Realm of Chaos: The Lost and the Damned (1990) is the second, much delayed companion to Slaves to Darkness. It takes the same overstuffed, gruesomely illustrated approach to the two remaining ruinous powers of Chaos: Nurgle and Tzeentch. That thoroughly horrific cover is by Les Edwards, because of course it is. You might think the roster of interior artists slightly diminished thanks to the lack of work by Russ Nicholson and Ian Miller. That is not the case. While I do miss their distinctive styles and what they could have lent to the book, I think this volume is more visually impressive on the whole, a really overwhelmingly grim achievement.

A couple things of interest here beyond the awesome art and the details on the two more interesting Powers (if you didn’t know, this is the definitive, objective ranking: the best is Tzeentch, followed by Nurgle, then Slaanesh, then that ding-dong edgelord Khorn). First is in-universe. I think it is actually no longer the case, but at this point in time, the ruinous powers were thought constructs assembled out of the residual desires of human souls that pass through Chaos; this lends them a surprising complexity. They are entities made up of extremes, dominated by negative impulses, but with positives shining through occasionally, like the way Nurgle comes off as caring, or Khorne honorable, or Tzeentch inquisitive. It makes the allure of Chaos, so often characterized by horror and mutation, somewhat more understandable.

Second, these are recent reprints of the books, available only at Warhammer World in Nottingham. I had originals at one point, but honestly the bindings are so fragile (and they command such steep prices) that it made much more sense to have a friend in Nottingham pick up a set and mail them to me (many thanks, Ruth!). If you want these books, I highly suggest making your own Nottingham friends.