Diablo: The Kingdom of Shadow | a Review
originally published on 11/04/2023;
Hello everyone, I am the pseudo-vampire, pseudo-zombie, pseudo-ghost, G.E.M.Simov, a fellow immune to tricks from the Prime Evils, here to tell you about Richard A. Knaak's "Diablo: The Kingdom of Shadow".
Simple review details - I rank try to rank books on an out of 10 basis, granting up to 3 points in 3 categories, as well as a last, single point from my own self, depending on my experience with it.
Content
Much like most other books, this one is mainly human. Hmm… That doesn't work that well as a sentence, so I'll try again. Like most other books, the origins of conflict are mostly human-borne ones.
As is to be expected, the dimensions of the conflict have the potential to grow into global affairs, mainly through the evil side of the conflict, the threat, becoming a threat to the world. In previous Diablo books, it was the Warlord of Blood or Kabraxis. In this one, it's a funky town.
I know, towns are scary, because with a town comes bureaucracy, which bureaucracy is mostly only possible due to the fact that there's a government in place, which government is in place due to the fact that there's a ruling class of people who HAVE and by having they exert control over those who HAVE NOT. Surprisingly enough, that is absent.
I must reiterate - this book is about a town, which town was essentially a state, a city state. Now, a city-state is far better at being a state than any state encompassing more than one city, but it still should feature those who are rich and those who are poor, considering it is based on Europe's feudal phase. However, it does not have that, AT ALL. The only mention of it is vague, through the use of the King's courtiers and the concept of nobility.
Surprisingly, the concept of nobility in this book, or, at least, in the town this book centers on, is incredibly flexible. In fact, for a book that focuses on a town, there's surprisingly small amounts of information pertaining to how the town runs. Is that a problem? Well, it could be a non-issue, but in the eyes of yours truly that is an incredibly interesting thing which, unfortunately, does not get explored in detail.
That lack of detail, that apparent shallowness of it all, is quite present in other aspects of the book as well. Whereas the characters in previous Diablo books were far better developed, with clear motivations and cravings, this book seems to only hint at them. Whereas the characters from previous Diablo books appear truly complete, or at least a lot more plausible, a vast number of the characters in this book are… Underdeveloped, or maybe lackluster.
While it felt as though I, as a reader, KNEW Darrick Lang or Norrec Vizharan, I am left with the impression that I don't really know Kentril Dumon in the sense that I know the other characters. In the case of the former two, I knew a lot more about them than I wound up knowing about Kentril. There was some stuff that I managed to gather from the book itself, as one would expect, but it seemed as though Captain Dumon remains a far more mysterious figure than the former protagonists of previous Diablo books…
That, on its own, is not that great a problem, but when a lot of the conflict in the book stems from the character, and the character's reaction to certain things, it would be a lot more helpful for the reader to know where that character is coming from, rather than blindly guessing.
For is it normal for a man to swoon so incredibly under the influence of a woman he has just met? Is it reasonable for that man to almost blindly ignore strangenesses and other things that ought to cause concern, all in favor of that woman he is swooning over? Is it possible to go that far with the 'Love is Blind' concept?
I'd say not. But, if this were the first time he has ever fallen in love, then, perhaps, it is excusable. Still, there is no indication of how old he truly is. There is no indication of how experienced he is on the field of love. There is nothing in his past, that is known to the reader, to hint at his susceptibility to swooning.
It could be argued that the answer is Atanna's beauty, but the descriptions of her, in the book at least, do not hint at divine wonder… Rather, just beauty. It seemed to me as though she was described as very pretty, and beautiful, but the only moment in which her description gets to those proportions of ludicrous appeal is when she is compared to an angel.
Maybe that's owed up to the fact that none of the other men show interest in her, or even comment about it. The only time when that is mentioned is in relation to Gorst's interactions with Kentril, and even then she doesn't appear so breathtakingly fine. This issue could have been avoided through the application of backstory. Maybe Dumon has never really had a relationship with somebody? Maybe he has some trauma to get through, and the way Atanna treats him is incredibly appealing for him?
Alas, there is pretty much nothing.
The same applies to the sudden climb up the ranks that presents itself as a possibility to him. He has no background, other than the fact that he is a mercenary who has managed to get to where he is now through sheer luck. There's no indication of what he has previously done, other than the fact that he has done a lot of mercenary work - ten years of it being with Gorst. The reader gets reason to suspect that he is, more or less, a presence in the lower rings of society, on the lowest steps of the ladder, but there's no complexity to it.
