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Diablo #4
Moon of the Spider
Since the beginning of time, the angelic hosts of the High Heavens and the demonic hordes of the Burning Hells have been locked in a struggle for the fate of all Creation. That struggle has now come to the mortal realm...and neither Man nor Demon nor Angel will be left unscathed....
DIABLO
Driven by nightmares to the ruins of a mysterious tomb, Lord Aldric Jitan hopes to awaken a terrible evil that has slept since the fall of Tristram. Drawn by the growing darkness in the land, the enigmatic Necromancer, Zayl, stumbles upon Jitan's plot -- unaware that one of his own brethren has set these dire events in motion. Now, as the celestial Moon of the Spider rises, the nefarious demon, Astrogha, prepares to unleash his minions upon Sanctuary.
MOON OF THE SPIDER
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.
336 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published December 27, 2005
18 people are currently reading
873 people want to read
About the author
Richard A. Knaak
266 books1,490 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 - 29 of 29 reviews
October 19, 2020
Very dull book. I know I was supposed to be scared, but I wasn't. Zayl and Humbart were supposed to be the absolute stars of the tale, and they had their moments, but overall the whole story arc was incredibly weak and dull.
People should generally avoid this novel, but especially those with arachnophobia, or even average fear of spiders.
People should generally avoid this novel, but especially those with arachnophobia, or even average fear of spiders.
April 3, 2024
An excellent adventure! If only this was real DLC.
January 9, 2013
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.
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.
January 11, 2022
This may be the best book of Knaak
May 3, 2020
Zatímco v Království stínu sloužili Zayl s Humbartem potřebám příběhu, v Pavoučím měsíci je to opačně - jeho příběh slouží jen jako prostředek k jejich návratu na stránky knih. A je to poznat. Chaotické, překombinované, doslova přecpané všelijakými samoúčelnými zvraty, navíc na můj vkus příliš detektivní a méně akční a tajemné. Díky Knaakovu nezaměnitelnému stylu, založeném na rychlém spádu a čtivosti, se to sice čte dobře (a jakožto fanouška herního Diabla mě místy až nadchlo kreativní zpracování nekromancerské magie, vycházející z herních skillů), a chemie mezi Zaylem a mluvící lebkou je pořád dobrou studnicí zábavy...ale fakt, že celá zápletka je jen banální diablovská story o dalším marném pokusu démona ovládnout svět lidí, natažená na větší délku, než jí sluší, se zastřít nepodařilo.
May 31, 2020
Same overall feeling as about The Kingdom of Shadow - a quick, action-packed, and mildly entertaining read.
Returning characters and longer exposure to the world made me enjoy this a little bit more than the previous book.
Returning characters and longer exposure to the world made me enjoy this a little bit more than the previous book.
June 9, 2017
Not a fantasy novel fan, but Richard A. Knaak's Diablo books continue to entertain me. A bit of humor (Humbart is once again awesome), but not childish like so many other fantasy novels I tried to like.
I love that this one was wholly centered on a necromancer!
I love that this one was wholly centered on a necromancer!
November 27, 2019
Truly a great and exciting fantasy novel
April 13, 2020
Reading this book meanwhile playing Diablo III somehow make me feel really wonderful as I am living in the world of sanctuary stuck between the High Heaven and the Burning Hell.
June 16, 2022
The book is targeted at teenagers. Not bad, but also not really great.
December 28, 2025
First of all, if Sir Richard A. Knaak sees this review, please don't take personal offense at how I rated and reviewed the book. I have nothing but respect for the author who created and published many stories in the worlds we, fans, love so much. Nonetheless, here's why I didn't connect with this story:
1. I truly believe that characters are the most important aspect of any book, because they help us to build an emotional connection with the story and events they go through. In this, the author did a poor job. Even the main heroes, Zayl, Selene, Karybdus, and Jitan are flat. They are one role people: main hero, love interest, villain. That's it. No internal drama, conflict, no character's arc at all. Poor job showing their emotions and helping us suffer or rejoice with them.
2. Show, don't tell. Although it's basic advice given to beginners, and there are plenty of exceptions to this rule, in this case, it applies. The author decided to use the omniscient voice, which is a very hard task to accomplish, in my opinion. With an omniscient voice, an author should not tell us what they feel, but rather show through their actions and words. Otherwise, it feels that I simply have to believe the author about the character's emotions. Again, in my opinion, the third limited (or first indirect) voice would work better here. Especially since we have multiple POV's in this story.
