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I've been trying to find books that talk about and have primarchs as main characters mostly within the horus heresy. What I was wondering is whether or not you guys could help me out with this?
I need books involving Dorn, Leman Russ, Ferrus Manus, Mortarion, Alpharius, Corvus Corax, Konrad Curze and the Khan. What books would be best for reading about these giant clone weirdos in space?
Ratius wrote: Deliverance Lost features a good amount on Corax (but an average read overall).
"Corax" is a collection of tales (anthology) about him in general.
Scars focuses on the White Scars but Khan isnt in it a huge amount iirc.
Brotherhood of the Storm also features Khan (havent read that one yet).
Ferrus is in book 2 and 3 quite a lot and also features in Fulgrim iirc.
Curze is scattered a lot throughout books - cant name one that has him as the main actor Im afraid.
Thanks, I'll check out Corax. I think Konrad is one of the primarchs I am least interested in because he seems like a generic super villain with a cruel streak.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
EmpNortonII wrote: Alpharius and his Legion get some timein Book 8 of the HH series. Don't recall the name, but pretty sure it was book 8.
Alright i'll check that out. Aren't Dorn and Alpharius in praetorian of Dorn? I know for sure Dorn is since he is on the cover i'm just not sure if the Alpha legionnaire on the cover is a primarch or not.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2018/01/08 19:29:22
EmpNortonII wrote: Alpharius and his Legion get some timein Book 8 of the HH series. Don't recall the name, but pretty sure it was book 8.
Alright i'll check that out. Aren't Dorn and Alpharius in praetorian of Dorn? I know for sure Dorn is since he is on the cover i'm just not sure if the Alpha legionnaire on the cover is a primarch or not.
It is Alpharius. All Alpha Legionaries are Alpharius.
You won't find much information about Alpharius. And what you will find is highly likely to be not true. Alpharius is meant to be a mysterious character about whom virtually nothing is known for certain, much like the Alpha Legion itself.
Alpharius wrote: Yes, Alpharius is indeed in that book, the worst in the entire HH series!!!!
I know you like Alpharius Alpharius, but Prospero Burns is the worst.
No. The story of Prospero and the tragedy of the Thousand Sons is actually a somewhat good story. Praetorian of Dorn is just... anticlimactic. The less is said of it the better.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2018/01/08 23:11:21
EmpNortonII wrote: Alpharius and his Legion get some timein Book 8 of the HH series. Don't recall the name, but pretty sure it was book 8.
Alright i'll check that out. Aren't Dorn and Alpharius in praetorian of Dorn? I know for sure Dorn is since he is on the cover i'm just not sure if the Alpha legionnaire on the cover is a primarch or not.
It is Alpharius. All Alpha Legionaries are Alpharius.
You won't find much information about Alpharius. And what you will find is highly likely to be not true. Alpharius is meant to be a mysterious character about whom virtually nothing is known for certain, much like the Alpha Legion itself.
Alpharius wrote: Yes, Alpharius is indeed in that book, the worst in the entire HH series!!!!
I know you like Alpharius Alpharius, but Prospero Burns is the worst.
No. The story of Prospero and the tragedy of the Thousand Sons is actually a somewhat good story. Praetorian of Dorn is just... anticlimactic. The less is said of it the better.
I know you like Alpharius Alpharius, but Prospero Burns is the worst. No. The story of Prospero and the tragedy of the Thousand Sons is actually a somewhat good story. Praetorian of Dorn is just... anticlimactic. The less is said of it the better.
The side of the tragedy of the Thousand Sons that focused on the Thousand Sons was a good story, the Space Wolves side of it was not, to me. Praetorian of Dorn was a good book, and I like both of the Legions.
@Luminous, Praetorian of Dorn is a perfectly fine book, but some people rail against it because something they personally didnt like happened in it.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2018/01/08 23:48:46
I know you like Alpharius Alpharius, but Prospero Burns is the worst.
No. The story of Prospero and the tragedy of the Thousand Sons is actually a somewhat good story. Praetorian of Dorn is just... anticlimactic. The less is said of it the better.
The side of the tragedy of the Thousand Sons that focused on the Thousand Sons was a good story, the Space Wolves side of it was not, to me. Praetorian of Dorn was a good book, and I like both of the Legions.
@Luminous, Praetorian of Dorn is a perfectly fine book, but some people rail against it because something they personally didnt like happened in it.
Fairly certain I know what you are talking about. I think I'll check it out since it has two primarchs I need to read about for the price of one. Kind of like how ruinstorm had 4. Is The Path of Heaven good for the Khan?
I know you like Alpharius Alpharius, but Prospero Burns is the worst. No. The story of Prospero and the tragedy of the Thousand Sons is actually a somewhat good story. Praetorian of Dorn is just... anticlimactic. The less is said of it the better.
The side of the tragedy of the Thousand Sons that focused on the Thousand Sons was a good story, the Space Wolves side of it was not, to me. Praetorian of Dorn was a good book, and I like both of the Legions.
@Luminous, Praetorian of Dorn is a perfectly fine book, but some people rail against it because something they personally didnt like happened in it.
Fairly certain I know what you are talking about. I think I'll check it out since it has two primarchs I need to read about for the price of one. Kind of like how ruinstorm had 4. Is The Path of Heaven good for the Khan?
I've personally not read Path of Heaven, but I have not heard a single bad review of it. And personally I'll believe it, I've liked all of Chris Wright's books so far.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2018/01/09 04:54:25
Dakka does have White Knights and is also rather infamous for it's Black Knights. A new edition brings out the passionate and not all of them are good at expressing themselves in written form. There have been plenty of hysterical responses from both sides so far. So we descend into pointless bickering with neither side listening to each other. So posting here becomes more masturbation than conversation.
ERJAK wrote: Forcing a 40k player to keep playing 7th is basically a hate crime.
Galas wrote: Whats the problem with Burning of Prospero?
There is none, it's a great book.. EXCEPT...it was billed as the "soace wolves sides of the sack of prospero" but 75% of the book was stuff before it. so I think a lotta people felt they didn't get what they where expecting.
Opinions are not facts please don't confuse the two
I wasnt fond of the pacing, or Abnett's focus on a non-Legionary again.
Dont get me wrong, I enjoyed some of his focus on Hawser, I just thought there was too much of him and not enough of the Legion (just like in Legion). Too me it felt like he introduced the Fenrisian Character at the beginning so that we could get a break from him (and from the Aspirant). But then he seemed to forget that he even bothered with that character until the last 50 pages of the book. I didn't mind there being a bunch of focus on the Pre-Burning things, that was how A Thousand Sons was. A Thousand Sons was great and Prospero Burns was a disappointment. I want to give it another chance though as its been some time since I read it, but it just completely put me off
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2018/01/09 04:59:44
VictorVonTzeentch wrote: I wasnt fond of the pacing, or Abnett's focus on a non-Legionary again.
Dont get me wrong, I enjoyed some of his focus on Hawser, I just thought there was too much of him and not enough of the Legion (just like in Legion). Too me it felt like he introduced the Fenrisian Character at the beginning so that we could get a break from him (and from the Aspirant). But then he seemed to forget that he even bothered with that character until the last 50 pages of the book. I didn't mind there being a bunch of focus on the Pre-Burning things, that was how A Thousand Sons was. A Thousand Sons was great and Prospero Burns was a disappointment. I want to give it another chance though as its been some time since I read it, but it just completely put me off
I've found the non-Legionary prespective to be a common one in the HH books though, I think it's a way to explain the legions cultures etc to each of us by giving us an outside prespective, allowing the chars to ask questions for us that a legionnare would not
Opinions are not facts please don't confuse the two
Prince of Crows if i remember correctly, is a pretty good one about Curze, actually does a little to flesh out why he is what he is.
Brotherhood of the storm, Again if i remember correctly, isnt so much about Khan as it is about what the White scars are, i really liked it.
I know you like Alpharius Alpharius, but Prospero Burns is the worst. No. The story of Prospero and the tragedy of the Thousand Sons is actually a somewhat good story. Praetorian of Dorn is just... anticlimactic. The less is said of it the better.
The side of the tragedy of the Thousand Sons that focused on the Thousand Sons was a good story, the Space Wolves side of it was not, to me. Praetorian of Dorn was a good book, and I like both of the Legions.
@Luminous, Praetorian of Dorn is a perfectly fine book, but some people rail against it because something they personally didnt like happened in it.
No, Praetorian of Dorn is not bad because of what happened in it, it is bad because of the way that the events that happened within it were not treated well.
Don't read if you have not read Praetorian of Dorn:
Spoiler:
Obviously, the major issue with Praetorian of Dorn is the death of Alpharius. Now there is nothing wrong with a primarch dying. My favourite primarch is Sanguinius, and his death is an epic, character-establishing moment. The same goes for Ferrus and Curze, the other primarchs that die. Their deaths have a massive impact on their legions as well. The deaths of Sanguinius and Ferrus are to a large part what make the Blood Angels and Iron Hands into what they are. The death of these primarchs are major events that form one of the climactic high points of the Horus Heresy narrative. The death of Alpharius on the other hand is a completely forgettable, unnecessary (from a narrative pov. the role of Alpharius in Praetorian of Dorn could have been served by any generic Alpha Legion commander.) and inconsequential event. It is the big climax Praetorian of Dorn builds up towards, and the buildup is quite decent, but then it fails to deliver. The climax is not climactic. The whole book is basically a huge anticlimax. That is why it is a bad story. The death of a primarch should be a huge, consequential event in the Horus Heresy. You should not be able to threat it as a throwaway mention of 'Oh yeah, and Alpharius also died, for real this time. Not that anything changes because Omegon takes over.' Praetorian of Dorn should have had expanded much more upon the conflict and battle between Dorn and Alpharius, and the subsequent death of Alpharius should have been much more consequential for the story of the Horus Heresy. It should have been one of the defining moments of the Heresy, like the Dropsite Massacre and the Battle of Terra were. But it was not. That is why Praetorian of Dorn is so bad. The author was handed this amazing opportunity to establish a defining moment in the story of the Heresy, and he completely failed to deliver.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2018/01/09 12:19:00
I know you like Alpharius Alpharius, but Prospero Burns is the worst.
No. The story of Prospero and the tragedy of the Thousand Sons is actually a somewhat good story. Praetorian of Dorn is just... anticlimactic. The less is said of it the better.
The side of the tragedy of the Thousand Sons that focused on the Thousand Sons was a good story, the Space Wolves side of it was not, to me. Praetorian of Dorn was a good book, and I like both of the Legions.
@Luminous, Praetorian of Dorn is a perfectly fine book, but some people rail against it because something they personally didnt like happened in it.
No, Praetorian of Dorn is not bad because of what happened in it, it is bad because of the way that the events that happened within it were not treated well.
Don't read if you have not read Praetorian of Dorn:
Spoiler:
Obviously, the major issue with Praetorian of Dorn is the death of Alpharius. Now there is nothing wrong with a primarch dying. My favourite primarch is Sanguinius, and his death is an epic, character-establishing moment. The same goes for Ferrus and Curze, the other primarchs that die. Their deaths have a massive impact on their legions as well. The deaths of Sanguinius and Ferrus are to a large part what make the Blood Angels and Iron Hands into what they are. The death of these primarchs are major events that form one of the climactic high points of the Horus Heresy narrative. The death of Alpharius on the other hand is a completely forgettable, unnecessary (from a narrative pov. the role of Alpharius in Praetorian of Dorn could have been served by any generic Alpha Legion commander.) and inconsequential event. It is the big climax Praetorian of Dorn builds up towards, and the buildup is quite decent, but then it fails to deliver. The climax is not climactic. The whole book is basically a huge anticlimax. That is why it is a bad story. The death of a primarch should be a huge, consequential event in the Horus Heresy. You should not be able to threat it as a throwaway mention of 'Oh yeah, and Alpharius also died, for real this time. Not that anything changes because Omegon takes over.' Praetorian of Dorn should have had expanded much more upon the conflict and battle between Dorn and Alpharius, and the subsequent death of Alpharius should have been much more consequential for the story of the Horus Heresy. It should have been one of the defining moments of the Heresy, like the Dropsite Massacre and the Battle of Terra were. But it was not. That is why Praetorian of Dorn is so bad. The author was handed this amazing opportunity to establish a defining moment in the story of the Heresy, and he completely failed to deliver.
I am perfectly willing to disregard Praetorian of Dorn if it is that badly handled but that would mean I would need another book for Dorn and Alpharius. Do you have any suggestions?
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2018/01/09 12:34:44
I am perfectly willing to disregard Praetorian of Dorn if it is that badly handled but that would mean I would need another book for Dorn and Alpharius. Do you have any suggestions?
There is very little written about Dorn, mostly because Dorn stayed on Terra throughout the Heresy and did not play a very large role until the end (which point the narrative of the series hasn't reached yet). He appears in Old Earth and Flight of the Eisenstein. Also in the Last Remembrancer, iirc. He is not a main character in any book however, not even in Praetorian of Dorn. He does get the most facetime in Praetorian of Dorn however, so if you want to read about Dorn (or Alpharius) and can't wait until the later books that will feature him, I would recommend picking it up. The book is not a bad read at all. Just prepare to be left feeling confused and disappointed by the ending.
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2018/01/09 12:40:05
I am perfectly willing to disregard Praetorian of Dorn if it is that badly handled but that would mean I would need another book for Dorn and Alpharius. Do you have any suggestions?
There is very little written about Dorn, mostly because Dorn stayed on Terra throughout the Heresy and did not play a very large role until the end (which point the narrative of the series hasn't reached yet).
He appears in Old Earth and Flight of the Eisenstein. Also in the Last Remembrancer, iirc. He is not a main character in any book however, not even in Praetorian of Dorn. He does get the most facetime in Praetorian of Dorn however, so if you want to read about Dorn (or Alpharius) and can't wait until the later books that will feature him, I would recommend picking it up. The book is not a bad read at all. Just prepare to be left feeling confused and disappointed by the ending.
What about Horus rising? That is one I own but have not read yet. I understand he appears within that story but I am unsure to what extent.
I am perfectly willing to disregard Praetorian of Dorn if it is that badly handled but that would mean I would need another book for Dorn and Alpharius. Do you have any suggestions?
There is very little written about Dorn, mostly because Dorn stayed on Terra throughout the Heresy and did not play a very large role until the end (which point the narrative of the series hasn't reached yet).
He appears in Old Earth and Flight of the Eisenstein. Also in the Last Remembrancer, iirc. He is not a main character in any book however, not even in Praetorian of Dorn. He does get the most facetime in Praetorian of Dorn however, so if you want to read about Dorn (or Alpharius) and can't wait until the later books that will feature him, I would recommend picking it up. The book is not a bad read at all. Just prepare to be left feeling confused and disappointed by the ending.
What about Horus rising? That is one I own but have not read yet. I understand he appears within that story but I am unsure to what extent.
Definitely read Horus rising, theres only a small bit of Dorn in there- but its good ( I think, as an IF player), same goes for the flight of the Eisenstein.
VictorVonTzeentch wrote: I wasnt fond of the pacing, or Abnett's focus on a non-Legionary again.
Dont get me wrong, I enjoyed some of his focus on Hawser, I just thought there was too much of him and not enough of the Legion (just like in Legion). Too me it felt like he introduced the Fenrisian Character at the beginning so that we could get a break from him (and from the Aspirant). But then he seemed to forget that he even bothered with that character until the last 50 pages of the book. I didn't mind there being a bunch of focus on the Pre-Burning things, that was how A Thousand Sons was. A Thousand Sons was great and Prospero Burns was a disappointment. I want to give it another chance though as its been some time since I read it, but it just completely put me off
I've found the non-Legionary prespective to be a common one in the HH books though, I think it's a way to explain the legions cultures etc to each of us by giving us an outside prespective, allowing the chars to ask questions for us that a legionnare would not
Having a non-Legionary perspective is not the issue on its own though, as you say most of the books have them. The issue was that the non-Legionary is for the most part the only perspective we are treated to in the book. We see how the Legionaries view themselves only through Hawser's eyes and even then that felt ultimately limited by a large portion of the book focusing entirely on Hawser's past (which was important to the reveal) but still felt bloated and took up an unnecessarily large portion of the book with little respite from it.
