The Serpent Beneath

The Horus Heresy #Novella

by Rob Sanders

When your entire existence is based around deceit, who can you trust? That's the question that plagues Omegon, one of the twin primarchs of the Alpha Legion, as he prepares a team of elite operatives for the most difficult and dangerous mission any of the Alpha Legion have ever attempted to infiltrate a secret installation controlled by the Alpha Legion itself!

Read it because
It's as much of an insight into the secretive practices of the Alpha Legion and the differing agendas of their shadowy leaders as you're likely to get... assuming that you can trust any of it, of course!

Genres: Science Fiction, 40k, Novella, Audiobook

101 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 2012

About the author

Rob Sanders is the author of twelve novels, as well as numerous anthologised short stories, novellas, audio dramas, computer games and comics. His fiction has won national writing competitions, been featured on the BBC and appeared on the New York Times Best Seller list. His poetry has been short listed in national contests. He lives off the beaten track in the small city of Lincoln, UK.

Reviews

[Arnis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Primarks – būtne, kura ir ne tikai skaistāka, spēcīgāka, gudrāka un visādi citādi pārāka par parastu mirstīgo, bet arīdzan pār superkaravīriem astartes. Viņiem šie superkaravīri būtu jāiedvesmo uz varoņdarbiem, uz Diženā Krusta kara un cilvēces reiz kolonizēto planētu atkalapvienošanu ar cilvēci, bet ne visi Primarki, reiz izkaisīti pa Visumu, ir vienās domās, ne visi Primarki ir vienlīdz lojāli Imperatoram.

https://poseidons99.wordpress.com/202...

[RatGrrrl · Rating 4 out of 5]

April 2024 Re-Read using the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project Reading Order Omnibus XV Scale and Stone (https://www.heresyomnibus.com/omnibus...) as part of my Oath of Moment to complete the Horus Heresy saga and extras.

The Alpha Legion are the self-stylesd mystery wrapped in an enigma and only more so after experiencing the Acuity during the events of Legion. Set around the time of the reveal at the end of Deliverance Lost, Omegon cranks up the Steven Soderbergh filter and gets his Danny Ocean on for the archetypal Horus Heresy heist, Omegon Army style...

In Alpha Legion Primarch drives you.

I went back and forth on this one a little bit, but it's undoubtedly well written and thought out in a way that not all Warhammer military and espionage stories don't necessarily pull off and there are some really great scenes, which made me realise the problem is more one with me and personal taste. I still had a good time, despite this style of story being less my thing, so that's reflected in the score.

When I describe something as competent it is usually to Exterminatus it with faint praise, but applied to this it's a compliment. It's just undeniably good and well done, I think I just want more of the tragic knife twisting of the fraternal kerfuffling that the Hydra manage to make 18/19 bickering brothers look like nothing.

Through using the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project (www.heresyomnibus.com) and my own choices, I have currently read 28 Horus Heresy novels, 15 novellas (including 1 repeat), 95 short stories/ audio dramas (including 6 repeats), as well as the Macragge's Honour graphic novel, 13 Primarchs novels, 4 Primarchs short stories/ audio dramas, and 2 Warhammer 40K further reading novels and a short story...this run. I can't say enough good about the way the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project suggestions. I'm loving it! Especially after originally reading to the releases and being so frustrated at having to wait so long for a narrative to continue.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a brilliant short story for the Alpha Legion and leads to more questions about the extent of the Twin Primarchs’ divided loyalties and that of the Legion itself.
The story reads as a heist story, full of planning and set up and then the operation itself, with subsequent plot twists and surprises.
I never tire of reading it - it’s always fun.

[David Guymer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent - even on a second read-through

[Gamer Gamersson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great example of a decent book elevated to great by a fantastic ending. This entire review will contain spoilers because, in classic Alpha Legion fashion, you can't talk about anything concerning them without unraveling their web of lies a little.

The concept of the book is really cool: the Alpha Legion must infiltrate a base controlled by the Alpha Legion in order to plug a problematic leak. Queue a montage of assembling a ragtag team of operatives and legionaries for the task, only to - surprise surprise - kill them off at the end, to keep the secrets contained. Fairly predictable structure, in that sense, but it does feature some pretty fun characters (Xalmagundi is a particular highlight). Most action scenes are nothing special, and the constant "but they had yet to trigger their trap card!" was a little boring to me, but these don't last nearly enough to damage the story too much.

