I am pleased to announce that Fox and Titan have authorized Jonathan Maberry and myself to edit an official Aliens V. Predator anthology. It is tentatively titled Ultimate Prey and is scheduled to be out December 2021. We'll do an official announcement and list of authors and so on once all contracts are finalized but wanted to give you guys a heads up on some good news as so many of you have asked me for this.
*added title. Hicks.
That's fantastic news! Really looking forward to this one! We get so little AvP material so this is exciting!
Great. Well, it's probably not announced yet, but I know for a fact Titan has an AvP novel in the works too for 2022.
Very good news! Thanks for sharing!
Great news! I've been hoping for an AvP anthology.
That's awesome to hear, for both the anthology and (especially) the AvP novel!
I'm interested in this spelling:
QuoteAliens V. Predator
It's just another less common contraction of 'versus'.
Unless it's a sly hint at Alien V...
Which would be odd 'cos there's already VI of them...
Just found it interesting since it's coming from a reasonably official place and is different from the past use of "vs".
There's nothing to it. All sorts of contractions or spellings of it have been used over the years. Dark Horse even went full versus once or twice.
Yeah I know.
Just waiting to see if Scified or Alien Theory pick up on it.
Excellent news.
No. f**king. Way
Spoiler
Perhaprs it's time to finally get to read If It Bleeds
Great news!
Thanks for sharing that awesome news Bryan! I can't wait to take a gander at that author list!
Quote from: Kradan on Jan 08, 2021, 12:53:40 PM
No. f**king. Way
Spoiler
Perhaprs it's time to finally get to read If It Bleeds
(https://media3.giphy.com/media/3o84sw9CmwYpAnRRni/giphy.gif)
Incredible news! Thanks, Bryan.
Great, I really like Bug Hunt and If It Bleeds. AvP is missing for a complete set.
P.S. Juicy desire - see Prometheus Anthology someday.
They should have an "origin" story, showing how the Preds first encountered the Xenos.
You can see the author list on my blog http://bryanthomasschmidt.net/announcement-coming-december-2021/ or here in the news announcement just posted.
Good to see Navarro in there. They need to get her to do another full length novel. Digging McGuire and Sigler too.
Wonder if there will be any crossover with their other work.
Quote...who will elevate the themes to feature tales of racism, intolerance, culture clashes, and the horrors of war.
Will be interesting to see how deep they go here for an AvP anthology book, where one might assume and expect just typical monster vs monster escapism fare.
Avp goes pc...
Quote from: Jesscobb on Jan 26, 2021, 09:31:59 PM
Avp goes pc...
Right because any entertainment touching on those issues is automatically SJW PC fare. ::)
AVP has had plenty of typical monster vs monster fare. As with Thicker Than Blood, I'm interested to see more atypical AVP story themes.
Great news but December is far off.
QuoteWe are amassing a slate of diverse writers who will elevate the themes to feature tales of racism, intolerance, culture clashes, and the horrors of war.
(https://media.giphy.com/media/102q84kcTkYE7K/giphy.gif)
Right because any entertainment touching on those issues is automatically SJW PC fare. ::)
Yup...glad you agree.
It's called sarcasm.
No....really?
Quote from: Jesscobb on Jan 26, 2021, 11:03:53 PM
No....really?
I mean, you were the one who put out the sarcastic "AVP goes pc" post in the first place, as if to imply that there somehow an issue with the subject matter this is tackling. Or with a "pc" mentality in the first place, from the way I read it...
I was really excited to read this news, looking forward to it. What a good feeling it is to know there's fresh Alien, Predator and AvP content all in the works in different formats, the species are alive and well!
I wasn't been sarcastic with the original comment! Sjw/pc is why a lot of movies today suck! Gotta tick Off the diverse Themes, eg Star Wars, Easiest way to kill off a franchise,go pc...
Quote from: Jesscobb on Jan 26, 2021, 11:18:51 PM
I wasn't been sarcastic with the original comment! Sjw/pc is why a lot of movies today suck! Gotta tick Off the diverse Themes, eg Star Wars, Easiest way to kill off a franchise,go pc...
As opposed to Lucas' Star Wars movies, which I guess didn't have a political bone in their body...
Quote from: Jesscobb on Jan 26, 2021, 11:03:53 PM
No....really?
Keep it up, please.
Otherwise let's not turn this into an AVP going woke thread.
Nowhere near the pc/sjw crap that Kennedy released..."the force is female" Hard pass.
Keep it up, please.
That's what she said! 8)
Quote from: Jesscobb on Jan 26, 2021, 11:28:18 PM
Nowhere near the pc/sjw crap that Kennedy released..."the force is female" Hard pass.
https://youtu.be/fv9Jq_mCJEo
Lucas wasn't exactly subtle. But please, do continue on with the "pc/sjw crap that Kennedy released."
Wow! I am SUPER pumped for this!! I loved If it Bleeds!
Really liking the author list for this! So Sigler's story is a sequel that'll potentially bring a predator into the mix (which I think would work extremely well btw). But it makes me wonder if the shared universe is back in vogue now that Disney's running the show. Philip Kennedy Johnson also stated that Marvel had plans to connect the three properties which also leads me to believe that the separation of the franchises is coming to an end. In terms of licensing both Titan and Marvel hold all three properties so it's not a legal clusterf**k to coordinate a potential shared universe going forward. Anyway really looking forward to this!
Quote from: Jesscobb on Jan 26, 2021, 11:28:18 PM
Nowhere near the pc/sjw crap that Kennedy released..."the force is female" Hard pass.
Keep it up, please.
That's what she said! 8)
I'm sure you're going to be around while.
QuoteBryan Thomas Schmidt has revealed to us that that Scott Sigler's story here will be a sequel to Aliens: Phalanx!
Interesting. I really, really like
Phalanx, but I'm not super into the Alien vs Predator concept as a whole would overall prefer that Alien and Predator stay separate. That being said, Sigler is a very good writer and
Phalanx is great so I am pretty intrigued by this despite my reservations about the crossover element.
I wonder if this is our first small taste of A/P under the Disney umbrella folding back into an AVP branding on a larger scale? Only time will tell...
Was pump to hear that a AVP short story collection was finally coming out took them long enough.Then I hear it will talk about racism,culture intolerance and all that other stuff this is alien vs predator not a political discussion unless you do it subtle and make the story still fun like old school x-men don't do it at all it.People read comic books and novels to escape from reality.
Who know maybe they might be good if I would do a story about cultural clashes I would it with two different preadtor clans with different ideologies maybe one clan worships the xenomorphs and they go to war with each others.But by the end people read these stories to escape to a reality where two mighty beast clash in a mighty battle.By the way why did they hire the dude that predator forever midnight that like the worst book in the alien and predator EU just why?
Scott sigler is a good writer so I think his story will deliver I don't know about the others though we will just have to wait and see
Folks, the fact is we had each pitched AvP anthos since 2017 when Bug Hunt and If It Bleeds came out, and Titan finally decided to do it by having us work together but they said they want diversity, because that is what everybody is focused on right now. We asked the authors for stories that are not in your face but the usual AvP fare that just happen to touch on those themes. They also wanted diverse protagonists and not just all white males squaring off against the alien monsters. So that is what we are delivering. I am not a preachy fiction fan either, but the fact is this is what the publisher and studio want to do the book, so that is what it is. Writing it off and dismissing it before you see it is silly. I hated Last Jedi. I will do everything I can to ensure it does not go that way. Anyone who knows anything about me knows I am not SJW nor am I a PC fan, so you'll just have to wait and see.
Thanks Bryan.
I dug The Last Jedi, and 'PC' generally just means being more inclusive. If the story telling is good - what's the issue?
Or did some suddenly forget that Ripley was a woman, as was Machiko. A Japanese woman no less. Lex was African-American. Lope and Hallett in Covenant were a gay married couple. Olivia in Echo was a lesbian. And Anne in Cold Forge liked shagging a male android that was remotely piloted by a terminally ill crippled black woman. Heavens! My pearls!!!
QuoteInteresting. I really, really like Phalanx, but I'm not super into the Alien vs Predator concept as a whole would overall prefer that Alien and Predator stay separate. That being said, Sigler is a very good writer and Phalanx is great so I am pretty intrigued by this despite my reservations about the crossover element
Same. Ditto with McGuire if she brought Olivia back.
I can dig it! Can't wait to read and hope for more
I think companies should focus about good stories instead of diversity majority of people buy stories to be entertained not because the main character or the author has the same skin color,sexuality as them or politics.But what you're saying makes me hopefull for this book.So i will wait to see how good this book is.But why would titan books put all this stuff just put a summary of some of the short stories that will get people excited for this book not this stuff.Also why did y'all wait till now to make this book now why not after the last anthology book when there would have been a lot more hype for this book.
Good stories that involve characters that aren't the white male default are not mutually exclusive.
QuoteAlso why did y'all wait till now to make this book now why not after the last anthology book when there would have been a lot more hype for this book.
Bryan already answered this - "Folks, the fact is we had each pitched AvP anthos since 2017 when Bug Hunt and If It Bleeds came out." It's not his call when the book gets made, that's up to Titan.
Thing is these character gender,race,and sexuality didn't define who they were people like them due to their personality or flaws they were human.Most SJWS seem to think there character being gay is enough character development.Also to like star wars the last jedi you must really hate the orginal star wars and it's EU
I will remind you guys there was diversity in the stories in If It Bleeds and none of the criticisms I ever heard about those stories ever complained about that. It is possible to use diverse writers and diverse characters without losing the heart of what people love about xeno and Yautja stories. That's what we'll be focused on. Maberry and I are fans.
Quote from: Bug hunt wilson on Jan 27, 2021, 03:15:18 AM
I think companies should focus about good stories instead of diversity majority of people buy stories to be entertained not because the main character or the author has the same skin color,sexuality as them or politics.But what you're saying makes me hopefull for this book.So i will wait to see how good this book is.But why would titan books put all this stuff just put a summary of some of the short stories that will get people excited for this book not this stuff.Also why did y'all wait till now to make this book now why not after the last anthology book when there would have been a lot more hype for this book.
Lie! If you're only interested in a good story, you shouldn't be complaining about diversity in the first place :laugh:
Quote from: BryanThomasS on Jan 27, 2021, 03:53:41 AM
I will remind you guys there was diversity in the stories in If It Bleeds and none of the criticisms I ever heard about those stories ever complained about that. It is possible to use diverse writers and diverse characters without losing the heart of what people love about xeno and Yautja stories. That's what we'll be focused on. Maberry and I are fans.
Indeed. The diversity has been there all along.
Quote from: Bug hunt wilson on Jan 27, 2021, 03:40:32 AM
Thing is these character gender,race,and sexuality didn't define who they were people like them due to their personality or flaws they were human.Most SJWS seem to think there character being gay is enough character development.Also to like star wars the last jedi you must really hate the orginal star wars and it's EU
What a dumb thing to say.
You're going to have to explain why you think it dumb
You're right I had no problem with the diverse characters my favorite character was the Indian dude in predator gameworld he grew up in a poor area and he was fighting in there so his kids didn't had as much of a hard life as him if I remember correctly.The problem I have with this summary is that you seem to be worrying about diversity first and good story telling second all you to do is make it naturally flow and then make it subtle boom you have a good book.
The problem you have, Wilson, is with your interpretation and assumptions about what I am saying. If you meant what you said about being encouraged by words and giving it a chance, you should do that. You're arguing with yourself and your expectations. I can't answer for that. It's not who I am. The book will speak for itself. If It Bleeds did.
Okay I am starting to see what you mean now and yes I will give it a chance.I am glad you told the writers to keep it subtle it seems most comic book and book companies dont seem to do that anymore and the writers ruin what could be great books.
Quote from: Bug hunt wilson on Jan 27, 2021, 04:05:35 AM
You're going to have to explain why you think it dumb
Just for you...
I've been a fan of Star Wars since 1977, consumed a massive chunk of the EU throughout the 1980s through to the early 2000s. And l still liked the Last Jedi for doing something different.
Ergo - your comment is dumb.
So you like the last jedi for destroying a franchise grow up with since you was a kid.
I'm also going to hop in and say that I love Lucas' whole Star Wars saga, and that I also love The Last Jedi (despite not being big on the two JJ Abrams efforts).
Let's try not to completely derail this thread, folks.
Quote from: Bug hunt wilson on Jan 27, 2021, 04:47:13 AM
So you like the last jedi for destroying a franchise grow up with since you was a kid.
It was destroyed? Wasn't there another movie, some books, comics, games and a bunch of TV shows? Did I miss something?
I am so damn pumped for this! We don't get enough AvP and seeing the names attached to this, and getting more AvP! Damn! I am ready! Really excited to see where Sigler, in particular, goes with AvP as a sequel to Phalanx!
What just happened to my post ? That wasn't very nice :'(
RidgeTop has asked us to remain on topic. Attempts to flame are gonna be deleted.
Excited for this, but also really interested to see what Titan does with these licences going forward. Already we have titles split into Alien, Aliens, AvP & Predator. Broadly the same continuity, but different tones & set-ups.
Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Jan 27, 2021, 08:16:36 AM
I am so damn pumped for this! We don't get enough AvP and seeing the names attached to this, and getting more AvP! Damn! I am ready! Really excited to see where Sigler, in particular, goes with AvP as a sequel to Phalanx!
Yeah thats crazy awesome! Wonder if a predator will be hunting Aliyah, she is quite the warrior.
Welcome Aliens: Phalanx... to AvP lore!!
(https://i.pinimg.com/originals/1a/34/e5/1a34e5eb33925102b368e5cc7b349242.gif)
Even though I'm primarily an Alien fan, I enjoyed If It Bleeds more than Bug Hunt. Most of the stories in Bug Hunt were scanty, cropped, obscure mess. Predator did better. And most of the stories were told from A to Z. I don't know why this happened. Perhaps because it is easier to write about the Predator - it's just a two-meter Neanderthal with blasters. And the Alien is just a vague chitinous (!) swarming of thorns (!!) and tentacles (!!!) - according to the books.
Hell yeah, can't wait to write another story about Ataegina.
Quote from: scottsigler on Jan 28, 2021, 06:10:37 PM
Hell yeah, can't wait to write another story about Ataegina.
And we can't wait to read it! I'll be especially curious to see if this takes place shortly after Phalanx or during another time period.
Quote from: scottsigler on Jan 28, 2021, 06:10:37 PM
Hell yeah, can't wait to write another story about Ataegina.
Hey Scott!
If you turn Aliens: phalanx into part 1 of an epic AVP story, like Tim Lebbon's Rage War trilogy, I'd really get into that... food for thought...
Lookin forward to this! If it Bleeds had some hiccups but for the most part it was a sleeper hit! Wouldn't have grabbed it if it weren't this site. Don't judge the Titan books by their covers. It's been a while since I read an AVP novel, was the Rage War series good? Never got around to it.
Quote from: Engineer on Jan 28, 2021, 10:19:33 PM
Quote from: scottsigler on Jan 28, 2021, 06:10:37 PM
Hell yeah, can't wait to write another story about Ataegina.
Hey Scott!
If you turn Aliens: phalanx into part 1 of an epic AVP story, like Tim Lebbon's Rage War trilogy, I'd really get into that... food for thought...
*drooling*
Quote from: Lost_Hunter on Jan 29, 2021, 05:28:42 AM
Lookin forward to this! If it Bleeds had some hiccups but for the most part it was a sleeper hit! Wouldn't have grabbed it if it weren't this site. Don't judge the Titan books by their covers. It's been a while since I read an AVP novel, was the Rage War series good? Never got around to it.
Rage War makes me call Tim Lebbon "Master of Worldbuilding". I was very, VERY impressed with picture of far future of 27th century he painted in that trilogy. For me, it succeeded in creating feeling of broad universe while keeping it in realms of Alien universe. His characters aren't always exactly multidimensional or too deep but I'd be lying if they're not a hell of a fun to read
Woh! That's a strong recommendation, I will give it a sniff. Thanks Kradan
I hope the stories are standalone, and don't tie in too much to previous novels.
Quote from: Lost_Hunter on Jan 29, 2021, 05:33:24 PM
Woh! That's a strong recommendation, I will give it a sniff. Thanks Kradan
Seriously, there was just so much interesting sci-fi stuff and exotic places characters visited. I loved that trilogy. Hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did ;)
Quote from: Kradan on Jan 29, 2021, 06:34:13 PM
Quote from: Lost_Hunter on Jan 29, 2021, 05:33:24 PM
Woh! That's a strong recommendation, I will give it a sniff. Thanks Kradan
Seriously, there was just so much interesting sci-fi stuff and exotic places characters visited. I loved that trilogy. Hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did ;)
This, and Alien: Phalanx is also a must for me now. I can't believe I missed this story somehow, battle harden knights taking on "demons", has that Doom Eternal vib with the Night Sentinels fighting the demons from hell with Doomguy at the front of the action.
I do have a question though; Is Ataegina an alternate Earth or descendants of a forgotten colony of a long lost human expedition?
___________________________________________________-
Doing more research now, I see that the
Palatine caste has returned to Phalanx which is awesome! Now it made me yearn for a Queen Mother to return to modern day media one day. The Queen Mother itself is an eldritch horror, perhaps the most truest sense of the word in the Alien mythos. I mean its so rare, a mythical being that can instill fear and horror into minds, driving them mad with nightmares of how they will meet a gruesome end. Its almost like a living Marker from Dead Space, which makes it all the more fascinating, this caste should also be explored more.
Other than that, I can't wait for this anthology, this is amazing!
More AVP content, finally!!!!!
Quote from: Mr.Turok on Jan 30, 2021, 03:29:57 AM
I do have a question though; Is Ataegina an alternate Earth or descendants of a forgotten colony of a long lost human expedition?
To answer that is actually a pretty significant spoiler for the book itself, so I would recommend going in not knowing the answer to this question, but if you absolutely want to know before you start reading -
Spoiler
Ataegina is a colony that's housed humans for a few generations, but the current generation does not have any knowledge of this history or of Earth. They believe that this world is where they originated.
Quote from: Nightmare Asylum on Jan 30, 2021, 04:09:33 AM
Quote from: Mr.Turok on Jan 30, 2021, 03:29:57 AM
I do have a question though; Is Ataegina an alternate Earth or descendants of a forgotten colony of a long lost human expedition?
To answer that is actually a pretty significant spoiler for the book itself, so I would recommend going in not knowing the answer to this question, but if you absolutely want to know before you start reading -
Spoiler
Ataegina is a colony that's housed humans for a few generations, but the current generation does not have any knowledge of this history or of Earth. They believe that this world is where they originated.
Ohhhh thanks mate! I'm a try to resist the spoiler until my book arrives, wish me luck! :laugh:
Good luck, It worth waiting
Quote from: Mr.Turok on Jan 30, 2021, 03:29:57 AM
Quote from: Kradan on Jan 29, 2021, 06:34:13 PM
Quote from: Lost_Hunter on Jan 29, 2021, 05:33:24 PM
Woh! That's a strong recommendation, I will give it a sniff. Thanks Kradan
Seriously, there was just so much interesting sci-fi stuff and exotic places characters visited. I loved that trilogy. Hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did ;)
This, and Alien: Phalanx is also a must for me now. I can't believe I missed this story somehow, battle harden knights taking on "demons", has that Doom Eternal vib with the Night Sentinels fighting the demons from hell with Doomguy at the front of the action.
I do have a question though; Is Ataegina an alternate Earth or descendants of a forgotten colony of a long lost human expedition?
___________________________________________________-
Doing more research now, I see that the Palatine caste has returned to Phalanx which is awesome! Now it made me yearn for a Queen Mother to return to modern day media one day. The Queen Mother itself is an eldritch horror, perhaps the most truest sense of the word in the Alien mythos. I mean its so rare, a mythical being that can instill fear and horror into minds, driving them mad with nightmares of how they will meet a gruesome end. Its almost like a living Marker from Dead Space, which makes it all the more fascinating, this caste should also be explored more.
Other than that, I can't wait for this anthology, this is amazing! More AVP content, finally!!!!!
Having read Phalanx myself, I was under the impression that the "Royal Guards" that appeared in the novel were Praetorians, not Palatines. ??? Or at least the way they were described made them appear to be most similar to Praetorians.
Aren't they essentially the same ?
Palatines have tusks. :P
They have them tusks, strong enough to tear apart heavy machinery and heavily armored vehicles, and apparently just as large as a regular Queen.
Queen Mothers and Palatines should make a comeback, maybe it can help with more storytelling ideas for future Alien and AVP content.
I mean, yeah, there're definetly design differences - but in terms of their purpose - protecting a Queen - aren't they the same ? There's Aliens: Rogue comic and there they are called Praetorians but they look like Palatines from Female War - with tusks and all
Praetorians protect Queens. Palatines protect the Queen Mother. ;)
And if Aliens killed off 90% of the human population and control on the planet, I'm surprised that it didn't evolve into a Queen Mother in the first place. Usually they come about when they have near to complete control of a world. Then again, both Queen Mother and Palatines haven't been relevant on transmedia since the 90s.....damm :'(
Thankfully.
Would you say that your opinion has always been influenced by the fact that your first impression of them was tainted by Sam Kieth's art?
Broke: Sam Kieth's art in Earth War
Woke: Sam Keith's art in Inhuman Condition
Both were rubbish.
Quote from: Local Trouble on Feb 01, 2021, 06:13:24 AM
Would you say that your opinion has always been influenced by the fact that your first impression of them was tainted by Sam Kieth's art?
No.
Would you say that the very concepts of praetorians, palatines and queen mothers were offensive regardless of how they were depicted?
Personally, I think that Queen Mother is clear case of "Bigger-better" syndrome. Just an idea of creature able to influence Aliens and humans no matter how far they are is too over the top for me. Aliens are animals not space wizards
The idea of an Empress ruling over several hives I can get behind, but otherwise I'm with LT, most of it's redundant garbage.
I just like Bigger Queens. No special powers, no separate caste or strain or whatever. Just some big old bitch who never stopped growing.
Like the T-rex in AvP?
Quote from: Local Trouble on Feb 01, 2021, 04:05:28 PM
Would you say that the very concepts of praetorians, palatines and queen mothers were offensive regardless of how they were depicted?
They're not offensive, just pointless. Fun for games but little else.
What about the giant facehugger?
Quote from: SM on Jan 14, 2013, 12:08:57 AM
You rang?
(https://www.avpgalaxy.net/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-QRuPCH-HMf0%2FUGM5hdyF4aI%2FAAAAAAAAI_4%2F9uAiDmjkMsI%2Fs1600%2Fa3g_09.png&hash=e18c57cd98e6586882ec8273ff759b4a7e12a1c5)
Tending more towards offensive.
I adore the idea of Queen Mothers due to the simple fact they put a great dash of eldritch abomination into creatures that already exemplify a mix of fiendish biomechanical, all consuming, eldritch abominations.
While I do think the trait of controlling every single alien in the galaxy ever is too much, I do love how it has telepathic abilities that allows her to play mind games with people. An alien that has the ability to probe your mind, induce nightmares, and being hyperintelligent to the point that maybe these xenos are beyond simple animalistic thought, if maybe or maybe not surpasses human thought. Who knows? Death is always a certainty when one tries to understand it as past media shows. Its another wrench in the cogs to keep us guessing, another unknown that leads to more questions. Its just that alien and beyond us, as the alien should be.
Hell, I would add further traits like the Markers in Dead Space. Say like if she was captured and contained in Weyland facility, she is just more living proof to how you simply cannot contain or control the xenos. Have her able send out multiple telepathic signals to its assault its enemies as it begins her escape plan. Those alive and afflicted with weaker wills begin to experience hallucinations and contract dementia, sending the living into a paranoid state causing homicidal and suicidal actions. See the people around her tear themselves apart, opening new opportunities to orchestrate escape and expansion for her and the hive.
In one way, I know some might think its too much already, having more castes when the basic is already terrifying as it is, but I also see it as another reason why these things will always keep us guessing in terror, as you never know what will spring forth from its incredibly violent and ever changing dark nature.
Quote from: Mr.Turok on Feb 02, 2021, 05:49:23 AM
-and being hyperintelligent to the point that maybe these xenos are beyond simple animalistic thought, if maybe or maybe not surpasses human thought. Who knows?
They already are.
But yes it's true Alien in the graphic novel realm did the influencing humanity's thoughts thing first and as such, in addition to the religion surrounding ascending into a higher form through "glorious rebirth" so it's absolutely entitled to go that direction in the future someday.
I like the idea of different kinds of xenomorphs. I'll always love big chap but it's cool to see different variations of aliens and predators, as long as the storyline is good
Quote from: Trash Queen on Feb 02, 2021, 10:25:06 AM
Quote from: Mr.Turok on Feb 02, 2021, 05:49:23 AM
-and being hyperintelligent to the point that maybe these xenos are beyond simple animalistic thought, if maybe or maybe not surpasses human thought. Who knows?
They already are.
Some people don't think so.
Quote from: Trash Queen on Feb 02, 2021, 10:25:06 AM
But yes it's true Alien in the graphic novel realm did the influencing humanity's thoughts thing first and as such, in addition to the religion surrounding ascending into a higher form through "glorious rebirth" so it's absolutely entitled to go that direction in the future someday.
Alien cults are interesting and adds to the mythical eldritch aura on the alien overall.
Wait, are the aliens telepathic? ???
Quote from: Local Trouble on Feb 02, 2021, 09:53:38 PM
Wait, are the aliens telepathic? ???
Its been suggested to some degree, seeing that the Queen can control/command her underlings. The Queen Mother is just the pinnacle of this ability.
Quote from: Local Trouble on Feb 02, 2021, 09:53:38 PM
Wait, are the aliens telepathic? ???
In the first comic series the Queens can communicate telepathically. And it was mentioned on and off in other comics over the years (Labyrinth was one from memory). I think there's a reference in the Resurrection novelisation too.
