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inbetweenthelines's review against another edition
3.0
it's not what I expected when I first read it and although it is more about the characters than the aliens, it's still a good book, I did enjoy reading it. I enjoyed Steve's style, but I know at the same time there's better out there.
If you're going into it for the Xenomorphs and wanting to dive head first into them and the biology of them ect - it's not for you. If you're just wanting a good little alien story then sure.
It does have some good ideas and some good things in the book, like connecting it to the first movie, the idea that the chest hosts will burst out faster/grow faster when the host is scared, I thought that was interesting. I just thought the Xenos would be more upfront than somewhere in the background.
If you're going into it for the Xenomorphs and wanting to dive head first into them and the biology of them ect - it's not for you. If you're just wanting a good little alien story then sure.
It does have some good ideas and some good things in the book, like connecting it to the first movie, the idea that the chest hosts will burst out faster/grow faster when the host is scared, I thought that was interesting. I just thought the Xenos would be more upfront than somewhere in the background.
mferrante83's review against another edition
2.0
I would love to rate this higher but current day me is not middle school me. This is an adaptation of Mark Verheiden's first volume of the Aliens comic series released in 1989. While the comic was initially an sequel to Aliens this novel, released of in conjunction with Alien 3, meant the characters names had to be changed (Wilks = Hicks, Billie = Newt). The plot is fine and the characterization is thin; the relations between Billie and Mitch (a colonial marine) in particular stands out as developing way too fast and the Weyland-Yutani executives are cartoonishly bad. As in my first read I was still fascinated by the Alien cult that develops on Earth.
Overall, this is an interesting bit of historical fiction but the detail and attention of the more recent Alien novels surpasses this one.
Overall, this is an interesting bit of historical fiction but the detail and attention of the more recent Alien novels surpasses this one.
sleepyboi2988's review against another edition
4.0
Fair warning, I am quite a fan boi of Aliens and Predators as a whole. Even a "mediocre" Alien/Predator movie to critics I will most likely think is better than most other movies out at the time. Same line of thinking for me applies to the books. I'm a simple man, I love Aliens and I love Predator franchises, not saying they can do no wrong but I love them for what they are.
That said, my rating somewhat reflects this, as a whole the story is a 3 star affair if you are not in love with the franchise in my opinion it gets an extra star for the fact I love the franchise. Certainly a serviceable story, has some good nods to the movies without over doing it. Of particular interest for those into the franchise is the inclusion of the Engineers made famous by the 2 prequel films Prometheus and Alien: Covenant. This novel of course predating those movies by a few decades.
While being good for fans, I honestly don't think I would say to someone NOT into the franchise, oh yes this is a must read. There's definitely better books out there in the horror sci-fi genre if you aren't into Aliens. :)
That said, my rating somewhat reflects this, as a whole the story is a 3 star affair if you are not in love with the franchise in my opinion it gets an extra star for the fact I love the franchise. Certainly a serviceable story, has some good nods to the movies without over doing it. Of particular interest for those into the franchise is the inclusion of the Engineers made famous by the 2 prequel films Prometheus and Alien: Covenant. This novel of course predating those movies by a few decades.
While being good for fans, I honestly don't think I would say to someone NOT into the franchise, oh yes this is a must read. There's definitely better books out there in the horror sci-fi genre if you aren't into Aliens. :)
sleepyboi2988's review against another edition
3.0
Picks up within a reasonable amount of time from where the first one left off. This isn't any sort of mind blowing experience but it is an interesting delve into the Aliens world and continuation of story from the main characters in the first novel.
Personally this one didn't get as high of a rating as the first as the story itself focused a lot more on the human element. The aliens played much more of a background role (Much like the first movie) but unlike the first movie there was no sense of building dread or horror to get us to the climax. It also lacked the interesting side/background story of the cult that felt the Aliens were to be worshipped. It's mentioned a few lines in a scene but I wanted to know more there as well.
That said, I have fairly high hopes for the third novel, given that the title is [b:Aliens: The Female War|343283|Aliens The Female War|Steve Perry|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1403174792l/343283._SY75_.jpg|333630]. I think we'll be back to Alien chest bursting, blasting, and some conflict between sane and insane humans; along with a special guest.
Personally this one didn't get as high of a rating as the first as the story itself focused a lot more on the human element. The aliens played much more of a background role (Much like the first movie) but unlike the first movie there was no sense of building dread or horror to get us to the climax. It also lacked the interesting side/background story of the cult that felt the Aliens were to be worshipped. It's mentioned a few lines in a scene but I wanted to know more there as well.
That said, I have fairly high hopes for the third novel, given that the title is [b:Aliens: The Female War|343283|Aliens The Female War|Steve Perry|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1403174792l/343283._SY75_.jpg|333630]. I think we'll be back to Alien chest bursting, blasting, and some conflict between sane and insane humans; along with a special guest.
itcamefromthepage's review against another edition
3.0
This was fun and I did enjoy it more than the comic, however it still doesn't feel very Alien to me. The tech level is waaaay past the movies, with some typical heavy handed sci-fiesque worldbuilding.
