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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
Pretty good audio drama, but should have been #3 in the series.
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I'd say it's a good continuation of the first book. But it's not really a sequel. In this trilogy, the stories tell of different eras but all interconnected by a single person; Ellen Ripley... adored by all of us who have followed the series, a stumbling block for the Weyland-Yutani corporation and now a "person non grata" within the Alien Xenomorphic community ;)
[Updated 5/3/2018]
Having now listened to the Audible Original Drama adaptation of James Moore's Sea of Sorrows, I've bumped up my rating to four-stars. The Dirk Maggs production was, in my opinion, a significant improvement over the prose novel. As with the prior two Alien Audible Originals, Sea of Sorrows is performed by a full cast of actors, including Stockard Channing, complemented by sound effects and musical score. And like the prior two entries, it sounds freaking incredible and makes for an intense listen that will make you feel like your surrounded by Xenomorphs, worried that a facehugger might try to leap out of your speakers.
Story-wise, I appreciated the changes and shift of focus that this audio drama brought to the table. Much of the original prose novel was centered around the empathic Decker, and it would surely be difficult to sustain an audio drama built around stuff that occurs so much inside one guy's head. Maggs has slightly shifted the focus a bit more toward the mercenaries that have abducted and pressed Decker into service on behalf of Weyland-Yutani. While I had complained a bit in my original review that Sea of Sorrows was rather derivative of the Aliens film, I found it easier to digest during this second go-round. I'll chalk that up being more familiar with the story beats and the movie-like (minus the visuals) presentation Audible has afforded it.
Although it's been a couple months since I read Moore's book, I feel like Maggs made some pretty big changes in the story itself, trimming a lot of fat, shifting scenes around slightly and giving us a stronger ending than what had been written originally, in addition to tying this story a bit more fully into the narrative begun in [b:Alien: Out of the Shadows|29972711|Alien Out of the Shadows (Canonical Alien Trilogy, #1)|Tim Lebbon|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1462072122s/29972711.jpg|24670995]. Maggs also wastes no time getting us right into the action, starting immediately with Decker's abduction, which occurred in the prose work after an extended introduction to Decker, his abilities, and his history with Weyland-Yutani and LV-178.
Maggs and his cast put the pedal to the metal early and often, giving us another strong entry in Audible's adaptations of these Titan books. I'm hoping we get plenty more of these suckers in the years ahead, and if I may be so bold, I'd recommend Alex White's recent [b:Alien: The Cold Forge|36475917|Alien The Cold Forge|Alex White|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1517517365s/36475917.jpg|58185417] for next year's Alien Day release.
[Original review follows]
[Begin transmission]
I don’t really have much to say about this one. It just kind of exists within the realm of ALIEN tie-in fiction. SEA OF SORROWS is certainly readable, but it doesn’t add much in the way of originality or freshness.
Set 400 years after the first ALIEN flick, Weyland-Yutani still wants an alien to call their own and set loose a score of mercenaries on a defunct mining colony we visited previously in Tim Lebbon’s book. Forced into the mission is Decker, a very distant relative to Ellen Ripley who the aliens can sense and hate and want to kill. He’s a low-level empath and can feel the aliens in return. Unfortunately this plot conceit feels a bit superfluous to the whole thing, with the book trying to retread the familiar action of movie-sequel ALIENS.
It’s moderately satisfying if all you’re looking for are alien kills, soldiers taking baths in acid, and occasional glimmers of evil corporate subterfuge, but it’s certainly not breaking any new ground on any of the franchise’s previously established conceits. It just is what it is and doesn’t aim any higher than that.
Having now listened to the Audible Original Drama adaptation of James Moore's Sea of Sorrows, I've bumped up my rating to four-stars. The Dirk Maggs production was, in my opinion, a significant improvement over the prose novel. As with the prior two Alien Audible Originals, Sea of Sorrows is performed by a full cast of actors, including Stockard Channing, complemented by sound effects and musical score. And like the prior two entries, it sounds freaking incredible and makes for an intense listen that will make you feel like your surrounded by Xenomorphs, worried that a facehugger might try to leap out of your speakers.
Story-wise, I appreciated the changes and shift of focus that this audio drama brought to the table. Much of the original prose novel was centered around the empathic Decker, and it would surely be difficult to sustain an audio drama built around stuff that occurs so much inside one guy's head. Maggs has slightly shifted the focus a bit more toward the mercenaries that have abducted and pressed Decker into service on behalf of Weyland-Yutani. While I had complained a bit in my original review that Sea of Sorrows was rather derivative of the Aliens film, I found it easier to digest during this second go-round. I'll chalk that up being more familiar with the story beats and the movie-like (minus the visuals) presentation Audible has afforded it.
