ALIEN - OUT OF THE SHADOWS

[Water Bob]

Tim Lebbon has written a pretty darn good book set in the Alien universe, and, from what I understand, his story is considered canon (unlike most books written for the universe).


ALIEN: OUT OF THE SHADOWS


It takes place between the first two films, Alien and Aliens. The way Lebbon ties in his story is masterful (and should be kept secret so that readers will delight in its discovery).


The Alien universe is getting warm again as Dark Horse is putting out new comics, and there are several new novels set in the universe (some of them, like this one, considered canon).


If you are interested in Out of Shadows, there are several ways to experience the story.


You can read the paperback novel: Out of the Shadows at Amazon






You can listen to the unabridged audiobook: Out of the Shadows at Audible






Or, you can listen to an excellent dramatization (and I mean, this is a top notch production--check out the sample) of the story, produced by Audible Studios: Out of the Shadows - Dramatized at Audible


One of the characters is voiced by Rutger Hauer!

If you like the Alien universe, I do think that you'll like this book as it extends the original story. It's like a missing piece between Alien and Aliens.


Good Stuff!










HERE'S A LINK to a promo that Audible did on YouTube.

 

[amerigoV]

Thank you for pointing this out! I have read this and River of Pain (the third book). I'll give my thoughts on these two books.

I'll do Alien:River of Pain first.

This book tells the story of what happened to Hadley's Hope on LV426 that lead to the events in Aliens. Given we all know what the outcome is as seen in Aliens, I give kudos to Christopher Golden - he does a good job of getting the reader (well, me anyway) to vest in characters other than Newt. It overall has a good pace and the lead characters are interesting. Note: this is not a story from Newt's POV, but she does figure prominently in it - and it gives the flip side of the coin from Ripley's strong draw to her due to her own lost daughter (Amanda).

If one were introducing someone to the Alien movies, this is best enjoyed after Aliens so as not to give too much away.

Alien - Out of Shadows

Non-spoiler review - if you miss Alien and Aliens, this is a good romp back though much of what you enjoyed about those two movies. I found to very nostalgic and it should only be read long after enjoying the two movies (in case you are introducing this to someone new to the Aliens franchise). That said, it does not add all the much to the overall story.

[sblock=More thoughts but Spoilers]
So this book is about 45% Alien, 45% Aliens then some grab from Alien 3 and Prometheus. Overall, it added or confirmed a numbers of things:

1. It explains why Ripley was lost for so long - Ash installed an instance of his AI onto the shuttle and purposely kept her out in space to search for more Xenomorphs

2. Added to the intensity of the nightmares Ripley was having at the beginning of Aliens (flashback to erased memories)

3. The Alien takes on aspects host DNA (as seen in Alien 3 and the AVP movies)

Overall I did enjoy revisiting the genre with the direct inclusion of Ripley and Ash. But it feels like one of those old Star Wars EU-now-Legends stories - fun, but "not in my <franchise> universe". I know its canon, but it has its weaknesses.

What I am on the fence about liking:

1. Ash. In the book he is unabashedly all Special Order 937. Maybe it was just me, but in Alien Ash appeared to struggle between his base non-violent scientist programming and the conflicting requirements of SO 937 - it was like he was going "insane" or struggling with a paradox in Alien. Here, there is no conflict. Part of me is ok with that - he has had 37ish years or so to work out the kinks in his thinking. On the other hand, I like conflicted villains much more than straight on "pure evil" - even if he is just the instrument of the Company.

2. The couple of percent from Prometheus is the advance W-Y medical machine. It is military version and has a feature to wipe recent memories. This is the plot device that allows the story to exist - as far as Ripley is concerned, this story never happened, even if it is one of the contributors to her nightmares in Aliens. I figured as the story unfolded this was just one of her nightmares (ie, the story would end with her coming out of a nightmare on the Gateway space station). I wish the ending was more ambiguous - that it could have been the machine but that she woke up from a nightmare to end the book. That would have been more impactful to me - what it real, or was it a nightmare? It would leave one with something to think about like at the end of The Thing (1982) or the end of Pet Cemetery (book only). I have not read the second book, but I believe it involves the same planet so the point may be moot anyway.

Overall a good read, but it should not be read before Aliens even thought is a "bridge" story -it steals some of the thunder of Aliens like the inclusion of a Queen.

[/sblock]

 

[Water Bob]

Another one of these is coming out on 4-26-17. It's River of Pain, by Christopher Golden.

Basically, it's the story of Aliens told from the other side. The story starts just before Newts family arrives. You see the colony populate. You see Newt grow. And, you see what happened to the colony before Ripley and her Marines arrived in the second film.

I'm looking forward to this.

AUDIBLE LINK TO RIVER OF PAIN.


It's on sale right now. $10.24 for members. Half Price.

BTW, this story is considered canon within the universe.

 

[Water Bob]

For those interested in the Alien universe, there's an effort on rekindle the fire of the Alien Extended Universe. New comics have been coming out. The Aliens novels from the 90's are republished, collected in omnibus editions CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FIRST ONE AT AMAZON. And new books are being published.

The newest one is BUG HUNT, a collection of tales about Marines and Aliens. I just received mine today.

CLICK HERE TO SEE BUG HUNT AT AMAZON.



Plus, there are three new novels out. Two of them have been dramatized, and I mention them up thread. But, if you want the novel, that's out too.

All links go to Amazon.

ALIEN OUT OF THE SHADOWS

This is a story of Ellen Ripley, and it takes place between the movies Alien and Aliens.



ALIEN SEA OF SORROWS

This story is set hundreds of years in the future from the time of the original films. You meet one of Ellen Ripley's descendants.



ALIEN RIVER OF PAIN

This is the story of LV-426. Watch as little Rebecca grows into the young girl called Newt. This is the story of the colony directly before Ripley and her Marines arrive.

 

[Water Bob]

FYI, The 22nd Annual Audie Awards (for audiobooks), and the dramatized production of Alien: Out of the Shadows won the 2017 award for Excellence in Production.