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Sons of the Hydra
An Alpha Legion novel
Alpha legionnaire Occam the Untrue leads his warband out of its hunting grounds in the Maelstrom on an epic quest for salvation, not just for himself, but for his whole Legion.
READ IT BECAUSE
It's a novel about the sneakiest and most oblique of traitors, written by Rob Sanders, master of the twisty-turny tale. It's sure to make your head spin…
THE STORY
In the hostile universe of the 41st millennium, where allegiances are ever fickle, few of the Emperor’s sons are more difficult to understand or predict than the Alpha Legion. Branded traitor since the Heresy, their motives and actions have always been shrouded in mystery. Alpha Legionnaire Occam the Untrue leads his warband out of its hunting grounds in the Maelstrom on an epic quest for salvation, not just for himself, but for his whole Legion. With the forces of the Inquisition snapping at their heels, Occam and his followers must use all their guile and considerable martial prowess as they make their way to the cold heart of the galaxy, to a confrontation that no one, least of all Occam himself, could have foreseen.
Alpha legionnaire Occam the Untrue leads his warband out of its hunting grounds in the Maelstrom on an epic quest for salvation, not just for himself, but for his whole Legion.
READ IT BECAUSE
It's a novel about the sneakiest and most oblique of traitors, written by Rob Sanders, master of the twisty-turny tale. It's sure to make your head spin…
THE STORY
In the hostile universe of the 41st millennium, where allegiances are ever fickle, few of the Emperor’s sons are more difficult to understand or predict than the Alpha Legion. Branded traitor since the Heresy, their motives and actions have always been shrouded in mystery. Alpha Legionnaire Occam the Untrue leads his warband out of its hunting grounds in the Maelstrom on an epic quest for salvation, not just for himself, but for his whole Legion. With the forces of the Inquisition snapping at their heels, Occam and his followers must use all their guile and considerable martial prowess as they make their way to the cold heart of the galaxy, to a confrontation that no one, least of all Occam himself, could have foreseen.
256 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 26, 2017
50 people are currently reading
276 people want to read
About the author
Rob Sanders
114 books86 followersRob 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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
January 1, 2018
Sons of the Hydra is...A very conflicting book for me to review. It is a book that I had perhaps unrealistic expectations of, and that served me very ill going in.
Sons of the Hydra is not the book I had hoped it would be, I feel that a lot of fans will share that disappointment.
Rob Sanders has been the gold standard of Alpha Legion writing for a good long time. Before John French turned his masterful hand to them in "Praetorian of Dorn", my gold standards were always "Long Games at Carcharias", "The Harrowing" and "The Serpent Beneath". Sons of the Hydra does not measure up to these lofty predecessors, instead having more in common with the workmanlike prose of the "Adeptus Mechanicus" duology from Sanders. In truth, beyond surface-level cleverness, these books could have been about any traitor warband of sufficient cunning. Instead we are given Occam's band, who come across as little more than the galaxy's most accomplished cosplayers.
The plot and writing are decidedly average, though the world-building in this little corner of space does help to redeem it slightly. The events of "Long Games" are addressed and woven into the background, but feels more token than anything else, for how little they affect the plot. Similarly, the characters in the warband- while interesting- never rise above more than archetypes. They have such promise, and it is squandered, squandered on behalf of Occam- about whom we ironically know the least. Similarly, beyond the assassin in his retinue, we gloss over a number of interesting characters- such as the shipmaster and the High Serpent.
The twist, when it comes, is executed effectively, but rings hollow. I expected more questioning of it, more suspicion and subterfuge from the Alpha Legion than to simply take things at face value.
For the wide array of readers, this is a perfectly servicable novel. It's fairly enjoyable, competantly written. For Alpha Legion fans, however, it will be a letdown. It adds nothing truly new or compelling, and doesn't so much tread old ground as stand on its throat.
It's worth noting that, for the same amount as the ebook, you can get;
https://www.blacklibrary.com/warhamme...
https://www.blacklibrary.com/the-horu...
https://www.blacklibrary.com/the-horu...
Sons of the Hydra is not the book I had hoped it would be, I feel that a lot of fans will share that disappointment.
Rob Sanders has been the gold standard of Alpha Legion writing for a good long time. Before John French turned his masterful hand to them in "Praetorian of Dorn", my gold standards were always "Long Games at Carcharias", "The Harrowing" and "The Serpent Beneath". Sons of the Hydra does not measure up to these lofty predecessors, instead having more in common with the workmanlike prose of the "Adeptus Mechanicus" duology from Sanders. In truth, beyond surface-level cleverness, these books could have been about any traitor warband of sufficient cunning. Instead we are given Occam's band, who come across as little more than the galaxy's most accomplished cosplayers.
