Praetorian of Dorn

[Xisor]

Well. That's that done. Crikey. Who else has read it?

Foremost: I loved the perspective of the novel.

Largely avoiding Primarchs as PoV, heavily avoiding Malcador, good use of flashbacks, plenty about a set of characters who plausibly *don't* have command responsibilities and who, consequently, are free to gallavant about on an adventure.

The story had a greatly different flavour to John's Ahriman works, which was very refreshing and surprising. (And a massive display of skill too, very well done to John!)

There is also the matter of a certain spoiler, but I'm struggling to process it, so shall say nothing.

It was great to read, at length, the Alphas & Fists doing their thing. Personally, I could have tolerated a less convoluted, more vignette-based, expansive novel - but that's not a criticism of what was served.

It'll take a while for me to come up with something deeper. Less poetic than Path of Heaven, and suitably more convoluted than Pharos and Angels of Caliban, this is nevertheless a cracking addition. Riveting, even. I whipped through it, this week.

[Lord of the Night]

There is also the matter of a certain spoiler, but I'm struggling to process it, so shall say nothing.

The spoiler in question, it's blazingly obvious what you are talking about, didn't affect me as heavily because I genuinely didn't believe that it had actually happened. I kept thinking "there's some other element we aren't aware of," or "there's another player involved we haven't met yet," or "there's something more to this whole plan that we'll only now become aware of."

But the epilogue confirmed it and I didn't know what to think. Still don't.


LotN

[David Earle]

It was just so blatantly stupid for REDACTED and I'm not sure what he was thinking. It also screwed up my head canon quite a bit.

Spoiler: Was Alpharius the GOOD one?

I did enjoy the book overall, but... woof.

[Xisor]

I've a suspicion it might take a very fine re-reading of the text(s) to make that call, David!

Part of me is almost hoping for a

Spoiler: Comic book twist that brings back not Alpharius to Omegon, but Alpharius and Betamax or Gammon or somesuch. I'd love that sort of hydra effect to be in place. (One day someone opens that vault... and it'seems utterly filled with Primarch corpses.)

But it was too shocking. Too well done. So I *don't* want a twist.

Damn it.

[You Naughty Monsters]

*Long time lurker surfacing*

How's this for a theory:

Spoiler: Alpharius fakes his own death in the sol system as a means to deceive Omegon, whom he suspects is going off piste with the original Alpha Legion plan.

Notice as soon as Dorn says "Fire!" when he confronts Alpharius, "Fields snapped into place around Alpharius" and "Alpharius was no where to be seen", but turn the page and "suddenly Alpharius was amongst the killing tide". Bit of smoke and mirrors there. Alpharius disappearing for a minute before his final showdown with Dorn is a bit odd. Perhaps Dorn has been tricked here!
We also saw some mind transference shananigans going on earlier in the novel. If a Legionnaire who thought he was Alpharius (ie had Alpharius's psyche) at this precise point was killed, perhaps Omegon would feel it? Maybe the reader has been tricked here!

[Earth127]

This book has Dorne really going I am better then you in every way Alpharius

Spoiler: And then making that statement sorta true

[Fenris]

Well,the way they presented Dorn in the heresy 2.0 is that he's supposed to be the primarch closer to Horus if you consider them all-around on abilities

Nice that they remembered