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Alien: River of Pain
(Canonical Alien Trilogy #3)
by
When Ellen Ripley finally returns to Earth, she learns that the planet LV-426—now called Acheron—has been colonized. But LV-426 is where Ripley and the crew of theNostromofound the original Xenomorph—the killing machine known as the Alien.
Protected by the Colonial Marines, the colonists seek to terraform the storm-swept planet. Two such residents are Anne and Russell ...more
Protected by the Colonial Marines, the colonists seek to terraform the storm-swept planet. Two such residents are Anne and Russell ...more
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Paperback, 352 pages
Published
November 25th 2014
by Titan Books
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Adelaide Blair
It is a book. I am listening to the full cast audio from Audible.
Community Reviews
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Start your review of Alien: River of Pain (Canonical Alien trilogy, #3)

Alien:River of Pain takes place right before Ripley is found floating in an old ship in space with her cat in a cryogenic unit. It is also before Newt is even born that the story starts. It is the story of the settlers, scientists, and marines that were there at the time. We know from the movie Newt is the only survivor, well, this is that story.
Narration was a full cast and pieces from the movie. Excellent!
Narration was a full cast and pieces from the movie. Excellent!

You know a three book series is a little light on for ideas when one has to skip forward hundreds of years and deal with a descendent of the first book's main character, only for the third book to zap back into the past to tell a tale only peripherally related to that same main character. Such is the major flaw with this final novel in the newest ALIEN trilogy sanctioned and promoted as canon by the good executives at 20th Century Fox.
Christoper Golden is this time handed writing duties for ...more
Christoper Golden is this time handed writing duties for ...more

This was a free Audible Original and right up my alley, so I hopped on it.
I especially liked the last one I listened to Alien: Out of the Shadows by Tim Lebbon, so I thought I would enjoy this one just as much. I didn't.
I felt that during the first half, not much happened, other than us meeting everyone, which seemed like a bit of a waste, since (view spoiler)
Also, when the action finally started, it was a bit difficult to fathom what was going ...more
I especially liked the last one I listened to Alien: Out of the Shadows by Tim Lebbon, so I thought I would enjoy this one just as much. I didn't.
I felt that during the first half, not much happened, other than us meeting everyone, which seemed like a bit of a waste, since (view spoiler)
Also, when the action finally started, it was a bit difficult to fathom what was going ...more

This is an audible.com book presented as a daily deal presented for under $5.00
River of Pain attempts to fill in the gap between the Alien and Aliens movies and presented as a full dramatization of the book. Its much like listening to a movie with no picture and there is a something that triggers my mind that wants to see what is going on. I feel like much of the setting and minor details do not make it into the dramatization. I found this more distracting than helpful though. The story does a ...more
River of Pain attempts to fill in the gap between the Alien and Aliens movies and presented as a full dramatization of the book. Its much like listening to a movie with no picture and there is a something that triggers my mind that wants to see what is going on. I feel like much of the setting and minor details do not make it into the dramatization. I found this more distracting than helpful though. The story does a ...more

Not quite as good as the last Alien dramatisation by Audible, Alien: Out of the Shadows: An Audible Original Drama, which I loved. This is set just before the arrival of marines in Aliens and while there's a certain delicious tingle you get as a listener knowing everyone is going to die save one little Newt, none of the characters were vivid enough for me to really enjoy their horrible deaths. Not only that, nobody stared dying until at least half way through. Come on producers, all we really
...more

Aug 24, 2017
Sinisa Mikasinovic
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
fans of Aliens franchise, good thrillers and horrors
Oh... My... Gods... PERFECT!

I'm sitting here for 10 minutes now not knowing how to start this review. This book was a rollercoaster of emotions.
At first I didn't even want to try it, as ignore is my default reaction when ad bombardment starts. Audible aggresively promoted the book everywhere and it was very hard to ignore. Which was pissing me off.
But as somewhat of a fan of this universe, it would have been irresponsible of me not to give it a fair try. At least that's my rationalization for ...more

I'm sitting here for 10 minutes now not knowing how to start this review. This book was a rollercoaster of emotions.
At first I didn't even want to try it, as ignore is my default reaction when ad bombardment starts. Audible aggresively promoted the book everywhere and it was very hard to ignore. Which was pissing me off.
But as somewhat of a fan of this universe, it would have been irresponsible of me not to give it a fair try. At least that's my rationalization for ...more