Do you approve?
Not really a fan. There's hints of some sort of telepathy in Resurrection (the film), but I think that can be partly put down to Ripley's mental state and ultrasonics rather than telepathy. If it was something like telepathy it'd better if it was left unlabelled.
Quote from: SM on Feb 03, 2021, 01:29:25 AM
ultrasonics
I've always had some headcanon about Alien "long range" communication messing with humans like infrasound can.
Quoteeffects such as annoyance or fatigue
Generally leading to in-fighting, exhaustion and mistakes among humans with long term exposure to the creatures.
I can dig it.
Quote from: SM on Feb 03, 2021, 12:31:12 AM
I think there's a reference in the Resurrection novelisation too.
There is, as I recall.
Quote from: SM on Feb 01, 2021, 09:54:51 PM
Quote from: Local Trouble on Feb 01, 2021, 04:05:28 PM
Would you say that the very concepts of praetorians, palatines and queen mothers were offensive regardless of how they were depicted?
They're not offensive, just pointless. Fun for games but little else.
Still need to find out where to the guards are called Palatines, definitely wasn't in the comic I checked.
I think Praetorians can serve a purpose as either aa queen in waiting or royal guards but yeah, most extra castes are just there for EU media.
Quote from: SM on Feb 03, 2021, 01:29:25 AM
Not really a fan. There's hints of some sort of telepathy in Resurrection (the film), but I think that can be partly put down to Ripley's mental state and ultrasonics rather than telepathy. If it was something like telepathy it'd better if it was left unlabelled.
I'm not a fan of it either, it is one of few things I didn't like in Sea of Sorrows, it is a good book and had an awesome audio drama but these supernatural aspects are so far removed from how Alien started which was fairly grounded bar a few things like travel and cryosleep. I am aware I am being nitpicky in that regard.
I don't mind Aliens being able to communicate via telepathy. I'm even not against Queens influincing people's dreams. But when you start telling me that Queen Mother is able to f**k with people's minds lightyears from her and is also somehow connected to every f**king Xeno in bloody universe - that's when idea gets implausible and ridiculous to me
The first reference that comes to mind regarding xenomorph telepathy would be the comic series for Outbreak and Earth War, where the queen can transmit thought and emotion similar to the markers in Dead space.
I feel like it's thoroughly implied that the resolve to harvest xenomorphs is perpetuated by telepathic corruption from the brood, luring more humans to be used as incubators.
I think it's a cool concept, gives it kind of a Lovecraft aspect.
...does the AVP Galaxy staff ever feel as if they are being enacted upon in their xenomorph worship?
🤔🤔🤔
QuoteI'm not a fan of it either, it is one of few things I didn't like in Sea of Sorrows, it is a good book and had an awesome audio drama but these supernatural aspects are so far removed from how Alien started which was fairly grounded bar a few things like travel and cryosleep. I am aware I am being nitpicky in that regard.
I didn't mind it too much in SoS. I think because it was left generally vague.
True there is little explained about it, I recall that they say its more specifically empathy, a low-level telepath ability but the fact they have classifications means telepathy is not uncommon in that universe's time period. I just think its too supernatural to be honest. Still, I enjoyed the book so it didn't put me off.
Humans in Alien having any form of telepathy's f**king dumb.
Quote from: Trash Queen on Feb 04, 2021, 01:02:46 PM
Humans in Alien having any form of telepathy's f**king dumb.
By itself, hell yeah. Equally as dumb as the concept of next step of human evolution in Predators.
I know Resurrection was bad to many, but I thought Ripley having some form of telepathy with the Aliens due to the hybridized Alien DNA proved the theory of telepathy communication between Aliens.
The novelisation perhaps. The film is more non-committal.
Quote from: SM on Feb 05, 2021, 12:34:39 AM
The novelisation perhaps. The film is more non-committal.
Wait, how so? While its never said out loud, Ripley 8 pretty much said that she can feel them and knows that the Queen is in pain due to the live birth mutation, which as proven right later. Also the fact she can sense them breaking out and wreaking havoc on the ships, and sensing a chestburster in that one dude's chest. If that's not outright stating aliens have some form of telepathy, I have no idea what you can call that form of communication.
Quote from: SM on Feb 03, 2021, 01:29:25 AM
Not really a fan. There's hints of some sort of telepathy in Resurrection (the film), but I think that can be partly put down to Ripley's mental state and ultrasonics rather than telepathy. If it was something like telepathy it'd better if it was left unlabelled.
Doesn't even have to be ultrasonics.
She doesn't "sense" them breaking out - she outright hears them. And her heightened normal senses could just make her able to hear things others can't. The Queen was nearby when she was in pain.
Maybe Ripley 8's heightened senses can also detect micro-changes in air density.
Ripley's ass already has experience in this.
Quote from: Local Trouble on Feb 05, 2021, 12:55:34 PM
Maybe Ripley 8's heightened senses can also detect micro-changes in air density.
Probably how she detected the ship moving.
8)
Nice! Hope it's also released as a hardcover like Aliens: Bug Hunt.
I prefer a paperback.
I like both, but I'm a sucker for hardcovers. ;D
Late to jumping in on this, but great to hear Titan are still at it with the novels, and an AVP anthology is something a lot of people (myself included) have wanted since the last two.
Here's hoping it's more akin to If It Bleeds in terms of quality.
Also exciting to hear we're getting a bona fide AVP novel!
Quote from: felix on Feb 10, 2021, 01:06:41 PM
I prefer a paperback.
Ditto, hardbacks take up too much room on my shelf. It's what's kept me from buying Into Charybdis so far.
Available for Pre-Order on Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1789097940/ref=sr_1_11?keywords=titan+books&qid=1615888505&s=books&sr=1-11
Fifteen original short stories set in the expanded AvP universe, featuring the ultimate hunters, the Yautja from Predator, pitted against the ultimate prey, the Xenomorphs from Alien, with humans caught in the middle! Set on Earth and in the far reaches of space, in the past, present, and future, these tales are produced by a culturally and ethnically diverse of authors of varied genders, gathered exclusively for this anthology.
The authors include Louis Ozawa Changchien, who played "Hanzo" in Predators, Roshni "Rush" Bhatia, director of the Shadow at the Door, and Scott Sigler, author of Earthcore, Alive, and Aliens: Phalanx. Bestsellers include Jonathan Maberry, author of the Joe Ledger novels; Mira Grant, author of the October Daye, InCryptid, and Newsflesh novel series as well as Star Wars: Canto Bight and Alien: Echo.
Nice felix!
A pre-order in March for a Dec 14th release... soon we'll be pre-ordering a year prior! :P
Quote from: Voodoo Magic on Mar 16, 2021, 12:15:00 PM
soon we'll be pre-ordering a year prior! :P
Have you ever heard the tragedy of
Alien: 40 Years 40 Artists? I thought not. It's not a story Titan would tell you.
Quote from: Nightmare Asylum on Mar 16, 2021, 12:57:38 PM
Quote from: Voodoo Magic on Mar 16, 2021, 12:15:00 PM
soon we'll be pre-ordering a year prior! :P
Have you ever heard the tragedy of Alien: 40 Years 40 Artists? I thought not. It's not a story Titan would tell you.
:laugh:
(https://media1.giphy.com/media/l3diT8stVH9qImalO/giphy.gif)
But to be fair, that was delayed right?
A lot.
I'd completely forgotten Hanzo wrote one of these.
I hope his prose is more verbose than his dialogue :P
Aliens Versus Predators.
Placeholder cover up on the Amazon pre-order (https://www.amazon.com/Aliens-vs-Predators-ULTIMATE-PREY/dp/1789097940/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2S201GOZ5RW7M&dchild=1&keywords=aliens%20vs%20predator%20ultimate%20prey&qid=1616329584&sprefix=aliens%20vs%20predator%20ult%2Caps%2C204&sr=8-1&fbclid=IwAR2g8Wo-5Tb_bKiCBPHqX6ZzaT5TCgimxEWcvXoiokL88b7scMIk438lnEY) page:
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81ysqT8dzqL.jpg)
Yeah interesting with both titles being plural, don't think we've ever seen that before. I kinda... like it? Maybe?
First time I've known the Predator bit to have the s on it.
I can't imagine there being any significance to making it plural, but it does seem to flow better imo.
(https://media0.giphy.com/media/L1QP0YzGxMlzzVeObC/giphy-downsized.gif)
I prefer Aliens Versus Predators or Alien Versus Predator myself, but particularly the former, as it is usually always several.
We never truly got a one on one that I can remember
And using the plural never made much sense to me, it's the Alien and Predator franchises, Aliens and Predators just being particular entries.
I don't recall there being an instance where we've gotten one Predator vs one Alien, without others being involved, come to think of it ???
Quote from: felix on Mar 16, 2021, 09:56:32 AM
Available for Pre-Order on Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1789097940/ref=sr_1_11?keywords=titan+books&qid=1615888505&s=books&sr=1-11
Fifteen original short stories set in the expanded AvP universe, featuring the ultimate hunters, the Yautja from Predator, pitted against the ultimate prey, the Xenomorphs from Alien, with humans caught in the middle! Set on Earth and in the far reaches of space, in the past, present, and future, these tales are produced by a culturally and ethnically diverse of authors of varied genders, gathered exclusively for this anthology.
The authors include Louis Ozawa Changchien, who played "Hanzo" in Predators, Roshni "Rush" Bhatia, director of the Shadow at the Door, and Scott Sigler, author of Earthcore, Alive, and Aliens: Phalanx. Bestsellers include Jonathan Maberry, author of the Joe Ledger novels; Mira Grant, author of the October Daye, InCryptid, and Newsflesh novel series as well as Star Wars: Canto Bight and Alien: Echo.
Ah! Mira Grant's in the mix now? I didn't see that in the previous listing on BTS's link. Nice.
I think before it was less being literal and more referring to the franchises it was representing.
Initially, when AVP started, it was essentially bringing Predators into the 'Aliens' franchise, as that was the popular film spawning a whole host of stuff at the time. After that Alien went back to being 'Alien' as a singular title for the franchise, then in 2010 we had 'Predators,' though Predator 2 did have plural Predators in it.
So Aliens vs Predator was bringing the Predator franchise into the Aliens world of the future with space marines etc.
Though the first video games such as the Jaguar one, SNES one, and the Capcom arcade were all 'Alien vs. Predator,' until the 99 PC game.
Then we had the Anderson film that had them both singular, which they changed back again for Requiem as Strause Bros. liked 'Aliens' as a movie.
Both the older and the current logo styles have used Alien vs. Predator and Aliens vs. Predator
Spoiler
(https://i.imgur.com/W6Gf9xP.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/K8uKkTr.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/tn24Vln.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/vfsrJ9L.png)
Alien vs. Predator has been the more common one in recent times. As far as 'Predators' goes, only that movie and the media related to it have used that instead of 'Predator.'
This is the very first time we've seen 'Aliens vs. Predators' used, and it seems to just be literal in this case, but yeah, it does flow nicely.
Quote from: Wysps on Mar 22, 2021, 09:47:20 PM
I don't recall there being an instance where we've gotten one Predator vs one Alien, without others being involved, come to think of it ???
https://avp.fandom.com/wiki/Aliens_vs._Predator:_Chained_to_Life_and_Death (https://avp.fandom.com/wiki/Aliens_vs._Predator:_Chained_to_Life_and_Death)
Quote from: Kradan on Mar 23, 2021, 07:18:39 AM
Quote from: Wysps on Mar 22, 2021, 09:47:20 PM
I don't recall there being an instance where we've gotten one Predator vs one Alien, without others being involved, come to think of it ???
https://avp.fandom.com/wiki/Aliens_vs._Predator:_Chained_to_Life_and_Death (https://avp.fandom.com/wiki/Aliens_vs._Predator:_Chained_to_Life_and_Death)
Thought of that one as well but you see the Pred's flashbacks of him fighting other Aliens.
Quote from: RidgeTop on Mar 23, 2021, 03:23:27 AMInitially, when AVP started, it was essentially bringing Predators into the 'Aliens' franchise, as that was the popular film spawning a whole host of stuff at the time.
And because it was a Dark Horse thing, and the Dark Horse comics were specifically branded Alien
s.
Yes that's true even when in my opinion something like Dead Orbit suited the singular better.
Quote from: RidgeTop on Mar 23, 2021, 07:38:45 AM
Quote from: Kradan on Mar 23, 2021, 07:18:39 AM
Quote from: Wysps on Mar 22, 2021, 09:47:20 PM
I don't recall there being an instance where we've gotten one Predator vs one Alien, without others being involved, come to think of it ???
https://avp.fandom.com/wiki/Aliens_vs._Predator:_Chained_to_Life_and_Death (https://avp.fandom.com/wiki/Aliens_vs._Predator:_Chained_to_Life_and_Death)
Thought of that one as well but you see the Pred's flashbacks of him fighting other Aliens.
We've really only had one story where there's been 1:1? I was sure that I was missing something, but it's kind of hard to believe that after so many decades and different movies/comics/books, there's only been one story like that.