The plot and writing are decidedly average, though the world-building in this little corner of space does help to redeem it slightly. The events of "Long Games" are addressed and woven into the background, but feels more token than anything else, for how little they affect the plot. Similarly, the characters in the warband- while interesting- never rise above more than archetypes. They have such promise, and it is squandered, squandered on behalf of Occam- about whom we ironically know the least. Similarly, beyond the assassin in his retinue, we gloss over a number of interesting characters- such as the shipmaster and the High Serpent.
The twist, when it comes, is executed effectively, but rings hollow. I expected more questioning of it, more suspicion and subterfuge from the Alpha Legion than to simply take things at face value.
For the wide array of readers, this is a perfectly servicable novel. It's fairly enjoyable, competantly written. For Alpha Legion fans, however, it will be a letdown. It adds nothing truly new or compelling, and doesn't so much tread old ground as stand on its throat.
It's worth noting that, for the same amount as the ebook, you can get;
https://www.blacklibrary.com/warhamme...
https://www.blacklibrary.com/the-horu...
https://www.blacklibrary.com/the-horu...
May 16, 2018
I read this pretty much parallel to Shroud of Night by Andy Clark, which is also about the Alpha Legion, and I have to say, Sons of the Hydra does not fare well against it.
Sanders presents a very unique and interesting group of Alpha Legionnaires. Unfortunately, and this is one of my main problems with this book, Sanders creates a group of Mary Sue characters. They are quite over powered and each is armed with a plasma gun which has been tinkered with to remove all the issues plasma guns provide in the 40k universe. This removes a lot of the threat to these marines, and also means that later on Sanders has to increase the threat level to them to make it viable.
That said, Sanders did a good job with his locations, capturing everything from a daemon world to a necron section of space. Each is presented in a glorious amount of detail and really helps flesh out each setting. This is something a few 40k writers could stand to pay attention to, as setting plays just as much of a role as the characters do, and at least Sanders nailed that.
Another issue was the combat. At times it felt as if Sanders was forgetting the scale of things. Giant creatures ripping out hearts when their fists alone would be the same size as a legionnaire's chest. Massed fire from cannons the size of buildings somehow not affecting people who are right near the blast site. All in all, it creates a very chaotic and seemingly unrealistic scene and pulls the reader out of the story.
In the end, by the end of the book, it doesn't feel like anything really happened. We are teased with what happened with the Primarchs for the Alpha Legion, but that is pretty much it. Nothing really gets resolved, you don't feel much for the characters or what happens to them, and in the end, I just glad the book was done. If you want an interesting take of the Alpha Legion, read this book, but only after Shroud of Night first.
Sanders presents a very unique and interesting group of Alpha Legionnaires. Unfortunately, and this is one of my main problems with this book, Sanders creates a group of Mary Sue characters. They are quite over powered and each is armed with a plasma gun which has been tinkered with to remove all the issues plasma guns provide in the 40k universe. This removes a lot of the threat to these marines, and also means that later on Sanders has to increase the threat level to them to make it viable.
That said, Sanders did a good job with his locations, capturing everything from a daemon world to a necron section of space. Each is presented in a glorious amount of detail and really helps flesh out each setting. This is something a few 40k writers could stand to pay attention to, as setting plays just as much of a role as the characters do, and at least Sanders nailed that.
Another issue was the combat. At times it felt as if Sanders was forgetting the scale of things. Giant creatures ripping out hearts when their fists alone would be the same size as a legionnaire's chest. Massed fire from cannons the size of buildings somehow not affecting people who are right near the blast site. All in all, it creates a very chaotic and seemingly unrealistic scene and pulls the reader out of the story.
In the end, by the end of the book, it doesn't feel like anything really happened. We are teased with what happened with the Primarchs for the Alpha Legion, but that is pretty much it. Nothing really gets resolved, you don't feel much for the characters or what happens to them, and in the end, I just glad the book was done. If you want an interesting take of the Alpha Legion, read this book, but only after Shroud of Night first.
July 11, 2023
To get to know the Alpha Legion is like to come close a hydra. Quite impossible.
Set in the grim dark future of the 41st millenium, this little tome holds a story of intrigue and grim determination. Where Occam the Untrue is but one of the 'Sons of the Hydra'. In his quest and scheming where is he in all of this. Author Rob Sanders did a fairly good job, considering the amount of pages, to get it Occam and his legionnaires of the 'Redacted' to where they ultimately faces what they are.
The one thing that might set off people are all the names and titles that are thrown in the mix, escpecially when not familiar with the setting of Warhammer 40000. Furthermore I would recommend this book to those interested in Sci-fi of an epic scale in a grim dark future.
