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I do not recommend this series at all to anyone but the most die-hard of fans.I bought this series because, as a fan of Blizzard's adapted novels and the Diablo II video-game, I was intrigued by the backstory of the Diablo universe. The story makes you feel that these characters have god-like powers but are simply too ignorant to realize as much. I've enjoyed Richard A. While most fantasy themes revolving around magic require effort, will, and preparation such as words of casting, reagents, etc., magic in this book happens simply by thinking about it (huh).
Aside from that, the bulk of the story itself plods and clips along at a decent pace and the action is acceptable, though in most cases is completely far-fetched. Furthermore, none of the characters experience much, if any at all, growth throughout the series and are completely predictable and stereotypical. Any recognizable connections to the Diablo universe are not explained but simply assumed to be and felt very forced as if Knaak included them as obligations. But still, the only reason I finished the series at all is that I bought the series together and had little else to read. It's also disappointing that what few connections he made to the Diablo universe were even incorrect.The weakest links of the story are the beginning and ending; the beginning explains nothing and is beyond cliche while the ending is completely over-the-top. However, upon reading the series, I found that not only does this novel explain next to nothing about the Diablo universe, it is also very poorly written.
The characters are simply dull, unoriginal, and cliche (strong older brother, good and reliable best friend, eccentric but occasionally useful younger brother, damsel-in-distress childhood friend). I kept hoping that Knaak would redeem himself by the end of the series but alas, he did not. Knaak's works before but this series was thoroughly uninspired.Even for a fantasy book, there were just too many instances requiring an extreme leap of faith. This is strange more-so because typical "casting" wizards are present in the storyline and the differences are not described but simply explained as being that way.
He does it every three to five pages.But if you're a fan of fight scenes, you'll probably like Scales of the Serpent. I'm excited to read The Veiled Prophet to find out what happens with Mendeln, Achilios and Serenthia. I bought The Sin War trilogy with no knowledge of the games on which it is based, so my opinions here are of the novels as standalone fiction.I was pretty tired of the main character, Uldyssian, about midway through the first book. It offers plenty of demon-head severing and arrows to the eye socket. I just hope not too much attention is devoted to that dolt Uldyssian. He spends all his time either brooding or thundering around like a big baby - making the scenes devoted to him the sort you wish you could fast forward through.But the strength of the supporting characters makes this book worth reading - his brother who sees dead people, his old friend the undead hunter, the informative bone chip, the helpful void dwellers - it's just too bad the author didn't kill off Uldyssian in the first book and concentrate on them instead.I also wish the author would just call people by their names. His habit of referring to them as "the son of (insert dad's name)" or "the brother of (insert sibling's name)" wears very thin.
I enjoyed reading it, it's very good written and not any worse than some other fantasy books.
And when you finish this book you will be scratching at the wood-work to find out WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.Jack. This book really sets some pace into the story line, although dont bother reading if you have not read the first.I could rabbit on all day but if you enjoyed the first book you must read this as the character development continues and the war begins.
Essentially the heroes do more of their stuff in the 2nd one like destroying temples etc. Lets hope the pace picks up in the 3rd book though.Frankly I really liked Knaak's other Diablo books especially Moon of the Spider and the Kingdom of Shadow. I found out that the sin war series could have been finished in two books. I would say this book is a lot weaker than the first one. The sin war series seems less than a equal to the previous titles.Get it if you like me love Diablo. The 2nd book is nothing more than an extention of the first. The plot just continues, there are no new surprises along the way.
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