I know you like Alpharius Alpharius, but Prospero Burns is the worst.
No. The story of Prospero and the tragedy of the Thousand Sons is actually a somewhat good story. Praetorian of Dorn is just... anticlimactic. The less is said of it the better.
The side of the tragedy of the Thousand Sons that focused on the Thousand Sons was a good story, the Space Wolves side of it was not, to me. Praetorian of Dorn was a good book, and I like both of the Legions.
@Luminous, Praetorian of Dorn is a perfectly fine book, but some people rail against it because something they personally didnt like happened in it.
No, Praetorian of Dorn is not bad because of what happened in it, it is bad because of the way that the events that happened within it were not treated well.
Don't read if you have not read Praetorian of Dorn:
Spoiler:
Obviously, the major issue with Praetorian of Dorn is the death of Alpharius. Now there is nothing wrong with a primarch dying. My favourite primarch is Sanguinius, and his death is an epic, character-establishing moment. The same goes for Ferrus and Curze, the other primarchs that die. Their deaths have a massive impact on their legions as well. The deaths of Sanguinius and Ferrus are to a large part what make the Blood Angels and Iron Hands into what they are. The death of these primarchs are major events that form one of the climactic high points of the Horus Heresy narrative. The death of Alpharius on the other hand is a completely forgettable, unnecessary (from a narrative pov. the role of Alpharius in Praetorian of Dorn could have been served by any generic Alpha Legion commander.) and inconsequential event. It is the big climax Praetorian of Dorn builds up towards, and the buildup is quite decent, but then it fails to deliver. The climax is not climactic. The whole book is basically a huge anticlimax. That is why it is a bad story. The death of a primarch should be a huge, consequential event in the Horus Heresy. You should not be able to threat it as a throwaway mention of 'Oh yeah, and Alpharius also died, for real this time. Not that anything changes because Omegon takes over.' Praetorian of Dorn should have had expanded much more upon the conflict and battle between Dorn and Alpharius, and the subsequent death of Alpharius should have been much more consequential for the story of the Horus Heresy. It should have been one of the defining moments of the Heresy, like the Dropsite Massacre and the Battle of Terra were. But it was not. That is why Praetorian of Dorn is so bad. The author was handed this amazing opportunity to establish a defining moment in the story of the Heresy, and he completely failed to deliver.
I thought they were treated fine, a little underwhelming but ultimately fine particularly considering that since this is a series we may yet still see the ramifications of the later portion of the book. It felt like set up, to get people saying 'Wait what? That's it?" to drag you into ultimately rushing out to get the next one that touches on the Imperial Fists and Alpha Legion.
Going through my HH books again - The Silent War anthology book has several stories featuring Dorn/Malcador.
About 3 iirc in the book.
Decent enough read too.
Dman137 wrote:
goobs is all you guys will ever be
By 1-irt: Still as long as Hissy keeps showing up this is one of the most entertaining threads ever.
I think it might be quicker to list the HH books that do not include a Primarch
Here are the books that most strongly detail a Primarch's character. They may well turn up in other books but those tend to be cameos. The books below are "core arc" stories.
Johnsons: Descent of Angels, Fallen Angels, Unremembered Empire, Angels of Caliban, Ruinstorm, various compilations.
Fulgrim: Fulgrim, Angel Exterminatus, various compilations
Perturabo: Angel Exterminatus, various compilations
Jaghati Khan: Scars, Path of Heaven,
Leman Russ: Prospero Burns
Rogal Dorn: Praetorian of Dorn, various compilations
Konrad Kurze: Vulkan Lives, Unremembered Empire, Angels of Caliban, various compilations
Sanguinius: Fear to Tread, Unremembered Empire, Angels of Caliban, Ruinstorm, various compilations.
Ferrus Manus: Fulgrim, various compilations.
Angron: Betrayer, various compilations.
Roboute Guilliman: Know no Fear, Unremembered Empire, Angels of Caliban, Ruinstorm, various compilations.
Mortarion: Flight of the Eisenstein, Scars, Daemonology, Vengeful Spirit, Path of Heaven
Magnus the Red: A Thousand Sons, The Crimson King
Horus: Horus Rising, False Gods, Galaxy in Flames, Vengeful Spirit, various compilations.
Lorgar: First Heretic, Aurelian, Know no Fear, Betrayer
Vulkan: Vulkan Lives, Unremembered Empire, Deathfire
Corax: Deliverance Lost, Corax, various compilations.
Alparius: Legion, Praetorian of Dorn.
This message was edited 4 times. Last update was at 2018/01/13 19:44:31
I stand between the darkness and the light. Between the candle and the star.
I know you like Alpharius Alpharius, but Prospero Burns is the worst.
No. The story of Prospero and the tragedy of the Thousand Sons is actually a somewhat good story. Praetorian of Dorn is just... anticlimactic. The less is said of it the better.
The side of the tragedy of the Thousand Sons that focused on the Thousand Sons was a good story, the Space Wolves side of it was not, to me. Praetorian of Dorn was a good book, and I like both of the Legions.
@Luminous, Praetorian of Dorn is a perfectly fine book, but some people rail against it because something they personally didnt like happened in it.
No, Praetorian of Dorn is not bad because of what happened in it, it is bad because of the way that the events that happened within it were not treated well.
Don't read if you have not read Praetorian of Dorn:
Spoiler:
Obviously, the major issue with Praetorian of Dorn is the death of Alpharius. Now there is nothing wrong with a primarch dying. My favourite primarch is Sanguinius, and his death is an epic, character-establishing moment. The same goes for Ferrus and Curze, the other primarchs that die. Their deaths have a massive impact on their legions as well. The deaths of Sanguinius and Ferrus are to a large part what make the Blood Angels and Iron Hands into what they are. The death of these primarchs are major events that form one of the climactic high points of the Horus Heresy narrative. The death of Alpharius on the other hand is a completely forgettable, unnecessary (from a narrative pov. the role of Alpharius in Praetorian of Dorn could have been served by any generic Alpha Legion commander.) and inconsequential event. It is the big climax Praetorian of Dorn builds up towards, and the buildup is quite decent, but then it fails to deliver. The climax is not climactic. The whole book is basically a huge anticlimax. That is why it is a bad story. The death of a primarch should be a huge, consequential event in the Horus Heresy. You should not be able to threat it as a throwaway mention of 'Oh yeah, and Alpharius also died, for real this time. Not that anything changes because Omegon takes over.' Praetorian of Dorn should have had expanded much more upon the conflict and battle between Dorn and Alpharius, and the subsequent death of Alpharius should have been much more consequential for the story of the Horus Heresy. It should have been one of the defining moments of the Heresy, like the Dropsite Massacre and the Battle of Terra were. But it was not. That is why Praetorian of Dorn is so bad. The author was handed this amazing opportunity to establish a defining moment in the story of the Heresy, and he completely failed to deliver.
Pretty much all this. Praetor of Dorn was a huge let down, and not just for the obvious. John French must be a huge IF fanboy. But to be fair I am a huge AL fanboy.