What was not predictable to me was the fact that Omegon made up a reason for the base to be destroyed, in reality acting against his brother's plans, presumably to bring about a different future than the one desired by the Cabal. Really cool revelation, and a really interesting wrench thrown into an already complex scheming legion.

[Urgewyrm · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had read this initially in 'The Primarchs' compilation and it just sort of blended together with the other not-exactly-stellar stories in that book.

Upon re-reading it, it should have stuck out more. Demiurg! Alpha Legion on Alpha Legion! Is Omegon a goodie or a baddie?

Well, it doesn't answer that question but definitely asks them VERY LOUDLY and give you pause as to what's REALLY going on.

I am Alpharius.

[Lucas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally. A worthy successor of Legion. Although, at times, a bit dry, this one was a classic Alpha Legion story. Seeing the Hydra devouring itself was very interesting and intriguing. With a fun ending that was surprising but also well foreshadowed. If a few of the dry sections had been changed up a bit this easily would be 5 stars.

[Jorge Carmona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una novela muy de la legion alfa vs legion alfa sin duda para todos los que son fanáticos de esta legión una novela imperdible, tuve que leerla 3 veces para entender muy bien que quieran hacer en esta legión.

Aquí me entere que Omegon prácticamente es el leal en secreto y alpharius el traidor, muy buena.

[Joanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Rob · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novella is an absolutely brilliant exploration of the underhanded ways of the (quite brilliant) Alpha Legion. A must read if you are a fan of the series!

[Stephan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love me my Alpha legion.

I've read a few stories with the mysterious Alpha legion and how they use and manipulate information to their own ends. Usually the stories contains very complex schemes, traps, covert operatives, sleeper agents and infiltration. It's usualy a very interesting and fun read. Especially since you're not quite certain which side they're working for.
This story's not an exception. The difference here is that this time the Alpha legions target is a secret installation held by no other Legion than... the Alpha legion.
There's quite a few very cool twists to the story as well as action and suspence. Easily one of the best portrayals of the Legion in my eyes.

[Ross Cudmore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some great Alpha Legion action as they infiltrate ... an Alpha Legion outpost?

Dramatic action with a lot of greats twists that you expect from the Alpha Legion.

[Garry · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Serpent Beneath by Rob Sanders is a Horus Heresy novella filled with twists and turns that do great justice to the methods and spirit of the Alpha Legion. Not since Dan Abnett's novel Legion has their been a story of convoluted intrigue, mis-direction and lies.

While Alpharius is busy elsewhere, his brother Omegon takes centre stage in this story. A leak has been detected at the covert Tenebrae installation and Omegon is concerned enough to decide the installation and everyone involved with the project there must be destroyed.

Involving kidnapping, infiltration lies and deciet, the Alpha Legion is shown at it's very best when fighting their own. Rogue psykers, Xenos automata, confusion and at times brute force are all used to achieve the mission objectives.

A gripping tale with an amazing twist at the end will leave the reader wondering if anything regarding the XX Legion is real/true.

[Dylan Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

By Slaanesh, I thought the Emperor's Children novella was awesome, but this one really takes the cake! I really like the HH take on the Alpha Legion, the super secret covert operations and whatnot, and this novella was a perfect example of that. The story was told perfectly, the characterisation was awesome(for most of the characters being Alpharius), and the twist, oh man, I did not see that coming! Though I really, REALLY, should have! I like the implications this has for the AL as a whole as well, and it is really setting the stones for some works later on, such as Scars. Anyways, amazing novella, I hope they release it as a stand alone hardcover, because I'd buy the shit out of it just to get it specifically signed by Rob!

[Michael Dodd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally released alongside three other Horus Heresy novellas in the New York Times bestselling The Primarchs anthology, The Serpent Beneath by Rob Sanders is a tale of tangled loyalties as the Alpha Legion goes up against…the Alpha Legion. Fearing a security breach at a secret Legion installation, Omegon and a small group of Legionaries infiltrate the mysterious Tenebrae 9-50 array in order to plug the leak, permanently. In true XXth Legion fashion however, things aren’t quite what they seem – plenty of surprises await Omegon and his men during the course of the mission.

Read the rest of the review at https://trackofwords.wordpress.com/20...