The Rage War: A three part Alien / Predator epic by Tim Lebbon

[TheBATMAN]

I'm wondering if we'll see more of this in the anthologies or future stories. I know we're getting a Rage War tie-in in one of them (can't remember which off-hand though).

What is this you speak of?

[Kaltes]

Spoiler

Weaver's World

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Now I wonder who that could be a reference too.

[Ultramorph]

They give the name an in-universe explanation, too.

[SM]

Three quarters of the way through AvP:A and something I only just noticed.

Spoiler

Palant
Halley
Liliya
Ware
Yaquita
Hashori
Maloney
The major players are all women.  Marshall and Bassett aren't directly involved till the second half of the last book.  Johnny Mains was a major player until he was killed at the end of Invasion (as far as I know thus far) and the only other one of his marines who survived as long was a woman called Lieder.

And throw in Halley being black and Palant implied to be a lesbian for good measure.

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[Corporal Hicks]

I'm wondering if we'll see more of this in the anthologies or future stories. I know we're getting a Rage War tie-in in one of them (can't remember which off-hand though).

What is this you speak of?

http://www.avpgalaxy.net/forum/index.php?topic=55032.0
http://www.avpgalaxy.net/forum/index.php?topic=54424.0

2 anthologies coming out.

[SM]

Just finished.  I think it could've perhaps gone on a few pages longer to tie up the storylines a bit more.

While the series had a feel that was more Star Trek than Alien, I didn't really mind since it was so far in the future, and Alien rarely has these kind of sweeping epics anyway.  I was able to set aside some continuity issues and overall I quite enjoyed it.  Even three quarters through I didn't know how it was going to end.  Which was nice.

[Corporal Hicks]

I want to get those questions sent off to Tim Lebbon in the next few hours. Last chance to get any submitted guys!

What are the differences between the two Hish versions? And what makes the F&B's ones your favourites? I remember reading some book summaries mentioning that a powerful family wanted to work with the Hish to eliminate some opposition. How does that go?

I started re-reading this last night. They didn't "work" with the Predator, they lure the Predator to the planet and then it goes mental.

[The Alien Predator]

I want to get those questions sent off to Tim Lebbon in the next few hours. Last chance to get any submitted guys!

What are the differences between the two Hish versions? And what makes the F&B's ones your favourites? I remember reading some book summaries mentioning that a powerful family wanted to work with the Hish to eliminate some opposition. How does that go?

I started re-reading this last night. They didn't "work" with the Predator, they lure the Predator to the planet and then it goes mental.

Ah, that's awesome to hear about them "luring" them instead. It makes more sense too.

As for questions for Tim, if you're still yet to send them, can you ask him if Fox plans to continue the Rage War related timeline? As in will there be things set after it? I really loved the world he's built and want to see how it goes from there.

Also ask him about the human settlers on Arcturus if possible? The Arcturians were established as a very friendly and open race in Sea of Sorrows, River of Pain and even in Aliens. But in Rage War, they're treated as enigmatic, and human settlers go to settle on Arcturus to get away from living in the Human Sphere because they're disillusioned with the rest of humanity. Did relations with humans and Arcturians go downhill at one point?

I assume you naturally asked him about the Drukathi, so I'll leave that out.  Feel free to ask him about anymore alien races and Bug Hunt.

[Ultramorph]

150 pages in now, still really digging it. So what's the consensus on the Drakuthi

Spoiler

do we think they're the Engineers or something else? Lebbon did go out of his way to use the verb "engineer" twice in the scenes where Palant and Kalakta are talking.

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[Corporal Hicks]

As for questions for Tim, if you're still yet to send them...

Just sent them off. A little later than I was wanting to but they're out there! Hopefully we'll know all about the Drakuthi soon!

[The Alien Predator]

I remembered in the last interview when you asked him if

Spoiler

the Dog-Aliens would return for the second or third book, and he was being very enigmatic with his answer. So I think it's kind of 50/50, they might be Engineers, or they might be Dog-Aliens.

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I can't wait to read Tim's responses! 

