers into the haunted ruins of Ureh—a city cursed to drift between Heaven and Hell. Knaak expands Blizzard’s lore with new relics, angelic politics, and the first full appearance of the nephalem Zayl the Necromancer, a fan-favorite character who later reappears in Diablo III’s Rise of the Necromancer DLC. Because the game never shows Ureh in detail, the novel becomes the only way to experience one of Sanctuary’s most legendary lost kingdoms.

Collectors prize the 2002 Simon & Schuster first printing for its compact 171 mm × 106 mm mass-market size—small enough to tuck beside a gaming keyboard yet sturdy enough for repeated re-reads. At only 170 g it travels easily to LAN parties or conventions, and the clean, un-dog-eared pages mean you can display or gift it without apology. Light exterior scuffing keeps the price reasonable while still offering a complete, unabridged story that newer trade-size reprints sometimes edit for length.

Whether you’re nine or ninety, Kingdom of Shadow works as a standalone dark-fantasy adventure: mercenaries, snake-cultists, mountain yeti, and a city that literally fades in and out of reality. Younger readers enjoy the break-neck pacing; adults appreciate the moral ambiguity and the way Knaak foreshadows Diablo III’s Black Soulstone arc. No prior game knowledge is required—just open the book and you’re sprinting across Aranoch’s dunes toward a fate even the Archangels fear.

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