Alpharius: Head of the Hydra

The Horus Heresy: Primarchs #14

by Mike Brooks

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?

Genres: 40k, Science Fiction, Fiction, Audiobook, Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy, Space Opera

202 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 23, 2021

About the author

Mike Brooks was born in Ipswich, Suffolk and moved to Nottingham when he was 18 to go to university. He’s stayed there ever since, and now lives with his wife, two cats, two snakes and a collection of tropical fish. When not working for a homelessness charity he plays guitar and sings in a punk band, watches football (soccer), MMA and nature/science documentaries, goes walking in the Peak District or other areas of splendid scenery, and DJs wherever anyone will tolerate him.

And, y’know, writes.

Reviews

[AA_Logan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Remember that feeling you got when reading the first few titles in the Horus Heresy series, when the setting felt fresh and exhilarating, how every few chapters you’d sit back, astounded by what you’d read and how cleverly the few scraps of fluff that existed prior to the series were knitted together? Read this and you’ll recapture that feeling.

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.

It’s not flawless- an extra 50 pages would really help the pacing of the story; the end portion seems a little rushed, but I’m glad the opening scenes weren’t trimmed. Alpharius is a smug so-and-so, as I guess anyone born with his gifts would be, and that does get a little waring at times, but it’s *his* book and it would feel wrong for him to get his comeuppance in it’s pages.

[Marco Antonio · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a big fan of the Alpha Legion since Dan Abnet's Legion book, I must say I dreaded the idea of an Alpharius book not written by Dan. But let me tell ya, does this book delivers. read it, you will not regret it 🐍

[Az Vera · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely solid WH40k/WH30k read from one of GW's best writers.

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?

Where it really shines is for fans of the genre, we get some extremely good looks at the early days of the Emperor's reign (mid-Unification, pre-Great Crusade), we get a look at one of the most secretive primarchs, and we get some excellent foreshadowing.

If you love the Alpha Legion and it's roots (like me) you'll probably fall head-over-heels for the subterfuge, the 4D hyper chess planning, the intense paranoia.

If you're a big fan of WH30k in general there's a lot of casual stuff from the Primarch that you recognise as linked to later elements of the series. Of course, this is all Alpharius's own record so it's up to you if you believe it.

[Xavier Virsu · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one! Told from the perspective of the Primarch himself it is interesting in many ways. We learn of his impressions of his brothers. We learn more of the Rangdan War and of the Slaugth, two vile, powerful xenos. The Slaugth have powerful tech, more so than the imperium. I was only disappointed in one fashion, I was hoping to learn more of the Alpha Legions betrayal, and why, from the primarchs pov but alas. All in all, wonderful read. The narration of the audiobook was awesome as always.

[Chad · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.25 - Stars

As someone who is still chipping away at the Horus Heresy series and just starting his Alpha Legion army for miniature wargaming, this read was pure joy for me!

[Josh Nobbe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book with a lot of twists and turns like only alpharius would have it especially since the book starts and ends with this is a lie

[Stephan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally a primarch book that actually follows a primarch all the way (and its very good)

[Skywatcher Adept · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best Alpha Legion book ever. Best of all 14 Primarch series books too.
Superb insights into how XX Legion collaborates with mortal humans. How it uses its network of agents to hasten or maintain compliance made by other Legions.
A ton of mind-boggling reveals that may or may not be true. And the best explanation of the Imperial Truth conundrum so far:
"One tends to accept most things my father says. It is not a matter of His word being law, although it unquestionably is. It is more the case that His word is truth. You come to see that, of course, what He has said must be the case. And if it is not, by some standard of measurement, the truth, then you can be sure that steps will be taken to ensure that it becomes true. In such a manner does my father organize the world to His desires."

[Lindsay Kyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

alpharius says gay rights

[RatGrrrl · Rating 5 out of 5]

April 2024 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.

I had such a good time with this one!

I am so glad I didn't read this the first time it was relevant many omnibussies back because I feel like I was in the perfect place to read this after Praetorian of Dorn.

This is a difficult book to summarise without spoiling, so this is going to be extremely vague: This is the story of Alpharius' life up to meeting Horus during the Great Crusade.

With Alpharius and Omegon being so super secretive and unknown it is an absolute joy being told the life story with commentary by Alpharius himself! The tone and insights are so different to other entries in this series as the Primarch of the XX Legion bares all with abandon!

With the Alpha Legion being so shrouded in mystery and their Primarchs being one of the most radically changed aspects of Horus Heresy lore/ canon from its inception and with so little being exposed about the genesires of the Hydra even in the books in the main series oh which they star Brooks, much like Wraight in taking on the White Scars, there was such a blank canvas to work with. Much like Wraight and the Scars, Brooks does a phenomenal job of fleshing out and telling an enthralling and entertaining tale that works perfectly with both the little already known and the fact that so little is known.

I really can't say more than that without some kind of spoiler warning, so if you don't want to know anything please don't read on!