Quote from: Wysps on Mar 23, 2021, 07:48:00 PM
We've really only had one story where there's been 1:1? I was sure that I was missing something, but it's kind of hard to believe that after so many decades and different movies/comics/books, there's only been one story like that.
That's just because usually... Aliens are so easy to dispatch.
(https://i.ibb.co/3T6XLTD/IMG-20210323-161334.jpg)
*ducks and runs*
Cringe:
(https://i.ibb.co/3T6XLTD/IMG-20210323-161334.jpg)
Based:
(https://d2lzb5v10mb0lj.cloudfront.net/common/salestools/previews/3004480/3004480p1.jpg)
LOL touché, don't get me started :laugh:
You better run, Voodoo :laugh:
Quote from: Wysps on Mar 22, 2021, 09:47:20 PM
I don't recall there being an instance where we've gotten one Predator vs one Alien, without others being involved, come to think of it ???
NEVER FORGET
(https://necaonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/590x-AVP_Page12-.jpg)
Bwa-Rak!
Quote from: Voodoo Magic on Mar 23, 2021, 08:32:18 PM
LOL touché, don't get me started :laugh:
You played Under The Hunter's Moon?
It's infinitely more fun when one can anihilate the other.
Quote from: SpaceKase on Mar 23, 2021, 10:10:37 PM
Quote from: Wysps on Mar 22, 2021, 09:47:20 PM
I don't recall there being an instance where we've gotten one Predator vs one Alien, without others being involved, come to think of it ???
NEVER FORGET
https://necaonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/590x-AVP_Page12-.jpg
Bwa-Rak!
Is Bwa-Rak the Predator's name and the Alien is just greeting him? And in the next panel the Alien says 'You son of a bitch!' and they arm wrestle?
Quote from: SM on Mar 23, 2021, 10:44:07 PM
Quote from: SpaceKase on Mar 23, 2021, 10:10:37 PM
Quote from: Wysps on Mar 22, 2021, 09:47:20 PM
I don't recall there being an instance where we've gotten one Predator vs one Alien, without others being involved, come to think of it ???
NEVER FORGET
https://necaonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/590x-AVP_Page12-.jpg
Bwa-Rak!
Is Bwa-Rak the Predator's name and the Alien is just greeting him? And in the next panel the Alien says 'You son of a bitch!' and they arm wrestle?
:D hahaha, omg please yes
His full name is Bwa-Rak Glowb'ama, but more casual acquaintances just call him Barry.
Quote from: Trash Queen on Mar 23, 2021, 08:20:54 PM
Based:
https://d2lzb5v10mb0lj.cloudfront.net/common/salestools/previews/3004480/3004480p1.jpg
Let's try this again lol
Giger's Alien vs Stan Winston's Predator ✅
Resurrection Aliens vs ADI's Crabators ❌
Quote from: SpaceKase on Mar 23, 2021, 10:10:37 PMNEVER FORGET
https://necaonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/590x-AVP_Page12-.jpg
Bwa-Rak!
I was going to mention this :laugh:
Greatest one-on-one AVP story ever told.
Cover revealed.
(https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/avp/images/d/d9/Aliens_vs._Predator_Ultimate_Prey_-_Cover.jpg)
:'(
Come on Titan.... really?
I thought they were finally stepping up their cover game after Charybdis but I guess not. They do want to actually sell these books right?
Oh lord that cover...
Quote from: 426Buddy on May 26, 2021, 09:08:54 PM
I thought they were finally stepping up their cover game after Charybdis but I guess not. They do want to actually sell these books right?
I've always said it: you can tell if a book will be any good or not just by the cover art.
Quote from: Trash Queen on May 26, 2021, 09:22:22 PM
Ahahaha the f**king ridge boys r back in town worst Alien design bar none.
Love me some AvPR Xenos. :P
Buckteeth vs. Crabators
The absolute wooorst!!!
Quote from: Local Trouble on May 26, 2021, 10:03:01 PM
Quote from: 426Buddy on May 26, 2021, 09:08:54 PM
I thought they were finally stepping up their cover game after Charybdis but I guess not. They do want to actually sell these books right?
I've always said it: you can tell if a book will be any good or not just by the cover art.
It goes without saying that the cover has nothing to do with the quality of the book itself. However I don't want the books on my shelf looking like photoshop garbage either. Plus I really love original alien/Predator art.
Quote from: Trash Queen on May 26, 2021, 11:20:50 PM
The absolute wooorst!!!
The worst design possible. If you want to distill Gigers design down to absolute garbage then thats it.
Sometimes a book can be good despite its cover, but dear gosh..these Requiem warriors are so poorly designed 😂
It's not just the shitty AvPR Aliens - what's up with the pose? I'd hazard a guess that the Alien is tying the Predators shoe? Or maybe giving him a handy? Except the Alien looks like it's squatting too.
Maybe a larger image that's been badly cropped?
You are right about the awkward pose, that and the cheap flyer quality ~ sigh :-X
Quote from: SM on May 27, 2021, 12:03:18 AM
It's not just the shitty AvPR Aliens - what's up with the pose? I'd hazard a guess that the Alien is tying the Predators shoe?
The Alien is squatting down to tie the Predator's shoes for his first day of hunting school.
If it's Wolf he'd trip over them and land on the ultimate prey - a steel pipe.
I'm too grateful a new AVP novel is coming to care about how the cover looks. They could put the newborn and the upgrade on the cover and I would still take it.
Spoiler
As long as the stories wouldn't involve them of course :P
What if one of the stories involves...
(https://s3.gifyu.com/images/EnchantedWateryFeline-small.gif)
The Accelerant (TM)?
Huh the spacegooze. I can take it.
Everyone loves the black spooge. So interesting.
(https://i2.wp.com/aiptcomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/alien-vs-predator-fire-and-stone-3-featured.png?w=842&ssl=1)
Quote from: Local Trouble on May 27, 2021, 04:42:59 AM
Everyone loves the black spooge. So interesting.
It is when you use it correctly and it is just a pity not much does so far.
Quote from: Local Trouble on May 26, 2021, 10:03:01 PM
I've always said it: you can tell if a book will be any good or not just by the cover art.
:laugh:
I guess to some degree the cover can represent the amount the publisher is willing to invest in the cover; money spent relative to (in part) a predictive measure to how it will be generally received, critically reviewed, and subsequently sell within its niche.
To me it's clear what they were going for with this AvP Cover....
(https://i.ibb.co/qWR1vWW/IMG-20210527-110316.jpg)
Quote from: Voodoo Magic on May 27, 2021, 03:05:56 PM
To me it's clear what they were going for with this AvP Cover....
(https://i.ibb.co/qWR1vWW/IMG-20210527-110316.jpg)
:laugh:
"Will you be my Ultimate Prey?"
(https://i.pinimg.com/600x315/cd/9f/0f/cd9f0f5ae204e06a6b07e2ef6f628503.jpg)
Quote from: TheSailingRabbit on May 27, 2021, 03:50:39 PM
"Will you be my Ultimate Prey?"
Quote from: Trash Queen on May 27, 2021, 05:05:01 PM
https://i.pinimg.com/600x315/cd/9f/0f/cd9f0f5ae204e06a6b07e2ef6f628503.jpg
:laugh:
♡ ~ Sometimes a Hunter of Monsters ends up really hitting it off with... well, a monster ~ ♡Quote from: Voodoo Magic on May 27, 2021, 03:05:56 PM
To me it's clear what they were going for with this AvP Cover....
(https://i.ibb.co/qWR1vWW/IMG-20210527-110316.jpg)
In fact now it doesn't look so awkward and it even makes sense. Nice job, and maybe one of the stories will be AVP's first interspecies romance. :laugh:
Now THAT would be a landmark story! :laugh:
Slight amendment to the cover (author-wise)
https://www.facebook.com/JonathanMaberry/posts/335231631295142
So Denise Dumars got the flick?
Just a mistake on the original one. I don't believe she was working on it.
Seems Scott Sigler's story title is "Another Mother". I can't wait to read it!
https://twitter.com/scottsigler/status/1399044283676647424
Any way anyone can get them to change the cover?
It's embarrassing.
My guess is that with the need to pay so many authors for an anthology, Titan isn't willing to fork over cash for original art on this one.
What's their excuse on every other book?
You could literally pay someone $20 on Fiverr for better.
Well at least its has the original Predator and the alien is huh... could be worse, imagine if the cover was Wolf holding 2 avpr ridgeboys by the neck.
Spoiler
(https://i.ibb.co/YfwxZX3/asfafsss.jpg)
Quote from: Miguel on May 31, 2021, 01:27:01 PM
Seems Scott Sigler's story title is "Another Mother". I can't wait to read it!
https://twitter.com/scottsigler/status/1399044283676647424
This is still the weirdest thing to me; I'm not sure how I feel about an AVP story serving as a direct followup to what was a standalone Alien story.
I am curious, though. I really liked Sigler's writing and the world of Ataegina, so I'll probably have to give this entry a read.
(https://i.imgur.com/gxcMp8v.jpg)
Did this for fun, might properly finish it, might not.
Beautiful sketch! Well done
Thank you, I'm not that fond of the Predator though, more intimately familiar with the Alien.
Amazing sketch indeed ~ 8) keep it up!
Quote from: Nightmare Asylum on Jun 01, 2021, 04:21:59 PMThis is still the weirdest thing to me; I'm not sure how I feel about an AVP story serving as a direct followup to what was a standalone Alien story.
I dunno, I'm cool with it. It's not like they didn't already do the same thing with
Berserker leading into
War (even if
War was a bit of a letdown).
And we had Sea of Sorrows leading to the Rage War.
Just embrace your repressed Predator love already, NA! ;D
I do love Predator. Well, the first two movies at least. But as their own franchise!
I know, I'm just teasing.. ;)
In all seriousness though, does AvP concept work for you generally, if it's self contained within its own vacuum?
Quote from: Trash Queen on Jun 01, 2021, 10:36:48 PM
Thank you, I'm not that fond of the Predator though, more intimately familiar with the Alien.
I think they both look mighty good! 👏
Quote from: Voodoo Magic on Jun 02, 2021, 01:09:58 PM
I know, I'm just teasing.. ;)
In all seriousness though, does AvP concept work for you generally, if it's self contained within its own vacuum?
Not really. I guess if an AVP story is good enough I'd be able to get into it, but on the whole, I just don't care for the idea of these two franchises actually crossing over. They don't feel all that compatible to me. The things I enjoy about one are totally different than the things I enjoy about the other.
What about the first comic or Briggs' script?
I actually haven't read the comic, though I was really into the novelization Prey back in the day. I read that at least twice, from what I recall. It hasn't really held up for me over time though.
Similar deal with the original DH Aliens sequel comics (and novelizations), actually. I really liked those back when I was getting into the franchise (hence my username :D), but over time they kind of lost their luster.
The original comic's great.
Quote from: Nightmare Asylum on Jun 01, 2021, 04:21:59 PM
Quote from: Miguel on May 31, 2021, 01:27:01 PM
Seems Scott Sigler's story title is "Another Mother". I can't wait to read it!
https://twitter.com/scottsigler/status/1399044283676647424
This is still the weirdest thing to me; I'm not sure how I feel about an AVP story serving as a direct followup to what was a standalone Alien story.
I am curious, though. I really liked Sigler's writing and the world of Ataegina, so I'll probably have to give this entry a read.
I feel the same way you do. However, it was a chance to revisit Ataegina, a chance I couldn't pass up. My solution to your concern is to have what I call a "light footprint" that doesn't shatter the culture and timeline established in ALIENS: PHALANX. I hope you dig the story.
Quote from: scottsigler on Jun 03, 2021, 04:40:21 PM
Quote from: Nightmare Asylum on Jun 01, 2021, 04:21:59 PM
Quote from: Miguel on May 31, 2021, 01:27:01 PM
Seems Scott Sigler's story title is "Another Mother". I can't wait to read it!
https://twitter.com/scottsigler/status/1399044283676647424
This is still the weirdest thing to me; I'm not sure how I feel about an AVP story serving as a direct followup to what was a standalone Alien story.
I am curious, though. I really liked Sigler's writing and the world of Ataegina, so I'll probably have to give this entry a read.
I feel the same way you do. However, it was a chance to revisit Ataegina, a chance I couldn't pass up. My solution to your concern is to have what I call a "light footprint" that doesn't shatter the culture and timeline established in ALIENS: PHALANX. I hope you dig the story.
Very cool to hear, that definitely sounds like a solid was to tackle the crossover in this instance. Like I said above,, I loved your writing and the world the first time around in
Phalanx, so I'll definitely be giving it a go here despite my crossover reservations.
Perhaps you'll have your first AvP story you truly love!
So, I'm curious as to the legality of this anthology. Doesn't this count as new Predator content and go against the Thomas Brothers lawsuit? I'm just wondering how this is able to go ahead but everything else involving the Predator is potentially grinding to a halt.
Nothing has stopped yet as far as I know. If they issue an injunction then things will be halted.
It counts as new AvP content rather than Predator content - but how that whole AvP trademark and license works may get tied with the Thomas' since half of it is their character.
