Alpharius: Head of the Hydra: The Horus Heresy Primarchs, Book 14

This has easily been - for me at least - the crowning jewel of the primarch novels.

Having been a HH and warhammer fan for over 20 years, I've come accustomed to the wide variety of books, writing styles and quality on offer. I know a lot of reviews are based on personal taste, and to a degree all books have a marmite quality to them. Personally this is one of my favourite Primarch novels. The alpha legion are enigmas wrapped in a mystery and this book lends insight into perhaps the least public Primarch. The author has done an amazing job of fleshing out the titular character and somehow lending human quality whilst maintaining the Astartes glamour. I was also delighted with the link to the Valador novel (another excellent edition) BL need to keep this calibre of story coming.

Started it just before Christmas and finished it just before Christmas. A good read. A little short but satisfying all the same and we learnt a few facts about the Alpha Legion or did we? The Snake lies, a lot.

Interested in Alpha legion? then this will be a 10/10 book for you. Alpharius' development and exploits in the early days. Unfortunately like most Alpha Legion inclusions one is left with more questions then answers.

Insight into the most mysterious and least well known legion. But also a few interesting titbits about some of the other better known characters in the Horus heresy era storyline. Every time I come across the Alpha legion I like them more and more.

Couldn’t put this down, by far one of the best Primarch books so far.For I am also AlphariusBut that is also a lie..

Genuinely brilliant. Read Voldor ‘birth of the imperium’ first then this. (They tie in nicely)I’ve read loads of warhammer 40k. This is interesting and worthy of reading but………..it’s Alpharius and his legion. Will you believe him(The whole thing with his brother gets explained, nuff said)

Very well written, a great exploration of the history of the most secretive of the Emperor's Son's. You'll finish the book with as many questions as answers, but hey, it's a book about Alpharius.What else would you expect?

La historia nos rebela la forma de pensar del primarca Alpharius, sus origenes, su desarrollo y el encuentro que tanto estuvo anelando. Lo recomiendo mucho si te interesa la historia de los primarcas y quieres conocer mas sobre su forma de ser y de pensar. No todo es lo que parece.

Overall pretty good writing and even though this is the Alpha Legion and Alpharius being written about, a fairly straight forward, but enjoyable, plot. {Spoilers} The book is told from the perspective of Alpharius, and later Omegon, and we learn that Alpharius has been around much longer than the previous lore, and the other Primarchs, led us to believe. Alpharius takes us through his memories from the moment he crash landed on Terra (Yes, Terra) up through his early training and then his covert activities during the Great Crusade. Mike Brooks throws in some connectors to other early Imperium novels like Valdor: Birth of the Imperium, and the HH books, but overall focuses on Alpharius' perspective and opinions of the the Crusade and his brothers. Lastly, Alpharius then finds out about his twin and embarks on a journey to recover him behind Xenos lines. Enough said. Too much good stuff! This book really does cement the Alpha Legion's role as the Covert Specialists and their burden as the true protectors of the Imperium, whatever the cost, which Alpharius and Omegon are truly aware of. Must read to understand the tragedy of the Primarchs even more.

Perfect summary of the XXth Legion, a delight to read and a new look into Warhammer 40k from an unconventional few.

arrived damaged , even its replacement , the packaging is lacking in protection.

The content of the book itself and the quality of the physical book is stellar. My copy was a bit damaged, so I'm not giving it 5 stars.