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twicomb's review
2.0
Could have been a great chance to give us more backstory / insight on some key canon characters (more nuggets on those who went on Prometheus, especially David and Weyland himself; Walter; etc), as well as some nuggets on canon elements like what drove Weyland-Yutani before the discovery of the aliens took over all their secret agendas. Instead it somehow manages to do a lot of talking but say nothing. Also, the author jumps the shark (probably on purpose out of boredom for his own story) and throws in an entire scene with war horses that is both absurd and idiotic. No spoilers. Just be prepared for the random idiocy when you get there.
P.S. the audiobook reader spends the entire book mispronouncing the name of the planet they are headed for (Origae-6, which he pronounces “ohr-EE-zhay)…yet you can watch the first twenty minutes of Covenant to hear the crew correctly pronounce it multiple times (ohr-ih-GUY). He’s not even close, as in he obviously has no idea and just made up a pronunciation. Did NOBODY on the audio book production team bother to check this? Apparently not.
P.S. the audiobook reader spends the entire book mispronouncing the name of the planet they are headed for (Origae-6, which he pronounces “ohr-EE-zhay)…yet you can watch the first twenty minutes of Covenant to hear the crew correctly pronounce it multiple times (ohr-ih-GUY). He’s not even close, as in he obviously has no idea and just made up a pronunciation. Did NOBODY on the audio book production team bother to check this? Apparently not.
john87's review
3.0
I'll just say this off the bat: There are no Xenomorphs to be found in this movie tie-in. So your enjoyment may vary heavily depending on whether or not you can live with an Alien book not having any... well, aliens.
What your left with instead is a light thriller that's all about corporate espionage and cults with the Alien universe as its backdrop. A lot of it feels underdeveloped to be sure but at the same time it's a also a breath of fresh air in the context of the other novels that frequently serve up all the all-too-familiar story beats. Covenant Origins, for better or worse, dares to be bold in that it throws most of your expectations out the window and goes in a different direction. Not everything sticks of course but considering its short length I'd say its worth a read if you want a bit of a breather from all the Colonial Marine and Alien induced violence.
What your left with instead is a light thriller that's all about corporate espionage and cults with the Alien universe as its backdrop. A lot of it feels underdeveloped to be sure but at the same time it's a also a breath of fresh air in the context of the other novels that frequently serve up all the all-too-familiar story beats. Covenant Origins, for better or worse, dares to be bold in that it throws most of your expectations out the window and goes in a different direction. Not everything sticks of course but considering its short length I'd say its worth a read if you want a bit of a breather from all the Colonial Marine and Alien induced violence.
kranks35's review
challenging
informative
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
staralfur's review against another edition
2.0
Well... I'm fairly new to the Alien franchise, other than having seen and enjoyed a couple of the films. So I figured I'd just pick up this one, which is listed as book 0 on Audible. And I mean... It's a nice introduction to the situation on Earth, and some of the characters that you spend time with in the next story, [b:Alien: Covenant|33541226|Alien Covenant|Alan Dean Foster|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1493047953l/33541226._SY75_.jpg|54308719] (which I have also listened to prior to writing this review).
But this one isn't really what you'd expect in this series. For a start, there are no aliens here. This story is set on Earth, and there is a conspiracy/mystery type of plot where someone is trying to sabotage the Covenant from leaving the planet for its mission. And that is interesting enough, but seeing as I already knew that the next book was called [b:Alien: Covenant|33541226|Alien Covenant|Alan Dean Foster|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1493047953l/33541226._SY75_.jpg|54308719], there was no real conflict here for me. I feel like I sort of already knew a lot about how it would end, even as a newbie to this franchise.
Now that I have also listened to [b:Alien: Covenant|33541226|Alien Covenant|Alan Dean Foster|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1493047953l/33541226._SY75_.jpg|54308719], I just sort of feel like I didn't gain much from reading this one. I would have had absolutely no problem going straight into [b:Alien: Covenant|33541226|Alien Covenant|Alan Dean Foster|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1493047953l/33541226._SY75_.jpg|54308719] without this book. All of this said, it is a pretty well written mystery as an isolated story. If I hadn't already known that the Covenant would make it, I would perhaps be more worried about how the story would end. So I can't fault the book for this... I don't know... Might just be me, but I would have been more interested in learning more about why they were trying to sabotage it, and why they believe what they believe.
In conclusion: Shrug. I don't mind having read it, but I wouldn't have missed anything had I skipped it, I think. Maybe having listened to it comes in handy in future books, that I have not gotten to yet?
But this one isn't really what you'd expect in this series. For a start, there are no aliens here. This story is set on Earth, and there is a conspiracy/mystery type of plot where someone is trying to sabotage the Covenant from leaving the planet for its mission. And that is interesting enough, but seeing as I already knew that the next book was called [b:Alien: Covenant|33541226|Alien Covenant|Alan Dean Foster|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1493047953l/33541226._SY75_.jpg|54308719], there was no real conflict here for me. I feel like I sort of already knew a lot about how it would end, even as a newbie to this franchise.
Now that I have also listened to [b:Alien: Covenant|33541226|Alien Covenant|Alan Dean Foster|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1493047953l/33541226._SY75_.jpg|54308719], I just sort of feel like I didn't gain much from reading this one. I would have had absolutely no problem going straight into [b:Alien: Covenant|33541226|Alien Covenant|Alan Dean Foster|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1493047953l/33541226._SY75_.jpg|54308719] without this book. All of this said, it is a pretty well written mystery as an isolated story. If I hadn't already known that the Covenant would make it, I would perhaps be more worried about how the story would end. So I can't fault the book for this... I don't know... Might just be me, but I would have been more interested in learning more about why they were trying to sabotage it, and why they believe what they believe.
In conclusion: Shrug. I don't mind having read it, but I wouldn't have missed anything had I skipped it, I think. Maybe having listened to it comes in handy in future books, that I have not gotten to yet?
johhnnyinla's review
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
barmyjen's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
An interesting look at events before the covenant mission, and some of the history of Weyland-Yutani. Although the ending of the story is not surprising, its an interesting tale and provides more information about the history of the Alien films. The narrator does a very good job of telling the story, and I look forward to reading more of the Aliens books.
apryde6226's review
3.0
This book explained a lot of stuff that I noticed in the Alien: Covenant story. In a way it was hard, since while the OTBD people were more of an anti-hero, knowing what the result was going to be made it hard not to root for them.
twolfeiii_writer's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
jaxonleerose's review
3.0
This can be considered a good book if you’re aware going into it that you’re not going to see any Alien action. There I said it, and I don’t care if it’s a spoiler. I spent the whole book waiting to get into space and get some xeno battles, but it never happened. It is a nice insight to Wayland Yutani and how they came to be, and what life is like on earth. It’s more of a human origin book, so if you’re ok with that then dive in, but if you’re after the xenos, skip to the next book