Set in the grim dark future of the 41st millenium, this little tome holds a story of intrigue and grim determination. Where Occam the Untrue is but one of the 'Sons of the Hydra'. In his quest and scheming where is he in all of this. Author Rob Sanders did a fairly good job, considering the amount of pages, to get it Occam and his legionnaires of the 'Redacted' to where they ultimately faces what they are.
The one thing that might set off people are all the names and titles that are thrown in the mix, escpecially when not familiar with the setting of Warhammer 40000. Furthermore I would recommend this book to those interested in Sci-fi of an epic scale in a grim dark future.
September 6, 2024
Fun characters and a great introduction to the Alpha Legion!
September 14, 2018
Most definitely an interesting read. The Alpha Legion, with all their misinformation, stealth and trickeries are always fun to read. The story's not too bad either, but the warband feel extremly over the top and too good at just about everything they do.
All in all though, far from the best Alpha legion story out there, but quite ok.
All in all though, far from the best Alpha legion story out there, but quite ok.
June 10, 2021
This was entertaining. I picked it up because it was about the Alpha Legion. The plot and story were a tad juvenile but I got what I paid for. Chaos space marines shot things. Recommended for 40K nerds.
September 20, 2023
This was a very interesting read on so many levels. I have to admit I went into it without expecting much but author manages to create so vividly world of warriors without home, unable to trust anyone, anywhere and only capable to create schemes and more schemes and wrap them into more schemes. And all along, at the core, there is always this desire, a yearning of sorts, to serve something other than crazed up and completely useless warlords that pop up right and left like mushrooms after rain near the Maelstrom.
We follow Occam The Untrue, strike master of the relatively small Alpha Legion war-band called The Redacted. Redacted are special in a way that makes them pariahs in eyes of their greater war party, Sons of Hydra. Redacted are mixture of legionnaires from various other legions - both traitors and loyal ones - only their strike master originating from the Alpha Legion. As such they are never fully trusted by other although they seem to have integrated very well indeed with core values and methods of Alpha Legion.
Through the manipulations of third party, Redacted will be put to test - they will need to chose whom they serve and whom do they trust (if any Alpha legionnaire is capable of such a feat). This will push them to the maximum, from fighting against the Imperium, against their own warlord master, to entering hellish nightmare of Maelstrom in order to obtain a key that will lead them to the center of the galaxy and potentially answer to the question of purpose of Alpha Legion.
I wont go into any more details because I dont want to spoil anything to other readers.
What several books I read in last couple of months (Harrowmaster, Shroud of Night, Alpharius) taught me is that Alpha Legion was never meant to be a legion in standard sense. It was meant to be amalgamation of independent troops striking at the enemy, where each troop does not necessarily know about the others nor their role. Alpha Legion reminds me of those weird contraptions (imagine them made of various war-bands and troops connected in unexpected ways) where you put the marble at the top and then watch what happens as it comes to exit at the bottom. They are all very eccentric but definitely tailored for a specific need. Everything seems too complex but at the end entire setup is done with purpose known only to those at the top. What makes Alpha Legion especially dangerous is their ability to train an work with both human and alien agents, using weird mixes of mercenaries as a main [distraction?] force to wage war and collect information and plan their actions (usually mix of terror attacks, assassinations, sabotages and, when numerical superiority can be attained, seek-and-destroy missions against Imperium). All of this helps spread rumours, doubts and make sure nobody knows what actually happened.
They are masters of shadow, underhand war, capable to do so much with truly so little. Author's description of Redacted conducting their missions, moving through enemy lines, changing their colors and posing as local forces, use of drones for attacks and reconnaissance, sniping and attacking using the silenced and sniper weapons, conducting space operations ...... if you ever watched that fan movie Astartes, everything looks and feels exactly like that. Their human operatives are also no joke, from pirate star-ship captain to the assassin(s).
But their beliefs (marking Redacted as outcasts from their brethren) is what makes Redacted stand out, and will test them in a very difficult way - one of the most powerful scenes in the book is scene when Occam is tested on the "wheel" in what must be the weirdest place in Maelstrom.
At the end question remains - what is the actual goal and purpose of Alpha Legion? What did Alpharius and Omegon actually wanted to setup and accomplish? Because at the moment it seems like they have created quite a mess - lots of highly trained and professional troops that just cannot trust anyone, anywhere, including their own.
Book ends on a note that indicates that search for meaning continues. Hopefully a novel with some more information will come up and shed light on Alpha Legion primarchs and their intentions.
Very exciting read, lots of action (and to be honest very plausible, from planning to hard decision Redacted and their strike master make) and lots of twist and new findings (at least for me :)) about the Alpha Legion and their view of the world in which they operate.