Also your review for the third book! 

[Ultramorph]

223 pages in now. Getting sad it's almost over!

Spoiler

Lebbon writes some good battle scenes. It's cool to see Predators fighting with the human characters. The Yautja drop-hole was really neat.

I'm dying to see what happens with Maloney and the Rage now that they're in the Sol system. The Faze is going to turn on them so hard, I get the feeling.

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[The Alien Predator]

I finally got my book!

I am three chapters in and have noticed something.

Spoiler

One of the Rage Captains has scars from previous battles. What could those be from? We know they've encountered Yautja in the past, before causing the Rage War.

And this Founders rebellion seems to have only happened in the Othello which was destroyed in the second book.

So, could this Rage character have gotten his scars from encountering and combating other alien lifeforms? Maybe intelligent ones too?

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[SM]

Probably option 1.

[The Alien Predator]

So I have just finished...

Spoiler

I am SO gutted that Liliya is dead... I accidentally read a hint of it in the previews and went into such a heavy denial about it that I completely forgot about the spoilerish hint. I remembered much later into the book and was sort of mourning every Liliya chapter I came across, thinking "this is the last" So seeing it happen was quite emotional as f**k for me. I never thought I could care for a book character so much. She truly lived as an android and died as a human being. 

I also felt for Yaquita's death, it wasn't shown but just hearing how the Xenomorphs took her apart made me feel bad for her. But at least she died fighting, and a good fight at that according to Maloney.

I am glad that my two other favourite characters, isa Palant and Hashori of the Widow Clan survived! Palant and the surviving Marines and Indies as well as the Tanns all go with the Yautja and away from humanity. To an unknown and exciting future.

One of my other favourite characters has an uncertain fate, we know two Yautja died from the explosion caused by Liliya's sacrifice, but we don't know which ones. And it is not stated if Elder Kalakta survives... I think there's a good chance he does live, because if he died, maybe that would have been mentioned, he was revered by the other Yautja including Hashori.

Humanity has been driven back centuries due to the destruction of all the Dropholes. Plus the Yautja took the remains of the Rage ships from Sol and probably elsewhere, denying humanity the technological treasures and taking it for themselves, sort of understandable as the Predators would rather have first dibs on high tech to stay ahead of prey. Hicks, you're right that this does feel like it drove humanity back to the Alien/S/3 era, I was thinking the same after finishing the book. Say hello to all the rusty Nostromos again! 

I liked the Yautja drophole in their asteroid habitat, a sort of sun-like, almost arcane technology... almost everything about their tech was arcane, the fading doorways, the fluid materials that can form chairs and food replicators or computers as well as ship controls etc. They are deceptively advanced, possibly the most advanced interpretations of the Predators so far.

Still far ahead of 2692 AD humanity.

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Happypred, you'll be a very happy pred to know that a Yautja carried a gun the size of a human in one battle scene. I told you before that in Incursion, those were hunters being killed by marines, not prepared warriors. And I was right, because when the warriors came in, the Rage began feeling the full brunt of their power.

Also their well prepared ships make Marine ships look like a tin can in space. Those ships in Incursion were hunting jeeps in space fleeing the Rage, but when true warships came into the fray, then the tables were turning and they were turning HARD.

Even in ground battles, a high ranking Marine says he bets that the Yautja would win a war with humanity as he witnesses them decimate high numbers of Xenomorphs with a mixture of plasma caster, melee weapons and actual Predator guns, including that one the size of an adult human and easily carried around by its wielder.

He also says how their fighting style felt more complex than human martial arts, using gravity as their plaything as they leapt at their enemies and gracefully slice them midair.

Heck, I think even Rakai'Thwei might like that seeing as Perry's Yautja had fighting styles more complex than human martial arts.

Now we know that Yautja have their own more advanced

Spoiler

dropholes, perhaps THIS is how Wolf got to Earth so damn fast? XD

Also, Hashori mentioned how every Yautja makes one pilgrimage to their homeworld during their adult life. And she says perhaps this is her time to make one.

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