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

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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) 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. 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’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 - Mike Brooks - Google Books

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. 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. 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 DetailsThe 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 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 Dagger 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 - Black Library EBOOK: PRIMARCHS: Alpharius: Head of the Hydra - Black Library

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 We get a cameo from the navigator house seen in some of the authors other stories which was a fun wave.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. 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! 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.

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