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lonk's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Not as good as the first book, but I did find the idea of Spears trying to control an army of xenomorphs intriguing.
Parts of this book definitely felt dated and made it feel a bit cheap like it was aimed at horny teenage fantasies. I'm talking about the flashback to Spears as a 15 year old boy getting taught sex by an older, buff woman who was his superior. And Billie distracting a couple of guards into an ambush by walking past them naked and spreading her legs for them. Sheesh.
But overall the plot was enjoyable enough, despite these moments.
Parts of this book definitely felt dated and made it feel a bit cheap like it was aimed at horny teenage fantasies. I'm talking about the flashback to Spears as a 15 year old boy getting taught sex by an older, buff woman who was his superior. And Billie distracting a couple of guards into an ambush by walking past them naked and spreading her legs for them. Sheesh.
But overall the plot was enjoyable enough, despite these moments.
itcamefromthepage's review
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This book has a breakneck pace and some truly effective pieces of prose; however there are a few scenes that come out of nowhere, feeling like they belong in an entirely different type of book.
Worth a read but this is the one literary adaptation of a Dark Horse comic that I think is NOT as good as the comic.
Worth a read but this is the one literary adaptation of a Dark Horse comic that I think is NOT as good as the comic.
ladylothlorien's review
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
There was some okay action in this one and some good tense sequences but wow was this book just sexist AF and with a truly bonkers antagonist. I don’t think it’s spoilery to say Billie is overly sexualized in that way male writers of action/sci-fi have. I don’t mind her being a sexual being but she has almost zero agency in it. She has a couple of nightmares, one involving being raped by Wilks and one where aliens interrupt sex with her Android boyfriend in a gruesome way. To distract some guards, she strips naked and lures them away to where her allies ambush them (seriously this is the only plan they have?). And then she has sexual thoughts about Wilks in the shower and he has similar thoughts about her. When she and her allies are knocked out by the enemy soldiers, Billie is moaning in her sleep because she’s having a sex dream about her Android boyfriend; her allies do not have sex dreams while they are unconscious. These things only happen to Billie and it’s just infuriating. Look I’m not reading this for great character development. I want people to be chased by aliens and some of them outsmart the aliens and survive. But the sexism was just so pervasive, much more than the previous book in the series.
Then there’s the antagonist and I don’t mean the aliens.He’s a military general who is trying to tame aliens. Like get them to learn to fight for him on command. He does this by training the alien queen to tell her drone aliens to do what the general wants or he burns her eggs. Wait it gets better! At one point, the general GIVES THE ALIENS GUNS. Literally. He’s trying to teach them to shoot guns but he explains the drones are so stupid it’s like giving a monkey a gun so they’re not very accurate. Legit this man’s plan is to take his trained alien troops to Earth to fight the “wild aliens” and retake the planet. He’s exactly the kind of sociopathic asshole that you love to see get his comeuppance (and of course it happens in exactly the way that you would think), but he’s a cartoonish villain and the tone of the book just doesn’t match his absurdity. Also the man managed to find a way to make aliens less scary with his ludicrous plans.
Honestly if Ripley wasn’t in the next book (and one of the writers is female) I would be abandoning these old novels and sticking to the newer ones which are generally much better.
Then there’s the antagonist and I don’t mean the aliens.
Honestly if Ripley wasn’t in the next book (and one of the writers is female) I would be abandoning these old novels and sticking to the newer ones which are generally much better.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, and Sexism
shaunhamill's review
4.0
Hands down the best of the Aliens books I've read so far. Adds a lot of depth and color to the original comic story.
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