I genuinely found the approach and reveal of the early life and events of Alpharius and the inception of the Alpha Legion to be jaw-dropping and make perfect sense. The retroactive Sam Reich, "I've been here the whole time" is a hell of a gambit and one that often comes off as cheap and forced when I've previously come across it, but Brooks and the shrouded nature of the XX and the machinations of others make it work and fit perfectly and pull it off in style!

I really don't know what else to say here beyond this definitely being in the positive half of this decidedly mixed series. It's not perfect and isn't challenging my undying adoration of Sanguinius: The Great Angel by Chris Wraight, but this is a truly solid, intriguing, and thoroughly entertaining entry.

I just think it's neat and pretty much listened to the whole thing in one sitting playing Chaos Gate: Daemonhunters and had an absolute ball!

It's truly a testament to the quality of Praetorian of Dorn and the effectiveness of the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project Reading Order that I'm actually excited to be reading Dorn's Primarchs book next and then Sigismund's Characters one before the next omnibus.

Through using the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project (www.heresyomnibus.com) and my own choices, I have currently read 29 Horus Heresy novels, 16 novellas (including 2 repeats), 99 short stories/ audio dramas (including 6 repeats), as well as the Macragge's Honour graphic novel, 14 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.

[Troy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was fantastic. I decided to read it when browsing some primarch art work and seen some cool pics of alpharius, his scale blue armour looked so cool and I realized he was one of the few primarchs I didn't know much about yet so grabbed this book. We actually see some of his early years, coming up to his status and training his abilities. We also see many other primarchs and interesting facts on their early years. Majority of the book was written as coming straight from alpharius and his thoughts which was great. We get into his mind. Sadly not all the primarch novels are like this and waste pages on other charecters.

[Sebastiaan Vanbesien · Rating 3 out of 5]

A shot but sweet book. It is a fast paced little book showing the inner workings of the mind of the Alpha Legion’s Primarch..or does it? While a little to short to belong in the great 40K books selection, I still had a great time with it. As always Mike Brooks manages to shuffle in some unexpected humor. Love his writing!

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am Alpharius, this is a lie. I will be honest, I was never really on board for the Alpha legion, the whole I am Alpharius deception was until now never really used properly for my taste; a weak gimmick not a thought out idea, this book finally gives readers much needed insight in the mind of the perhaps most enigmatic of all primarchs.

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?

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.

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.

Alpharius himself is the POV we follow the entirety of the book and although he identifies himself mostly in comparison to his brother primarchs, we do get to know the primarch quite a bit. So for anyone dying to learn that? Well look no further. Having said that, the downside of roughly 2/3 of the book is that if you haven't read quite a bit of warhammer 40K books at this point; you will miss a lot of context. You just have to know who the primarchs are so you can crack a smile at Alpharius's comments and observations.

The above also means that for a sizable part of the book, there is little plot. It is like watching behind the scene footage and your fun will be gained from reading about lore elements you know but from a different perspective. The latter third of the book does develop a plot, namely Alpharius tracking down his twin brother omegon and his reveal to the wider imperium being a ruse and a lie this is fun but could have been fleshed out a little more.

In the end, this book made me appreciate Alpharius as a character a lot more, Mike Brooks made him truly his own man in his oeuvre. If you have read quite a bit of Warhammer 40K lore you will find much to like in here but like me it will probably leave you just a tad bit hungry for more.

[Adam Silverwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book litterally changes my view on the rest of the horus heresy series

I loved it

[Urobros · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me ha encantado. De los mejorcitos de la saga.

[Michael Holliday · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

No end of interesting lore, and an excellent insight into some of the more mysterious Warhammer characters.

[Ario · Rating 4 out of 5]

A compelling story about the Alpha Legion. By far, probably the most fascinating and mysterious of groups/primarch(s?). Are they betrayers or loyalists of the empire? Loved the style of writing and the mental aspect of Alpharius, who's clearly snug and very arrogant - but who wouldn't be, when you dan be so deceitful?

Highly recommended!

[Andrew Alvis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very decent mind-bender, it'll leave you questioning everything.

[Maciek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Story of Alpharius told by Alpharius. Great insight into his discovery, his role, his interactions with big figures, a bunch of lies or a bit of both.
Short, but we get more view from the most secret legion and learn more about some big xeno races that were a big hurdle for the crusade around 30k.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is hands down my favourite Primarchs novel (tied with Slave of Nuceria). The Alpha Legion and their Primarchs have often had some of the best stories and this novel delivers in spades.
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.
I absolutely loved reading this and have reread it since and it’s still an incredible read. And as with any story involving the Alpha Legion, don’t believe everything you read...

[Nick Quenga · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of vignettes more than anything, in the style of the other Primarch novels. A different "feel" than Legion, but still awesome! One of my favorite power moves was in this book, made even better that The Lion didn't even catch it. Maggot men from ACT of Heresy made an appearance.

