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josm's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ithildin's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
grandmoffparkin's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-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? It's complicated
3.0
The pacing is non-stop and there’s some beautiful little character moments but the political landscape of the world really dragged it down for me and added more complexity to something that was already a little much.
xeno2318's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
sallytwibbles's review
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
monagle's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
One of the challenges of modern Aliens adaptations is the desire of the studio to find points of intersection between the original films Ridley Scott's latest adaptations. For many fans, Aliens is marines and monsters, period. But even if you're not a big fan of Prometheus or Alien: Covenant, the beautiful hook about that movie is that they shifted the focus of the Alien franchise away from the xenomorphs and towards mankind's obsession with artificial intelligence. Michael Fassbender's performance as David taps into the Frankenstein mythos that lays near the beating heart of the franchise as a whole: being hated by the very things we looked to create.
Aliens: Bishop does a remarkable job of holding those thoughts together while also playing in the big, beautiful, and often-contradictory sandbox that is the Aliens universe. Napper is clearly most interested in the relationship between Bishop and Michael Bishop, but that serves the story well. We get to enjoy the best of both halves of the franchise -- soldiers and monsters, fathers and (robot) sons -- while also tapping a bit more into the political bodies that run the whole show. Excellent stuff, and a lot of fun.
Aliens: Bishop does a remarkable job of holding those thoughts together while also playing in the big, beautiful, and often-contradictory sandbox that is the Aliens universe. Napper is clearly most interested in the relationship between Bishop and Michael Bishop, but that serves the story well. We get to enjoy the best of both halves of the franchise -- soldiers and monsters, fathers and (robot) sons -- while also tapping a bit more into the political bodies that run the whole show. Excellent stuff, and a lot of fun.
itcamefromthepage's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Received an ARC from Titan Books:
4.5 Rounded down
This was a really really outstanding book, with some true depth to its characters. Much better than I was expecting.
The horror elements of Alien were executed outstandingly, with some truly unique in depth explorations of how Synthetics work in the Alien universe.
My only critique and it is minor but the UPP in concept are very dated Soviet Union analogs and the more modern relatable elements of the book clash a bit with their Retro Futurism ascetic.
Upon a re-read my opinions may have changed as this book reads EXTREMELY well and has some outstanding action bits, it will certainly be read again in the future.
4.5 Rounded down
This was a really really outstanding book, with some true depth to its characters. Much better than I was expecting.
The horror elements of Alien were executed outstandingly, with some truly unique in depth explorations of how Synthetics work in the Alien universe.
My only critique and it is minor but the UPP in concept are very dated Soviet Union analogs and the more modern relatable elements of the book clash a bit with their Retro Futurism ascetic.
Upon a re-read my opinions may have changed as this book reads EXTREMELY well and has some outstanding action bits, it will certainly be read again in the future.
whatyoutolkienabout's review
5.0
The Alien Franchise (tied with the Predator one) is probably one of my favourites out there. I love Xenomorphs and have enjoyed several of the books set in the universe. I also love the synthetics/androids in the franchise and finally I adored Napper’s 36 Streets that I read last year. So it’s safe to say when the chance came to read an ARC of Aliens Bishop I was more than a little excited and that excitement was not misplaced.
For me the writing was perfect. I was instantly immersed in the world of Alien and I loved every minute. It was interesting to see a different side to Bishop, or at least to see how those around them wanted to use the knowledge of the Xenomorphs and for what reasons. Tied to the writing is the way Napper brings Bishop to life, figuratively and literally (since he is given a new body). I found Napper kept the synthetic true to his characters from the films (not an easy feat sometimes) but did give him a bit of freedom and further developed his character as well. I also loved the new characters as well that are fleshed out and enjoyable, I particularly loved Karri. While there a lot of a new characters the few, including Bishop that are ’canon’ in the sense they are connected and developed in the franchise already are true to their existing character as well.
The other thing I liked about this novel is while it has action and horror, what else would you expect from an Aliens novel, Napper focuses on the characters. On what they go through, how they interact and react. Now that isn’t to say there’s no action, or it’s some psychological study of the characters but I often find in horror particularly that the characters suffer, both figuratively and literally again, and the focus is on the horror, gore or action. For me that can sometimes disconnect me from the story. Why do I care if someone gets captured, or killed or anything for that matter if the characters have no personality? If I haven’t been given enough to bond or at least like or dislike them (looking at Cortazar there) how am I meant to be invested if they manage to live or die? Well Napper does make sure you care about the characters and he does it well.
In short if you love the Aliens franchise you will enjoy this novel, or if you are looking for a good sci-fi horror and not really into the franchise that much you still might enjoy it. I know I did!
For me the writing was perfect. I was instantly immersed in the world of Alien and I loved every minute. It was interesting to see a different side to Bishop, or at least to see how those around them wanted to use the knowledge of the Xenomorphs and for what reasons. Tied to the writing is the way Napper brings Bishop to life, figuratively and literally (since he is given a new body). I found Napper kept the synthetic true to his characters from the films (not an easy feat sometimes) but did give him a bit of freedom and further developed his character as well. I also loved the new characters as well that are fleshed out and enjoyable, I particularly loved Karri. While there a lot of a new characters the few, including Bishop that are ’canon’ in the sense they are connected and developed in the franchise already are true to their existing character as well.
The other thing I liked about this novel is while it has action and horror, what else would you expect from an Aliens novel, Napper focuses on the characters. On what they go through, how they interact and react. Now that isn’t to say there’s no action, or it’s some psychological study of the characters but I often find in horror particularly that the characters suffer, both figuratively and literally again, and the focus is on the horror, gore or action. For me that can sometimes disconnect me from the story. Why do I care if someone gets captured, or killed or anything for that matter if the characters have no personality? If I haven’t been given enough to bond or at least like or dislike them (looking at Cortazar there) how am I meant to be invested if they manage to live or die? Well Napper does make sure you care about the characters and he does it well.
In short if you love the Aliens franchise you will enjoy this novel, or if you are looking for a good sci-fi horror and not really into the franchise that much you still might enjoy it. I know I did!
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