One of the other reviewers mentioned Shroud of Night and that it needs to be read first. I can say that for me it did not make much of a difference when it comes to order of reading the novels and stories of Alpha Legion. I would suggest you start with Alpharius (this sets the tone of complete what-is-going-here mentality that will become Alpha Legion's signature, where 3D chess seems like simple tic-tac-toe game) then move to Sons of Hydra, Shroud of Night and Harrowmaster and other short stories in any order you like. As I said Alpha Legion does not seem to be as cohesive as others, its more like modular troop that can be combined and reconfigured at the whim, without any of the modules knowing about the others. These books and stories will shed light on the various different ways Alpha Legion actually operates. So if you like spy/action thrillers there is one more reason to read about Alpha Legion.
Highly recommended.
We follow Occam The Untrue, strike master of the relatively small Alpha Legion war-band called The Redacted. Redacted are special in a way that makes them pariahs in eyes of their greater war party, Sons of Hydra. Redacted are mixture of legionnaires from various other legions - both traitors and loyal ones - only their strike master originating from the Alpha Legion. As such they are never fully trusted by other although they seem to have integrated very well indeed with core values and methods of Alpha Legion.
Through the manipulations of third party, Redacted will be put to test - they will need to chose whom they serve and whom do they trust (if any Alpha legionnaire is capable of such a feat). This will push them to the maximum, from fighting against the Imperium, against their own warlord master, to entering hellish nightmare of Maelstrom in order to obtain a key that will lead them to the center of the galaxy and potentially answer to the question of purpose of Alpha Legion.
I wont go into any more details because I dont want to spoil anything to other readers.
What several books I read in last couple of months (Harrowmaster, Shroud of Night, Alpharius) taught me is that Alpha Legion was never meant to be a legion in standard sense. It was meant to be amalgamation of independent troops striking at the enemy, where each troop does not necessarily know about the others nor their role. Alpha Legion reminds me of those weird contraptions (imagine them made of various war-bands and troops connected in unexpected ways) where you put the marble at the top and then watch what happens as it comes to exit at the bottom. They are all very eccentric but definitely tailored for a specific need. Everything seems too complex but at the end entire setup is done with purpose known only to those at the top. What makes Alpha Legion especially dangerous is their ability to train an work with both human and alien agents, using weird mixes of mercenaries as a main [distraction?] force to wage war and collect information and plan their actions (usually mix of terror attacks, assassinations, sabotages and, when numerical superiority can be attained, seek-and-destroy missions against Imperium). All of this helps spread rumours, doubts and make sure nobody knows what actually happened.
They are masters of shadow, underhand war, capable to do so much with truly so little. Author's description of Redacted conducting their missions, moving through enemy lines, changing their colors and posing as local forces, use of drones for attacks and reconnaissance, sniping and attacking using the silenced and sniper weapons, conducting space operations ...... if you ever watched that fan movie Astartes, everything looks and feels exactly like that. Their human operatives are also no joke, from pirate star-ship captain to the assassin(s).
But their beliefs (marking Redacted as outcasts from their brethren) is what makes Redacted stand out, and will test them in a very difficult way - one of the most powerful scenes in the book is scene when Occam is tested on the "wheel" in what must be the weirdest place in Maelstrom.
At the end question remains - what is the actual goal and purpose of Alpha Legion? What did Alpharius and Omegon actually wanted to setup and accomplish? Because at the moment it seems like they have created quite a mess - lots of highly trained and professional troops that just cannot trust anyone, anywhere, including their own.
Book ends on a note that indicates that search for meaning continues. Hopefully a novel with some more information will come up and shed light on Alpha Legion primarchs and their intentions.
Very exciting read, lots of action (and to be honest very plausible, from planning to hard decision Redacted and their strike master make) and lots of twist and new findings (at least for me :)) about the Alpha Legion and their view of the world in which they operate.
One of the other reviewers mentioned Shroud of Night and that it needs to be read first. I can say that for me it did not make much of a difference when it comes to order of reading the novels and stories of Alpha Legion. I would suggest you start with Alpharius (this sets the tone of complete what-is-going-here mentality that will become Alpha Legion's signature, where 3D chess seems like simple tic-tac-toe game) then move to Sons of Hydra, Shroud of Night and Harrowmaster and other short stories in any order you like. As I said Alpha Legion does not seem to be as cohesive as others, its more like modular troop that can be combined and reconfigured at the whim, without any of the modules knowing about the others. These books and stories will shed light on the various different ways Alpha Legion actually operates. So if you like spy/action thrillers there is one more reason to read about Alpha Legion.
