monagle's reviews
13 reviews

Aliens: Bishop by T.R. Napper

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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.
Alien: Enemy of My Enemy by Mary SanGiovanni

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Aliens: Bug Hunt by Jonathan Maberry, Heather Graham

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adventurous dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Aliens: Bug Hunt is an anthology series focused on the Colonial Marines. The writers have been given a pretty broad edict on how to approach the subject matter - for some of the soldiers in the book, xenomorphs are an urban legend, and for others, xenomorphs are a well-known threat. Like any anthology book, some stories are good, and some... well, not so much. But as a general rule of thumb, the book is best when it removes itself from the known characters of the Aliens universe. There are chapters on Bishop and Corporal Hicks and more secondary characters from Jim Cameron's film, and those are actually the weakest of the book. It is when we drop into battle with a few random grunts against unknown enemies that Aliens: Bug Hunt is the most fun.
Aliens: Vasquez by V. Castro

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective sad 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

3.5

It took me a moment to get into this one - the first few chapters are a retelling of the life of the original Vasquez character from James Cameron's Aliens, and with any novelization of a movie character, it can read a little bit like fan-fiction. But Castro quickly uses this as a jumping-off point for two new characters - Vasquez's children, who carry the weight of both her mysterious death and a legacy of family military history that dates back centuries. From there, the book really hits its stride, and we are treated to another blue collar soldier story that makes the Aliens universe so much fun.
The Dead Friends Society by Peter Hall, Paul Gandersman

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

3.75

It’s like someone took What Dreams May Come and turned it into a teenage slasher—and I mean that as a compliment.
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The Devil Takes You Home by Gabino Iglesias

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.5

Clown in a Cornfield 2: Frendo Lives by Adam Cesare

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adventurous dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I really enjoyed Clown in a Cornfield as a smart piece of YA horror; it was a book that never talked down to its audience but kept its foot on the gas when it came to its slasher elements. So I wasn't surprised per se to find myself in love with Clown in a Cornfield 2: Frendo Lives, but I was very impressed at the framing device Cesare used to expand his universe. Clown in a Cornfield 2 uses its slasher foundation to tell a story about social media disinformation and violent conspiracy theories, and it allows the book to feel even more dangerous than the original - and even more timely.
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The Loop by Jeremy Robert Johnson

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad 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

4.5

It’s a hyper-violent version of Be More Chill, complete with the lovable teenage cast. Good shit.
Salvation Day by Kali Wallace

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

On my shelf is a stack of library books, and each one of them is an attempt to scratch the same itch: the void of space crossed with the grotesque violence of body horror. Salvation Day hits on all my favorite sci-fi horror tropes and hits on them well; one can only hope that someone turns this into the horror miniseries it could so easily be.
Pearl by Josh Malerman

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dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Listen, it’s very not fair to compare all mass market horror to Stephen King, but there are elements here that really reminded me of Gonzo King in the absolute best ways. Multiple characters; an adolescent chosen one; small town dread; mind control; body horror. If you like your King Desperation-flavored - and I absolutely do - then Pearl is a must-read.
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