Alien: Isolation The Novel Bursting January 2019!

[SpaceKase]

Because writing a novel is very different from writing a game script.

Having said that, Abnett did do a short story in the Bug Hunt anthology.

Opinions may vary, but I loved his bug hunt story, Reapers. It was bleak and twisted, and frankly apocalyptic, and not being specifically about the Xenoes it avoided that story pitfall that Hicks hates where the characters are behind the reader in knowing what's up.

We should totally get an interview with Abnett and ask what his vision of an Isolation novel might have looked like, or even an Isolation tangent or follow-up novel. If anyone knows the lore or the characters or the missed opportunities of the game, like the stories of all those poor gone-feral saps stuck on the station slowly losing their humanity, he would know.

[j0nesy]

i really think this was one of those situations where it's 'who you know', with keith decandido being friends with the editor. i don't hate the novelization, but it just doesn't live up to the game (which tbf, set a really high standard)

[SpaceKase]

I just want More. I want more Dr. Lingard, I want more Samuels, I want more shifty Ransome, I want more Capt Verlaine, more Axel, more Mike Tanaka, even more Julia Jones, sleezy press. I want to know the dubious circumstances that got Ripley to Mendel Station. Give me more of this world.

[Kradan]

I would love a book told from Ransome's or Julia Jones' perspective.

[SM]

The Isolation novel is meant to be Amanda's story, similar to how Prototype was Zula's story.

[TheSailingRabbit]

I would love a book told from Ransome's or Julia Jones' perspective.

Shhhh, I can put it on my to-do list. *runs back to rabbit hole*

[SpaceKase]

I would love a book told from Ransome's or Julia Jones' perspective.

Shhhh, I can put it on my to-do list. *runs back to rabbit hole*

Yaaasss. I've been meaning to check out "Burning Bridges"!

The Isolation novel is meant to be Amanda's story, similar to how Prototype was Zula's story.

The first season of Orange is the New Black was meant to be Piper's story. Arguably the first season of Game of Throne's is meant to be Ned Stark's story. The first season of Northern Exposure was meant to Dr Joel Fleischman's story. Sometimes tangential stories end up becoming equally, or indeed far more interesting than main stories, sometimes not.

I would love a book told from Ransome's or Julia Jones' perspective.

Agreed! I'm imagining Julia Jones as being anti-heroic and a great framing/expository role, like Becka McBride from AvP: Eternal, Edison Carter from Max Headroom, or maybe even sleazier like Hardcore's Tony Pope from Predator 2. Or who knows, maybe just a rad adventure seeker like Nickole Kejela from Deep Background, a much better use of DeCandidio's talent.

[TheSailingRabbit]

I would love a book told from Ransome's or Julia Jones' perspective.

Shhhh, I can put it on my to-do list. *runs back to rabbit hole*

Yaaasss. I've been meaning to check out "Burning Bridges"!

The written version or the audiobook? The written version is complete, and we're slowly working on the audio version.

[SpaceKase]

I would love a book told from Ransome's or Julia Jones' perspective.

Shhhh, I can put it on my to-do list. *runs back to rabbit hole*

Yaaasss. I've been meaning to check out "Burning Bridges"!

The written version or the audiobook? The written version is complete, and we're slowly working on the audio version.

Aw what? I had no idea, can I have a link? I'd love the read, I only heard about the audio recently.

Regarding the audio. If you're ever looking for voice talent for a dramatization or figurative extra hands, I'm a voice actor and a sound editor too, I'd love to be involved somehow. Either way, looking forward to giving this a read/listen.

[TheSailingRabbit]

I would love a book told from Ransome's or Julia Jones' perspective.

Shhhh, I can put it on my to-do list. *runs back to rabbit hole*

Yaaasss. I've been meaning to check out "Burning Bridges"!

The written version or the audiobook? The written version is complete, and we're slowly working on the audio version.

Aw what? I had no idea, can I have a link? I'd love the read, I only heard about the audio recently.