Highly recommended.
October 2, 2018
One of my big questions for this book is how are these Alpha Legionaries members of the cult of the emperor?
I had ever understood the Alpha legion to be adhering to a modified version of the imperial cult as was prevalent during the crusade, modified to include the long term goal of destroying Chaos and righting the madness that is the imperium in the age of 40K so that mankind can survive in the long term.
This book... I must say I liked the members of the redacted, they were all interesting yet I can't quite get over the fact they still all so easily went along with the emperor is a god motive. Especially the former night lord included in their ranks, sure they, as mentioned in the book, share on general a distate for demonic corruption and chaos taint, but that does not make them closet adherents of the god emperor and neither are the Alpha marines I assumed.
The point of the Alpha legion should be that they acknowledge the mistakes made by the emperor in his arrogance as well as the failure of the legion during the Horus Heresy and try the make them right. Even though I liked the vibe and flow of this book, it is that confusing allegiance that refrains me from giving it more then it could have. They felt more like a renegade chapter band instead of a alpha legion band.
Ps I did like the twist in the ending that I really had not seen coming, I do expect a followup book.
I had ever understood the Alpha legion to be adhering to a modified version of the imperial cult as was prevalent during the crusade, modified to include the long term goal of destroying Chaos and righting the madness that is the imperium in the age of 40K so that mankind can survive in the long term.
This book... I must say I liked the members of the redacted, they were all interesting yet I can't quite get over the fact they still all so easily went along with the emperor is a god motive. Especially the former night lord included in their ranks, sure they, as mentioned in the book, share on general a distate for demonic corruption and chaos taint, but that does not make them closet adherents of the god emperor and neither are the Alpha marines I assumed.
The point of the Alpha legion should be that they acknowledge the mistakes made by the emperor in his arrogance as well as the failure of the legion during the Horus Heresy and try the make them right. Even though I liked the vibe and flow of this book, it is that confusing allegiance that refrains me from giving it more then it could have. They felt more like a renegade chapter band instead of a alpha legion band.
Ps I did like the twist in the ending that I really had not seen coming, I do expect a followup book.
June 23, 2020
2 stars does not mean I didn't enjoy the book. 2 stars mostly means the book wasn't what it could have and should have been.
Rob Sanders has done masterful work with the Alpha Legion previously. "The Harrowing" and "The Serpent Beneath" were both masterful stories that played to the Legion's strengths. Sons of the Hydra, by contrast, has an Alpha Legion warband that has an unfortunate habit of taking things at face value too much and not following through on their suspicions. They feel in many ways like they should be a very-newly-turned-traitor warband from a throwaway chapter, rather than representatives of the Alpha Legion.
In a strange way, the book feels rather self-indulgent. I'm not opposed to that in concept; I'm rather a self-indulgent writer myself, after all. However, when one is being paid to write tie-in fiction like this, one should probably go to significant lengths to be consistent with other parts of the canon. This book played extremely fast-and-loose with canon, which is fine for fanfic but not so much something I want to see in an official publication.
The prose, unfortunately, is also not up to Rob Sanders' usual standard.
Aside from these things it's a perfectly adequate story. Just don't go in expecting too much, and you'll enjoy it just fine.
Rob Sanders has done masterful work with the Alpha Legion previously. "The Harrowing" and "The Serpent Beneath" were both masterful stories that played to the Legion's strengths. Sons of the Hydra, by contrast, has an Alpha Legion warband that has an unfortunate habit of taking things at face value too much and not following through on their suspicions. They feel in many ways like they should be a very-newly-turned-traitor warband from a throwaway chapter, rather than representatives of the Alpha Legion.
In a strange way, the book feels rather self-indulgent. I'm not opposed to that in concept; I'm rather a self-indulgent writer myself, after all. However, when one is being paid to write tie-in fiction like this, one should probably go to significant lengths to be consistent with other parts of the canon. This book played extremely fast-and-loose with canon, which is fine for fanfic but not so much something I want to see in an official publication.
The prose, unfortunately, is also not up to Rob Sanders' usual standard.
Aside from these things it's a perfectly adequate story. Just don't go in expecting too much, and you'll enjoy it just fine.
May 28, 2024
This was a complete slog to get through due to a fatal combination of uninteresting plot and uninteresting characters. To expand:
The Plot
We follow a band of legionnaires propelled on a journey to find a macguffin following an interjection from a mysterious alien. The journey involves sneaking in to various guarded strong holds and going undercover on imperial worlds. Is any of this exciting? Not with the plot application of ‘and they were camouflaged so sailed through until the last minute when they were discovered’.
