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Alien: River of Pain

(Canonical Alien Trilogy #3)

Christopher Golden (Goodreads Author)

3.79 · Rating details · 2,023 ratings · 274 reviews

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

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Paperback, 352 pages

Published November 25th 2014 by Titan Books

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Oct 21, 2018 Montzalee Wittmann rated it it was amazing

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!

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Sep 25, 2014 Kaisersoze rated it it was ok

Shelves: horror, horror-not-so-good, science-fiction

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 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 Alien: River of Pain and its very obvious why. The man is a wordsmith who can construct a hell of a paragraph. But he can only work with what he is given; or, if you prefer, it doesn't matter how much you polish a turd ...

Golden takes the reader back to tell the story of how Newt's family and the rest of the colony at Hadley's Hope, situated on a nasty piece of rock called LV-426 or Acheron (which translates to the titular "River of Pain"), are taken over by the alien infestation Ripley, Hicks, Bishop and co eventually run into during the events of the movie, Aliens.

As you might guess, there isn't a lot of narrative to work with here. Colonists find the derelict space jockey ship, disturb the eggs, get face-huggered, aliens emerge, death and destruction reign supreme. So Golden does his best to flesh this out by giving us more detail about Newt's family (which is fine), shoe-horning in a bunch of colonial marines (which seems odd) and detailing pointless other characters who seem to exist purely to add an extra 100 pages to the novel. Worse, for some reason somebody decided re-creating scenes from the first two films in the series would serve some kind of purpose here. It doesn't. It's just annoying and a waste of time (view spoiler).

It takes more than half the novel before the aliens finally appear, and then everything seems to go into fast-forward mode. Scenes that should have been tense are over in less than a page; characters who were moderately sketched in die with nary a whimper; while others who were barely mentioned last far, far longer. It all seems random and badly planned. Only Newt's mother, Anne, and the new CO for the marines, Captain Brackett, seem to have any kind of arc. The rest are just alien fodder so it's hard to care one whit when they commence dying like flies.

As a huge fan of the Aliens universe, Alien: River of Pain was a major disappointment and by far the worst novel in the series. Had it been the first, not even Golden's pretty way with words would have prompted me to return for the subsequent tales. I guess I should be thankful then, that like a crappy dessert wine, it was saved until last.

2 Face-Fulls of Alien Vomit for Alien: River of Pain. ...more

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Feb 13, 2019 Char rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: dark-fiction, audio-book, creature-feature

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

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Feb 26, 2018 Joseph Spuckler rated it liked it

Shelves: horror

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

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May 12, 2017 Emma rated it liked it · review of another edition

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

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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

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May 02, 2019 Richard rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, audiobook

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.

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Apr 27, 2018 Lena rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, audio, science-fiction

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

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Oct 24, 2017 Sabrina Grafenberger rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: horror

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

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Nov 09, 2014 Brian Taylor rated it it was ok

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

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Dec 15, 2017 Diane rated it really liked it

I can't get enough of Alien and Ripley. Movies or audiobooks. The Xenomorph is so terribly awesome.

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Dec 01, 2019 Bradley rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2019-shelf, sci-fi

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

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Nov 05, 2014 Neil rated it it was ok · review of another edition

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.

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Mar 14, 2018 AndrewP rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audio-books, science-fiction, read-in-2018

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

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Dec 06, 2018 Nick rated it really liked it · review of another edition

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.

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May 18, 2018 Nick rated it really liked it · review of another edition

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

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Feb 06, 2019 Chris rated it liked it

Shelves: horror, sci-fi, 2019-reads

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

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Jan 13, 2015 Mark rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2015-read

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 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 in the Alien Universe!
A new adventure featuring the Colonial Marines and leading directly into the second movie, Aliens.
The massively acclaimed Alien franchise is one of the most successful of all time, beginning with the first film in 1979. When Ellen Ripley finally returned to Earth, she learned that the planet LV-426–the planet from Alien–has been colonized. This novel will reveal for the first time the fate of the colonists, of the Colonial Marines who accompanied them, and how there came to be one survivor: the girl known as Newt.

Alien: River of Pain sits firmly between the first two Alien films, with the majority of the story set in Hadley’s Hope on Acheron, the planet we know as LV-426. Early passages in the novel are simply scenes from the films (one from Alien, more from Aliens) in order to set the scene of the events Ripley went through during Alien and the effects the aftermath of those events had on her. From there we alternate with scenes from Hadley’s Hope in its early days, to the events during the early part of Aliens where Ripley is on the space station orbiting Earth. After this scene-setting, and Carter Burke’s message to the colony to investigate the coordinates the Nostromo landed at, we switch entirely to Acheron, finding out just what happened to Hadley’s Hope before the arrival of the Sulaco in Aliens.

