Alien/Predator novels ranking

[jacobo1122]

Hey, I have got myself to reading Alien/Predator novels fairly recently, less than 3 years ago, and I'm hooked ever since. I'm trying to be up to date with new releases, but I always have plenty of older stuff to check out, so I'm not discouraged when there is a streak of worse books, like with Titan releases right now. My first novel was Infiltrator, I bought it because I was playing Fireteam Elite, maybe that's why I have soft spot for it, even if after many much better novels I know that it isn't very great. I have to buy books imported from abroad, because our local publisher just started to give us their translations, and they are going in snail pace. They published only novelizations of the movies and Out of The Shadows so far, but at least they are doing great job with their editions. Just look at those beauties.

Anyway, here is my ranking of novels I read so far from best to worst:
 
1. Alien: Into Charybdis
2. Aliens: Phalanx
3. Alien: Cold Forge
4. Predator: If It Bleeds
5. Rage War trilogy
6. Alien: Echo
7. Alien: Inferno's Fall
8. Aliens: Music of the Spears
9. Alien: Sea of Sorrows
10. Aliens: Berserker
11. Aliens: Nightmare Asylum
12. Aliens: Criminal Enterprise
13. Alien 3 Unproduced Screenplay
14. Alien: Covenant Novelization
15. Predator: Hunters and Hunted
16. Alien: Prototype
17. Alien: Enemy of My Enemy
18. Aliens vs. Predator: Ultimate Prey
19. Aliens: Infiltrator
20. Aliens: Vasquez
21. Alien 1979 Novelization
22. Alien: Out of the Shadows
23. Aliens: Female war
24. Aliens: Earth hive
25. Aliens: Bug Hunt
26. Alien: Colony war
27. Aliens vs. Predator: Rift War

What are yours favourites, your most hated and what was your first A/P novel?  Wchich one do You reccomend for me to read next? I'm thinking about Eyes of the Demon Anthology. Is it at least half as good as If It Bleeds?

[oduodu]

there must be a movie in there somewhere!

THANKS for posting that list.

[Still Collating...]

The last 3 are very obvious and I mostly agree with your top pickings, but wonder why you didn't like Earth Hive that much?

And you need to read Aliens: Rogue, it was also very good IMO.

[jacobo1122]

The last 3 are very obvious and I mostly agree with your top pickings, but wonder why you didn't like Earth Hive that much?

And you need to read Aliens: Rogue, it was also very good IMO.

With Earth Hive I just felt like it wasn't adding anything to comic's story. It was like reading the same plot, or even summary of it, just without its amazing art. I usually have a problem with rating novelizations of existing stories. They just can't really suprise me. But good novelization for me should be better, deeper version of the comic, like Berserker, Music of the Spears, or Nightmare Asylum. And they were very good stories already as comics. I actually think that Female war was improvement over comic (and art in it was meh, so it's better without it ) but that story was weak from the start, so it still isn't high.
I will check out Genocide, I heard that  it is improving over rather bare bones comic's story.

[Still Collating...]

Oh, so you were comparing it against the comic! Now I understand your reasoning. I first read the novel and then much later I got my hands on the comic. I do agree that the comic is so much better cause of the visuals (the Perry's awkward inserted sex scenes in the novels always felt strange).

[jacobo1122]

Oh, so you were comparing it against the comic! Now I understand your reasoning. I first read the novel and then much later I got my hands on the comic. I do agree that the comic is so much better cause of the visuals (the Perry's awkward inserted sex scenes in the novels always felt strange).

Maybe if  I read novel first I would rate it better, but still, original comic is do good,ideal synergy between art and story, and in novel format it just siema lacking to me.
And yeah, Perry had a thing with unnecessary sexuality. I mean, weird sexual subtext fits Alien, sometimes it worked with nightmares that Billy had, but usually he was just adding "sexy" moments for the sake of it. The most cringeworthy part was in Nightmare Asylum with naked Billy distracting Guards. It was so out of nowhere, just forced in there, because Perry couldn't help himself Really awful moment in otherwise great book.

[Wweyland]

The Top 5 Worst for me:

1. The Predator Novelization (manages to be a bigger mess than the movie)
2. Predator: Forever Midnight (Hish-qu-Ten children mind-controlling humans to kill children, etc.)
3. Alien: Covenant Origins (Nothing happens here)
4. Alien: Cauldron (Aliens vs. Kids)
5. Alien: Steel Egg (Larry The Alien)

[[cancerblack]]

snip

Read Predator: South China Sea. A digital copy is available in this very sub-forum.

