Diablo: Book of Lorath

Diablo Character Tome #4

by Matthew J. Kirby

Make your stand against the darkness with this comprehensive, stunningly illustrated artifact handed down by the Horadric Order, your key to the lore of Blizzard Entertainment's Diablo® franchise. Amid the restless evil of Sanctuary, only the Horadrim, an ancient order of heroes and scholars, wield the knowledge needed to light the way for humanity. In the Book of Lorath , join Lorath Nahr, one of the last of the dwindling Horadrim, on a journey through Sanctuary's most powerful relics and the stories behind them. It is Lorath's hope that this volume will preserve his knowledge for all time . . . and pass it down to those who will inherit the fight against the Prime Evils. Direct from the Diablo® development team and award-winning author Matthew J. Kirby, this immersive, must-have compendium with all-new illustrations showcases the artifacts that have often been, and might yet be, the key to tipping the fate of the world.

Genres: Fantasy, Gaming

176 pages, Hardcover

Published June 6, 2023

About the author

Matthew Kirby was born in Utah, and grew up in Maryland, California, and Hawaii. As an undergraduate he majored in history, and then went on to pursue an M.S. in school psychology. For ten months out of the year he works with students, and during the rest of the year he writes. He and his wife currently live in northern Utah.

Reviews

[Bud Winn]

Good reference for Diablo lore - sets up the next expansion well.

[Scott]

To be upfront and honest, I love when books are written from an in universe perspective like this especially when it’s for a property that I have been with for so many years. I love Diablo and its setting so to get these books from Blizzard is always a treat.

What I love most about this book isn’t just that it is written from Lorath’s perspective but the way it serves as both a reference tome for tons of in game relics we have come across from playing the Diablo games but also, it tells the story of what Lorath was up to after the main story in Diablo 4 until we meet back up with him in the Lord of Hatred expansion. Really awesome storytelling so I gave it a 4 out of 5.

[Alexandru]

My favourite one from the series, probably becasue it is based on Diablo 3 and 4 and completes the story with the things happening outside the games' action. As well, the style of letter written by Neyrelle and Lorath is quite fun to read. The majority of the book is focused on relics, items and gear found in the games, and it is quite overwhelming, but it is doing a good job in trying to organise all this info somehow. As well, the book describes the storyline for the yet not released (at the time when I am writing the review) D4 DLC - Vessel of Hatred.

[Evan Major]

Well-written, amazing visuals, and a wonderful lore addition

[Victor Zaporojan]

A good somewhat history lesson and more info from diablo1 all the way to diablo 4

[Andrei]

While enjoyable, I was expecting either more lore or more artwork. As it stands I feel the book delivers an unhappy medium between the two. Still, worth it for Diablo enthusiasts.

[Stan Laurentiu]

Enjoyable read but nothing special. At least it was better than d4 at launch.

[Rusen Özoruç]

This is the fourth companion book for the Diablo franchise, set in the time between the end of Diablo 4 and the Vessel of Hatred expansion, focusing specifically on Lorath and Neyrelle. The book itself is heavy on the important artifacts of Sanctuary and their lore. When it comes to actual written content, this has the least of all the companion books, and it leans heavily on illustration, so be aware of that going in. Other readers seem to echo this same complaint, several have pointed out that the book tries to organize an overwhelming amount of relic and gear information, but ends up landing in an awkward middle ground, not quite lore-dense enough for people wanting deep story content, and not quite artwork-focused enough for people who just want the visuals. It's a fair criticism, and one I share.

The written letters between Neyrelle and Lorath are genuinely great, nicely written and feel realistic, and this seems to be the one part of the book that consistently gets praised, other readers have called this exchange one of the most enjoyable parts of the whole thing too. It's also worth noting the book quietly sets up the storyline for Vessel of Hatred before the expansion even released, which in hindsight makes it a nice little preview for anyone who wants to piece together hints ahead of time.

That said, this book is for you if you're invested in these characters from Diablo 4. If you're not, you're not missing much, you can get just as much information about these artifacts from a wiki. And obviously, this book isn't for you at all if you're not interested in the Diablo franchise in the first place, so keep that in mind. Out of the companion books so far, this one feels the most like a solid but unremarkable entry, enjoyable if you're already in deep, but not the one I'd point to as essential.

----------------------
TURKISH REVIEW
----------------------

Bu, Diablo serisinin dördüncü Companion kitabı, Diablo 4'ün sonu ile Vessel of Hatred eklentisi arasındaki zaman dilimine odaklanıyor, özellikle de Lorath ve Neyrelle'e. Kitabın kendisi Sanctuary'nin önemli eşyaları ve onların loru üzerine yoğunlaşıyor. Gerçek yazılı içerik açısından bakıldığında, tüm yandaş kitaplar arasında en azına sahip olan bu, ve görsellere ağırlıklı olarak dayanıyor, bu yüzden baştan bilmenizde fayda var. Diğer okuyucular da benzer bir şikayeti dile getirmiş, birçoğu kitabın ezici miktarda eşya ve teçhizat bilgisini düzenlemeye çalıştığını ama ortada tuhaf bir yerde kaldığını belirtmiş, ne derin bir hikaye içeriği isteyenler için yeterince lor dolu, ne de sadece görsellere bakmak isteyenler için yeterince illüstrasyon ağırlıklı. Adil bir eleştiri, ve ben de katılıyorum.

Neyrelle ile Lorath arasındaki yazılı mektuplar gerçekten harika, güzel yazılmış ve gerçekçi hissettiriyor, ve bu, kitabın tutarlı bir şekilde övgü aldığı tek bölüm gibi görünüyor, diğer okuyucular da bu yazışmayı kitabın en keyifli kısımlarından biri olarak nitelendirmiş. Ayrıca kitabın, Vessel of Hatred'ın hikaye çizgisini eklenti daha yayımlanmadan sessizce kurduğunu belirtmekte fayda var, ki bu da geriye dönüp bakınca, ipuçlarını önceden birleştirmek isteyen herkes için hoş bir ön izleme haline geliyor.

Bununla birlikte, eğer Diablo 4'teki bu karakterlere bağlıysanız, bu kitap sizin için. Değilseniz, çok fazla bir şey kaçırmıyorsunuz, bu eşyalar hakkında bir wiki'den de aynı bilgiyi edinebilirsiniz. Ve tabii ki, Diablo evrenine hiç ilgi duymuyorsanız bu kitap sizin için hiç değil, bunu da göz önünde bulundurun. Şimdiye kadarki yandaş kitaplar arasında bu, en çok sağlam ama sıradan bir giriş gibi hissettiriyor, eğer zaten işin içindeyseniz keyifli, ama "olmazsa olmaz" diyebileceğim bir kitap değil.