Legion
by Dan Abnett
The Horus Heresy Novels (7), The Horus Heresy (VII), Warhammer 40,000 (fiction) (Horus Heresy novel #7)
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A Great War is coming, and it will engulf the Imperium of Man. The Space Marines of the Alpha Legion, the last and most secretive of all the Legiones Astartes brotherhoods, arrive on a heathen world to support the Imperial Army in a pacification campaign against strange and uncanny forces. But what drives the Alpha Legion? Can they be trusted, and what side will they choose when the Great War begins? Loyalties are put to the test, and the cunning schemes of an alien intelligence revealed..
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Giving this a reread after a decade and I am pleased to learn that its better than I remember. Possibly the first BL novel to flesh out the Alpha Legion, a lot was riding on this book for us AL fanboys. Fortunately it delivers. The Legion are well-defined, their methods and behaviours not cliches. The humans are believable, the Cabal are alien. The plot is believable and well-paced, there's nothing here that can be cut. About as good as the wh40k universe gets!
Wow. Dan Abnett is one of my favorite writers. He was able to write intrigue and secrecy in a way that had me questioning the very book I was reading. Best book in the horus heresy by far so far.
This is a somewhat different approach to the Horus saga, as it focuses primarily on the Imperial army and what the reader would consider "normal" humans (as normal as humans of today could seem 30000 years in the future in regions far from here). The typical Emperor Astartes Legion is in more of a support role in this novel, and it took me about half of the book to adjust my thinking along those lines as the first six books was more of Legions' adventures literally thrown right in one's face. The basic premise: an alien race has the ability to forsee the coming Galactic Chaotic Civil War between humans and tries to implant a spy (John Grammaticus) into the Alpha Legion to warn them of the apocalypse in hopes the Alphas can prevent Chaos show more from ruling by helping to PROMOTE civil war and allowing Chaos to basically burn itself out quickly. This is a paradoxical twist that can be hard to digest for even dedicated Horus fans. I enjoyed the book, but here's hoping that future Horus novels further the saga more. show less
In my humble opinion, one of the best books Dan Abnett has ever written. He brings justice and detail to the idea of the 'Alpha Legion' in the 40k universe and his descriptions of their methods of war is exactly how I imagined them operating. The twists and turns and surprises of the story hold the readers attention from page to page. An exceptionally well written Sci-fi story and a must read for any 40k fan. A truly inspirational endeavour.
I thought this book was interesting mostly because Abnett wrote the first Heresy book, and each book since in that series by other authors has been attempts at apeing his style. He writes this book and turns it all on its head again. This is probably one of the only looks into the mysterious Alpha Legion. It is fairly standard 40k fare but the shock-twist ending is pretty crazy. Recommended for fans.
My favorite of the Horus Heresy novels. It's more of a spy thriller, exactly what you'd want in an Alpha Legion novel. Barely scratches the surface of their secrets, but a good read nonetheless.
Alpharius and the Alpha Legion are the least known, least popular but unequivocally the most mysterious of the all the space marines. Why they turned away from the crusade, mankind and the emperor remained shrouded in myth, until now. While I have enjoyed almost all of the novels Mr. Abnett has published heretofore, I feel he falls short with "Legion." While it is the seventh book in the Horus Heresy series and replete with the nuances and character development I have come to love oh so much from Mr. Abnett, I can't help but be disappointed in what, to me as the reader, felt like a flash ending. I just didn't buy Mr. Abnett's character development as to why such a deliberate, obstinate, and provident legion would rebel abruptly and with show more such violent vehemence. The novel which started so well, sadly, felt rushed towards the end. show less
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- Canonical title
- Legion
- Original title
- Legion
- Alternate titles
- Legion : Secrets and lies
- Original publication date
- 2008-03-03
- People/Characters
- Alpharius (Primarch of the Alpha Legion); Ingo Pech (First Captain, Alpha Legion); Mathias Herzog (Captain, 2nd Company, Alpha Legion); Sheed Ranko (Captain, Lernaean Terminator Squad, Alpha Legion); Omegon (Lord, Effrit Stealth Squad, Alpha Legion); Jan van Aunger (Master of the Fleet, 670th Imperial Expedition Fleet) (show all 28); Teng Namatjira (Lord Commander of the Army, 670th Imperial Expedition Fleet); Sri Vedt (Uxor Primus of the Geno Five-Two, Geno Five-Two Chiliad, Imperial Army); Honen Mu (Uxor, Geno Five-Two Chiliad, Imperial Army); Rukhsana Saiid (Uxor, Geno Five-Two Chiliad, Imperial Army); Hurtado Bronzi (Hetman, Geno Five-Two Chiliad, Imperial Army); Kaido Pius (Hetman, Geno Five-Two Chiliad, Imperial Army); Dimiter Shiban (Hetman, Geno Five-Two Chiliad, Imperial Army); Peto Soneka (Hetman, Geno Five-Two Chiliad, Imperial Army); Franco Boone (Genewhip, Geno Five-Two Chiliad, Imperial Army); Nitin Dev (Major General, Zanzibari Hort, Imperial Army); Kolmec (Bajolur, Zanzibari Hort, Imperial Army); Dinas Chayne (Bajolur-Captain, Lucifer Blacks, Imperial Army); Eiman (Companion, Lucifer Blacks, Imperial Army); Belloc (Companion, Lucifer Blacks, Imperial Army); Wilde (Lord, Crescent-Sind Sixth Torrent, Imperial Army); Khedive Ismail Sherard (Outremars, Imperial Army); Amon Jeveth (Princeps, Legio Xerxes, Imperial Army); Gan Karsh (General, Regnault Thorns, Imperial Army); John Grammaticus (The Cabal); Gahet (The Cabal); Slau Dha (The Cabal); G'Latrro (The Cabal)
- Important places
- Imperium of Man; Nurth; 42 Hydra Tertius
- Epigraph
- 'God has given you one face and
you make yourself another.'
– attributed to the dramaturge Shakespire, fl. M2
'Of the fabulous hydra it is said, cut off one head and two will grow in its place.'
– antique proverb
'No one is enough of a fool to choose war instead of peace. In peace sons bury fathers, but in war fathers bury sons.'
– attributed to the chronicler Herodotus, fl. M0
'War is simply the galaxy's hygiene.'
– attributed to the Primarch Alpharius - Dedication
- For Jack Abnett O'Reilly and Jesse Coyne for 'Counterterrorism and You: An Operator's Guide. Lesson 1'. Jesse, you have no idea how much that made me think.
Thanks to Nik, Graham McNeill, Alan Merrett and Lindsey Priestley. - First words
- Mighty heroes battle for the right to rule the galaxy.
Introduction: The Horus Heresy / It is a time of legend.
My name is Hurtado Bronzi. - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)It wouldn't be his first death, but he hoped it would be his last.
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- Reviews
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- (3.91)
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- 6 — English, French, German, Hungarian, Polish, Spanish
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- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 14
- ASINs
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