Alpharius: Head of the Hydra (The Horus Heresy: Primarchs) [Hardcover] Brooks, Mike

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Never before have I been this sold on a Primarch. Alpharius thinks, talks and acts in a way that simply makes me adore his character. He is so multifaceted: at one point he is calmly and efficiently destroying xenos creatures, and at another point he is musing on how it is often beneficial to be kind to humans. He actually comes across to me as remarkably human, with all the traits of kindness, humour, cunning and arrogance - which makes his prowess in planning and battle all the more terrifying. He is one with his Legion, both its Astartes and human elements, and that makes him even more effective and interesting to read about. 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? In writing this I’ve steered away from talking too much about the plot, and quite deliberately so. I went into this knowing next to nothing about the story and I think I enjoyed it all the more as a result. However one thing I will say is that the more familiar you are with the 40k canon the more you’re likely to enjoy this. If you’re completely fresh to 40k then this really isn’t the best place to start, a degree of familiarity with the big players of the pre-Heresy era is vital to save yourself a lot of frustrating head scratching. If on the other hand you’re well versed in the story of how the Imperium came to be, the Great Crusade and the finding of the Primarchs, then prepare to enjoy having some well established “facts” revealed as falsehoods, key events turned on their heads and major players re-examined from a uniquely insightful perspective. After hearing things from Alpharius’s point of view I don’t think I’ll ever trust Rogal Dorn again! 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.

Alpharius: Head of the Hydra (Novel) - Lexicanum

An outstanding 30/40k title, up there with the best I've read. Some of the characters decision making is pretty perplexing, but that's the Alpha legion for you I guess. Gitslayer by Darius Hinks takes Gotrek into the Realm of Metal, but when grots interrupt his mission, he’s not going to turn down the opportunity to slay some greenskins. Probably an awful lot of greenskins, actually… Here’s the lowdown. 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. 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 does the deception end and the truth begin? 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 Gate of Bones – Special Edition

Roboute Guilliman: Lord of Ultramar • Leman Russ: The Great Wolf • Magnus the Red: Master of Prospero • Perturabo: The Hammer of Olympia • Lorgar: Bearer of the Word • Fulgrim: The Palatine Phoenix • Ferrus Manus: Gorgon of Medusa • Grandfather's Gift • Perturabo: Stone and Iron • Malcador: First Lord of the Imperium • Konrad Curze: A Lesson in Darkness • Jaghatai Khan: Warhawk of Chogoris • Vulkan: Lord of Drakes • Sons of the Emperor • Corax: Lord of Shadows • Angron: Slave of Nuceria • Scions of the Emperor • Konrad Curze: The Night Haunter • Ghost of Nuceria • The Passing of Angels • The Abyssal Edge • Mercy of the Dragon • Lion El'Jonson: Lord of the First • Illyrium • The Revelation of the Word • Morningstar • Will of the Legion • Embers of Extinction • Alpharius: Head of the Hydra • Blood of the Emperor • Loyal Sons • Mortarion: The Pale King • Rogal Dorn: The Emperor's Crusader • Sanguinius: The Great Angel • Heirs of The Emperor Switch between reading the Kindle book & listening to the Audible narration with Whispersync for Voice. This is hands down my favourite Primarchs novel (tied with Slave of Nuceria). The Alpha Legion and their Primarchs have often had some of the best stories and this novel delivers in spades. 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.

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

Our informants within the Inquisition slipped us an early look at something coming in March and we just had to share it with you. The second book in the beloved Ravenor trilogy, Ravenor Returned , is getting the limited edition treatment. It features stunning cover art to match the limited edition of Ravenor , plus a new introduction by Dan Abnett, individual numbering from 1 to just 1,250 (set a reminder now if you want to secure one for yourself), and an autograph from the man himself.

Read Alpharius: Head of the Hydra

Depending on what books and fluff you’ve read, you’re either firmly in the “Alpha Legion are traitors” or the “Alpha Legion are the most brutally loyal of all the legions” camp, or like me, you just love skipping between the two depending on what you add to your body of knowledge about them. You’re never really sure, and this story doesn’t do a tremendous amount to solidify your opinion one way or another, but it does give you the story of how Alpharius was found and what his purpose was. 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. 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.

Alpharius: Head of the Hydra - 4plebs Alpharius: Head of the Hydra - 4plebs

This was Everything I wanted a Primarch book to be. We get a look at some Primarch powers, we get a Primarch to Custodes interaction, we get some depth added to the existing lore, we get a the lore you've been told is wrong, we get interesting Primarch to Primarch interactions, we get Emperor to Primrch, we get Alpha legion being formed and Alpha legion acting like the Alpha legion, we get a deeper look at Crusade structure and interactions , we get some cool battles. The second entry in Warhammer 40,000’s flagship Dawn of Fire series gets the premium treatment with leather-effect binding, including a metallic icon on the front, and a classy ribbon bookmark. You’ll find the full cover art inside, along with two bonus character portraits.

2:45pm: Eisenhorn, and Ravenor, and Bequin, oh my!

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? 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.

Black Library limited editions – Ravenor, Alpharius, and more Black Library limited editions – Ravenor, Alpharius, and more

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?

Dawn of Fire: The Gate of Bones

For the best viewing experience, we recommend using old reddit version - https://old.reddit.com/r/40kLore/ It is full of twists and turns typical of an Alpha Legion story but these surprises truly blew my mind. I also love how the author integrated the all rumours about Alpharius’ origins from the Horus Heresy rulebooks. The Alpha Legion are probably the most mysterious faction in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. Seeing the world through the eyes of their primarch Alpharius in Mike Brooks’ Alpharius: Head of the Hydra is a fun and insightful ride, with some of the secrets and myths of the universe laid just a little more bare … if you can believe a word the narrator says. It perfectly encapsulates the Alpha Legion as a whole and their mentality towards the Imperium as a whole.