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

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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. 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’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.

Book Review: Alpharius: Head of the Hydra, by Mike Brooks

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? I Horus Rising • II False Gods • III Galaxy in Flames • IV The Flight of the Eisenstein • V Fulgrim • VI Descent of Angels • VII Legion • VIII Battle for the Abyss • IX Mechanicum • X Tales of Heresy • XI Fallen Angels • XII A Thousand Sons • XIII Nemesis • XIV The First Heretic • XV Prospero Burns • XVI Age of Darkness • XVII The Outcast Dead • XVIII Deliverance Lost • XIX Know No Fear • XX The Primarchs • XXI Fear to Tread • XXII Shadows of Treachery • XXIII Angel Exterminatus • XXIV Betrayer • XXV Mark of Calth • XXVI Vulkan Lives • XXVII The Unremembered Empire • XXVIII Scars • XXIX Vengeful Spirit • XXX The Damnation of Pythos • XXXI Legacies of Betrayal • XXXII Deathfire • XXXIII War Without End • XXXIV Pharos • XXXV Eye of Terra • XXXVI The Path of Heaven • XXXVII The Silent War • XXXVIII Angels of Caliban • XXXIX Praetorian of Dorn • XL Corax • XLI The Master of Mankind • XLII Garro • XLIII Shattered Legions • XLIV The Crimson King • XLV Tallarn • XLVI Ruinstorm • XLVII Old Earth • XLVIII The Burden of Loyalty • XLIX Wolfsbane • L Born of Flame • LI Slaves to Darkness • LII Heralds of the Siege • LIII Titandeath • LIV The Buried DaggerA 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 PDF / EPUB File Name: Alpharius__Head_of_the_Hydra_-_Mike_Brooks.pdf, Alpharius__Head_of_the_Hydra_-_Mike_Brooks.epub 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. 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.

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

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. 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. 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!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.