I’m a big Alien fan. I love the films, with Aliens being my favourite of them all (and in my top 3 movies of all time), so being able to read the story of Hadley’s Hope appealed massively to me. I’m not sure what newcomers will think, but there is enough background given in the early parts of the novel to bring them up to speed enough to immerse in the story. For those that have seen the films it’s a great premise, but one that doesn’t entirely work, unfortunately.

Firstly, what does work is the way Golden tells the story, building characters and examining the psyche of both Ripley and those on Acheron, particularly the Jordan family – Anne, Russ, Time and Newt – and Demian Brackett, the new CO for the marine detachment based in Hadley’s Hope. We see more of the alien ship as Anne and Russ investigate it prior to his facehugger attachment, and also the way that this is dealt with by both those in the employ of Weyland-Yutani, and of Brackett and the marines.

Characters are a clear strength throughout the novel, with Golden particularly gifted at examining the issues being part of a frontier colony has, as well as the psychological effects it has on its inhabitants. Other, more interpersonal, relationships also work very well, with the history between Anne Jordan and Demian Brackett adding another layer to the events as they unfold.

Golden also balances the build-up and pay-off well, with roughly the first half of the novel giving depth to both characters and setting before the shit hits the fan. When it goes wrong, it really goes wrong, and there was no point I didn’t feel that the xenomorphs weren’t truly dangerous and deadly.

However, not all runs smoothly in Alien: River of Pain. The biggest issue I had with the novel was the inclusion of the marine detachment in Hadley’s Hope. Within the context of the story it does work, but when looked at as a prequel to Aliens, it just doesn’t. Including something that was never mentioned, or even hinted at, during that film really grated on me, and I’ve found it very difficult to get past this glaring issue. There are also other, smaller aspects that, as a fan of the director’s cut of Aliens, stood out like a sore thumb. Events portrayed in that cut of the film were changed slightly on the page and, while this shouldn’t be much of a problem, I came away annoyed that they weren’t addressed and amended to reflect what was seen on screen. This isn’t a completely brand-new story, and as such those parts that were recycled from the film should have been kept as they were.

There is also the issue of how the scientists deal with the emergence of the chestbusters. It’s a given that they first time it happens and the xenomorph swiftly runs into the ducts would come as a surprise, but once they know what to expect restrictions and controls should be put in place, but they weren’t. It’s a shame that small points like this take away from what could have been a solid story.

Taken at face value, Alien: River of Pain is the best novel out of the new trilogy. The story of Hadley’s Hope and its inhabitants is strong and gripping, but minor issues that could of (and should of) been addressed take away from this strength. However, the major issue of marines present in the colony is one that I simply can’t ignore or overlook, and it’s a damned shame. Despite this I’d recommend the novel to Alien fans and newcomers alike, perhaps others can look past the issues that I had. ...more

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Sep 19, 2017 William Aicher rated it really liked it

great prequel to aliens. liked that character and world building. now I want to watch aliens again!

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May 01, 2018 Wendy rated it liked it

Interesting, but ultimately, I was not all the curious about what happened in the few minutes before the movie takes place. Just check the deleted scenes.

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Apr 24, 2018 Suzanne rated it liked it

Shelves: audio, science-fiction, action

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!

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Jul 02, 2015 Stephan rated it did not like it

Shelves: aliens, sci-fi, horror

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) 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)[So, about half of the book goes by without a single, live, xenomorph making an appearance. During this time we are introduced to quite a lot of characters. Colonists, colonial marines, prospectors as well as some well know characters from James Camerons Aliens. Even though most of these characters are well described with clear motivations I find it very hard to actually care for what's going to happen to them. Simply because most of them are complete assholes. About half of the marines stationed at Hadleys Hope are introduced and described as nothing more than school bullies. Seriously, Draco Malfoy wouldn't feel out of place among them. The science team is as humane as you'd expect from an alien-novel, so no surprise there. I could almost say the same regarding the administration if it wasn't for a couple of characters informing the reader of their good qualities... qualities the reader hardly ever get to see for him or herself.

Also there's quite a few references to Aliens. Some scenes from the film are included but, whether it's a mistake from the author or due to executive meddling, the lines are wrong. We are also treated to a better look at the derelict spacecraft on LV-426, the one introduced in Ridley Scotts Alien. It's really interesting to expand on it and to see some parts that's not been seen before. Unfortunately it feels like too much was added. We have lot's of dead Xenomorphs, even a queen and some dead engineers from Prometheus. The main problem here is that these images doesn't fit with what we've seen in the films. There where no dead aliens littering half the ship and there where no eggs in the chamber where they found the space jockey. It doesn't sit right with me that the engineers would've left the dead pilot just sitting there in the control cradle after its death. Also why didn't any of the crew from the Nostromo encounter these dead aliens?