You may have been spoiled about the end of novel and what is uncovered, let me warn you this section is entirely unearned, comes out of nowhere, and covers about 2 pages before there is a rug pull and the implications are entirely irrelevant.
The characters
Within the first few chapter it is established that none of the characters we follow are originally from the alpha legion (their background isn’t meaningfully expanded on), all are armed with custom rapid fire sniper plasma guns, and all are the best at whatever they set their minds to including converting an imperial assassin to be part of their entourage because?
It just comes off as bad fan fiction. If you don’t want to actually write about the alpha legion why make them the subject of your book?
The Plot
We follow a band of legionnaires propelled on a journey to find a macguffin following an interjection from a mysterious alien. The journey involves sneaking in to various guarded strong holds and going undercover on imperial worlds. Is any of this exciting? Not with the plot application of ‘and they were camouflaged so sailed through until the last minute when they were discovered’.
You may have been spoiled about the end of novel and what is uncovered, let me warn you this section is entirely unearned, comes out of nowhere, and covers about 2 pages before there is a rug pull and the implications are entirely irrelevant.
The characters
Within the first few chapter it is established that none of the characters we follow are originally from the alpha legion (their background isn’t meaningfully expanded on), all are armed with custom rapid fire sniper plasma guns, and all are the best at whatever they set their minds to including converting an imperial assassin to be part of their entourage because?
It just comes off as bad fan fiction. If you don’t want to actually write about the alpha legion why make them the subject of your book?
February 25, 2018
Whole a lot different kind of story than I thought it'd be, yet also the kind that (I guess..) should've been expected to come along if the reader has previous knowledge of 40K and Alpha Legion. The ending also were left open in a way that'd usually foretell of a sequel (trilogy?).
The previous Alpha Legion stories that've been published mostly center on how the whole legion operates within a huge LIE. Most likely they themselves only know their specific personal parts of the wider plot, or sometimes they even have to learn their own mission along the way. All part of the plan. (Ref: Legion, Praetorian of Dorn, We Are One).
This time around.. well I guess the lie is something I didn't manage to find out, or there never was a lie.
Recommended for both newcomers and 40k lore veterans!
The previous Alpha Legion stories that've been published mostly center on how the whole legion operates within a huge LIE. Most likely they themselves only know their specific personal parts of the wider plot, or sometimes they even have to learn their own mission along the way. All part of the plan. (Ref: Legion, Praetorian of Dorn, We Are One).
This time around.. well I guess the lie is something I didn't manage to find out, or there never was a lie.
Recommended for both newcomers and 40k lore veterans!
October 23, 2022
Isn't cogent with other novels
The main characters are kind of Mary Sue's. There's just nothing they can't do with little issue. The events in the book do not match other works either.
SPOILERS!!
First off, A chaos space marine squad just walks into an Adeptus Ministorum Cardinal's throne room because they have a psyker casting an illusion. You can't tell me that such a powerful figure wouldn't have every kind of protection against witch craft. Maybe the alpha legion worked over generations to infiltrate those defenses, but it's never explained.
Secondly, a enemy previously killed just shows back up comic book style because the plot demanded it. Shoddy writing.
Thirdly, in another scene the main characters are trapped by several squads of grey knights with two nemesis dreadknights. One half squad with one dreadknight defeated and banished Kugath Plaguefather, the most powerful great unclean one. Those squads and the two Dreadknights couldn't beat one bloodthirster. A couple of chaos space marines were even killing Grey Knight Paladins in hand to hand. It's just lazy writing.
The main characters are kind of Mary Sue's. There's just nothing they can't do with little issue. The events in the book do not match other works either.
SPOILERS!!
First off, A chaos space marine squad just walks into an Adeptus Ministorum Cardinal's throne room because they have a psyker casting an illusion. You can't tell me that such a powerful figure wouldn't have every kind of protection against witch craft. Maybe the alpha legion worked over generations to infiltrate those defenses, but it's never explained.
Secondly, a enemy previously killed just shows back up comic book style because the plot demanded it. Shoddy writing.
Thirdly, in another scene the main characters are trapped by several squads of grey knights with two nemesis dreadknights. One half squad with one dreadknight defeated and banished Kugath Plaguefather, the most powerful great unclean one. Those squads and the two Dreadknights couldn't beat one bloodthirster. A couple of chaos space marines were even killing Grey Knight Paladins in hand to hand. It's just lazy writing.
December 28, 2017
Rob Sanders has a good track record with Heresy-era Alpha Legion, and now he’s tackling them in a pre-Dark Imperium 40k novel which follows the exploits of a small Alpha Legion warband known as the Redacted, led by Occam the Untrue. There’s a typically twisty, convoluted plot as Occam drives the Redacted in pursuit of his and the legion’s goals, and without giving too much away it involves Marines of varying chapters and loyalties, the expected levels of infiltration and false faces…and lots of plasma guns.