[jacobo1122]

snip

Read Predator: South China Sea. A digital copy is available in this very sub-forum.

Yeah, I must finally read it. I hate reading books in digital form and that's why I haven't done it already, but since getting physical copy is nearly impossible I must make an exception.

The Top 5 Worst for me:

1. The Predator Novelization (manages to be a bigger mess than the movie)
2. Predator: Forever Midnight (Hish-qu-Ten children mind-controlling humans to kill children, etc.)
3. Alien: Covenant Origins (Nothing happens here)
4. Alien: Cauldron (Aliens vs. Kids)
5. Alien: Steel Egg (Larry The Alien)

Thanks, I now know what to avoid Though I like The Predator so maybe I'll also like the novel. And I think that it is a place for Alien book without any Xenomorphs, so I'm interested a little in Covenant Origins, but I believe that it can be dull.

[[cancerblack]]

Yeah, I must finally read it. I hate reading books in digital form and that's why I haven't done it already, but since getting physical copy is nearly impossible I must make an exception.

I feel the same way about digital, then ended up reading SCS in two sittings. It's just that much fun.

[Still Collating...]

Oh, so you were comparing it against the comic! Now I understand your reasoning. I first read the novel and then much later I got my hands on the comic. I do agree that the comic is so much better cause of the visuals (the Perry's awkward inserted sex scenes in the novels always felt strange).

Maybe if  I read novel first I would rate it better, but still, original comic is do good,ideal synergy between art and story, and in novel format it just siema lacking to me.
And yeah, Perry had a thing with unnecessary sexuality. I mean, weird sexual subtext fits Alien, sometimes it worked with nightmares that Billy had, but usually he was just adding "sexy" moments for the sake of it. The most cringeworthy part was in Nightmare Asylum with naked Billy distracting Guards. It was so out of nowhere, just forced in there, because Perry couldn't help himself Really awful moment in otherwise great book.

God I forgot that part with Billy! I remember form Nightmare Asylum Spears having a flashback when he was a psycho kid as an older marine was teaching him in the most awkward way how to "do it". I don't remember if she was going at him as a minor or what, but that scene was quite something.

snip

Read Predator: South China Sea. A digital copy is available in this very sub-forum.

Yeah, I must finally read it. I hate reading books in digital form and that's why I haven't done it already, but since getting physical copy is nearly impossible I must make an exception.

The Top 5 Worst for me:

1. The Predator Novelization (manages to be a bigger mess than the movie)
2. Predator: Forever Midnight (Hish-qu-Ten children mind-controlling humans to kill children, etc.)
3. Alien: Covenant Origins (Nothing happens here)
4. Alien: Cauldron (Aliens vs. Kids)
5. Alien: Steel Egg (Larry The Alien)

Thanks, I now know what to avoid Though I like The Predator so maybe I'll also like the novel. And I think that it is a place for Alien book without any Xenomorphs, so I'm interested a little in Covenant Origins, but I believe that it can be dull.

I also believe that stories in the Alien universe without Aliens are possible. The problem is that when you do that, you are just left with the task of writing a really really good book cause you don't have the creature to pull the weight. And very few authors we have had in the franchise can do that.
I adored the short in Bug Hunt about the Pulse Rifles creation. The Colonial Marines Technical Manual has also great bits about a marines life.

On the other hand, you can have the Alien in there, just doesn't have to follow the typical formula. I loved Sigler's short in Bug Hunt from the Alien's perspective. Two of the three widely regarded best books in the franchise distort the usual conventions for and Alien story (Into Charybdis and Phalanx). A lot more creativity can be used in scenarios.

[jacobo1122]

Oh, so you were comparing it against the comic! Now I understand your reasoning. I first read the novel and then much later I got my hands on the comic. I do agree that the comic is so much better cause of the visuals (the Perry's awkward inserted sex scenes in the novels always felt strange).

Maybe if  I read novel first I would rate it better, but still, original comic is do good,ideal synergy between art and story, and in novel format it just siema lacking to me.
And yeah, Perry had a thing with unnecessary sexuality. I mean, weird sexual subtext fits Alien, sometimes it worked with nightmares that Billy had, but usually he was just adding "sexy" moments for the sake of it. The most cringeworthy part was in Nightmare Asylum with naked Billy distracting Guards. It was so out of nowhere, just forced in there, because Perry couldn't help himself Really awful moment in otherwise great book.

God I forgot that part with Billy! I remember form Nightmare Asylum Spears having a flashback when he was a psycho kid as an older marine was teaching him in the most awkward way how to "do it". I don't remember if she was going at him as a minor or what, but that scene was quite something.

snip

Read Predator: South China Sea. A digital copy is available in this very sub-forum.

