ALIEN: Out of the Shadows (Novel 1)

[TorsoInvader]

I have a feeing this is going to be a train wreck.

I'm interested to see what he does with Ash (I love robot stories lately) and I'd like to see how it's all handled.

That is one thing I am interested in.  Possibly the only thing.

Ripley's Forgotten Adventures (TM) does not thrill me.

lol don't give them ideas SM.

Why the crap are they trying to make a ripley story BETWEEN Alien and Aliens?? Don't they realize that it will end up with a hilarious retcon that makes no sence like they tried with A:cm?

[Mr. Clemens]

Sequels that try to alter the audience's perception of the original work are mostly offensive (human Space Jockeys, anyone?). Did anybody read that Blade Runner sequel where we 'found out' that Pris was actually a human? Bad bad bad.

I'll still read it though, since it's likely to be marine-less, and that'll be refreshing.

[Kimarhi]

Yeah they should totally put some soldiers in these Aliens stories!

[Corporal Hicks]

Hate to critique a story before it is released but damn, I hate all this lets revisit old characters and give them secret histories nonsense that seems to be prevalent in every Alien story nowadays.

We couldn't call it prevalent, surely? - we've had A:CM and Hicks so far unless I'm missing something? That said, I was thinking that this might not go down well.

Alien should be omitted.

Yeah, I'll give you that one then! 

Maybe one of the sequels will be about what happened to Morse after Alien 3...

I've wanted this for so long! I really do hope we get that.

I'm not sure you could write a whole story around him, but he could definitely be a supporting character. The novelization of Resurrection tells us he writes about his experiences on Fiorina, so Weyland-Yutani clearly don't off him.

I've still got this book on pre-order, but I admit my enthusiasm for it has dropped sharply. Still, so long as it's well-written I'll probably enjoy it.

He'd definitely be an attractive target for other organisations that want to know more about the Alien. I think he could be a main character in a book.

I understand a lot of the negative feelings about the hidden history angle of this book but I'm not going to write it off yet. I really want to see what is done with Ash and how Tim Lebbon handles it. He sounds like he's really into the series and it sounds like the next novels wont be Ripley focused.

[SM]

I'm interested to see how he addresses Ripley being in the the exact same sleeping position at the end of Alien and start of Aliens.  And the gun jammed in the hatch.

[Xenomrph]

The "Ripley" thing might be a red herring entirely. Perhaps the only part she really has to do with the plot is how the salvage team comes across the Narcissus and recovers it? "Ripley's in the book" can mean a lot of things.

[SM]

AvPG Pod epsiode 13 will...



Well, you'll have to listen and find out.

[Xenomorphine]

AvPG Pod epsiode 13 will...

Well, you'll have to listen and find out.

Did the revelations meet with your expectations, SM? Or were you more than ?

[SM]

The former.

This could really be the greatest twist in modern literature if he manages to pull it off...









I wish could believe that.

[Xenomorphine]

Being filled with awe and pessimism at the same time... Were this any other fandom, that'd be a damned unusual state of mind to experience.

[SM]

I think pessimism is pre-judging it a bit too harsly.

The potential, however, for suckage is much, MUCH higher with something that re-writes the source material.  We saw how well the fanbase responded to the shitstain that was A:CM.

[HuDaFuK]

The potential, however, for suckage is much, MUCH higher with something that re-writes the source material.  We saw how well the fanbase responded to the shitstain that was A:CM.

I didn't have a problem with what ACM did in principle, it was just the way it was done. It was so nonsensical. They clearly decided what they were going to do before they'd thought of a logical way of making it happen, then they just kinda bullshitted it.

Part of the problem was the fact they chose Hicks. His character was unequivocally dead in the films. Maybe if they'd picked someone else who could conceivably have still been alive. Wierzbowski could still have been floating around in LV-426 somewhere... Might've been fun seeing him get developed into a leading character. Of course, that would've required effort, like actual character development...

Back on topic, I haven't given up on this novel, but I'm wary. Forgive me for being a bit of a newbie when it comes to things like this, but I find the way Lebbon has apparently had the story thrust upon him pretty strange. Does that often happen in the expanded universes of film series?

[Xenomrph]

In the grand scheme of things, especially in light of how it was explained in the DLC, I actually didn't have that big of a problem with retconning Hicks' death.

[HuDaFuK]

If anything, the explanation in the DLC annoyed me even more. It was so ridiculous, that entire scene just had me saying, "Oh come on!"

[SM]

Does that often happen in the expanded universes of film series?

I don't think so.  I think it's more the norm that the publisher has the license and they look to authors in their stable and ask them to pitch ideas.