On the surface there’s plenty to enjoy here, with some great action-packed set pieces and an overall narrative that plays with our preconceptions around the Alpha Legion to deliver something that’s genuinely quite fresh and surprising. Dig deeper, though, and there’s not quite enough to fully satisfy, although to be fair we’ve been rather spoiled by Traitor Legion tales like the Ahriman and Abaddon series of late.
Read the full review at https://www.trackofwords.com/2017/12/...
On the surface there’s plenty to enjoy here, with some great action-packed set pieces and an overall narrative that plays with our preconceptions around the Alpha Legion to deliver something that’s genuinely quite fresh and surprising. Dig deeper, though, and there’s not quite enough to fully satisfy, although to be fair we’ve been rather spoiled by Traitor Legion tales like the Ahriman and Abaddon series of late.
Read the full review at https://www.trackofwords.com/2017/12/...
December 18, 2018
Sons of the Hydra possessed great potential. It was truly spanning across multiple worlds and really had some suspense. However, it was perfectly orchestrated for the wrong ending, in my opinion. I thought the book was perfectly serviceable and entertaining. Yet, it felt out of touch by the end and really out there. It had many great tid-bits of lore surrounding it. I want to hope that if it gets sequel, that this book will make much more sense. The build up was phenomenal and the action scenes with the Word Bearers were some of the best I have read. However, it really lost pace from time to time. It starts off like Mission Impossible, by the middle we are looking at a true 40k adventure, and by the end I really do not know what to make of it.
Credit where credit is due, Rob Sanders really did a fine job and it was a rather sophisticated 40k novel. It just really throws one in a loop without ends... but hey... it is the Alpha Legion.
Hoping we get another book to see where our ragtag group of serpents go next.
Credit where credit is due, Rob Sanders really did a fine job and it was a rather sophisticated 40k novel. It just really throws one in a loop without ends... but hey... it is the Alpha Legion.
Hoping we get another book to see where our ragtag group of serpents go next.
January 13, 2019
When the duplicitous and slippery Alpha Legion are involved, nothing is as it seems...Occam the Untrue, rejected by the Imperium but still holding true to his belief in the Emperor, is the leader of the Redacted - a group of Alpha Legionnaires on a quest to find the Lord Dominatus who wants to reunite the Legion.
The story is very well written - Part I could be a short story of its own. Mystery is difficult to write, especially that with which the Alpha Legion are involved, but Rob Sanders completed the task with aplomb. Given the Alpha Legion's penchant for infiltration and escape, the book is tense and frantic for large sections - Sanders is very good at keeping the tension.
The setting itself is an interesting subject for a book, giving two sides to humanity in the 41st Millennium, not often seen within the 40k universe. The human and Non-Human perspectives are chosen well. Overall I enjoyed this book a lot, as I often do with Black Library books, and cannot wait to get started with the books I was given for Christmas!
The story is very well written - Part I could be a short story of its own. Mystery is difficult to write, especially that with which the Alpha Legion are involved, but Rob Sanders completed the task with aplomb. Given the Alpha Legion's penchant for infiltration and escape, the book is tense and frantic for large sections - Sanders is very good at keeping the tension.
The setting itself is an interesting subject for a book, giving two sides to humanity in the 41st Millennium, not often seen within the 40k universe. The human and Non-Human perspectives are chosen well. Overall I enjoyed this book a lot, as I often do with Black Library books, and cannot wait to get started with the books I was given for Christmas!
January 16, 2019
I really wanted to like this book. Alpha Legion is a very interesting and mysterious chapter. It's a bit slow but the action keeps building up. This is not a problem though. The characters in my opinion are too strong, for no obvious reasons, like let's say the Grey Knights. The main protagonist fights for the Emperor and believes that he is his faithful servant. I can't imagine the destruction and death he and his team would bring if he wasn't! Another book that billions die. Yes the essence of 40k is unending war, but it is too much. The Character unleashes a greater demon, everybody dies but he and most of his band escapes,the World is devoured by the demon,he travels to the edge of the galaxy, another great and really powerful evil is unleashed (no spoilers there...) and still the protagonist deals with it (actually this Last scene makes sense).
Anyway, not a had read but not a very good either. I am certain the author can do much better. Actually I am Looking forward to reading more of his novels.
Anyway, not a had read but not a very good either. I am certain the author can do much better. Actually I am Looking forward to reading more of his novels.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 12, 2018
This was such a gem of a read about one of the most complicated traitor legions in Warhammer lore, the Alpha Legion. Occam the Untrue, leader of the Redacted betrays and is betrayed by other traitors on his mission to find out who is pulling his strings. The story is absolutely compelling, with a few gratifying twists and turns, and the characters are intriguing. I really hope for a sequel to this.
