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. It's a breath of fresh air from the identity politics and egoism that so often pervades other Astartes. From James Swallow’s Sisters of Battle: The Omnibus to Rachel Harrison’s Mark of Faith and Danie Ware’s novella trilogy, comprising The Bloodied Rose , Wreck and Ruin , and The Rose in Anger , there are loads of books you can read to show your devotion to the God-Emperor. The Swords of Calth is hitting shelves in February as part of the Black Library Celebration – and alongside the novel, you’ll be able to add Captain Uriel Ventris to your Ultramarines collection for the first time with a stunning new model!

Book Review: Alpharius: Head of the Hydra, by Mike Brooks

The miniature depicts Ventris in all his Primaris glory, clad in Mark X armour and bearing all the accoutrements of his office, including the white rose of Pavonis that he earned all the way back in Nightbringer .It perfectly encapsulates the Alpha Legion as a whole and their mentality towards the Imperium as a whole. As he tells of his deeds, bear one thing in mind: nothing can be trusted when it comes from serpent’s mouth.

Alpharius: Head of the Hydra | Book by Mike Brooks | Official

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.

I didn't dig this writing style as much though—some of it felt a bit stiff and accurate to Alpharius's character, but it's not always fun to read. Not too heavy on the bolter usage and action side of things from the outset however the story soon builds and a quest begins. 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. 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: The Horus Heresy Primarchs Alpharius: Head of the Hydra: The Horus Heresy Primarchs

It was clear the author was trying to present Alpharius a certain way but it had the reverse effect for much of the book, it came off nearly masterbatory and was afraid it was going to be more generic bolter porn 'space mahrine best' crap. 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. The reveals start at 2pm (GMT), but the show’s already begun, so join our hosts below – and remember, it’s free to watch, and if you’re a subscriber to our Twitch channel you can join the chat! A good example within the same universe as Alpharius: Head of the Hydra is the mystery of what happened to primarchs II and XI and the online lists of myriad clues fans have pieced together.Avenging Son charted the launch of the Indomitus Crusade and showed the first great battles of Primarch Guilliman’s campaign to retake the Imperium. This entry was posted on Saturday, February 12th, 2022 at 6:46 am and tagged with Alpha Legion, Alpharius, Book Review, Horus Heresy, Review, Warhammer 40k and posted in Editorial. I thought the Omegon reveal in Dan Abnett’s Legion– that the Alpha Legion has not one but twin primarchs who share a soul – was extremely cool, but the notion that the Alpha Legion weren’t really traitors but were kind of maybe on humanity’s side despite working with Horus was so incredibly dumb.