Spoiler:
Alpharius has been mismanaged in every HH book IMO. Legion was a good read but only because Abnett is a very competent writer, probably the best of the lot. Like so many things GW, Alpharius's terrible current fluff could be blamed on one thing: Laziness. It's common currency that there was lots of tongue in cheek humor and eponyms in the original concepts of the primarchs and legions, as well as a lot of laziness. Lionel Johnson wrote a poem called "The Dark Angel", Angron was named after a bartender nicknamed "Angry Ron", The primarch of the iron hands, who was gifted with two living metal arms, was named "Ferrus Manus"...sensing a trend here. So my personal theory was that by the time they got to the 20th legion they had plain run out of ideas. "20th Legion...Lets call it the Alpha Legion! THAT will keep them guessing". It was also traditionally the legion about which the least was known. And eventually that just became their shtick. Why is so little known about the Alpha Legion? Because they're secretive! Why are they so secretive? Because no one knows any thing about them! Around the time of the Index Astartes articles the AL was fleshed out a bit, it was discovered that Rob G. killed Alpharius, and that the bulk of the legion (or all of the legion, depending on source) did not hide in the eye of terror, and they utilized cultists. I never like the conceit of the Legion not retiring to the EoT, and this idea was to bear silly and dangerous fruit in time. Finally Legion by Abnett rolls around and we 20th fanboys get what we have wanted for so long, some info on our beloved AL. Or not. This is the first time that the ideas of what we now call the AL were rolled out into the open, although like I said before, the seeds were in the Index Astartes article (boy I would love to know who wrote that). So now the fact that they were so super secret, and refused to hide in the EoT equated that the AL were closet loyalists, and always have been. And their battle cry of "For the Emprah!" was not trolling, it was secretly ironic! This was also the first time that Alpaharius was reveled to be a little guy. Yup,that's his secret primarch power. He's tiny. The Khan can channel psykic energy through his sword, Corax can turn invisible, Magnus is a super psyker, and Alpharius is a little guy. Oh he also has a twin. And even though there are numerous examples of primarchs instinctively recognizing their own kind, and being powerful psykers, NO ONE EVER FIGURED OUT THAT THE OTHER DUDE HANGING AROUND ALPHARIUS WAS HIS TWIN BROTHER. The laziness and sloppiness of this writing is crushing. I believe there is a bit in Praetor of Dorn where Dorn figures out which marine out of three is Alpharius using his primarch sense, but Magnus the greatest psyker in the universe couldnt figure out there was two oft them. Shenanigans. It is also reveled in Legion that the AL are working against Horus on behalf of an alien Cabal including an Eldar. Just wow. So we 20th legionnaires lived with this until the HH 3, Extermination, came out. It finally properly fleshed out the legion, made us proud to be AL, and gave the galaxy something to fear. It also put to bed the silly conceit of Alpharius is a little guy by publishing official rules. And guess what? He's Bulky, just like every other primarch out there! I love that book, its the only HH rule book I own and it's beautiful. So the silliness continues in other HH novels; AL killing AL, Omegon killing Ranko, all kinds of stuff. And what was up with Omegon having a grey suit of power armor, just like Garro!! So then praetor of Dorn comes out and just puts the final nail in the coffin. Its just completely stupid, unbelievable, needlessly convoluted, and ridiculous. Who could have guessed that the AL would attack the moon named Hydra!!! The pale spear is not a little weapon that breaks down into lots of little special knives; it is an ancient artifact probably of Necron origins. The legionnaire was Alpharius the whole time! Who saw that coming? It wan't a full scale invasion of terra, it was just yet another test for the imperial defenses... at the expense of a dead primarch. yeah right. All around a pointless read, unless we need more info on how super awesome the IF are. Which I didn't. Interesting fact, in older canon now reconned, all that was found of Rogal Dorn after he was killed by a chaos champion where his two fists...which were scrimshawed with the names of all the chapter masters of the IF. This has been reconned, but its interesting that Dorn cut off Alpharius hands...perhaps those two skeletal hands were never Dorns! But it never said if they were tiny or not, which would have been a dead giveaway.
Thanks in advance to anyone who read that, I really needed to get that off my chest for a long time.
You won't find much information about Alpharius. And what you will find is highly likely to be not true. Alpharius is meant to be a mysterious character about whom virtually nothing is known for certain, much like the Alpha Legion itself.
It'll be interesting once they get to his Primarchs book as they will either have to cover him properly for the first time, or write a story ending with it was just a normal Legionary. If it is the latter I could see a lot of unhappy people setting fire to GWHQ as they have used that one once too often and the whole point of the Primarchs series is to cover the ing Primarchs.
The Primarchs series veers from good insight (Lorgar) to generic SM story (Fulgrim). I wish BL had set tighter guidelines as to what the books in the series should cover.
ing Primarchs.