As befits their shadowy nature, the Alpha Legion have rarely taken a leading role in the Horus Heresy series , and we know surprisingly little about them. Will this novel reveal all or shroud the XX Legion further in secrecy? Let’s see what the blurb has to say. 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. It’s a really good book. The use of Alpharius as first-person narrator works really well- it seems such a natural fit for learning about the character. The scope of the book is more ambitious than others in the series- we get rich snapshots of several parts of the nascent Imperium, and the methods of the Alpha Legion are showcased in suitable fashion. Brooks handles the action scenes well, and Alpharius is charismatic enough while not fully human. By showing us each of his brothers through Alpharius’ eyes, Brooks gives us one of the most convincing sketches of why the Primarchs were created. None of the big ‘reveals’ seem egregious to me, and I savoured the nuggets of lore and tie-ins with other stories.

Alpharius: Head of the Hydra by Mike Brooks | Goodreads Alpharius: Head of the Hydra by Mike Brooks | Goodreads

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. 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. I The Solar War • II The Lost and the Damned • III The First Wall • Sons of the Selenar • IV Saturnine • Fury of Magnus • V Mortis • VI Warhawk • VII Echoes of Eternity • Garro: Knight of Grey • VIII The End and the Death ( Volume I • Volume II • Volume III) 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. 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.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 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 ton of mind-boggling reveals that may or may not be true. And the best explanation of the Imperial Truth conundrum so far:

ALPHARIUS: HEAD/HYDRA Black Library - MP3: PRIMARCHS: ALPHARIUS: HEAD/HYDRA

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. 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? For all it's 80ties metal and coke infused madness, every warhammer 40K fan has to admit that space (werewolf) vikings are just a bit silly. The beauty of warhammer 40K is making you forget that while reading the lore/stories or playing the games. As is the whole cult of the primarchs that sprouted in the legions which made the Horus Heresy possible or the cult of the divine emperor at that. Suspending your disbelief is absolutely obligated when you dive into this crazy sci fi world and setting. But with the Alpha legion, this suddenly is a whole lot less necessary. Their tactics, operations, ethics, mindset and methods feel as an extension of modern contemporary warfare rather then bizarre "just roll with it" warfare most other legions have. An Alpha legionnaire is something like a green beret or american ranger mixed in with some KGB/CIA shenanigans, something I did not fully appreciate until reading this 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 beloved characters of Eisenhorn and Ravenor return, as implacable adversaries in a novel of esoteric mystery, macabre intrigue, and vivid action, where the revelation of true identity could mean death… or might shake the Imperium to its very foundations.

The Warhammer Preview Online: Black Library The Warhammer Preview Online: Black Library

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. A subreddit for the lore and stories encompassing the dark future of the Warhammer 40,000 franchise That’s a lot of new books, so let’s take a closer look at each of these forthcoming titles. Alpharius: Head of the Hydra 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 It perfectly encapsulates the Alpha Legion as a whole and their mentality towards the Imperium as a whole.All we can say is “Waaaagh!”. If you can’t wait to get to grips with Ghazghkull, try the audio drama Saga of the Beast . Sure, it’s from a Space Wolves perspective, but still. Mike Brooks’ Brutal Kunnin’ is another great read for any aspiring warboss. 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. 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?

Alpharius: Head of the Hydra by Mike Brooks | Goodreads

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 does the deception end and the truth begin? Brooks writes a pretty decent primarch—something I see as incredibly difficult to do as they are as a level of intellect above the post-human astartes as the astartes are to us mere humans. Their imagination, innovation, motivators, and such are somewhat removed from our own, but at a base level driven by the same foundational emotional stalwarts: loyalty, friendship, exclusion, jealousy, betrayal. In many of the primarchs, these things are thrown at you with the force of a thunder hammer, but with Alpharius’ blunt, pragmatic, and duplicitous point of view, you can never be sure, and I liked that. 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?