The summer of Chaos has come to an end. Over the past three months Games Workshop released new miniatures for all the units presented in the Hordes of Chaos Army book. While they took their time with this release, the result seems worth the wait. Hordes of Chaos combined the efforts of some of the most prominent names in the Warhammer hobby, specifically Gavin Thorpe, Rick Priestly, Anthony Reynolds and Alessio Cavatore. As Warhammer army books go, this one is excellent. Well presented, this book has a great layout and terrific new artwork. The list is easy to understand and gives Chaos generals a very flexible force to work with. At 112 pages it is the largest army book yet produced for 6th edition Warhammer, and sold at the same price as the previous books it is a real bargain.

This is not a replacement for the original Realm of Chaos books, but a nicely restructured and compact presentation for the miniatures game. Players of Warhammer Fantasy Role-Playing will not find this book especially helpful, as it doesn't add anything new to the setting. But the artwork alone may be worth the price of the book.

Starting with the amazing front cover artwork and concluding with a photo of the entire host of Chaos Miniatures inside the back cover, this book is a feast for the eyes. I am constantly drawn back to the huge color section at the center of the book. Thirty-two full color pages of painted models and clearly illustrated tips for painting your own horde. This is how every book in this series should have been done. Every model and every unit in the army is depicted within the color section. There is no model in the current line of Chaos miniatures that you can't see painted up in all its glory. Variations are also presented for theming your army towards a particular god of chaos. Conversions are covered, banners, basing models and even Golden Demon award winning dioramas. If there was anything missing from this section I could only say that I would have liked some new themed terrain, but given the size needed for what was done I really can't complain.

What else is in this book? Fantastic artwork by such luminaries as John Blanche, Paul Dainton and the incredible Adrian Smith give the book its character. In the dark and gritty style of 6th edition Warhammer this is some of the best illustrations you are likely to find. Page 7 has a map of the North Pole giving a truly global perspective to the Warhammer world. Short fiction on page 9 and 11 is evocative and captivating. Another map on page 13 depicts the Chaos Wastes north of the old world and shows the movement of armies during the Great War of Chaos from 2302. A brief introduction to each of the four gods of Chaos is adequate for the beginning chaos general but if you have any of the previous editions you aren't getting any new information.

The army list has both Demons and Mortals. Players with a Demon general may take Demon units as core and Mortal units as special. The reverse is also true. If you take a Mortal as general you may take demon units as special and the mortal units will be core choices. New spell lists are available for chaos sorcerers. Tzeentch, Nurgle and Slaanesh each have a separate six-spell list for sorcerers with the corresponding mark.

Following the army list and color section is a page dedicated to famous Chaos characters of the past. This is followed by the special characters available for use without prior consent of your opponent. Archaon is back with a vengeance, nearly a demon prince in the storyline, his stats are closer to those of a Greater Demon and his points cost is appropriate. Galrauch, the first chaos dragon is the second special character. As far as I know he is the only special character in Warhammer who cannot be the General of the Army, yet he takes up a Lord, Hero and rare slots!

The last chapters of the book include a pair of pages dealing with the language of Chaos and it's written form, Runes. Of little use to wargamers, but a nice perk for those who are really into the background and also play the role-playing game. Then the authors console long time chaos players with the "counts as" rule. The article is titled "coping with the lord of change". So if you have Harpies they can count as Furies. Old Chaos Troll models can count as Spawn. They advise you to clear every "counts as" model with your opponent before playing. The ever-handy summary pages conclude the book and this review as well. If you play chaos, buy this book. If you used to play chaos, buy this book. If you have thought about playing chaos, buy this book. If your mother hates chaos, buy this book. I think you can safely say I have been converted to the dark gods and it happened when I bought this book.