As 426Buddy indicates this project seems to moving ahead without any problems at this point.
Guess that means it is time for Marvel to fast track an AVP comic while their standalone Predator title is currently shelved. Get that brightened version of AVPR from Disney+ Star out there and accessible and they'll even have some material to trace to expedite the process!
Quote from: barrydalgarno on Jun 04, 2021, 01:40:35 PM
So, I'm curious as to the legality of this anthology. Doesn't this count as new Predator content and go against the Thomas Brothers lawsuit? I'm just wondering how this is able to go ahead but everything else involving the Predator is potentially grinding to a halt.
As most would rationalize, the copyright reclaiming includes Predators in AvP. The Thomas Brothers legal claim actually counts both AvP and AVPR as Predator films.
I would assume why this book is proceeding is why anything licensed is proceeding. Titan has the Predator or AvP license already for a specific duration. If their work is interrupted by a preliminary injunction and licenses were frozen, I would suspect the companies that acquired them would seek restitution for damages, perhaps legally if necessary. But until then, it's on them to take advantage of the license they acquired.
What I do believe this lawsuit will do is cause new companies who might be interested in paying for licensing Predator or AvP to take pause, with such a current cloud of uncertainty.
Quote from: Trash Queen on Jun 01, 2021, 08:15:06 PM
(https://i.imgur.com/gxcMp8v.jpg)
Did this for fun, might properly finish it, might not.
You should. This is fantastic.
Likely coming Spring now.
https://twitter.com/JonathanMaberry/status/1446547627596664836
Quote from: RidgeTop on Oct 25, 2021, 06:53:35 AM
Likely coming Spring now.
https://twitter.com/JonathanMaberry/status/1446547627596664836
Bummer :'(
Bummer indeed, but I believe next Spring is shaping up to be quite spectacular. :)
Quote from: RidgeTop on Oct 25, 2021, 06:53:35 AM
Likely coming Spring now.
https://twitter.com/JonathanMaberry/status/1446547627596664836
Can they fix the poster in the meantime?
Hey for a Titan cover, it's not too bad. But yeah they should just pay Trash Queen to finish that piece for it.
It's an Alien tying a Predator's shoe laces :laugh:
You should all behave well, boys and girls, and maybe Santa will leave another Titan book with good cover under your Christmas tree
Quote from: RidgeTop on Oct 28, 2021, 01:13:38 AMHey for a Titan cover, it's not too bad.
Can't agree with that :laugh:
New date is March 1st via Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/Aliens-vs-Predators-ULTIMATE-PREY/dp/1789097940/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=aliens+vs+predator+book&qid=1636803704&qsid=137-0024083-0401355&sr=8-3&sres=1785651994%2C1789097940%2C0553565559%2CB096TN9MML%2CB098H61Q53%2C1981233776%2C0553565567%2C1506715680%2C1593078293%2C1506716148%2CB098GY3TZP%2C0553577328%2C1569711259%2CB096TJLJV5%2C1569715688%2C1616556919&srpt=ABIS_BOOK)
The other titles will probably be moved back as well.
The Shining with Aliens and Predators ? Not sure about that :-\
That sounds like exactly the kind of weird idea that should be told in a short anthology book.
Yeah, I dig it muchly.
https://twitter.com/GirlinBlueBox/status/1493691282719338496
It's release day!
My copy's due tomorrow.
Mine arrived on Kindle this morning can't wait to finish work to get stuck in. What a great dedication & acknowledgement at the start too, well deserved Aaron and Adam!
Thanks, Marc. :) Yeah, we did some world-building/continuity consulting on this one. :)
Congrats to you and Ridgetop for the shout-out!
Shame it's using that old "AVP" movie logo though. I would have thought/hoped Disney would have ditched that when they took over. Never did like that they slapped it on all the AVP stuff after the movie came out in an attempt to make it the "official" one. I never did like it.
What's wrong with the logo ? I like it
Yeah I'm not a fan myself. . I prefer the old way of having the aliens font and predator font.
Quote from: Kradan on Mar 01, 2022, 05:33:08 PM
What's wrong with the logo ? I like it
It just looks so generic. Nothing about it says either "Aliens" or "Predator". It looks like some random company logo that could be for just about anything.
It might not have been super imaginative, but I've always preferred the retro "just put the Aliens and the Predator logos together" look they went with back in the day (only with "Aliens" being plural):
(https://news.toyark.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2017/08/Alien-vs-Predator.jpg)
I guess I'm just biased 'cause I genuinely enjoy 2004 movie
Quote from: Kradan on Mar 01, 2022, 06:32:37 PM
I guess I'm just biased 'cause I genuinely enjoy 2004 movie
Well there's your problem right there! ;D
Thanks Marc & Kailem! It was fun to be a part of the process with this.
Personally I've always liked that AVP movie logo, and it's been used a plenty by Dark Horse since then. I wonder if Marvel will do the same when they eventually get to those. Interesting though is the 'Aliens vs. Predators' dual plural title we haven't really seen before, it's like that for the next AVP book too.
Not gonna lie. I jump straight to Sigler's story. The only negative is, it's too short!
I've got to say I prefer the classic logo too. They used them on the Rage War, would prefer to always see that one.
My copy arrived yesterday. I'm looking forward to getting dug in and see how all the stories ended up!
Read the first story last night. Didn't love it, but didn't hate it either. Mostly just couldn't work out if it was supposed to be black comedy or was just a bit silly - neither of which is necessarily a bad thing, I just couldn't work out which angle it was aiming for.
That said, I loved
Spoiler
the Predator taunting the Alien once he'd locked it inside his containment cell :laugh:
I'm 4 in and have enjoyed them all so far, but "Hotel Mariposa" was a class apart, for me.
Takes some skill to build a world, tell a story and create a whole backstory for multiple characters in such a short piece. Loved it.
I've also read the first four, and I'll echo Marc's sentiments about Hotel Mariposa. The stories have been getting progressively better imo but this one was far and away the best so far. I
loved the location - what started out not seeming to make much sense wound up being an absolutely fantastic concept.
And another awesome Predator moment when
Spoiler
Hin'tui finds a piano, recognises it as a musical instrument and imagines composing a victory song on it after the hunt :laugh: That was class. Also neat to see this short very much utilising Perry's Yautja concept.
Quote from: HuDaFuK on Mar 06, 2022, 03:35:30 PM
I've also read the first four, and I'll echo Marc's sentiments about Hotel Mariposa. The stories have been getting progressively better imo but this one was far and away the best so far. I loved the location - what started out not seeming to make much sense wound up being an absolutely fantastic concept.
And another awesome Predator moment when Spoiler
Hin'tui finds a piano, recognises it as a musical instrument and imagines composing a victory song on it after the hunt :laugh: That was class. Also neat to see this short very much utilising Perry's Yautja concept.
I've read another 3 after that one and it's still the stand out. The explanation for how the building behaved the way it did was inspired. I'd be quite happy to read a novel length story about that whole place!
I've still got Homestead to read next, but I'm really excited to see how that Hotel Mariposa turned out. I was very fond of the concepts while it was being worked on - I don't think RT was keen on it - so I'm glad to hear people seem to like that.
I enjoyed both Below Top Secret and Isla. I thought they were both solidly written, but they were a bit "standard" AvP in terms of narrative. Particularly enjoyed the
Spoiler
use of blue goo as the weapon in Top Secret.
I don't think I'd have thought Isla would have worked if not for Phalanx being sooo good and making the more primitive work and be accepted.
Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Mar 07, 2022, 10:37:34 AMI don't think I'd have thought Isla would have worked if not for Phalanx being sooo good and making the more primitive work and be accepted.
That was absolutely my thoughts as well.
(In fact, didn't I literally say that to you on Facebook yesterday? :laugh:)
No! You didn't comment on Phalanx.
Fair enough. Well I was thinking it anyway :)
I finished Homestead and Hotel Mariposa last night. I really enjoyed both of these. I loved the horror aspect of Homestead. I think Dawson really handled it well, and infused some fantastic tension into it. It was very much like a fevor dream, where not everything had to be dealt with overtly. It worked so damn well to say
Spoiler
the actual Aliens and Predators weren't in it that much. The presence of the horse-hybrid was cool, without it being highlighted as such. The only thing I was never sure on was the eggbarfing stuff. But the anthology was supposed to be leaning more into the AvP movie side of things so it was there. But again, it wasn't particularly a focus. It was just the one line alluding to it.
I was glad to see I thoroughly enjoyed Hotel Mariposa. Like I said before, the whole crux of that working was something I was in love with when I first heard of it. It's not your typical AvP - and I think Homestead isn't either - and I love to see places like the anthologies experiment with doing different things with the franchise and it worked so well in here IMHO.
Only thing I wasn't too keen on was the whole
Spoiler
his mother seemingly being outcast for being drunk = cowardly.
Or at least, that was my takeaway from that.
Edit: So it was
Spoiler
depression really, not drunk.
I read Planting and Harvest yesterday. Another solid one, and was glad to see Seanan McGuire back. Really enjoyed the "f**k-the-world" feel to the early parts of the short. I thought the actual world-building, for both the humans and Predators, was pretty interesting. Love the idea of
Spoiler
this ship just on the prowl doing all the shitty job because they're not quite good enough
. The actual action was a little thin on the ground, but I found all the other elements too entertaining to really complain about that.
I found her story very disappointing cause I had higher hopes knowing how much I liked her novel. The world building was really great, but the lack of actual action and its poor portrayal was really shocking. Also the scene changes feel a bit choppy and sudden to me.
There's plenty of that to the other shorts so far, so I didn't feel overly starved tbh.
Read Planting and Harvest today. Actually think I liked this almost as much as Mariposa. Just really well written, and I dug the black comedy regarding people dying as a result of the seemingly innocuous work they were doing on the station :laugh: I guess the complaints about the more subdued action are fair, but personally I feel like we've had a whole load of action-packed AVP stories, so I didn't mind this one downplaying that aspect.
I agree with much of the above, sometimes quite low key or downplayed action now and again in these stories works well for me.
What I'm finding if I read 2 or 3 AvP shorts from different authors in one sitting is that there's only so many ways you can describe a first encounter with one of the creatures, or a battle between them, before it starts to lose its effect so any variation on the theme is great.
I'm up to First Hunt now which I'm looking forward to, but I'm also already looking forward to going back and reading through everything again when I finish the book which shows they all have something good and interesting to offer.
Quote from: HuDaFuK on Mar 10, 2022, 03:53:54 PM
Read Planting and Harvest today. Actually think I liked this almost as much as Mariposa. Just really well written, and I dug the black comedy regarding people dying as a result of the seemingly innocuous work they were doing on the station :laugh: I guess the complaints about the more subdued action are fair, but personally I feel like we've had a whole load of action-packed AVP stories, so I didn't mind this one downplaying that aspect.
The world building was great but it felt like the story ended too fast, out of nowhere. And from her previous novel, I know she can write some good action, but literally skipping it the moment I thought things are about to get chaotic was quite a punch to the face. The reason I'm complaining about this is that the action was very poor IMO in most if the stories. Not described well and the aliens are shown to be a bit weak. I don't feel like the preds deserved all those wins. IMO the action was memorable in about 3 stories. Maybe it's not even the lack of well written action but the problem when a story introduces the action or sets it up but doesn't pay off like in Planting and Harvest.
I read all the stories and I have mixed feelings about this. Overall I really enjoyed it, but a few details really annoyed me. Beware of spoilers cause I'm talking about the whole book.
Spoiler
Can't believe not one alien won against the predators in a single story and that so many of the predators survived. I think even the AVP movies made a more fair fight than that. Sometimes I loved the creative story settings, sometimes they felt really forced in. Like the author wanted to tell a different story but sprinkled some AVP on the surface so it fits the anthology. Still, some really worked for me like the activist/journalist one where they were trying to uncover a WY coverup.
I really didn't appreciate most of the present day stories. Just feels off. Scotts story was great, but it became a bit too easy for the gang to destroy the aliens. In Phalanx you feel the fear that these creatures created for the people. But a pred that never hunted aliens ever was destroying them with no problem. Only two Praetorians/Hive Guards are a problem and they're killed in a few seconds! The predator didn't use this story's OP plasma caster on the Queen just for the sake of a challenge. And after loosing so much blood (again stated, not shown in hard fights much) I thought we're finally gonna have a main predator that dies, but no... So yeah, that annoyed me. Scott still writes great stories and characters but he wasn't really fair to the alien side and therefore the story felt like it didn't have any real stakes or tension.
And no predalien, not a single one! Come on....
Some stories were a bit too predictable. More than the previous two anthologies.
Still. almost all of the stories had memorable settings. To me, there were hit and misses, but I applaud the effort. I really appreciate the bravery and creative freedom to try new things. This is an overall win. I wish that next time in addition to the new settings (just no more present day avp please) they try new core narratives and new story conclusions. Soon I might write in more detail to highlight what specific stories I really liked.
Just finished! Such a fun variety of stories here. Bryan Thomas Schmidt once again knocked it out the park and Jonathan Maberry redeemed himself after BugHunt.