Yeah, I must finally read it. I hate reading books in digital form and that's why I haven't done it already, but since getting physical copy is nearly impossible I must make an exception.

The Top 5 Worst for me:

1. The Predator Novelization (manages to be a bigger mess than the movie)
2. Predator: Forever Midnight (Hish-qu-Ten children mind-controlling humans to kill children, etc.)
3. Alien: Covenant Origins (Nothing happens here)
4. Alien: Cauldron (Aliens vs. Kids)
5. Alien: Steel Egg (Larry The Alien)

Thanks, I now know what to avoid Though I like The Predator so maybe I'll also like the novel. And I think that it is a place for Alien book without any Xenomorphs, so I'm interested a little in Covenant Origins, but I believe that it can be dull.

I also believe that stories in the Alien universe without Aliens are possible. The problem is that when you do that, you are just left with the task of writing a really really good book cause you don't have the creature to pull the weight. And very few authors we have had in the franchise can do that.
I adored the short in Bug Hunt about the Pulse Rifles creation. The Colonial Marines Technical Manual has also great bits about a marines life.

On the other hand, you can have the Alien in there, just doesn't have to follow the typical formula. I loved Sigler's short in Bug Hunt from the Alien's perspective. Two of the three widely regarded best books in the franchise distort the usual conventions for and Alien story (Into Charybdis and Phalanx). A lot more creativity can be used in scenarios.

That part with Spears i get (or I wouldn't mind it if i didn't know Perry's writing tendencies). It shows how Spears and probably all of artificial womb program's kids were raised and why he was so messed up. Anyway that was one of few moments that Perry's sexual fixation actually worked.

Yeah, short about Pulse rifle was one of handful good shorts in BH. From stories without classic Xenos also Infeno's Fall was great. It showed me how it can be done well first.

And You're right, tere still can be stories with Aliens that are unusual and original. Ones You mentioned are great, I also love Rage War trilogy, essentially epic space opera with Aliens and Predators

[Still Collating...]

Liked Rage War as well for the scale and for trying something different (though it had it's problems, xenos with breathing gear for space travel was lame, they should be able to survive without it for those short trips) and Inferno's Fall had great parts, especially in the first half, but fell flat for me cause it tried to have it's cake and eat it too. Not xenos, but later described as with hard shells and hissing like xenos even though they came from the Pathogen bombing which made Neomorphs at the start so makes no sense IMO and I did have greater expectations for this book for lore coherency since a lore consultant was working on the book.

I'm getting ready to read Music of the Spears and the Berserker novelization finally. Loved the comics, wonder how the novels will be, but I generally hear people like them.

[jacobo1122]

Liked Rage War as well for the scale and for trying something different (though it had it's problems, xenos with breathing gear for space travel was lame, they should be able to survive without it for those short trips) and Inferno's Fall had great parts, especially in the first half, but fell flat for me cause it tried to have it's cake and eat it too. Not xenos, but later described as with hard shells and hissing like xenos even though they came from the Pathogen bombing which made Neomorphs at the start so makes no sense IMO and I did have greater expectations for this book for lore coherency since a lore consultant was working on the book.

I'm getting ready to read Music of the Spears and the Berserker novelization finally. Loved the comics, wonder how the novels will be, but I generally hear people like them.

Yeah, breathing gear was stupid, but its just a nitpick really. Lebbon did things like that before in Out of The Shadows, with acid guns killing Aliens for instance. That was the least of that book problems though. Anyway small inaccuracies and a little underpowered Predators in first book were really my only problems with Rage War.

I agree that there are problems with monsters and how Black goo Works in Inferno's Fall. And I don't like shoehorning Engineers at the end. But still I like it for trying to make a story without classic XX121s, its interesting cast of characters, great world building and usage of known characters. I appreciate it even more after not so great streak of novels from Titan in recent times, beginning with abysmal Colony War. Inferno's Fall really stands out among them as really great, character-driven story with some issues.

And I really reccomend Berserk and Music of The Speras novelizations. They add a lot of depth to their Comics counterparts and are just well written. Still they have the same problems that Comics had, with Aliens being very much a cannon fodder in Berserker and weird shit in Music, like ninjas and panthers Fighting Alien. I myself am Looking forward to read novelization of Labirynth,comic version is one of my favourities, and I enjoys Stephanie Perry's writing more than her father's.

[SM]

Berserker and MotS are among the best novels.

Rage War was still great fun considering some of the issues it had with continuity.