The popularity of the Diablo video game series led to several novels published that are set in Diablo's shared universe.
Novels
Demonsbane
Demonsbane (2000, ISBN0743418999) is an e-novella written by Robert B. Marks. It appears in print in the Diablo Archive (2008, ISBN9781416576990).
In the book, Siggard, the only survivor of the battle of Blackmarch, unable to remember the battle's final hours—is driven to avenge those slain by the army of darkness. As he hunts the demonic army, Siggard pieces together the truth of that terrible battle...and finds his nightmare is just beginning.
Demonsbane was a book published in the spirit of the "e-book revolution." However, the market for e-books was quite small at the time and despite months of advertising on battle.net, sales were in the hundreds rather than the projected thousands.[1]
Before being written, it was decided that Demonsbane should set the tone for the series, and help establish Sanctuary not only as a living and breathing game world, but also as a living and breathing world in literature. As such, Marks did a lot of world building using flavour quotes at the beginning of each chapter.[1]
Legacy of Blood
Legacy of Blood (2001, ISBN067104155X, reissue 2017, ISBN9781945683015), the first novel based on Diablo by Blizzard Entertainment. The book was written by Richard A. Knaak. Legacy of Blood is intended for mature readers. It uses the same image as the cover of the Diablo II game box. It was collected in the Diablo Archive in 2008.
The book is written about a group of three men who stumble upon enchanted armor of unfathomable, immense powers that they have no clue about. The armor ends up belonging to a past warlord named Bartuc, who was the most brutal of all men to walk the earth, painting his armor each morning with the blood from the battle from his deceased foes. He was a Sorcerer who could control demons and used them to his own power to take over cities and countries in order to fiercely reign over the entire earth. He was eventually killed during an enormous battle by multiple people including his own brother Horazon. The armor was hidden away in a dark dungeon protected with dark magical powers where it sat dormant secretly calling to the main character, Norrec. Norrec was among the three tomb raiders when the armor was discovered. The three men were caught in a dire situation causing Norrec to put on the armor and reawaken the power of legions of demons and hell itself. His life would be forever changed...and one would question whether for the better or not.
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 the world of Sanctuary.
The Sin War
The Sin War is a trilogy of novel series set in Blizzard Entertainment's Diablo universe, written by Richard A. Knaak. It tells the story of Uldyssian as he is drawn into the battle between the Temple of the Triune, run by the Primus under Lucion; the Son of Mephisto and the Cathedral of Light run by the rebel angel Inarius. Uldyssian feels that both sides are corrupt and wants nothing to do with either of them. When he is accused of murdering one of their missionaries, he flees his home town of Seram as he begins to discover his own strange powers. He decides to teach others how to use it, and gathers many followers to him, but the Temple and the Cathedral want his powers for their own and will stop at nothing to get them.
During the San Diego Comic-Con 2011, Blizzard Entertainment Senior Vice-president of Creative Design Chris Metzen revealed further details about Book of Cain.[3]