I absolutely loved both the variety of settings and timeframes of said settings. Which made me thankful that there's more than one timeline that allows there to be stories where Xenos aren't a recent creation but something much older.
The last two entries were probably my favorite and were both sequels (to Phalanx and Predators) but all the stories were worth multiple reads. All in all I'd give this a 9/10 and would strongly recommend!
Thank you for posting that spoiler Still Collating, now I know to skip this.
No problem. I don't regret reading the stories, but when I think what I like about the franchises, there were missed opportunities. This anthology is far from bad, quite the opposite, but the contrivances were too much for me to ignore. I liked the stories in the separate anthologies more. Still, anthologies of short stories are a great idea for the EU and I welcome more future attempts.
Yeah just does not sound for me to be candid.
Currently reading Blood and Honor and I've actually felt the need to come on here and point out how much it's disappointing me. I thought it started really well but the longer it goes on the more I'm hating it. It's reminding me of the worst of the DH Press Alien books with how it's missing the mark on the titular creatures and the increasingly cringey dialogue. In fact the drop-off in quality from start to end almost gives me the impression whoever was responsible for tidying up the first draft ran out of time to do so.
Do any of the stories utilize what was established in Prometheus and Alien: Covenant?
Quote from: EJA on Mar 14, 2022, 09:17:52 PM
Do any of the stories utilize what was established in Prometheus and Alien: Covenant?
Not really. Two of them were going to go with more black goo elements but we advised against it given the continuity was set to the AVP movie universe. But even those didn't really get into the lore of the prequels too much, just used their elements.
Night Doctors kept a little with its reference of...
Spoiler
Plagiarus Praepotens. Which is linked to the black goo.
Quote from: RidgeTop on Mar 15, 2022, 06:17:50 AM
Quote from: EJA on Mar 14, 2022, 09:17:52 PM
Do any of the stories utilize what was established in Prometheus and Alien: Covenant?
Not really. Two of them were going to go with more black goo elements but we advised against it given the continuity was set to the AVP movie universe. But even those didn't really get into the lore of the prequels too much, just used their elements.
Night Doctors kept a little with its reference of...
Spoiler
Plagiarus Praepotens. Which is linked to the black goo.
Also one of the stories mentions LV-223
Quote from: HuDaFuK on Mar 13, 2022, 06:14:58 PM
Currently reading Blood and Honor and I've actually felt the need to come on here and point out how much it's disappointing me. I thought it started really well but the longer it goes on the more I'm hating it. It's reminding me of the worst of the DH Press Alien books with how it's missing the mark on the titular creatures and the increasingly cringey dialogue. In fact the drop-off in quality from start to end almost gives me the impression whoever was responsible for tidying up the first draft ran out of time to do so.
Just returned to Ultimate Prey after re-reading Turnabout/Rematch for a recording tonight. Literally just finished Blood and Honor too. Not much to say on this one. Wasn't a fan. Felt like a new fan trying to write fanfiction, overly relying on Xenopedia for terminology and etc. Also felt like the author was trying to do too much within a short story which contributed to that fanfiction feel. Really didn't like the nicknames given to the Predators. Didn't feel fluid at all.
Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Mar 19, 2022, 08:39:42 AM
Quote from: HuDaFuK on Mar 13, 2022, 06:14:58 PM
Currently reading Blood and Honor and I've actually felt the need to come on here and point out how much it's disappointing me. I thought it started really well but the longer it goes on the more I'm hating it. It's reminding me of the worst of the DH Press Alien books with how it's missing the mark on the titular creatures and the increasingly cringey dialogue. In fact the drop-off in quality from start to end almost gives me the impression whoever was responsible for tidying up the first draft ran out of time to do so.
Just returned to Ultimate Prey after re-reading Turnabout/Rematch for a recording tonight. Literally just finished Blood and Honor too. Not much to say on this one. Wasn't a fan. Felt like a new fan trying to write fanfiction, overly relying on Xenopedia for terminology and etc. Also felt like the author was trying to do too much within a short story which contributed to that fanfiction feel. Really didn't like the nicknames given to the Predators. Didn't feel fluid at all.
It was probably the weakest story of the lot and I agree that they tried to cram too much into such a short story.
I got inspired to re-read "Phalanx" so I could immediately re-read its sequel "Another Mother" back to back. I forgot just how much I enjoy the world of Ataegina.
Hi guys, Im new here so sorry if this first topic is going to be controversial!
Im talking about the recent anthology AVP Ultimate Prey. I already found Maberry's bug hunt anthology to be a big let down so Im sad to say this is continuing so far. In fairness I am only a few stories in so I will mention my thoughts on them. And it could easily end up getting better . Mira Grant is a favourite of mine and her story is next for me.
One big thing is I noticed avpgalaxy mentioned a lot, and how this book respects canon. Which makes me think, how much did avpg actually suggest or give feedback? Because theres already a huge issue I noticed that they must have as well being even bigger super fans. So im wondering if they noticed and just got ignored or didnt bring it up.
That is this...aliens vs predators on earth. Now every time an alien is on earth, be it in comics, games etc its a potential doomsday/apocalyptic event. In avp the movie, the preds deliberately chose a real isolated continent with which to build a temple, far from any civilisations . They are hunters, not careless to the point of causing mass extinctions. Yet this has them dropping alien eggs willy nilly all over the place. With no regard or care. In avp requiem they end up on earth through pure accident, and wolf has to clean up and destroy all evidence of both species. Yet the amount of people here who witness or survive alien encounters, as well as the frequencey it happens, means stargazer , weyland yutani and the government would have a lot more sites and info on the species than they do. They could basically not turn around without finding major incidents. The preds are sloppy where they drop prey and dont bother hiding their presence.
Maberry is a decent writer but his stories tend to end up as tied up and work out in favour for the protagonists, which is a trope that carries on here for the most part and wonder if it was a conscious choice in stories chosen..
My thoughts on the stories so far.
Beyond top secret. , this so far is probably the best. Its interesting that its in area 51, but again it see s to be inconsistent with the predator movies. Stargazer would be knowledgeable about predators already and maybe even aliens considering lexs staff in the last movie. But these seem totally unaware. But that said, it was solid otherwise.
Isla mantanzas aka avpvslavetrade. This was so eye rolling i thought i had turned into the undertaker. I find it hard to believe a powerful group of amazon warriors were caught and enslaved so easily, and not only that, easily defeated aliens even in shackles. This was aliens as cannon fodder in a time before even decent weaponry existed and felt like an obvious political message, albeit one we can all agree with (slavery is bad, yes) over a decent story. Worst so far.
Homestead was decent with an ok ending. But this was another one where preds seemed to drop eggs willy nilly with no regard. At least even the last story was isolated on an island even if it did make xenos look useless. And the protagonist didnt see. Very likeable the way she didnt care at all about her dog. But otherwise ok. Another solid story. But not very memorable
And the hotel mariposa. This was the most grievous for a predator giving no care for the surrounding area and leaving traces of themselves for centuries. There were some good ideas but a bit cheesy in the end. Not badly written, just not a good avp story because of the predators disregard for surroundings and an ending that tied things up for the survivor a little too nicely
And all so far have felt extremely rushed especially the endings, though maybe that is to do with the format and possible space limitations. Im hoping a few stories can turn it from meh to good. The last few novels before this were really good (into charybdis , prototype and phalanx) so maybe my expectations were too high
What did you guys think? Interested in all opinions and views!
Quote from: Adamantiumhip on Mar 20, 2022, 05:55:55 AM
One big thing is I noticed avpgalaxy mentioned a lot, and how this book respects canon. Which makes me think, how much did avpg actually suggest or give feedback? Because theres already a huge issue I noticed that they must have as well being even bigger super fans. So im wondering if they noticed and just got ignored or didnt bring it up.
First off, welcome to the boards! We had no say over plot or settings. We were just asked about continuity details and the like. It didn't always mean our responses had to be taken into account. As Hudson said - "don't ask me, man. I just work here."
Hey there, and welcome!
Please don't forget to use the 'Spoiler' tag when talking about significant plot elements of a recently released book. It's the black and yellow circle in the text options.
The book says it's "set in the expanded Aliens vs. Predators Universe." So take that to mean what you will in terms of being in line with canon.
As Hicks explained we were asked about world-building elements in regards to continuity & some technical stuff about the Aliens and Predators, but that input wouldn't lead to any major shift in basic plot or setting.
Quote from: Adamantiumhip on Mar 20, 2022, 05:55:55 AM
Now every time an alien is on earth, be it in comics, games etc its a potential doomsday/apocalyptic event.
Not always, thinking of AvP Eternal or AvP Sand Trap.
Honestly I just imagine there being other cleaner Predators or a Government / Corporate group came in to clean up the mess in the Earth stories.
Quote from: Adamantiumhip on Mar 20, 2022, 05:55:55 AM
Im hoping a few stories can turn it from meh to good.
The last two are among my favs in the book.
Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Mar 20, 2022, 12:58:42 PM
Quote from: Adamantiumhip on Mar 20, 2022, 05:55:55 AM
One big thing is I noticed avpgalaxy mentioned a lot, and how this book respects canon. Which makes me think, how much did avpg actually suggest or give feedback? Because theres already a huge issue I noticed that they must have as well being even bigger super fans. So im wondering if they noticed and just got ignored or didnt bring it up.
First off, welcome to the boards! We had no say over plot or settings. We were just asked about continuity details and the like. It didn't always mean our responses had to be taken into account. As Hudson said - "don't ask me, man. I just work here."
Hey there, I thought that might be the case! You are the most passionate fans Ive ever seen so I kind of suspected that if I thought of that you had too!
I was just curious about it and in no way meant it to be bashing so please dont take it as that!
Also Mira Grant came through, I thought her story was genuinely really good. I am a huge fan of hers, I am feeling more optimistic about it now. Theres only one story I would classify so far as mediocre, the rest all have their charms .
And back to mediocre. Well actually I'll say outright I think Blood and Honour was bad. Others were forgettable or in Area 51 story or Mira Grants case good, but this was just bad. Again a story picked it seems for political messages rather than quality. And it has one of the dumbest protagonist moments I have ever seen in any medium, just mind blowingly stupid.
Finished Carbon Rites yesterday. Was a nice return to solid after Blood and Honor. Really enjoyed Rites. Nice twist on the
Spoiler
Earth setting. The easter eggs were handled well, I think, but could have done without the Berserker reference as I don't think it gells with the USM too well.
Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Mar 22, 2022, 08:41:59 AM
Finished Carbon Rites yesterday. Was a nice return to solid after Blood and Honor. Really enjoyed Rites. Nice twist on the
Spoiler
Earth setting. The easter eggs were handled well, I think, but could have done without the Berserker reference as I don't think it gells with the USM too well.
Man can you believe how bad the writing was in blood and honor?
Spoiler
she overheard the guy shes sleeping with wife discuss her together and the wife tells him to kill her, and she just takes a drink from him seconds later?.
As I said when I reviewed it myself, it felt to me as if much of the second half of that story was a first draft that never got the tidy-up it should've had. I thought the first half wasn't bad, but it just got increasingly ropey as it went on.
So is this something that comes recommended from the hive mind here then or skip altogether?
Thanks.
Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Mar 19, 2022, 08:39:42 AM
...after re-reading Turnabout/Rematch for a recording tonight....
Now, that I'm looking forward to!
(https://c.tenor.com/sTgOAh9zfX4AAAAC/inglorious-basterds-call-me.gif)
Finished a few more shorts over the weekend.
Spoiler
First Hunt - here's your futuristic AvP action piece. Love the concept of the infested human ship being used as a proving ground. I think there's legs in that setting alone and would have liked to have seen more of that aspect tbh. The handling of the acid was interesting - but wasn't a fan of the fast impregnation. I never will like that. Also wasn't keen on the Predator names. But all in all, another solid entry.
Abuse, Interrupted - Really enjoyed this one. Yvonne redeemed herself from that awful short in Bug Hunt here. Very intense short. Action could have been a bit longer, but I really enjoyed it. Though I must say that part of me that hates the humanized female Predator wants to shake my fist at Illfonic for making the booby/female figure Predators canon.
Better Luck To Borrow - Absolutely hated this. Down there with Blood and Honour. Some interesting bits with the chemicals but that was it. Silly premise. You never go full Kenner. And that bit with the Predator and the saw. Why??? So daft.
Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Mar 28, 2022, 09:58:44 AMBetter Luck To Borrow - Absolutely hated this. Down there with Carbon Rites.
Carbon Rites? Do you mean Blood and Honour? You said you rather liked Carbon Rites in your review earlier.
I did indeed.
Finished Film School.
Spoiler
I'm surprised at how much I enjoyed this one. Liked a lot of the framing of the story. The whole camera crew aspect reminded me of Aftermath, but without the unfortunate familial relation. The bug spray stuff was cool.
But like with a lot of the shorts, the Aliens do get a bit too steamrolled for my liking. The book leans a bit too heavily towards the Predators. I think the only ones that have made the Aliens a bit more formidable have been Top Secret and Hotel. But still not enough.
