The Lords of Deliverance Compendium - Apocalypse: The Lords of Deliverance Compendium is a brief – roughly novelette length – encyclopedic reference to Larissa Ione’s Lords of Deliverance series. It introduces readers to the key players in this universe, providing stats, physical descriptions, and bio information. However, since this series is a spin-off or sub-series of her Demonica series, there are a number of common characters, so some of the info in this section is a repeat of what was found in Demonica: A Demon Compendium. Then there are sections describing The Four Horses of the Apocalypse and background information on the world-building, followed by an encyclopedic listing of all the demon species that have been mentioned in the series thus far. Much like with the character bios, a lot of the information in this section is a repeat from the previous compendium with the addition of a few species that are new to the Lords of Deliverance world. After that is a short Q & A in which the author answers questions that were submitted by readers and a brief story of the legend behind the Four Horsemen. Overall, I enjoyed this short reference to the series. I picked up a few new interesting tidbits while reading it. If not for a significant portion of the book being a repeat of previously published material, I probably would have given it a higher rating, but it was still a good refresher and the new material was worth checking it out.

Eternal Damnation - “Eternal Damnation” is an original short story in the Lords of Deliverance world that is only available in this compendium. It tells the story of how Lilith spied on the angel, Yenrieth, and managed to seduce him into getting her pregnant with the Four Horsemen, which solidified her place in Sheoul. I found it interesting that while Yenrieth wasn’t supposed to have sex with demons, his demon-sensing abilities weren’t fully developed enough to realize what Lilith was until after the deed was done. I’m curious to know what happened to him afterward, as he hasn’t been a part of the series yet. The story also introduces a female angel named Verrine who I don’t believe we’ve seen in the series before either. She’s in love with Yenrieth, and after she realizes what he did, she vows to keep his secret and to protect his offspring. I’ll be very interested to see if she or Yenrieth ever show up again in the series, as I’d be totally on board for a pairing between them. Overall, this short story was well-written and steamy, a nice addition to the series mythology, although not really a romance since there’s no HEA, nor would I have wanted there to be one between Yenrieth and Lilith. ( )