But these are far from the only plot holes... If the company knew there had been a discovery involving aliens on LV-426, why then didn't they send any other representative than Burke on the mission to investigate the sudden radio silence? Why didn't the marines in Aliens look for the stashed weapons and ammunition the local marines would have had? Why are there even marines there? Aliens never gives the impression of there being any local marines present. The damages they report in the film comes from small arms fire and improvised explosives. Not plasma burns or assault rifle shots. Why do the author jump between plasma weapons and solid slug pulse rifles at the drop of a hat for that matter? Why didn't any one of the marines, officers, colonists, prospectors, administrators or scientists think of using the personal data transmitters every colonist had in order to find the missing people? Wouldn't that be the first thing to go to when someone disappeared? How did the scientists manage to keep a space worthy ship hidden INSIDE the colony? shouldn't it be visible from the outside? why didn't any one notice it? Why do the aliens cocoon their victims on site and not later where the eggs are?
WHY, WHY, WHY?

Plot holes aside, not even the ending is any good. Ever read Aliens: Original Sin? We are treated to an ending which feels quite like that one with a crew who've just survived an alien infestation, together with a young girl they've rescued heading of into space vowing to take revenge on a group of people for what they've done. It didn't work in that story, it sure didn't work here either. (hide spoiler)]

So, don't I have anything good to say about this novel? Oh, yes I have. The author has a very good way with words. The setting is brilliantly described and it's easy to imagine the places, the people and the horror. Even though I can't bother to care for most of the characters I'm still hooked as their defences are falling apart and people begin to disappear, so it's not all negatives that it took half the novel to introduce the setting and characters. I'm also glad to finally read a novel where the danger of the xenomorphs acidic blood isn't understated and where the incubation time of the chestburster fit with the films!

All in all though this is the weakest of the trilogy. It doesn't fit with the other novels. There are far too many mistakes in it. The story of Newt has already been told in Aliens: Newt's Tale. It, among with the other three novels, retcons far too much established material.
I wouldn't recommend it to a die hard Alien-fan. They would probably be too upset, like me :) ...more

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Dec 16, 2017 Jeff Bottrell rated it really liked it

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

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Nov 27, 2014 Brandon rated it liked it

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

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Jan 07, 2015 Greig Beck rated it really liked it

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!

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May 02, 2017 Michael Hicks rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: bought, horror, media-tie-in, sci-fi-fantasy, audiobook

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 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 exactly where things are headed, though, and this story serves as a direct prequel and side-story to that film, as author Christopher Golden takes us through the xenomorphic siege of the lost colony.

Much of this production’s first half is a slow burn, as listeners are introduced to the various factions and individuals within the colony. There’s the colony administrator, the various teams of surveyors, including Russ and Anne Jorden and their children (one of whom is the first human born on Acheron and goes by the nickname Newt), scientists from the Weyland-Yutani mega-corporation, and a team of marines, led by their new commander Damien Brackett. Interspersed between the story of Acheron’s development are snippets of Ellen Ripley’s recovery, much of which is lifted straight out of Aliens and provides a timeline of continuity between the two stories. Fans of Laurel Lefkow will be pleased to know the actress returns from Out of the Shadows to once again voice Ripley, delivering a pitch-perfect performance that eerily and uncannily resembles Sigourney Weaver’s original performance.

It’s not until the mid-way point of the production that things kick into high gear after the Jorden’s receive orders from Weyland-Yutani to survey a set of very specific coordinates, which lead them to a very familiar derelict ship, and a very familiar discovery. From that point on, the production gets it Alien freakshow going good.

While River of Pain is an entertaining listen, due largely to Dirk Maggs’ intense production values and fully immersive soundscape, and solid performances across the board from the drama’s large cast, this does come with a caveat. This is an enjoyable listen, but nothing about the story is particularly surprising. Anybody who has seen Aliens knows exactly what this story is about and how it will unravel right from the very start (although the very last moments do provide an interesting twist and potential for future exploration). The cast and crew are certainly game for it all, though, and I’m certainly happy to listen to an Audible Original, particularly when it involves one of my favorite sci-fi horror franchises. From a production standpoint, this book is certainly a success and is chock-full of atmosphere, gunfire, screams, and alien threats lurking right behind you.

With this latest release, Audible has now produced two dramas based on novels originally published as part of Titan Books’ 2014 trilogy. Alien: Sea of Sorrows, written by James A. Moore, has yet to be adapted, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed for an Alien Day 2018 release. ...more

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Jan 02, 2019 Jonathan Maas rated it it was amazing

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

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Sep 05, 2017 Brady rated it really liked it

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

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Nov 23, 2017 Brad rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle

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

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Mar 12, 2018 Rai FG rated it really liked it

Shelves: known-universe, sci-fi, fin2018, audiobook

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

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About Christopher Golden

Christopher Golden

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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