3. The good part about the book is the atmosphere of Westmarch and the Diablo world in general. Interesting interactions with the plane of undead. Interesting story overall.
My opinion on how to make this story better:
- Use the third limited voice that will help us stay "in the head" of a certain character.
- Show people's emotions. More of the background story so that we could understand the reasons for their actions and beliefs.
- Add more thoughts and situations (maybe some awkward situations) to justify the feelings Zayl and Selene developed for each other.
- More work on characters. Add some limitations, imperfections, and flaws so that they feel like real human beings.
I hope that the author is still active in the writing world, and with every new book, his skills improve.
My rating is 3 stars, based on:
1 - very bad, didn't even try to finish, and it's not even worth 2 stars;
2 - bad;
3 - alright, there are some issues, but there's also something worth reading;
4 - good, worth reading, entertaining, well written;
5 - pure perfection and pleasure
1. I truly believe that characters are the most important aspect of any book, because they help us to build an emotional connection with the story and events they go through. In this, the author did a poor job. Even the main heroes, Zayl, Selene, Karybdus, and Jitan are flat. They are one role people: main hero, love interest, villain. That's it. No internal drama, conflict, no character's arc at all. Poor job showing their emotions and helping us suffer or rejoice with them.
2. Show, don't tell. Although it's basic advice given to beginners, and there are plenty of exceptions to this rule, in this case, it applies. The author decided to use the omniscient voice, which is a very hard task to accomplish, in my opinion. With an omniscient voice, an author should not tell us what they feel, but rather show through their actions and words. Otherwise, it feels that I simply have to believe the author about the character's emotions. Again, in my opinion, the third limited (or first indirect) voice would work better here. Especially since we have multiple POV's in this story.
3. The good part about the book is the atmosphere of Westmarch and the Diablo world in general. Interesting interactions with the plane of undead. Interesting story overall.
My opinion on how to make this story better:
- Use the third limited voice that will help us stay "in the head" of a certain character.
- Show people's emotions. More of the background story so that we could understand the reasons for their actions and beliefs.
- Add more thoughts and situations (maybe some awkward situations) to justify the feelings Zayl and Selene developed for each other.
- More work on characters. Add some limitations, imperfections, and flaws so that they feel like real human beings.
I hope that the author is still active in the writing world, and with every new book, his skills improve.
My rating is 3 stars, based on:
1 - very bad, didn't even try to finish, and it's not even worth 2 stars;
2 - bad;
3 - alright, there are some issues, but there's also something worth reading;
4 - good, worth reading, entertaining, well written;
5 - pure perfection and pleasure
July 18, 2023
Its the kind of book you'll want to tell your friends about. It'll come up in conversation with five different people once every year or so starting and ending with "no, no, seriously, its actually really nice!" It's certainly far, far, better than it had any right to be and a staggering improvement over its vaguely connected predecessor, Kingdom of Shadow.
So its got some barriers to entry, some implicit reasons for you to not give it a chance.
Bottom line.
- Can I read it if I haven't played Diablo? Yes.
- Can I read it if I didn't read the previous book, Kingdom of Shadow? Yes
The book is stand alone, the characters appear from one book to another and cameo here and there, but your not going to get lost in the weeds.
As for the actual review of the book!
Set in the high middle ages and not quite on earth, the book follows a Necromancer by the name of Zayl. Though the book follows the man in black, its tone is closer to that of an Indiana Jones flick (back when that meant something!) Zayl is this stoic, obliging, patient, figure. He kind of has a Legolas like bearing, somewhat more dull than my dishwater, but hey I like sriracha. With him theres the talking severed head in his bag Humbart, who brings a little life to the party, (and sriracha) he's sarcastic and prone to some jockularity, occasionally he'll pipe in with insights far more human than you'd expect from a pair of chattering teeth and empty eye sockets. For this story, two heads certainly prove to be better than one and they have a nice dichotomy across their adventure.
Get misunderstood by the occasional shrieking peasant, fight evil, kill spiders, have a grand old time, repeat. Seems like a good mission statement.
At 330 something pages it does not overstay its welcome, (although I really don't want to say that its rushed either) I read it in a single bus ride to class some eight odd years ago, and it has stuck with me in that time since.
