Alpharius: Head of the Hydra by Mike Brooks, tells the story of the Primarch Alpharius in his own words for the first time. The ultimate in unreliable narrators Alpharius is known to all 40k fans as the Primarch who lies a lot – or as he describes himself to Leman Russ “I’m the one who keeps secrets”. Given this fact it’s hard to be sure if this really is a behind the scenes tell-all from the master of dishonesty, or if we’re being spun a load of nonsense. Most likely it’s a bit of both. A fantastic read. The story covers the life of the Primarch Alpharius during humanities great conquest of the galaxy. I say story, but it more of a history told in the first person. It’s use of repeating motifs help to connect each episode. Alpharius, our narrator, constantly reminds the audience that he is an unreliable narrator, while describing how he misleads others adds a fantastic stroke of mystery to the story. Every line is suspect. This greatly enhances the storytelling. I have only a passing knowledge of the 30k timeline, but this novel never left me feeling lost. The author presents a far more diverse universe than is typical in 40k novels, but these elements don’t ever feel forced or added as an afterthought. the deft handling of these topics feels very important in combating the rising nationalism in the world, some of whom might mistake elements of the settings parody for sincerity. With the Immaterium in turmoil, the crusade needs stable warp routes if they’re to reach worlds in peril. The planet of Gathalamor is vital for this reason – and it’s also a symbol to the faithful. It must be held… but that might be easier said than done, as you’ll discover in the story’s blurb. Off all the primarchs, Alpharius(Omgeon) has been the most difficult to pin down with exception of the two "lost" primarchs. This, off course, has been by design. The Alpha legion as a whole is made to be impossible to pin down; are they still loyal in the 40K setting? Is Alpharius still alive in the 40K setting? How many of them are still left? Are they still one force with one goal? Who can tell? It was very well written. Mike Brook's sensing of pacing was spot on, as I never felt that any part of the story dragged. The fact that it was written from Alpahrius' POV was a good way for the reader to get to know the primarch, from his discovery by the emperor and through his journey of self-discovery.

The Horus Heresy: Primarchs Series by David Annandale - Goodreads

A Primarchs novel Who better to relate the tale of Alpharius than the primarch himself? As he tells of his deeds, bear one thing in mind: nothing can be trusted when it comes from serpent’s mouth. READ IT BECAUSE I am Alpharius… and so are you. THE STORY Legends abound of the glorious – or infamous – deeds of the Emperor’s sons. Yet almost nothing is known of Alpharius, the most mysterious of them all, for the Lord of the Alpha Legion is unparalleled in the art of obfuscation. Such are his gifts of secrecy and deceit that even his rediscovery has remained an enigma – until now. But when the tale comes from the serpent’s mouth, where do the lies end and the truth begin? Alpharius: Head of the Hydra (The Horus Heresy: Primarchs #14) by Mike Brooks – eBook Details This is what concerned me at the outset of this book. The discovery, motivation and nature of Alpharius/Omegon is littered with unknowns and I was worried that new lore would detract from their identity as the primarchs we knew the least about. Having now read the book, and digested the new details within, I can happily report my fears were not realised. There are big reveals, and Brooks strikes a wonderful balance between dropping new lore oozing with detail that 40k lore nerds crave and maintaining the aura of mystery that surrounds the Alpha Legion. A feat that is particularly impressive considering the whole narrative is told from the 1st person perspective of Alpharius.As the resident Goonhammer Chaos Guy, you might expect that I’d jump at the chance to read a book about Alpharius’ origins. And well, you’d be about half right. While I’m generally big on reading more about all the traitor primarchs and each of their fallen legions is one of my special, unique boys, over the last few years I’ve grown more and more fed up with the Alpha Legion’s bullshit. Over the last twenty or so years, the Alpha Legion have gone from “the one legion that specializes in guerilla warfare and subterfuge” to “the guys who were just pretending to lose this whole time and are actually behind you and also it turns out your dog was a covert operative working for them the whole time.” In the process they’ve gone from “interesting” to “tiring,” as the twists often seem to fire from out of left field and their triple- and quadruple-crosses just feel convoluted and unnecessary, while new plot revelations around the Alpha Legion tend to feel like similarly unnecessary tweaks that make them even more special and secret. Where it really shines is for fans of the genre, we get some extremely good looks at the early days of the Emperor's reign (mid-Unification, pre-Great Crusade), we get a look at one of the most secretive primarchs, and we get some excellent foreshadowing. A compelling story about the Alpha Legion. By far, probably the most fascinating and mysterious of groups/primarch(s?). Are they betrayers or loyalists of the empire? Loved the style of writing and the mental aspect of Alpharius, who's clearly snug and very arrogant - but who wouldn't be, when you dan be so deceitful?

Alpharius: Head of the Hydra (The Horus Heresy Primarchs Book

I almost shelved this one part way through, while any lore bits about the Alpha Legion I'm gonna sink my teeth into, let alone about their Primarch this one started out rough. It was clear the author was trying to present Alpharius a certain way but it had the reverse effect for much of the book, it came off nearly masterbatory and was afraid it was going to be more generic bolter porn 'space mahrine best' crap. The Siege of Terra rages on in Book 5 of the epic series, Mortis. Horus’ greatest weapons – the towering war engines of the Titan Legions – are about to join the battle, and it’s going to be apocalyptic. Just look at the astonishing cover art. Here’s what the book’s blurb has to say about the story. The difficulty of pinning down Alpharius and his legion extends beyond that, all legions have a "thing" going for them; the space wolves are vikings in space, the white scars are mongols, thousands sons have that Egyptian thing going for them. These are the most in your face examples off course but still the Alpha legion at first feels like an odd one in the bunch. Reading this book made me reflect on that conundrum for longer then before and then it hit me. The Alpha legion is probably the most realistic of the legions.Mike Brooks was born in Ipswich, Suffolk and moved to Nottingham when he was 18 to go to university. He’s stayed there ever since, and now lives with his wife, two cats, two snakes and a collection of tropical fish. When not working for a homelessness charity he plays guitar and sings in a punk band, watches football (soccer), MMA and nature/science documentaries, goes walking in the Peak District or other areas of splendid scenery, and DJs wherever anyone will tolerate him. If you love the Alpha Legion and it's roots (like me) you'll probably fall head-over-heels for the subterfuge, the 4D hyper chess planning, the intense paranoia.

Alpharius: Head of the Hydra (The Horus Heresy [PDF] [EPUB] Alpharius: Head of the Hydra (The Horus Heresy

For the best viewing experience, we recommend using old reddit version - https://old.reddit.com/r/40kLore/Legends abound of the glorious - or infamous - deeds of the emperor's sons. Yet almost nothing is known of Alpharius, the most mysterious of them all, for the lord of the Alpha Legion is unparalleled in the art of obfuscation. Such are his gifts of secrecy and deceit that even his rediscovery has remained an enigma - until now. But when the tale comes from the serpent’s mouth, where do the lies end and the truth begin? That's because you are also Alpharius, your mom..... Alpharius, that next door neighbour... Yup that's Alpharius, that stray cat that occasionally comes over for pets? Also Alpharius. In the grim darkness of the far future there is only Alpharius. I think this book does a decent job of exploring the universe as it progresses and has some fun elements of deceit/treachery from the main character, probably an alright read for people not into WH40k? For the uninitiated, Alpharius is one of twenty demi-god like post-humans gene wrought by the Emperor of Mankind to re-take the stars about 28,000 years from now. While his nineteen brothers specialise in one form or another of brute force warfare, Alpharius and his Alpha Legion use the shadows to sow dissent and destabilise entire planets before the other primarchs and their legions arrive to bring the light (or death) of the Emperor to the lost arms of humanity.