5/10
The previous audiobook was fun and had me wanting to listen more and more. This one forgot the fun element and was a bit of a bore. It's a lot of scene setting for an end result of lots of machine gun noises and people you don't care about dying.
The production was top notch, can't fault that. The story was boring. I doubt I'll listen to any more unless they pop up as a freebie.
The previous audiobook was fun and had me wanting to listen more and more. This one forgot the fun element and was a bit of a bore. It's a lot of scene setting for an end result of lots of machine gun noises and people you don't care about dying.
The production was top notch, can't fault that. The story was boring. I doubt I'll listen to any more unless they pop up as a freebie.


This full cast audible drama was amazing! 5 stars for the audible and 3 stars for the overall story.
We do learn some interesting things such as why Burke went along with the marines and all about Newts family.
The voice actors were a good match to known characters and the MC marine sounded just like Ron Perlman. But no one can scream like Newt.
(view spoiler)
Solid read to celebrate ...more

This book is ridiculous.
I'm a sucker for happy endings and always want the best for all the characters. So it's not a good sign when I read something and hope for everyone to die at the end. The team was just so stupid, I was rooting for the Aliens the whole time (who were a lot more intelligent and better organized by the way).
The humans made so many dumb decisions. They kept saying things like "For crying out loud, it's some kind of snake, not the boogeyman" even after five Aliens were on ...more
I'm a sucker for happy endings and always want the best for all the characters. So it's not a good sign when I read something and hope for everyone to die at the end. The team was just so stupid, I was rooting for the Aliens the whole time (who were a lot more intelligent and better organized by the way).
The humans made so many dumb decisions. They kept saying things like "For crying out loud, it's some kind of snake, not the boogeyman" even after five Aliens were on ...more

Well, this was my least favorite of the new trilogy. This one takes A LONG TIME to get going, and by the time things do get going I found myself not caring about the characters the way I did with the other two books. I also didn't care for the bits of the film (Aliens) woven into the plot. In my opinion, the book would have worked just fine without them. The aliens don't show up until approximately 2/3 of the way through the book, which was a bit of a disappointment for me. I kept wondering when
...more

Let's be real. Novels based on movie franchises (or tv, for that matter,) often feel like a nostalgia trip if not an outright money grab.
So, you like the movie Aliens? The Cameron one? Well, good news! This one adds a lot to the original movie, adding a lot of backstory for the original colonists on Archeron where we get to see Newt and her parents and the ultimate destruction of the colony.
We also get Ripley and a bit more of her story on Earth before all the S**t went down.
Here's the real:
I ...more
So, you like the movie Aliens? The Cameron one? Well, good news! This one adds a lot to the original movie, adding a lot of backstory for the original colonists on Archeron where we get to see Newt and her parents and the ultimate destruction of the colony.
We also get Ripley and a bit more of her story on Earth before all the S**t went down.
Here's the real:
I ...more

Aliens is one of my top 5 all time favourite movies, and I always wanted to know the back story of Hadley's hope and this novel delivered that. However a very lacklustre ending spoiled what was a pretty decent attempt at a alien novel. The pace really picked up halfway though but just fell kind of flat....shame.

This is an Audible exclusive radio drama, with a full cast, sound effects and music. A bit different to your average audio book, and for me the quality of the voice acting and production were outstanding. I got totally immersed in the story even though I pretty much knew where it was going. (It's an Alien story and they all pretty much have the same pattern.)
The drama fills in a part of the story not covered in the movies. It's about the fate of the colony on LV-426, then know as Acheron. The ...more
The drama fills in a part of the story not covered in the movies. It's about the fate of the colony on LV-426, then know as Acheron. The ...more

While the previous two novels in this new Alien series have been good this one is excellently done. Whilst not 100% new like the others this expands upon and fills in many gaps about what happened on LV426 prior to Aliens.
The characters are good, the action gripping and well written and the story is very good despite knowing how it eventually turns out.
For any fans of the books or the films this would definitely be recommended, its like Aliens : Special Editions - The prequel.