Break the barrier, give it a shot!
So its got some barriers to entry, some implicit reasons for you to not give it a chance.
Bottom line.
- Can I read it if I haven't played Diablo? Yes.
- Can I read it if I didn't read the previous book, Kingdom of Shadow? Yes
The book is stand alone, the characters appear from one book to another and cameo here and there, but your not going to get lost in the weeds.
As for the actual review of the book!
Set in the high middle ages and not quite on earth, the book follows a Necromancer by the name of Zayl. Though the book follows the man in black, its tone is closer to that of an Indiana Jones flick (back when that meant something!) Zayl is this stoic, obliging, patient, figure. He kind of has a Legolas like bearing, somewhat more dull than my dishwater, but hey I like sriracha. With him theres the talking severed head in his bag Humbart, who brings a little life to the party, (and sriracha) he's sarcastic and prone to some jockularity, occasionally he'll pipe in with insights far more human than you'd expect from a pair of chattering teeth and empty eye sockets. For this story, two heads certainly prove to be better than one and they have a nice dichotomy across their adventure.
Get misunderstood by the occasional shrieking peasant, fight evil, kill spiders, have a grand old time, repeat. Seems like a good mission statement.
At 330 something pages it does not overstay its welcome, (although I really don't want to say that its rushed either) I read it in a single bus ride to class some eight odd years ago, and it has stuck with me in that time since.
Break the barrier, give it a shot!
August 15, 2012
Another dark fantasy story from Richard Knaak set in the Diablo Universe. Fans of Kingdom of Shadow get to catch up with Zayl and Humbart on another creepy adventure, this time involving spiders. Since I hate spiders, I knew I would thoroughly enjoy this book. Knaak has made sure include gruesome, horrific scenes of death that's expected of the Diablo universe and this book doesn't disappoint. A must-read if you're a fan of the Diablo series.
January 24, 2013
I bought this book mostly because it wasn't part of a series but by the end of the book I wanted more. Always good sign. I would also say no real background knowledge of the Diablo Universe is needed the most stands on a its own. That information won't hurt your reading but over all this a great book.
My full podcast review can be found here http://feedproxy.google.com/%7Er/Gran...
My full podcast review can be found here http://feedproxy.google.com/%7Er/Gran...
August 31, 2014
If you like the lore behind Diablo the game, or you just like some straight up fantasy, this book will not let you down. I think this book can be grasped even if you haven't played Diablo (grasped and enjoyed), but you definitely should read its predecessor, The Kingdom Shadow, first. The Kingdom of Shadow really has next to nothing to do with Diablo, but it introduces the reader to the central themes and characters in Moon of the Spider.
October 10, 2007
Mm, this book follows a character previously introduced in "Kingdom of Shadow". Though the Necromancer and his skull companion was fun to read about, I felt the female lead was a complete and total Mary Sue.
June 15, 2011
I love the necromancer take that Knaak used for this book. Knaak has an amazing way of keeping to the lore of a setting and really bringing his characters to life. The story was mysterious and fast paced and if you enjoyed Kingdom of Shadows, then this is a must read. Very well done.
February 4, 2017
Let's get this straight: I love necromancers, especially the one from Diablo 2. Here's what happened though: I have read this when I was younger and after some years, when I tried to reread it in order to see why this was sitting on the "best" shelf, I was appalled. Good idea, bad book.
April 9, 2010
One of my fave books.Knaak sure has the talent of keeping the story short, interesting and amusing.
August 18, 2011
I was hopping to read more of Zayel and Hummbart. Thanks so much for writing Mr. Knaak!!
August 27, 2012
Awesome book continuing the story of Zayl and his trusty companion Humbart. A must read for any Diablo fan.
June 4, 2013
Great book
May 5, 2013
It was alright, I was expecting more! Kingdom of shadows was so much better!
April 12, 2016
Awesome! full of action
December 29, 2025
Kniha je důkazem toho, že Richard Knaak je dobrý spisovatel, protože dokáže napsat perfektní knihu nejen ze světa, který sám vymyslel. Knihy ze světa Diabla patří k tomu nejlepšímu co napsal.
August 5, 2015
Nice book, leave me with a craving for more D:
March 21, 2019
Amazing book
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews