Things You Like About... Legion

[bluntblade]

Been a while since we had one of these, so let's set the bar somewhere in the middle with...

 

The classiest segue into a post-coital scene ever to appear in a Black Library publication. When this stuff does appear, it can sometimes feel a bit out-of-place, but here it actually serves to humanise the world of 40K a bit, which never hurts. And simultaneously, Abnett is working away on characterising Grammaticus, as Rukhsanna fails to understand the millennia-old idiom he's speaking.

[Dumah]

The Geno Five-Two Chiliad and Hurtado Bronzi in particular. Abnett injects character into mortals and their regiments/organizations like no other, making them stand out from the sea of  expendable beige carapace that we all tend to think of. It's not often enough that authors for the Heresy give us that mortal perspective, reminding us of the colossal import of seemingly small events in the wider view.

[Vykes]

Definitely the characters of the Geno Five-Two, Bronzy, Soneka, and Mu.  They were enjoyable characters that I felt worked well off each other as nice complementary sorts even if they still felt a little too 'Hive dregs Imperial Guard' and not quite 'honoured Imperial Army'.  However the inclusion of Uxors as an integrated caste was something I did like and appreciate.  It definitely felt like a tale of rogues and tricksters which fits the nature of the 'Specialist' and the others that do show up as well given the nature of the narrative. 

 

Most of the later portions revolving around Bronzy and Soneka were pretty enjoyable for me by depicting how operatives were supposed to work.  Honestly though, my favorite scenes were very much some of the introductory ones about the fallen Nurthene in the wadi.  It was a good establishing shot for the whole novel that I felt actually set the tone pretty well.  Admittedly the audio book totally sold it for me more than the book itself.  

 

The Lucifer Blacks role as a cool cat and mouse sort of presence was neat.  But, given the purpose of these kind of threads, I have nothing to say about Grammaticus. 

[b1soul]

Abnett explores an extremely cool concept...how would unconventional spec ops Astartes operate?

 

He doesn't portray the AL as a cring-worthy "all your base belong to us" meme. The AL are highly competent, but not invincible. They're even noble in their own way.

 

IMO, subsequent authours like Rob Sanders took what Abnett made and over-did it.

[Roomsky]

I have to third the Geno as my favourite part of this book, though I did enjoy most all of it. There's a realism and depth to them lacking in most other BL publications. While the Heresy is full of interesting characters, few come across as so believable. Bonus points for the use of "fug" where the real word wouldn't fly, and a memorable exchange about whether a commanding officer was sleeping with Rukshana.

[Phoebus]

Abnett explores an extremely cool concept...how would unconventional spec ops Astartes operate?

He doesn't portray the AL as a cring-worthy "all your base belong to us" meme. The AL are highly competent, but not invincible. They're even noble in their own way.

IMO, subsequent authours like Rob Sanders took what Abnett made and over-did it.

I genuinely liked The Serpent Beneath.

[Fire Golem]

 

Abnett explores an extremely cool concept...how would unconventional spec ops Astartes operate?

He doesn't portray the AL as a cring-worthy "all your base belong to us" meme. The AL are highly competent, but not invincible. They're even noble in their own way.

IMO, subsequent authours like Rob Sanders took what Abnett made and over-did it.

I genuinely liked The Serpent Beneath.

Yeah, I did too. I thought it was a good continuation of how they were portrayed in Legion. After that they became a bit overblown (until Praetorian of Dorn, which I also really liked).

[librisrouge]

I'm probably in the minority here but I actually didn't like Legion. To me, too much seemed to happen behind the scenes and we were expected to fill in the blanks with "Well, they are the Alpha Legion." Also, the inclusion of the cabal always grated me in the 30k setting and Legion got that ball rolling. I'd honestly have liked 30k more if the cabal weren't a thing.

[b1soul]

I didn't like the Serpent Beneath, but I did like Praetorian of Dorn. I personally like French's handling of the AL more than Sanders' or McNeill's

[mc warhammer]

i was just waiting for the “i didn’t like it” response in the thread specifically asking for what you like

 

internet never change

[mc warhammer]

but on topic...i second pretty much everything written above but for me, what i really enjoyed was the new perspective on the legion's behaviour and character.

essentially, the contrast between how the alpha legion see themselves (the ultimate pragmatists and black ops operatives. operating with no consideration of ego or glory) and how the IA depicted them (show boaters with small man syndrome who over-complicate war for its own sake)

i prefer to see it as a new perspective rather than a "revelation". to me, it speaks to the disconnect between how a group may operate (or view themselves) and how an outsider may view that group. you can see this irl with religious groups, political groups...even 40k fandom (i imagine)

[Lord_Caerolion]

I think that's the best way to show the Alpha Legion. Don't show anything definitive, as even the Alpha Legion don't wholly know. Are they pragmatic, or egotistic? Are they loyal, or traitor? The Primarch knows, but below that, it's need-to-know only, and eventually the illusion becomes the truth.

[mc warhammer]

yeah agreed. i've seen people say that legion turned the AL lore on its head...but did it really?

[Phoebus]

The only way Legion turned the original Alpha Legion lore on its head is if one were assuming the Index Astartes articles (and other material that describes historical events from a perspective thousands of years in the future) were meant to be objective truth.

[mc warhammer]

if i write an article about someone i fell out with, that paints them in a less than favourable light...obviously i’m being objective. no bias from me. nope

[b1soul]

In my experience, the people who think they have no ego tend to have pretty fragile egos buried under the facade. I think this applies to the AL at least somewhat.

[Lord_Caerolion]

What everyone forgets is that even the Index Astartes article throws doubt on many of its accounts and stories, by having many of them come from an Inquisitor later revealed to be an Alpha Legion operative.

[mc warhammer]

In my experience, the people who think they have no ego tend to have pretty fragile egos buried under the facade. I think this applies to the AL at least somewhat.

 

yup. i doubt most of the primarchs are either self aware enough or strong enough to admit they are egotistic.

 

the good thing about the AL lore is that you can take either position. and really...people are complex. even egomaniacs have humble moments or times of self sacrifice.

[Knockagh]

I loved this book. Honestly I’m not one with a Eidetic memory, in fact I can just remember the general plot and outcome.

One thing I know I loved was the cover art, this was for me probably the best in the Heresy. I’m not a massive fan of Neil Roberts art in the series but this was brilliant. I have it framed on the wall. Mysterious and frightening!

[Sandlemad]

The Geno were great, it was good to see just a little bit of alienation from the conventional 20th western style military in favour of... I'm not sure really, but something different and archaic seeming. Obviously the gene-thing and the uxors was weird and interesting but they also have hetmen and bashaws instead of commanders and captain. They wear silk capes and have fur-lined helmets. Lord Commander Namatjira is coded as vaguely Indian with his formal exoskeleton when he's receiving "Alpharius".

 

It's hard to put a finger on it because it's not "X culture in space" but it's drawing on some of the same central asian/silk road cultural markers that Abnett pulls from when he's depicting a lot of Terran imperial stuff. It's a useful reminder of where the Emperor's original power base is and stands as a nice counterbalance to the general roman/classical feel.

[no I'm alpharius]

yeah agreed. i've seen people say that legion turned the AL lore on its head...but did it really?

 

My understanding that the 'many heads of the hydra' was intended from the very start*. 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alphard

 

"Alphard, also designated Alpha Hydrae, has a spectrum which shows a mild excess of barium, an element that is normally produced by the s-process of nucleosynthesis. Typically a barium star belongs to a binary system and the anomalies in abundances are explained by mass transfer from a companion white dwarf star."

 

There's also an interview somewhere where Abnett claims the main spoiler/twist came from GW. 

 

 

 

* I say that, Slaves to Darkness has a green colour scheme and a rotated alpha as the logo. Iron Warriors fare less well. The less said about the explicitly Khornate Night Lords the better. 

[aa.logan]

I’ve revisited Legion perhaps more times than any other Heresy book, it has so much going for it.

 

For me, it’s greatness comes down to three things-

1) The fact that, like Nemesis, the Astartes are important, but not front and centre. The Crusade and the Heresy may well have been dipominated by marines, but personally I cannot picture them as being anything other than massively outnumbered by Imperial Army forces, so any book that shows more of them is onto a winner with me.

2) it’s cleverly written, slowly revealing the story having thrust you right into the middle of it. While this would work well for any faction, it is super apt for the Alpha Legion. It does rely on the reader having some knowledge of the setting, but could still work as a stand-alone piece.

3) the Cabal is an awesome idea. I like that it’s a bit stupid. I like that it’s ambiguous. I really like that it came out of left-field.

 

Also, the book has great faux-swearing.

[b1soul]

Some people hate them...but Perpetuals and Cabals trying to manipulate humanity are great additions to the mythos

 

I also like Abnett's concept of the Primordial Annihilator

[Brother Lunkhead]

This novel really made me do a double take on the Alpha Legion..... and then another double take

 

Abnett explores an extremely cool concept...how would unconventional spec ops Astartes operate?

He doesn't portray the AL as a cring-worthy "all your base belong to us" meme. The AL are highly competent, but not invincible. They're even noble in their own way.

IMO, subsequent authours like Rob Sanders took what Abnett made and over-did it.

 

Totally agree...…. Mr. Dan put a real human face on AL and portrayed their unique style of warfare and the surrounding characters reaction to them (admiration, fear, suspicion, etc.) was very believable and relatable. AL character(s) interaction with humans in general was very refreshing..... even respect and non-patronizing compassion in some cases balanced with the right amount of ruthlessness needed to get the job done.

 

Legion's character list was full, but not crowded. Beyond being a very fine story teller, Dan Abnett has a real talent for developing characters that are realistic and sympathetic..... even that worm, John Grammaticus had his moments. Of coarse Hurtado Bronzi and Peto Soneka stole the show.

 

Then there's the Cabal I know a lot of folks don't like them, but to me they perfectly represent the huge rift between the alien races and humanity. The ancient races view the human race with such utter contempt that they not only don't recognize the potential they represent, even if they did they couldn't bring themselves to approach them even as sentient beings, much less anything approaching equality. Perfectly done

 

After reading Legion, I came away with a new perspective on the Alpha Legion..... thanks Dan. Of coarse, in the end I was even more confused as to what the Alpha Legion was about...…. good job Mr. Abnett and Black Library Cabal

[Fedor]

I think it's one of the more unusual, stylistically distinct books of the HH. It reminds me a lot of the really early pre-BL '90s stuff where guys like Newman/Yeovil were putting out Beasts in Velvet, Drachenfels and Genevieve where there was a lot of self-aware shifting of classic genre tropes into a warhammer setting and played mostly straight.

 

It's basically a Cold War era spy book, complete with tongue in cheek James Bond character in Grammaticus in a battle of wits with KGB spymaster Dinas Chayne. I enjoy it on its own terms and it has a lot of flair, but it's much more pulpy Legion character building than Dan's later work for the Wolves, more in line with his very early Gaunts Ghosts stuff that proudly wears the Sharpe in space/band of brothers WW2 influences up front . Not that this is necessarily bad, but it clashes with the way the series mostly went afterward imo.