Aliens: The Official Movie Novelization

Novelizations of movies are often jutted to the back of the bookshelf after one reading. Reviewers are critical, normally arguing that it is just an attempt to make money off a popular film franchise, and at times they do so justly. Yet, some novelizations often tell the story in a way film simply cannot commute: taking the reader into the minds of the characters. And for this, Alan Dean Foster is a force to be reckoned with. Written originally in 1986, Foster respectfully adds to the Alien universe in a way that even Ridley Scott (Alien), James Cameron (Aliens), and David Fincher (Alien 3) could not with a camera. It is not the movies are better than the books or vice versa (except with Alien 3, which you can read about in my review here on SFBOOK). The books offer a new fresh perspective to tell the events and, if done properly, take the reader a few levels deeper to discover something that went unseen in the films.First off, Aliens: The Official Movie Novelization is well written and fleshed out, transitioning smoothly from scene to scene. This is not the novel shoved to the back of the bookshelf. Instead, for me, it rests upright next to my Ender’s Universe novels. Readers should not be hesitant about the quality of the story, and yes, it does offer more than the movie in dialogue and retells certain scenes. Foster offers an alternative response for our character’s actions and motivations in several key scenes. Whether or not you like this, well… you have to read it first. For me, at times Foster’s direction is often a better alternative. Most importantly, Foster dives deep into the minds of Ripley, Newt, Burke, Hicks, Hudson, and others! What made Burke such an ass, and where was he planning to run off to in the third act of Aliens when the Xenomorphs overcame the survivors?As far as story, anyone familiar with the movie will know the basic plot and what to expect. These Alien novelizations are for the fans and those who want to know more about Ripley’s galactic struggle to rid the universe of its most dangerous monster.Reviewed for SFBook.com

My 10 yo son loved reading this novelization.

The first Alien novelization was absolutely fantastic. This sequel was good, but I didn't quite feel the labor of love that was apparent from the previous book. A lot of the character interactions didn't have the charm of the movie actors, nor the character-driven details of the first book. This wasn't the case for every character, not was it the case for the whole book. It was a little bit of a disappointment after how good Foster's first Alien novelization was.

Aliens...what can I say, it is a classic. I purchased the audio to get a different/comparison view from the movie and perhaps some more details that the movie doesn't provide. I wasn't disappointed. Most the characters are intact, some play swap their movie role but all the names are in place. I am really impressed that there was little to no profanity, only one F bomb in who storytelling but it didn't lose it dramatic emphasis. The reader does change this voice to capture the personalities, I would have liked a little bit more drama in the voice but he was good, very clear and descriptive in reading. The audio book is one CD, that is a plus, not switching disc in the vehicle and has 16 chapters to it, some are over one hour long.

Arrived on time, and in great packaging, no issues, no damage.I'm just starting to delve into the book.Helping to fill out my hoard, er, collection of Alien related books... :)

This was exactly like the movie! The only difference was that there was not a lot of swearing.

The novelization of ALIENS is a very good read. It fleshes out characters who had little to no characterization in the movie, it provides additional background information on the universe that is only hinted at in certain scenes, and it includes various alternate sequences found only in the Special Edition of the film. We get to see Newt's family discovering the derelict ship, we have additional dialogue helping further character motivations, and we have more detailed action sequences in some areas. The alien hive is given greater description and includes more horrifying details regarding its appearance and the various things the aliens mixed with their secretions to make it.There are noticeable changes from the book that kind of seem puzzling, since they don't really impact the plot, such as making Hudson a corporal instead of a private. Another change is the inclusion of Burke's cocoon sequence, which doesn't make any logical sense considering the amount of time that has passed since he was captured during the final battle in Operations and Ripley discovering him in the hive. Burke appears to have already been face-hugged and impregnated in even less time than it takes in the later AVP movies. That's why Cameron removed the scene from the film. Another change is the lack of a standoff between Ripley and the queen when they first encounter her. In the film, there is a tense moment where the queen forces her warriors to back off when Ripley threatens her eggs with a flame thrower, and when a single egg hatches, Ripley looks at the queen in disbelief before letting loose with her guns. This is gone in the book, and Ripley simply opens fire almost immediately, although we do get a brief description of the albino drones that move the eggs around, but the stand off was just one of those magic moments.Now, there is one other thing in the book that bothers me, or rather, the lack thereof that bothers me. Swearing. Holy crap is all of the swearing from the movie neutered here. Most of Hudson's lines are now simple statements, none of which carry the sense of bravado and later panic that Hudson felt before and after the battle in the nest, respectively. The only time we get a single F word moment is when the curse is cut short just prior to the battle in the operations center. Only Vasquez's Spanish insults survive intact for her dialogue. In fact, half of the dialogue isn't even memorable anymore without the swearing. And the worst part, oh the worst of them all, is what happened to what is arguably the most famous line in the movie."Get away from her, you!"That's how the line reads in the book. Nowhere near as memorable or quotable as the film version, is it? It loses its impact because there is no emphasis on the swear that helped drive home the point that Ripley meant business when fighting the queen. In the film, I cheer when Ripley delivers the line, but I get no sense of thrill here.I wish I could give the book a higher rating, I really do. The amount of background information and fleshing out of background characters is wonderful, but when the movie's quotable dialogue is neutered and one of the most famous lines in movie history is truncated, I just can't bring myself to recommend this as more than a curiosity or a bit of reference material for fans and fan fiction writers out there. It's not a bad novelization by any means, but it certainly missed the mark in a few areas. It's worth reading through at least once.

Just the same as the film. If you like Aliens you’ll love the book of the film. There are additional scenes.

Alan Dean Foster has written a lot of book adaptations of movies, he's quite good at capturing the scenes (he wrote this before the movie was made based off the script so there is a lot here that wasn't in the movie. I quite enjoyed this novel even though I knew what was coming. Probably a must read for any serious fan of Aliens.

good read

I am a fan of the movies, the differences are clear, but the main line is more enjoyable and realistic in book. Thank you great reading.

Über den Film braucht man ja nichts mehr sagen. Dem Drehbuch in diesem Buch geht ein hochinteressanter Bericht über James Cameron und der Entstehung des Films voraus. Allein dieser ist das Geld wert! Das Drehbuch ist der Hammer und die begleitenden Bilder sind okay, wenn auch nicht spektakulär. Dafür gibt es ja den Film...