Although it's been a couple months since I read Moore's book, I feel like Maggs made some pretty big changes in the story itself, trimming a lot of fat, shifting scenes around slightly and giving us a stronger ending than what had been written originally, in addition to tying this story a bit more fully into the narrative begun in [b:Alien: Out of the Shadows|29972711|Alien Out of the Shadows (Canonical Alien Trilogy, #1)|Tim Lebbon|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1462072122s/29972711.jpg|24670995]. Maggs also wastes no time getting us right into the action, starting immediately with Decker's abduction, which occurred in the prose work after an extended introduction to Decker, his abilities, and his history with Weyland-Yutani and LV-178.
Maggs and his cast put the pedal to the metal early and often, giving us another strong entry in Audible's adaptations of these Titan books. I'm hoping we get plenty more of these suckers in the years ahead, and if I may be so bold, I'd recommend Alex White's recent [b:Alien: The Cold Forge|36475917|Alien The Cold Forge|Alex White|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1517517365s/36475917.jpg|58185417] for next year's Alien Day release.
[Original review follows]
[Begin transmission]
I don’t really have much to say about this one. It just kind of exists within the realm of ALIEN tie-in fiction. SEA OF SORROWS is certainly readable, but it doesn’t add much in the way of originality or freshness.
Set 400 years after the first ALIEN flick, Weyland-Yutani still wants an alien to call their own and set loose a score of mercenaries on a defunct mining colony we visited previously in Tim Lebbon’s book. Forced into the mission is Decker, a very distant relative to Ellen Ripley who the aliens can sense and hate and want to kill. He’s a low-level empath and can feel the aliens in return. Unfortunately this plot conceit feels a bit superfluous to the whole thing, with the book trying to retread the familiar action of movie-sequel ALIENS.
It’s moderately satisfying if all you’re looking for are alien kills, soldiers taking baths in acid, and occasional glimmers of evil corporate subterfuge, but it’s certainly not breaking any new ground on any of the franchise’s previously established conceits. It just is what it is and doesn’t aim any higher than that.
Surprisingly boring, despite being packed with action. I kept waiting for something to really hook me, but it never quite did. I wish the aliens had been more than just background threats—I wanted to learn more about them rather than have them as side characters. The main characters didn’t leave much of an impression either; I couldn’t tell you their names, and I didn’t care much about them. The story itself felt a bit disjointed, though the audio drama format did add an extra layer to the experience.
That said, I’m still going to push through the rest of the series because it’s an easy listen. To be fair, I haven’t seen any of the Alien movies, so maybe with that background, I’d have more appreciation for it. But right now? I’m just not there.
That said, I’m still going to push through the rest of the series because it’s an easy listen. To be fair, I haven’t seen any of the Alien movies, so maybe with that background, I’d have more appreciation for it. But right now? I’m just not there.
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An intense, fast paced action thriller!
It was fantastic going back to the site of the first book, centuries later. I just wish the ancient city would’ve been explored further.
Also having an empath MC who could give insight on the Zenomorph’s thoughts and behaviour was a helpful addition.
It was fantastic going back to the site of the first book, centuries later. I just wish the ancient city would’ve been explored further.
Also having an empath MC who could give insight on the Zenomorph’s thoughts and behaviour was a helpful addition.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
2.5/5
Being quite honest, I didn't find myself enjoying this one too much. It's not terrible by any means. I think the production and voice cast for the audio drama were pretty good, but I just found the story largely forgettable. And none of the characters were memorable or likable at all.
Alien: Sea of Sorrows is my third audio drama from the Alien universe that I've listened to, and it was the weakest yet. Alien III was a little bit better, but I genuinely really enjoyed Alien: Out of the Shadows. It had a much better narrative that was easy to follow. Ripley was present, which obviously made the story stand out, but Hooper proved to be a really likable new character. That story had a great blend of suspense, action, but also a chance to slow down and breathe. It let the characters interact, form a bond. You don't get that here in my opinion, and it just kind of falls flat. I'm hoping River of Pain will be more enjoyable.
Being quite honest, I didn't find myself enjoying this one too much. It's not terrible by any means. I think the production and voice cast for the audio drama were pretty good, but I just found the story largely forgettable. And none of the characters were memorable or likable at all.
Alien: Sea of Sorrows is my third audio drama from the Alien universe that I've listened to, and it was the weakest yet. Alien III was a little bit better, but I genuinely really enjoyed Alien: Out of the Shadows. It had a much better narrative that was easy to follow. Ripley was present, which obviously made the story stand out, but Hooper proved to be a really likable new character. That story had a great blend of suspense, action, but also a chance to slow down and breathe. It let the characters interact, form a bond. You don't get that here in my opinion, and it just kind of falls flat. I'm hoping River of Pain will be more enjoyable.