Along with the launch of Diablo III on May 15th, a companion novel called The Order by Nate Kenyon will be released. We’ve known about this tandem release for a while now, and there has been a short preview on the Darkness Falls unlock page. There is now an 8 chapter preview available, which you can read at your leisure over at Simon and Schuster’s website.

The novel follows Deckard Cain and other familiar characters through various journeys throughout Sanctuary, and sets the story within the memories of Deckard Cain. It’s interesting to get a glimpse into the child Deckard before he became the wizened elder we now know. The founding of his beliefs seem oddly mirrored in how he has been raising Leah, the effect of which remains to be seen. There’s a lot of material in the 8 chapters available, and it may contain some spoilers for the game – so read at your own risk!