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

I qualified in the title, saying one of the best, but for me, it's THE best.If you're like me and read Legion (Horus Heresy Book 7) and have been chasing that Hydra ever since, this is the book for you.Alpharius is just such a great Primarch. He's such a unique character amongst his brothers. Even though you can't trust a word of this book, it's still worth reading all of them. How often do you get the chance for a demigod to lie to you?I am Alpharius and I do this for the Emperor

I'll add my approval to the rest. Alpharius isn't one of my favorite Primarchs and never been big on the Alpha legion in general but man was this good.This was Everything I wanted a Primarch book to be. We get a look at some Primarch powers, we get a Primarch to Custodes interaction, we get some depth added to the existing lore, we get a the lore you've been told is wrong, we get interesting Primarch to Primarch interactions, we get Emperor to Primrch, we get Alpha legion being formed and Alpha legion acting like the Alpha legion, we get a deeper look at Crusade structure and interactions , we get some cool battles.We get all this in what is ultimately a pretty short book. I literally read the last page and immediately wanted more. The best Primarch novel, and I just read Mortarion so including it too. Honestly most of the Primarch novels have been okay wit a couple of duds, but if you only read one read this one.

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.

Good story, well written, but just too short. Black library charging 10 cents a page for these stories seems like nothing so much as bald faced greed.

Thoroughly enjoyed this work, great writing and story, tons of perfect insights on all the important parts of and pieces of pre heresy Imperium.Really well done!

Prior to reading this work, I had little particular interest in the Primarch of the Alpha Legion, and had not read any of Mike Brooks' work, but whoah, does this book really suck you in. The writing is superb, the development of Apharius' character, his 'humanity' (a surprise of sorts, seeming to all but rival Vulkan), and then the action segments which were fantastic, and the simple construction of the entire story with the famous opening/closing lines... I sure hope this isn't the last we hear from the mysterious Alpha Legion at the hands of Brooks.

An excellent book. NO SPOILERS so read on. Finally getting insight on this dude was great. You get the information on not only his background, but how he thinks and what motivates him. I concur with another reviewer that the author, Mike Brooks, needs to be the solo Alpharius/Alpha Legion author from now on. He really made Alpharius come to life and created the mentality and personality that fits him perfectly. I’ve read a gagillion 40K and Horus Heresy books; this will be a new favorite. Get it, read it, enjoy it.

Let me state i am not an Alpha Legion or Alpharius fan but that has since changed once i read this book. I honestly couldnt put it down. I really liked the First Person narration. It gives insight into how he works. Highly recommend.