People like us, the us being mercenaries, just do the job and aren't looked upon nicely. One won't get thanks for doing his job if he's a mercenary, in essence. One won't get appreciated for doing it, and, as is known, those who do not get appreciated or praised for their jobs are members of the lower classes.
After all, only the nobility or the bourgeoisie, and the jobs THEY tend to be associated with, get praise for doing their jobs.
But, again, there is a lack of depth. It spreads all over, leaving a vast nothingness that gets filled with stuff, and yet the stuff it gets filled with is unsatisfying. This is a fantasy book set in a gothic fantasy world. This book is also a mystery thriller.
As is known, mystery thrillers, or thrillers in general, do a very bad job at introducing anything to the story that is not immediately important to the plot. They tend to be shorter, as a result of that - with this Diablo book being shorter than the other three in the series - and also tend to be far more lacking in substance, as the focus of the book is explicitly on the mystery, or the source of the thrill.
Does that mean they are bad? No, definitely not. But when they show up in the areas of a fantasy adventure, from which I expect to get world-building for the Diablo multimedia franchise, I find myself unfortunately displeased. Sure, I get a story, but then that story is also very loosely connected to much of anything.
While yes, there is a connection - a very loose one, which almost feels inappropriate, as the presence of THE FELLA is… Not right. On the one hand, the appearances, the moments when he gets seen in his full terrifying glory are very wrong, but when the reveal occurs it is perfectly okay.
Excuse the machinations in an attempt to avoid spoiling the story, but this is a thriller mystery, and spoiling that would remove any reason for you to read the book.
So the BIG FELLA is in this book, but only vaguely, and a lot of his presence is forced. If his presence was only there at the reveal, where the eyes are the only thing that gives him away, it would've been fine. But why must the King be represented by the BIG FELLA in the visions, or in the ending? Why, if not just so that a tighter bond to the world could be established?
Because, sure as hell there's no mention of Tristram or the events of Diablo 2, not is there mention of ANYTHING else, safe for necromancy related things AND the Vizjerei cloak, as well as the magic words of nonsense that get spewed whenever magic is performed. Whereas the connection in Legacy of Blood was physically present - the callback to Tristram and Xazax' encounter in the deserts by Lut Gholein, and The Black Road also explicitly mentioned Tristram and also hinted at big D's return, and also mentioned soul stones, this book does not.
In fact, this book starts off in the jungles of Kehjistan, then takes place and ends in Ureh. There is mention of Kurast, once, but everything is so faint that it's barely enough to remind the reader that this is set in Sanctuary… If the big, fiery letters spelling "Diablo" were not enough to do so already.
I find myself at a loss. Richard A. Knaak brought such a good entry with Legacy of Blood, yet this feels a lot weaker in the areas that I desperately crave for it to be stronger in…
Not only that, but there is very little to be considered, concept wise. There's blind faith, there's arrogance, there's love, and… Maybe there is self-sacrifice, but only maybe, because of a single sentence in the book that bothers to mention that Kentril just now realized what self-sacrifice truly means.
Those are interesting concepts, yet I can't help myself but sneer. In regards to the love problem, it has been discussed. In regards to the arrogance problem, it all stems from nobility and the perception that one is correct by default - quite similar to the concept that Angels are good by default and that Demons are evil by default, and that there is no reversal or in-between. If one is king, then everything one does is right, for he is king. And his kingship is guaranteed by his kingship. He is king, because he is worthy to be king, which is because he is king. Mandate of Heaven kind of dookie, if you catch my drift, or we could call it Divine Right.
The king just gets to be king, and the reason he gets to be king is because he is king, and then everything he does is right and good, because he is king. This is the arrogance, or the type of arrogance in this book, and it is the least engaging type of arrogance. Naturally, that is only one's personal belief, but no one is king, and kings (or politicians, or billionaires) don't read things that might challenge their approaches to life or, god forbid, rulership, so that kind of arrogance's examination is almost pointless.
Then there's blind loyalty, which is combined with arrogance, in the case of this book. There is also the question of loyalty in and of itself, which is not that well examined, by comparison, which doesn't mean much, as the examination of blind loyalty is also not examined. It is hinted that blind loyalty is tightly bound to madness and insanity, which undermines the point of blind loyalty, a bit, by dehumanizing the individuals engaging in it.
