The Sin War trilogy
The Sin War trilogy by Richard A. Knaak is the backbone of Diablo fiction. Set roughly three thousand years before the first game, it follows the farmer Uldyssian ul-Diomed as latent nephalem power wakes across Sanctuary, and as the angel Inarius and the demon Lilith manoeuvre around humanity for their own ends. Events set up here echo through Diablo III and Diablo IV, which makes the trilogy the closest thing the book line has to required reading.
Book one is Birthright, first published by Pocket Star in 2006 at 9780743471220, with a Blizzard Legends reissue in 2019 at 9781945683473. Book two is Scales of the Serpent, 2007, reissued in 2019 at 9781945683596. Book three is The Veiled Prophet, first edition 9780743471244, reissued in 2020 at 9781950366125. The three were also gathered as the Sin War Archive omnibus by Gallery Books in 2011, 9781451674002.
Knaak writes the trilogy as a single rising arc rather than three adventures, so the middle volume assumes the first and the finale pays off both. Readers coming from Diablo IV will recognise names and places in an earlier, rawer form: this is Sanctuary before the Worldstone's fate was settled, told at novel length rather than in game dialogue.
For collectors, the practical choice is between matching Pocket Star first printings and matching Blizzard Legends reissues. The reissues are easier to find in clean condition and carry the newer ISBNs listed above. Mixed sets are common in secondhand listings, so verify each volume's ISBN individually rather than trusting a set photo.
No Japanese edition of the trilogy exists. The census checked for Japanese editions of the Diablo novels and found none, so this trilogy is an English only collectible.