The characters of Billie and Wilks are quite good, actually managing to feel different from Hicks and Newt (in the comics they were the same characters until Alien 3 came out and they changed the names during every reprint).
The alien action we do get is quite enjoyable, will be interested to read more of these in the future.
The characters of Billie and Wilks are quite good, actually managing to feel different from Hicks and Newt (in the comics they were the same characters until Alien 3 came out and they changed the names during every reprint).
The alien action we do get is quite enjoyable, will be interested to read more of these in the future.
mayoroffailure's review against another edition
3.0
I bought this book for a dollar, and only did so because I had just watched Prometheus and was looking for something that might keep with that flavor. I honestly had no idea that there were even books for this cannon of films but was curious enough to purchase it, knowing that it might be completely crap (as most based on the films books are).
I must say, however, that I was pleasantly surprised with the book and was able to both read and enjoy the novel from start to finish. For those who dont know, this book chronicles the Xneo invasion of earth, and focuses both on the invasion, and a group of marines sent to the aliens newly discovered home world. Overall I can say that the book is all good, except for one thing.
Why in the heck the author felt it was necessary to have an impromptu romance between two of the characters is beyond me, the book was progressing fine and the romance feels extremely tacked on as a last minute edit, I honestly did not think that it was neccesary to the progresion of the story and if it was written out the reader wouldn't miss a thing. Other than that one thing this is a strong novel, the horror element is nice and fits in well with the established feel of the universe in Ridley Scott's films.
The aspect that I thought was most interesting was actually the addition of a cult that worshiped the aliens as if they were God. I thought that this was a brilliant addition to the novel by Mr. Perry because if we were to discover life such as these aliens there would most certainly be a group of people to branch out and begin worshiping them. Since reading this book I have found out that there is a sequel and am contemplating reading it, although I personally think this book could have served as a standalone.
I must say, however, that I was pleasantly surprised with the book and was able to both read and enjoy the novel from start to finish. For those who dont know, this book chronicles the Xneo invasion of earth, and focuses both on the invasion, and a group of marines sent to the aliens newly discovered home world. Overall I can say that the book is all good, except for one thing.
Why in the heck the author felt it was necessary to have an impromptu romance between two of the characters is beyond me, the book was progressing fine and the romance feels extremely tacked on as a last minute edit, I honestly did not think that it was neccesary to the progresion of the story and if it was written out the reader wouldn't miss a thing. Other than that one thing this is a strong novel, the horror element is nice and fits in well with the established feel of the universe in Ridley Scott's films.
The aspect that I thought was most interesting was actually the addition of a cult that worshiped the aliens as if they were God. I thought that this was a brilliant addition to the novel by Mr. Perry because if we were to discover life such as these aliens there would most certainly be a group of people to branch out and begin worshiping them. Since reading this book I have found out that there is a sequel and am contemplating reading it, although I personally think this book could have served as a standalone.
robotowilliam's review against another edition
2.0
The ending was quite good, but overall this was a very simple and artless book. Would recommend to teenagers.
jricchio's review against another edition
dark
tense
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? No
3.75
coreycamps's review against another edition
3.0
This review is for the Aliens Omnibus: Vol. 1 edition of this book, but I'll be reviewing the books separately.
Alien is such a hyper-specific fandom that I don't expect everyone to enjoy these. Hell, even I had a bit of a hard time with some of the jargon here, and I'm pretty deeply entrenched in the mythos of the Universe. The Alien vs Predator wiki definitely helps some in this regard, especially in visualizing some of the more abstract descriptions from the book. This series of books is also based on the now Non-Canon comic run, but it's been enjoyable thus far regardless.
I liked most of the characters, even if I didn't like their motivations or how quickly some of the uh, "romance" developed. I get that traumatic situations can make emotions run hot, but in the span of about 4 pages, two characters met, slept together, and said they were in love (which continued to motivate them as though they'd been together for years, rather than a couple days, but I digress).
I want more action, more horror, more of the ALIENS. This book was more politics setting up the conflict than anything, but I don't mind that as long as the series expands on the ideas presented in Earth Hive. If you like the Alien franchise, you'll probably like this. You won't love it, but you'll probably like it at the very least.
Alien is such a hyper-specific fandom that I don't expect everyone to enjoy these. Hell, even I had a bit of a hard time with some of the jargon here, and I'm pretty deeply entrenched in the mythos of the Universe. The Alien vs Predator wiki definitely helps some in this regard, especially in visualizing some of the more abstract descriptions from the book. This series of books is also based on the now Non-Canon comic run, but it's been enjoyable thus far regardless.
I liked most of the characters, even if I didn't like their motivations or how quickly some of the uh, "romance" developed. I get that traumatic situations can make emotions run hot, but in the span of about 4 pages, two characters met, slept together, and said they were in love (which continued to motivate them as though they'd been together for years, rather than a couple days, but I digress).
I want more action, more horror, more of the ALIENS. This book was more politics setting up the conflict than anything, but I don't mind that as long as the series expands on the ideas presented in Earth Hive. If you like the Alien franchise, you'll probably like this. You won't love it, but you'll probably like it at the very least.