October 10, 2024
There's so many fantastic parts in this story, so much that could make it one of the best in the black library but the key pieces missing hold it back quite heavily. The plot itself I adore, the final act especially is so monumental and important in this universe but it ends so abruptly with what could be considered one of the biggest lore reveals in modern 40k. I hope there's more to come with this faction of the alpha legion as if its left here it will be a massive waste of potential.
January 10, 2026
I have to round this down to a 1. If it would have been about some other warband, like some loyalist renegade fringe of some Chaos Marine chapter it would have been ok. But reading about Alpha Legion you expect some sort of brains to be involved and not endless dakkadakka, lazy plot armor and Harry Potter like magic. The plot is somewhat farcical and as a comedy the beats could actually work really well I think. In the vein of a Forrest Gump or similar
June 23, 2022
The writing style on a technical level was bad. There were so many list style sentences that distracted from the action. There was no stakes in the first 30 pages and the motivation for the cast wasn't introduced in the beginning. Sure, it's a book about misdirection but you have to have something to be directed from. Could have used an editor to sort out the writing issues.
January 7, 2018
Switch of Brain and Just Enjoy
I was really looking forward to reading about the Alpha Legion, and this book did deliver a good story about them, I just felt that something was missing. If you have read Legion then you will know what I mean.
I was really looking forward to reading about the Alpha Legion, and this book did deliver a good story about them, I just felt that something was missing. If you have read Legion then you will know what I mean.
September 14, 2021
An interesting Warhammer 40,000 adventure whose only flaw is the necessity of the reader to have a reasonable grounding in the unique direction Dan Abnett introduced to protagonists the Alpha Legion in his sister-series novel Legion (Horus Heresy #7, 2008).
January 16, 2018
Some very cool moments, including the Demon world and the Grey knight scenes, but the ending did not deliver in my opinion.
June 15, 2019
Had an interesting premise but certain descriptors kept being brought up in the same way multiple times... Ending was just a bit mediocre and felt unsatisfying.
September 11, 2019
Not bad, almost makes them likable.
May 29, 2023
An interesting story, the first I've read of the Alpha Legion. Bringing in the Bearers of the Word was a good choice, having just completed two novels of Word Bearers with a continuing story ) still waiting for Book 3).
It's dry in places, and sometimes a little on the light side as far as plot and characterisation go but still well worthwhile to add to your Library. I have another Alpha Legion novel, “Shroud of Night” to read after my next book (“Forges of Mars”, an omnibus by Graham McNeill) so on it goes.
A strange Legion, these serpents, as they are loyal to the God-Emperor, a belief the arisen Roboutte Guilliman is shocked by (the Emperor never wanted to be seen as a God). They are more renegade than traitor, though that is what they are as they fought against the Loyalists in the Horus Heresy, though half-hearted. It is said they actually have two Primarchs, which fits the Hydra symbol of the Legion though Alpharius is always stated as their one true Primarch. But which Alpharius?
If you are interested in the Alpha Legion, this will not fill you in on their Legion but is still a great yard, with twists and turns; double-crosses and devious plots within plots.All very much the Alpha Legion way. I'd read it again.
It's dry in places, and sometimes a little on the light side as far as plot and characterisation go but still well worthwhile to add to your Library. I have another Alpha Legion novel, “Shroud of Night” to read after my next book (“Forges of Mars”, an omnibus by Graham McNeill) so on it goes.
A strange Legion, these serpents, as they are loyal to the God-Emperor, a belief the arisen Roboutte Guilliman is shocked by (the Emperor never wanted to be seen as a God). They are more renegade than traitor, though that is what they are as they fought against the Loyalists in the Horus Heresy, though half-hearted. It is said they actually have two Primarchs, which fits the Hydra symbol of the Legion though Alpharius is always stated as their one true Primarch. But which Alpharius?
If you are interested in the Alpha Legion, this will not fill you in on their Legion but is still a great yard, with twists and turns; double-crosses and devious plots within plots.All very much the Alpha Legion way. I'd read it again.
January 16, 2024
Tough read to get through. Recommend reading Legion, Shroud of Night, or Harrowmaster for your Alpha Legion fix.
August 1, 2024
Poor writing, weak characters and pantomime chaos villains
June 28, 2025
Great book that represents some great descriptions of demon worlds and some solid Alpha Legion action.
July 12, 2025
Reads like somebody's fanfiction where they give their OC everything-proof armor, but otherwise it's fine.
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