I'll leave my review of the story to my read of the actual book, this is purely looking at the Audible drama version.
It was fun.
The acting generally was good with nothing detracting from the action and story except for Newts scream. Seriously this was just bad.
The sound effects and dialogue was fitting to the story and authentic to the series and it was an enjoyable romp as it dipped in and out of the films scenes. What was Dr Bashir doing in it though? I know he's an actor doing other stuff but ...more
It was fun.
The acting generally was good with nothing detracting from the action and story except for Newts scream. Seriously this was just bad.
The sound effects and dialogue was fitting to the story and authentic to the series and it was an enjoyable romp as it dipped in and out of the films scenes. What was Dr Bashir doing in it though? I know he's an actor doing other stuff but ...more

I really enjoyed Alien: Out of the Shadows. So much in fact that I bought the next two in the series,including this one. While I realize that I am "reading" them out of publication order, I opted for chronological order. I doubt that changed my opinion.
This installment was really nothing more than a set up or prequel for the second in the Alien movie series although Mr. Golden tried very hard to make this a compelling story despite the fact that we already know the outcome if we saw Aliens.
As a ...more
This installment was really nothing more than a set up or prequel for the second in the Alien movie series although Mr. Golden tried very hard to make this a compelling story despite the fact that we already know the outcome if we saw Aliens.
As a ...more

Originally published at SFFWorld.
Alien: River of Pain by Christopher Golden is the final novel in the new Alien trilogy release last year by Titan Books. The first two books, Alien: Out of the Shadows and Alien: Sea of Sorrows, focused on the planet LV-178 and told two semi-connected stories set a couple of hundred year apart. Alien: River of Pain, meanwhile, returns us to very familiar surroundings: LV-426. Acheron. Hadley’s Hope.
From the publisher:
Concluding the all-new, official trilogy set ...more
Alien: River of Pain by Christopher Golden is the final novel in the new Alien trilogy release last year by Titan Books. The first two books, Alien: Out of the Shadows and Alien: Sea of Sorrows, focused on the planet LV-178 and told two semi-connected stories set a couple of hundred year apart. Alien: River of Pain, meanwhile, returns us to very familiar surroundings: LV-426. Acheron. Hadley’s Hope.
From the publisher:
Concluding the all-new, official trilogy set ...more

You know, I think I admire the aliens more than I admire the humans in this one - the humans made poor decision after poor decision.
I didn't realize until after reading that this was the setup for the Alien 2 movie - I kind of feel like I should go watch that again, since it has been forever.
Anyway - this was total brain candy, but I was entertained. A couple books I've read this week could have used the addition of some aliens - they might have cut down on the endless angst.
Go Aliens!
I didn't realize until after reading that this was the setup for the Alien 2 movie - I kind of feel like I should go watch that again, since it has been forever.
Anyway - this was total brain candy, but I was entertained. A couple books I've read this week could have used the addition of some aliens - they might have cut down on the endless angst.
Go Aliens!

An Aliens-story set on LV-426 just before Ripley and her company of merry marines arrive in Aliens.
We are introduced to the everyday activities of the colonists especially the Jordens, Newts family, and of the discovery of the xenomorphs which leads to the fall of the colony.
It's not a good novel.
(view spoiler) ...more
We are introduced to the everyday activities of the colonists especially the Jordens, Newts family, and of the discovery of the xenomorphs which leads to the fall of the colony.
It's not a good novel.
(view spoiler) ...more

These Audible studio productions of the Alien stories are total brain candy - really high-quality productions. I marvel, too, at how they found voice actors who sound so similar to the film actors - particularly the voice actress in the part of Ripley, who sounds so much like Sigourney Weaver that it's a bit creepy. The plot to this one involves giving the colony backstory to show what happens in the Aliens film right before Ripley and the marines arrive (second movie). You might think none of
...more

I did enjoy this, but I think it could have been tied together better. Brief scenes from the movies/novelizations interspersed with an original story. My expectations were different for this, but it still tells the story of the colony. I'm interested to see if the novelizations Titan has put out are any different to the original version to integrate the new bits, although everything from Out of the Shadows has been completely shoved aside in this novel, except a brief and I think accidental
...more

I loved the Alien books and the movies. And this book fills in the gap, exploring what happened to the colony on LV426. Remember in ALIENS (II) where we saw the big melt hole in the floor, where they had 'bagged one of Ripley's bad guys'? Or where the colonists barricaded themselves in for a 'last stand.' it's all here, and done with style, tension, and great continuity with the other aspects of the franchise. Loved it!