[Dani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mike Brooks is the greatest author to have graced the Earth

This book, brings decades of lore, scraps of information and twists them, turns them, and delivers a massively complex story, in an engaging fun an insightful way. Alpharius, in his own words. Something once thought impossible, for the Alpha Legion is so inscrutable and mysterious that the risk of revealing too ever present. But Mike stuck the landing beautifully, and gives us the best Warhammer Primarchs novel ever written, and the best Warhammer 40K book to date. Hats of the Mike, this surpasses even Brutal Kunnin'. Their mastery of storytelling and description made it so I could not physically put down this book. I cannot priase it enough.

[Winston · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those books that are full to the brim with world building, tons of important history, and yet it still gets all the little things right. It rightly makes Alpharius feel like the most powerful of the Primarchs by far.

[Evan Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book helps clear up many years worth of speculation while raising even more questions.
It perfectly encapsulates the Alpha Legion as a whole and their mentality towards the Imperium as a whole.
Highly recommended if you like the Alpha Legion or just want to be less confused about the XXth Legion.

[Henry Lopez · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I am Alpharius.
"This is a lie."

That's how the story opens, and it certainly makes you want to turn the page and keep going.

I truly enjoyed this novel. It was the first of the Primarch series that I'd read, but after Dan Abnett's excellent "Legion," I was looking forward to learning more about the XXth legion's mysterious leader.

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.

I highly recommend this book.

This is also a lie.

[Peter Bernhardt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best 40k book I've read since Horus Rising.

[Chris Dennison · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book more than delivers on the promise made when the Primarchs series was announced.
An origin story for Alpharius, the book was very well written and paced, although I can’t help but think another 30 or 40 pages would have helped at the end of the book.

Thoroughly enjoyable throughout.

[Mathias Hoffeld · Rating 2 out of 5]

At the middle of the book, it turns in some way woke and I think very stupid. After the lasts books I begin to dislike Brooks a lot. I don't like that he pushes his opinion about the real world into the story's of WH30k or 40k. Soo the book, beside this, is solid.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Greetings, I am Alpharius.

[Ross Cudmore · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I am Alpharius. This is a lie"

Told in a first-person narrative, the story is both intimate while still remaining myserious, after all as Alpharius says himself: "This is my record. And all the records lie."

The story is framed as recollections of the Alpha Legion's actions during the Great Crusade, broken up by interludes of Alpharius ruminating on various matters, such as the relationship between him and Rogal Dorn.

I really enjoyed Alpharius' examination onlf his father, and getting his perspective on Malcador. Malcador has become one of my favourite characters of the Heresy, a man who wages a silent war in the shadows, who will go to any length to protect the Imperium. There were always a lot of parallels to be drawn between Alpharius and Malcador, and Brookes develops that in this story as we learn Malcador was Alpharius' teacher.

Valdor also makes an appearance. The book giving us quite a few details on the development of the Imperial Palace in the early days of the Great Crusade. Quite a few of the events mentioned in this book take place in the novel "Constantin Valdor: Birth of the Imperium".

Indeed, quite a few events from other stories reoccur here. We get to see another side of the meeting between the Dark Angels and Alpha Legion during the Rangdan Xenocide, which was first detected in the short story "First Legion" in the anthology "Scions of the Emperor". We also get to see Alpharius' perspective on Dorn's chastisement as seen in "Praetorian of Dorn".

That the story slots in so well between so many other stories is something I really admire. It feels like Brooks has a lot of knowledge of the Heresy and used it to his advantage to craft a story dense with lore and new perspectives.

What I found particularly interesting was the first meeting of Alpharius and Omegon. So similar and at the same time so different. Omegon to me seems to be the harsher and darker brother. I would also speculate that it was Omegon who died fighting Dorn. After all the Pale Spear is his weapon first and foremost. Of course in this book it was revealed that "Alpharius" is actually Omegon. Which just seems to make the whole thing even more confusing.

The story introduces some pretty substantial devleopments of the lore. Alpharius is revealed to have been the first Primarch to be discovered. A fact kept secret even from Horus and all the other Primarchs. This helps explain Alpharius' wide-ranging influence across the Imperium, he was seeding his agents and setting plans in motions during the entire period of the Great Crusade. Some of his agents even played a role in tracking down his brothers, moving across the stars anf encountering worlds ruled by beings who were surely crafted by the Emperor.

Another piece of lore is that accroding to Malacador Alpharius was not intended to be the knife in the dark, the secret shield. Which raises the question of what role Alpharius was intended to play. I suspect there isn't really an answer to that question, and it's more of an off the cuff piece of dialogue to fuel fan speculation, but it is interesting to consider. So many of the Primarch's seem to form an opinion on their role as if it is set in stone, unchangeable. But maybe that stems more from their attitudes than the will of the Emperor. Is Russ the Emperor's Executioner by the will of the Emperor, or because Russ believes he must be so? Etc.

We also get an in-depth description of the first "Blood Games" which was not carried out by a member of the Legio Custodes, but by Alpharius, seeking to highlight the weaknesses in the Palace's defences.



Overall an amazing story that fits in really well with the other Alpha Legion stories, particularly Praetoeian of Dorn.