Regarding the audio. If you're ever looking for voice talent for a dramatization or figurative extra hands, I'm a voice actor and a sound editor too, I'd love to be involved somehow. Either way, looking forward to giving this a read/listen.

https://m.fanfiction.net/s/13484456/1/Burning-Bridges

So far, it's just me reading the book, and my boyfriend is editing and adding music. If we need some extra help, I'll let you know.

The audio version is on YouTube, and we're trying to get it on Spotify.

[SM]

The first season of Orange is the New Black was meant to be Piper's story. Arguably the first season of Game of Throne's is meant to be Ned Stark's story. The first season of Northern Exposure was meant to Dr Joel Fleischman's story. Sometimes tangential stories end up becoming equally, or indeed far more interesting than main stories, sometimes not.

Indeed they can be more interesting.  They're not Alien Isolation though - they're something else.

[SpaceKase]

The first season of Orange is the New Black was meant to be Piper's story. Arguably the first season of Game of Throne's is meant to be Ned Stark's story. The first season of Northern Exposure was meant to Dr Joel Fleischman's story. Sometimes tangential stories end up becoming equally, or indeed far more interesting than main stories, sometimes not.

Indeed they can be more interesting.  They're not Alien Isolation though - they're something else.

Interesting.

If I understand what you're saying, from my perspective I'd certainly I beg to differ. To me all these characters Dan Abnett's written, with their interweaving narratives, are all part of the whole, they populate and thus create the world that Amanda Ripley inhabits and interacts within, and they've all been there from the start. In my estimation, it would be like whittling down Blade Runner to only the story beats of Decker's narrative. Without the overarching world he inhabits, I feel like Blade Runner would not truly be Blade Runner, it would be an anemic and unsatisfying 'something else'.

I suppose one could play Isolation through and not listen to, or read any logs. One could skip over the cutscenes and chose not to follow any figurative side quests. But regardless of how central, in one's estimation, those aspects and characters are to the narrative of the "main character", wouldn't it be disingenuous to claim they're not even members of their own story? I guess I don't understand, from my perspective that would be like saying Brett and Parker's narratives are not Ellen Ripley's and they are therefore not "Alien" - they're something else.

Grant you, I'm probably fundamentally misunderstanding what you're commenting on. Can you help me understand what your thoughts are? No worries if you'd prefer not to. It's still a valid viewpoint, regardless. I'm just interested.

https://m.fanfiction.net/s/13484456/1/Burning-Bridges

So far, it's just me reading the book, and my boyfriend is editing and adding music. If we need some extra help, I'll let you know.

The audio version is on YouTube, and we're trying to get it on Spotify.

Oh man, thanks! This'll be sweet to read (and/or hear)!

[Corporal Hicks]

I'm not sure if SM is trying to say that Isolation itself or the intent behind the book is just Amanda's story as a mirror to Zula's experience in Prototype, or that there's no room for other character stories within the Isolation story?

I certainly think that there is room for the story of other character's within the Isolation world, and would definitely have preferred to have seen something along those lines myself.

[HuDaFuK]

Opinions may vary, but I loved his bug hunt story, Reapers. It was bleak and twisted, and frankly apocalyptic, and not being specifically about the Xenoes it avoided that story pitfall that Hicks hates where the characters are behind the reader in knowing what's up.

Reapers was one of my favourites too. I'd mostly forgotten he'd written it when I started writing that post

I just want More. I want more Dr. Lingard, I want more Samuels, I want more shifty Ransome, I want more Capt Verlaine, more Axel, more Mike Tanaka, even more Julia Jones, sleezy press.

Yeah, I was really hoping the book would expand on some of those characters as background. Maybe some interludes set before Amanda arrives on the station. Stuff like this is hinted at in the game - especially in the archive logs - so they definitely would've had something to work with.

Sadly they didn't seem to delve into the game's info store at all, hence why none of the expanded character names matched what was given in the game.

[SiL]

SM's saying Isolation itself was designed to be Amanda's story.

A better analogy would be Isolation is season one of Game of Thrones and the Alien franchise as a whole is the rest of the series. Season one is about Ned; Isolation is about Amanda. Further stories unravel the tales of others.