My original ALIEN: RIVER OF PAIN audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.
Alien: River of Pain, the latest Audible Original Drama to commemorate Alien Day (4/26, as in the planetary vacation hot-spot LV-426), picks up right on the heels of the film, Alien, and last year’s audiodrama, Alien: Out of the Shadows. Here, a group of colonists have begun settling and terraforming the inhospitable rock cataloged as LV-426, now renamed Acheron. Fans of the movie Aliens know ...more
Alien: River of Pain, the latest Audible Original Drama to commemorate Alien Day (4/26, as in the planetary vacation hot-spot LV-426), picks up right on the heels of the film, Alien, and last year’s audiodrama, Alien: Out of the Shadows. Here, a group of colonists have begun settling and terraforming the inhospitable rock cataloged as LV-426, now renamed Acheron. Fans of the movie Aliens know ...more

A Fitting Conclusion to a Great Trilogy
The Canonical Alien Trilogy was officially allowed by those who made Alien -
* Book 1 - Alien: Out of the Shadows
* Book 2 - Alien: Sea of Sorrows
* Book 3 - Alien: River of Pain
3 different authors, 3 different tales, all connected - though just barely.
Book 1 finds a way to sneak in the middle between Alien the movie and Aliens. The way they do this is a bit contrived, but it's worth it.
Book 2 goes to the future and connects to this series, and is the most ...more
The Canonical Alien Trilogy was officially allowed by those who made Alien -
* Book 1 - Alien: Out of the Shadows
* Book 2 - Alien: Sea of Sorrows
* Book 3 - Alien: River of Pain
3 different authors, 3 different tales, all connected - though just barely.
Book 1 finds a way to sneak in the middle between Alien the movie and Aliens. The way they do this is a bit contrived, but it's worth it.
Book 2 goes to the future and connects to this series, and is the most ...more

This was my second favorite book out of the newer three Alien books, Out of the Shadows being my favorite and Sea of Sorrows my least favorite. It was intense, atmospheric, and the Aliens are written well, as opposed to Sea of Sorrows where they just seem too easy to kill, and thus not scary at all. The first half is rather slow moving, but the pay off is great. Christopher Golden is also a better character writer than Lebbon or Moore and the characters were more relatable and better written in
...more

1. Disclaimer, I love the Aliens movies
2. What a screwed up timeline for a "series"????
Book 1 was set in between Movie 1 and Movie 2.
Book 2 is set hundreds of years into the future after Movie #4, but on the same planet as book 1.
Book 3 is set in the first 30 minutes of movie #2. So kinda after book 1, but makes no reference to it. Because book 1 is a 'stealth' book, where characters lose their memories, so the plot of book 1 is forgotten.
Okay, I have vented my spleen about the ridiculousness of ...more
2. What a screwed up timeline for a "series"????
Book 1 was set in between Movie 1 and Movie 2.
Book 2 is set hundreds of years into the future after Movie #4, but on the same planet as book 1.
Book 3 is set in the first 30 minutes of movie #2. So kinda after book 1, but makes no reference to it. Because book 1 is a 'stealth' book, where characters lose their memories, so the plot of book 1 is forgotten.
Okay, I have vented my spleen about the ridiculousness of ...more

I came to this via the "Audible Original Drama" version of the book and as a long-time fan of the film series I felt like this could add something a little more to the universe for me. The dramatisation makes it a lot quicker to get through the story and is well worth a listen. The voice acting is excellent and production is too; fans of the films will enjoy the extra sound effects.
The story itself expands on what happens prior to the Aliens film and to anchor it within the canon there are ...more
The story itself expands on what happens prior to the Aliens film and to anchor it within the canon there are ...more
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Christopher Golden is the award-winning, bestselling author of such novels as The Myth Hunters, Wildwood Road, The Boys Are Back in Town, The Ferryman, Strangewood, Of Saints and Shadows, and (with Tim Lebbon) Mind the Gap. Golden co-wrote the lavishly illustrated novel Baltimore, or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire with Mike Mignola, which they are currently scripting as a feature film
...more
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Canonical Alien Trilogy
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“He had learned that sometimes there was no safe path, no decision from which one could emerge unscathed. In those cases, he had been taught to take the path of honor, even if it led to pain or death”
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“Whoever had given LV-426 its new name had”
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