On top of that, there's no examination. There are some crumbs for the reader to make use of and take guesses - maybe it was the immense stress from X and Y, maybe it was B and C… But there's no deep dive, no examination of it. Goon is just crazy, so he is blindly loyal. A shame, really, as the proximity, or literal connection to religion that this one has in the book, could have been incredibly interesting, but alas.
But the mystery is compelling, although it is somewhat painfully obvious. 1/3
Richness of Expression
I read a translated version of this one, but I don't think that affected the richness of expression at all. Much like the previous performance of A. Knaak's, this one isn't bad, but it isn't perfect in the field of richness of Expression. I did get to almost imagine what Gorst, Zael and Atanna looked like, but the appearances of everyone else, including the literal Main Character, were not easily discoverable. In fact, I just used a placeholder appearance for Kentril - the druid from Diablo 2 - because of the leather boots. Quov Tsin also got a placeholder appearance, but with the bright orange cape of the Sorcerer from Diablo 1. In essence - appearances were somewhat failed.
Then there was the problem of places. The only place that I really imagined as something was the garden in the castle, and the vast balcony, however everything else was nothing. There were passing imaginings, but I only had them because of the need for there to be a place wherein the events could take place, and not because the descriptions were so vivid and clear.
It was only satisfactory, because, again - the thriller aspect of the book requires concessions to be made. 2/3
Story
Kentril Dumon is a mercenary captain, hired with his big team of mercenaries (among whom his buddy Gorst) by the Vizjerei Quov Tsin. Tsin has paid them insufficiently, but has promised great riches. The riches will come from the lost city - the light of lights - Ureh.
The group is trudging through the jungles of Kehjistan, losing men rapidly, until they finally find the place, but the time is not right, so they wind up waiting.
Meanwhile, Zayl, a necromancer, notices them and wants to send them away, worried bad things might come of their arrival. He makes use of his magic, calls for a vision, and almost succeeds in convincing them to leave.
The mercs get ready to depart on the next morning and set off, but a wild storm breaks out, forcing them to take cover in the city. A few hours pass and Kentril remembers the sorcerer. Worried about him, he goes to check, only to find out that there was no storm at all, seemingly. It is hinted that the sorcerer has cast this illusory storm to make his mercenaries stay, and that builds up tension.
The time comes and Tsin casts his spell. Zayl tries to interrupt, but that doesn't do much. After an apparent failure, everyone turns to leave, disappointed, but then Ureh's ruins become whole once more.
Within the town, the group encounters some problems - which is not in accordance with the legends - but they do find the king of Ureh, Juris Khan, and his daughter, Atanna. Kentril falls in love at first sight, and the band of mercenaries, alongside Tsin and Zayl, start slowly unraveling the dark mystery of Ureh.
The story does a good thing at allowing tension to constantly keep building, even in the calmest of moments. The pacing is not bad, even though it feels very disproportionately slow at some points, whilst it seems quite rapid at others.
I must admit that Gorst and Zayl were standouts, being great and compelling characters whilst also having little given to them, but they managed it so well, in part due to the fact that they were more secondary, and in part due to the fact that they had more history and motivation, considering what is known about necromancers and barbarians (Gorst is a barbarian) from the previous books.
The story is competently written, for what it is, and it even has an almost nice ending. Almost nice, because I loved a part of it and quite disliked another part of it. BIG MAN with BIG HANDS is all I'm going to say, and just how silly it seemed to me. In addition, the inconsistencies are a bit funky.
If the inhabitants could climb the mountain and even stand at the summit, where the ring holder was, why was an outsider needed to put it in place? Hmm…
It was good, but not too good. 2/3
Legendary Point
Does this book get the legendary point, so craved and wanted by all and none at the same time? Well, the Diablo book streak has to come to an end at one point. This one gets a resounding NO, and I'll be done with it. 0/1
Conclusion
5/10. I suppose a thriller can work if it is set in a world well known to the reader and thus requires little world building. In a fantasy book, which is being read as a means of expanding the world I've observed in the Diablo games, it isn't such a good call. Read this book if you're a fan of Diablo. Maybe if you like mysteries, too.
In the bag of mediocrity. I suppose there was a reason I did not remember it that fondly, so we'll let it gather some dust.