Quote from: VN1X on Mar 26, 2022, 07:18:56 PM
So is this something that comes recommended from the hive mind here then or skip altogether?
I'm 11 shorts into 15 and so far I've only disliked 2, so we're leaning in the good direction.
I'm only just over halfway through, but so far this antho is definitely recalling Bug Hunt more than If It Bleeds in the way the stories range from awful to great, with most falling somewhere in the middle, whereas If It Bleeds was almost universally great.
What's your general list so far? I've only really disliked Blood and Honor and Better Luck.
I absolutely loved Hotel Mariposa and Planting and Harvest.
Blood and Honour was awful and although I've only just started Better Luck to Borrow, irrespective of your review, I can already tell it's gonna be rough.
Everything else so far I've found to be varying degrees of good.
I will say though that Homestead and Abuse, Interrupted were both very well written, they just didn't grab me like Hotel and Planting did for whatever reason.
Life got in the way for a while so just picking up the pace again now. Half way through Scylla & Charybdis which I'm enjoying.
Still broadly agree with the opinions above and Hotel Mariposa remains my favourite, I really don't mind AvP in earth/present day settings. Enjoyed the descriptions of the Predator in Abuse Interrupted too although it's noticeable how many of the stories focus on the Predator being female which I'm not sure is needed.
A couple of less enjoyable ones but I don't really like doing writers down if I can help it. "You never go full Kenner" really made me laugh though 😆
I finished Night Doctors this morning.
Spoiler
I really enjoyed this right up until the very end where it went a little off the tracks for me. Think it was somewhat prescient with the whole hesitation towards the COVID vaccine, and from the black perspective as well. I've been listening to Fake Doctors, Real Friends with Donald Faison and it's something he talks about regarding hesitation towards the medical sector because of history that is mentioned in here too.
I did quite like the mad scientist in this one. I thought she was particularly "fun" in how she was written. Loved the whole Alien vaccine thing too. That's something I've found myself toying with in my various attempts to actually finish writing a fan production, so I dug that.
It lost me a little when you start having the main character talking out loud to the Queen, and seemingly being understood. Didn't dig that. So the last 2 or so pages just made me :-X Especially her just picking up that egg. Otherwise I quite enjoyed this one.
Polished off a few more.
Better Luck to Borrow was probably the worst one yet. It reminded me in no small measure of that giant centipede story in the
Bug Hunt anthology, which is about the worst official Alien story I've ever read. Tonally it was all over the place and the portrayal of the titular creatures, especially the Aliens, often completely missed the mark. Add to which it was loaded with what is seemingly a hallmark of bad Alien/Predator literature - awful dialogue. Just dire.
Film School was refreshingly ace. Loved the set up, the location was vividly portrayed, some cool creep-out moments courtesy of the sonar scanning system the characters set up, and the way it started
in media res and was told in first person really helped it stand out. (A lot of these stories, both good and bad, are suffering across the course of the book from being a bit samey in structure.)
Night Doctors was a bit of a weird one in that despite having a few moments I hated (Hicks has already covered them above), overall I wound up loving the story. I guess it had so much going for it elsewhere I could overlook the faults. Special mention to the idea of researching Aliens to
Spoiler
develop a Chestburster "antidote". That was a really neat concept that actually made a lot of sense, compared to the tired old THEY COULD BE BIOWEAPONS! angle (which I couldn't help but notice the story itself took a little potshot at ;D).
A few pages into Another Mother and I've a feeling it's going to become a favourite.
Just finished Scylla and Charybdis. Other than my mild disappointment it wasn't somehow related to Into Charybdis, I enjoyed this one :) The Predator attack on the ship in particular was really well done, I thought. My only gripe is the ending felt really abrupt. I don't know if the author ran out of time or came up against a page limit but it seemed like it got wrapped up really quickly.
Just read the last two stories.
Another Mother I found to be perhaps a little lacklustre, but that's solely because
Phalanx was so exceptional. Mostly I think it was just because the novel was
so immersive, taking so much time to build the world and characters, that this felt a bit lightweight in comparison. Still, it was cool to be back on Ataegina and it was a lot of fun seeing them meet the beasties from the other half of the franchise.
To be honest, it's been a bit of a trend with these anthologies that the shorts serving as prequels/sequels to other stories have invariably disappointed me (while some have just been downright awful). Safe to say Kyōdai broke that trend. Possibly my favourite in the whole book. I
loved the author(s)'s style. A bit like
Isolation, I was worried that being based around Hanzō's brother would feel forced but it was worked in a way that totally made sense.
Spoiler
The shrine to Hanzō's defeat of Falconer was a great touch. I got a good laugh out of Eiji describing Hanzō as the "more emotional and more expressive" brother :laugh: I even liked that there wasn't technically any AVP action in this one - after 14 other stories featuring Aliens and Predators fighting each other it felt like a refreshing change. Even the ending worked for me, although I can see it being something people hate.
Top marks for this one.
Having given it a few days to digest, I found this anthology to be more in line with Bug Hunt than If It Bleeds. By which I mean the stories ran the whole spectrum from excellent to awful. It certainly didn't meet the level of consistent quality found in If It Bleeds.
I'd rank it above Bug Hunt though. Simply because it seemed to have far fewer bad stories than that did. Having said that, I think I liked the best Bug Hunt shorts more than pretty much anything in this one (although to be fair, that likely has more to do with me generally being a bigger fan of Alien than a reflection on the quality of the writing here).
Another problem that I already touched upon is the fact a lot of these shorts felt kinda samey - people are somewhere, Predators and Aliens show up, they fight, Predators win, people move on. The backgrounds and specifics changed but otherwise a lot of the stories were remarkably similar. I haven't read them since they came out but I recall a lot more variety in both Bug Hunt and If It Bleeds. I guess there's only so much you can do when your key focus is on Aliens fighting Predators. Only Kyodai really seemed to mix the theme up any.
Still, I don't wanna sound too down because I enjoyed this for the most part and I'm really glad we're getting more of these collections.
So I finished the book last night, with Scylla and Charybdis, Another Mother and Kyōdai. Again, all solid reads. S&C is another one of those where I think the concept would work quite well in a longer form novel. I think it plays the surprise quite nicely. I can't disagree with HuDa regarding the abrupt ending, but I tend to find that an issue with shorts in general.
It was great to see Sigler and his characters back with Another Mother. I loved seeing how the world had evolved since the end of Phalanx, and was particularly interested in the interactions with the Predator. It was a solid read, but it did still stick to the usual AvP template so while I really enjoyed it, it wasn't in my overall favourites.
Kyōdai was brilliant. It broke from the template which works for me. As with Another Mother, I do love the sequels, and Predators is an entry that hasn't been taken advantage of enough so I particularly enjoyed returning to the hunting preserve. Loved the focus and depth on Eiji. The ending though...
Spoiler
I can see it being disliked. I'm not overly sure how I feel about it myself. But it was nice to see the Aliens demonstrated with intelligence. Not enough shorts in the anthology did that for my liking.
I'm working on my written review now. Of the 15 shorts, I disliked only 2. I can see what HuDa is saying about the ones he enjoyed more in Bug Hunt tipping it over, but for me I think the majority of the shorts in this being actually good vs the poor-to-okay of the majority of Bug Hunt means as an over-all package I prefer Ultimate Prey over Bug Hunt. I'm leaning in the 8 direction for Ultimate Prey, whereas I'd probably only got for a 5 or 6 for Bug Hunt (I need to do a proper review there).
But realistically, I'm not going to sit and read an anthology through in one go going forwards. I always pick them up for the specific stories.
Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Apr 05, 2022, 11:20:36 AM
So I finished the book last night, with Scylla and Charybdis, Another Mother and Kyōdai. Again, all solid reads. S&C is another one of those where I think the concept would work quite well in a longer form novel. I think it plays the surprise quite nicely. I can't disagree with HuDa regarding the abrupt ending, but I tend to find that an issue with shorts in general.
It was great to see Sigler and his characters back with Another Mother. I loved seeing how the world had evolved since the end of Phalanx, and was particularly interested in the interactions with the Predator. It was a solid read, but it did still stick to the usual AvP template so while I really enjoyed it, it wasn't in my overall favourites.
Kyōdai was brilliant. It broke from the template which works for me. As with Another Mother, I do love the sequels, and Predators is an entry that hasn't been taken advantage of enough so I particularly enjoyed returning to the hunting preserve. Loved the focus and depth on Eiji. The ending though...
Spoiler
I can see it being disliked. I'm not overly sure how I feel about it myself. But it was nice to see the Aliens demonstrated with intelligence. Not enough shorts in the anthology did that for my liking.
I'm working on my written review now. Of the 15 shorts, I disliked only 2. I can see what HuDa is saying about the ones he enjoyed more in Bug Hunt tipping it over, but for me I think the majority of the shorts in this being actually good vs the poor-to-okay of the majority of Bug Hunt means as an over-all package I prefer Ultimate Prey over Bug Hunt. I'm leaning in the 8 direction for Ultimate Prey, whereas I'd probably only got for a 5 or 6 for Bug Hunt (I need to do a proper review there).
But realistically, I'm not going to sit and read an anthology through in one go going forwards. I always pick them up for the specific stories.
My thoughts exactly when comparing to the other Anthologies. Looking forward to your written review and potential podcast.
Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Apr 05, 2022, 11:20:36 AMI can see what HuDa is saying about the ones he enjoyed more in Bug Hunt tipping it over, but for me I think the majority of the shorts in this being actually good vs the poor-to-okay of the majority of Bug Hunt means as an over-all package I prefer Ultimate Prey over Bug Hunt.
I think you misunderstood - I thought
Ultimate Prey was the better book, I just liked a few of the Alien stories more :)
Mayberry has been hit or miss with these stories. Some were dreadful, some good, one or two truly excellent and a few mediocre.
Its better than bug hunt but i still felt disappointed.
Scott Sigler and Mira Grant saved the day for me . Scotts story as a sequel was worth it alone and wish it had been a full book
Thoughts on the actual entire anthologies aside, of Maberry's shorts, there's not been a single one I didn't enjoy. Deep Black in Bug Hunt, Gameworld in If It Bleeds and Kyōdai (along with Louis Ozawa) in Ultimate Prey have all been really good in my opinion. Unless I misunderstand you there Adam. If you're talking entire anthologies, I do have to disagree with you there. 2 shorts I really dislike, 13 I enjoyed at varying levels. That's a thankful win to me.
Quote from: HuDaFuK on Apr 05, 2022, 03:53:07 PM
Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Apr 05, 2022, 11:20:36 AMI can see what HuDa is saying about the ones he enjoyed more in Bug Hunt tipping it over, but for me I think the majority of the shorts in this being actually good vs the poor-to-okay of the majority of Bug Hunt means as an over-all package I prefer Ultimate Prey over Bug Hunt.
I think you misunderstood - I thought Ultimate Prey was the better book, I just liked a few of the Alien stories more :)
Ahhh. That's fair. Yeeeaahh. I think I agree there. The shorts I loved in Bug Hunt, I loved more than the majority of the solid stories in Ultimate Prey. Too many shorts in Ultimate Prey, while good and enjoyable, were still following something of a typical template.
Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Apr 05, 2022, 11:20:36 AM
It was a solid read, but it did still stick to the usual AvP template so while I really enjoyed it, it wasn't in my overall favourites.
It was a tough one to write. Getting a Yautja and a xenomorph together in that limited word-count was tricky (I'm pretty wordy to begin with).
Quote from: Adamantiumhip on Apr 05, 2022, 08:49:47 PM
Scotts story as a sequel was worth it alone and wish it had been a full book
I would have loved to have a full novel to develop that structure. Another full Ataegina novel probably ain't in the cards, though.
Quote from: scottsigler on Apr 06, 2022, 02:46:48 PM
I would have loved to have a full novel to develop that structure. Another full Ataegina novel probably ain't in the cards, though.
That's a major bummer, I better hurry and pick this up so I can read the sequel story
Quote from: scottsigler on Apr 06, 2022, 02:46:48 PM
Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Apr 05, 2022, 11:20:36 AM
It was a solid read, but it did still stick to the usual AvP template so while I really enjoyed it, it wasn't in my overall favourites.
It was a tough one to write. Getting a Yautja and a xenomorph together in that limited word-count was tricky (I'm pretty wordy to begin with).
I completely understand. Don't get me wrong, I still really enjoyed it! There were just a lot of structurally similar shorts within the anthology, so it was those that were quite different that stuck out to me, especially when the majority of the book were of really good quality anyway.
Quote from: 426Buddy on Apr 06, 2022, 03:06:31 PM
Quote from: scottsigler on Apr 06, 2022, 02:46:48 PM
I would have loved to have a full novel to develop that structure. Another full Ataegina novel probably ain't in the cards, though.
That's a major bummer, I better hurry and pick this up so I can read the sequel story
You should! One of my top 5 Alien novels of all time.
Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Apr 08, 2022, 07:22:06 AM
Quote from: scottsigler on Apr 06, 2022, 02:46:48 PM
Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Apr 05, 2022, 11:20:36 AM
It was a solid read, but it did still stick to the usual AvP template so while I really enjoyed it, it wasn't in my overall favourites.
It was a tough one to write. Getting a Yautja and a xenomorph together in that limited word-count was tricky (I'm pretty wordy to begin with).
I completely understand. Don't get me wrong, I still really enjoyed it! There were just a lot of structurally similar shorts within the anthology, so it was those that were quite different that stuck out to me, especially when the majority of the book were of really good quality anyway.
Quote from: 426Buddy on Apr 06, 2022, 03:06:31 PM
Quote from: scottsigler on Apr 06, 2022, 02:46:48 PM
I would have loved to have a full novel to develop that structure. Another full Ataegina novel probably ain't in the cards, though.
That's a major bummer, I better hurry and pick this up so I can read the sequel story
You should! One of my top 5 Alien novels of all time.
Sorry I meant i need to pick this anthology up so I can read the sequel. I read Phalanx already when it came out, it was amazing
Shortly we're recording our podcast review on Aliens vs. Predators: Ultimate Prey. Tell us about your favourite and least favourite shorts in the latest anthology!
I won't go through each story but my favourites were:
Hotel Mariposa. Ive already mentioned further up the thread but this was an early favourite of mine and stayed that way until the last few stories. I really loved the explanation for why the building behaved the way it did.
Then Another Mother came along. I haven't read any other shorts set in Ataegina before and I really enjoyed the setting, the language and the people, from such a short story there was a real sense of "lived in" history there. I'd actually like to read a Predator only novel in that setting.
But then my favourite of the entire book was saved until last, Kyodai. Again the setting was compelling as was the writing style it was quite unusual, elegant even. I know the ending probably wouldn't please everyone, but again it was unusual in a field where there can be a lot of similarity.
Similarity is possibly one of the main criticisms I'd have of the book but I suppose there are fairly finite possibilities for squeezing AvP into a short story format. A couple of the stories were possibly a bit too heavy handed with themes in places, such as slavery etc and a couple ended with a bit of an anti-climax.
Overall though I enjoyed it, and am just really happy books concerning these creatures are still coming out and that there's still a keen market for them.
My written review is up - https://www.avpgalaxy.net/literature/reviews/aliens-vs-predators-ultimate-prey/
Podcast review will be up first week of May.
Podcast review is up - https://www.avpgalaxy.net/2022/05/08/the-story-is-all-here-reviewing-aliens-vs-predators-ultimate-prey-avp-galaxy-podcast-144/
Noice !
Aaaaw, don't worry RidgeTop, I haven't finished Bug Hunt and If It Bleeds either
I thought it was mediocre. Better than bug hunt but thats not really hard.
Great podcast guys! I really liked the format you guys chose with favorites up front, honorable mentions last and the least favorites sandwiched between. Obviously I would've listened to the 5 hour version where you go through every story in the book but alas! Lookin forward to the inevitable podcast on "Colony War".
Thanks Xiggz. Glad you enjoyed it. We do seem to be outliers on this one though.
I don't think I can cope with a re-read to do an episode on Colony War though. I think we may skip it.
Quote from: Corporal Hicks on May 10, 2022, 12:33:45 PMThanks Xiggz. Glad you enjoyed it. We do seem to be outliers on this one though.
I don't think I can cope with a re-read to do an episode on Colony War though. I think we may skip it.
No please please please do it.
Great podcast as always gentlemen! I love the format of picking your favorites and followed by least favorites. I think also think it was a good move to end on some honorable mentions. Overall, I liked the novel. I think you guys were spot on with most of the stories following the same formula. I was like okay, when are the aliens going to win? Id say my biggest gripe was that I've always wanted to see an all out war between hundreds of preds and aliens but nothing in this one. I loved Scylla and Charybdis. The idea of a collector predator was fascinating. Also, the pred v pred is always appreciated and it really helps expand the mythos. Some of my honorable mentions were Hotel Mariposa, Homestead(definitely the most terrifying especially because my wife is pregnant) First Hunt and film school. I really enjoyed Another Mother but I probably would have enjoyed it more if I had read phalanx. That short story had me laughing out loud at times. My least favorite was better luck to borrow and night doctors. Overall I felt that it was a good read. Better than bug hunt, not quite as good as If It bleeds.7.0 out of 10. I can't wait for Byan Thomas Schmidt's Eyes of the Demon. It's gonna be killer!!
Quote from: BlueMarsalis79 on May 10, 2022, 12:52:22 PMQuote from: Corporal Hicks on May 10, 2022, 12:33:45 PMThanks Xiggz. Glad you enjoyed it. We do seem to be outliers on this one though.
I don't think I can cope with a re-read to do an episode on Colony War though. I think we may skip it.
No please please please do it.
Urgh. We'll see. It's really put a damper on my enthusiasm.
Quote from: GreybackElder on May 10, 2022, 09:45:09 PMGreat podcast as always gentlemen! I love the format of picking your favorites and followed by least favorites. I think also think it was a good move to end on some honorable mentions. Overall, I liked the novel. I think you guys were spot on with most of the stories following the same formula. I was like okay, when are the aliens going to win? Id say my biggest gripe was that I've always wanted to see an all out war between hundreds of preds and aliens but nothing in this one. I loved Scylla and Charybdis. The idea of a collector predator was fascinating. Also, the pred v pred is always appreciated and it really helps expand the mythos. Some of my honorable mentions were Hotel Mariposa, Homestead(definitely the most terrifying especially because my wife is pregnant) First Hunt and film school. I really enjoyed Another Mother but I probably would have enjoyed it more if I had read phalanx. That short story had me laughing out loud at times. My least favorite was better luck to borrow and night doctors. Overall I felt that it was a good read. Better than bug hunt, not quite as good as If It bleeds.7.0 out of 10. I can't wait for Byan Thomas Schmidt's Eyes of the Demon. It's gonna be killer!!
Thanks Greyback! Glad you enjoyed. :) I think at a push I would have to have called Night Doctors my least favourite. Other than the ending, where it really went off the rails, that one was actually pretty decent.
That's why I want it man.
I can't imagine it'll be very fun to listen to me being depressed for an hour and a half.
I couldnt re read it either. The mediocre way outweighs the good
Quote from: Corporal Hicks on May 11, 2022, 08:30:01 AMI can't imagine it'll be very fun to listen to me being depressed for an hour and a half.
Remember Forever Midnight? ;D
In all fairness, enough time had passed for that to be fun depressing!
I must confess that I did not enjoy this anthology at all. Only a few stories clicked for me, but the majority did not. I felt the AvP format does not really work well for short stories. I would have liked to have a story without any insufferable human characters, so something from a purely Predator POV. And as has been mentioned, no Predaliens?
Predator: If It Bleeds was far superior.
Quote from: Adamantiumhip on Mar 20, 2022, 05:55:55 AMHi guys, Im new here so sorry if this first topic is going to be controversial!
Im talking about the recent anthology AVP Ultimate Prey. I already found Maberry's bug hunt anthology to be a big let down so Im sad to say this is continuing so far. In fairness I am only a few stories in so I will mention my thoughts on them. And it could easily end up getting better . Mira Grant is a favourite of mine and her story is next for me.
One big thing is I noticed avpgalaxy mentioned a lot, and how this book respects canon. Which makes me think, how much did avpg actually suggest or give feedback? Because theres already a huge issue I noticed that they must have as well being even bigger super fans. So im wondering if they noticed and just got ignored or didnt bring it up.
That is this...aliens vs predators on earth. Now every time an alien is on earth, be it in comics, games etc its a potential doomsday/apocalyptic event. In avp the movie, the preds deliberately chose a real isolated continent with which to build a temple, far from any civilisations . They are hunters, not careless to the point of causing mass extinctions. Yet this has them dropping alien eggs willy nilly all over the place. With no regard or care. In avp requiem they end up on earth through pure accident, and wolf has to clean up and destroy all evidence of both species. Yet the amount of people here who witness or survive alien encounters, as well as the frequencey it happens, means stargazer , weyland yutani and the government would have a lot more sites and info on the species than they do. They could basically not turn around without finding major incidents. The preds are sloppy where they drop prey and dont bother hiding their presence.
Maberry is a decent writer but his stories tend to end up as tied up and work out in favour for the protagonists, which is a trope that carries on here for the most part and wonder if it was a conscious choice in stories chosen..
My thoughts on the stories so far.
Beyond top secret. , this so far is probably the best. Its interesting that its in area 51, but again it see s to be inconsistent with the predator movies. Stargazer would be knowledgeable about predators already and maybe even aliens considering lexs staff in the last movie. But these seem totally unaware. But that said, it was solid otherwise.
Isla mantanzas aka avpvslavetrade. This was so eye rolling i thought i had turned into the undertaker. I find it hard to believe a powerful group of amazon warriors were caught and enslaved so easily, and not only that, easily defeated aliens even in shackles. This was aliens as cannon fodder in a time before even decent weaponry existed and felt like an obvious political message, albeit one we can all agree with (slavery is bad, yes) over a decent story. Worst so far.
Homestead was decent with an ok ending. But this was another one where preds seemed to drop eggs willy nilly with no regard. At least even the last story was isolated on an island even if it did make xenos look useless. And the protagonist didnt see. Very likeable the way she didnt care at all about her dog. But otherwise ok. Another solid story. But not very memorable
And the hotel mariposa. This was the most grievous for a predator giving no care for the surrounding area and leaving traces of themselves for centuries. There were some good ideas but a bit cheesy in the end. Not badly written, just not a good avp story because of the predators disregard for surroundings and an ending that tied things up for the survivor a little too nicely
And all so far have felt extremely rushed especially the endings, though maybe that is to do with the format and possible space limitations. Im hoping a few stories can turn it from meh to good. The last few novels before this were really good (into charybdis , prototype and phalanx) so maybe my expectations were too high
What did you guys think? Interested in all opinions and views!
Isla was based on a real historical incident. That really happened to those African warriers. Except the xenos and Yautja's.
Quote from: Corporal Hicks on May 11, 2022, 01:38:09 PMIn all fairness, enough time had passed for that to be fun depressing!
Forever Midnight was at least entertaining in a could-this-be-more-batshit? kinda way.
Also a Predator got boiled alive which was admittedly pretty gnarly.
Every time I hear about that novel, it keeps on sounding crazier and crazier. :laugh:
Boiled Predator mmm...
So this is becoming worse with every story it seems. Currently about halfway through and some of the setups are outrageous enough as it is (even for AVP standards) but to then forcibly inject it with identity politics makes some of the glorified fan fiction even more off putting.
I actually had to laugh out loud when one of the authors, through one of their characters, went so far as to be "awe struck" by one of the Dahomey tribe members. Going in great detail to describe the colour of their skin in the moon light and the fact that well, they're female. Another story by a different author takes a more blunt approach and simply has a character exclaim "I'm trans". Something which has no bearing on the character development or has any other relevance to the plot. Fantastic writing there.
But yeah when this collection isn't busy with the "woes of modern culture" it opts to have Predators and Humans waving at their moms and walking hand in hand out into the sunset. It's quite something...
I have no problem with the politics but felt the stories were badly written or uninteresting most of the time. Most of the stories felt like they didn't fit in with Alien or Predator, and some very bad setups were present. But when the AvP action came, it was so poorly described most of the time. The action wasn't engaging, and few stories had any legit suspense. The one I do remember liking is the one with the journalists trying to uncover the mystery of what happened on some colony. That one was written well. The one by Yvonne Navarro, where in present day, in the middle of a dry drama about an abusive relationship (you need a lot more pages to write something as complex as that well imo), the Alien and Predator literally burst through the door fighting. It was in broad daylight if I remember correctly. No buildup of atmosphere, no lighting description, no real tension. She cowrote Aliens vs Predators Rift War which may be one of the blandest things I've ever read and might halt more AvP media just cause it was that bad...
The one by Mira Grant was written nicely, but the ending and lack of actual Alien vs Predator action was a bad call imo.
A lot of weird decisions in this anthology... Still, I don't regret them, none of them! Taken all together (other than the newest Predator anthology which I haven't gotten yet), maybe half were interesting, a third actually good. Better to experiment and burn down horribly than doing the same old thing without knowing how to subtly change elements to get a good story. I'm impressed with the effort, but they should've looked more to the comics for inspiration. Either go the horror rout or use authors who actually know how to write action well. I'd buy another anthology to support these projects, but I hope they get a more clear direction as to what they should do with the Alien and Predator. And have the Predators struggle a bit more against the Aliens, it's no fun otherwise.
And no more stories in an everyday suburb, city, ordinary mountain cabins, present day, please...
Quote from: VN1X on Aug 14, 2023, 09:50:18 AMI actually had to laugh out loud when one of the authors, through one of their characters, went so far as to be "awe struck" by one of the Dahomey tribe members. Going in great detail to describe the colour of their skin in the moon light and the fact that well, they're female.
What do you mean, it makes sense when you think about it for the time period, how often does one meet a group of African warrior women? Especially in that time where Europeans considered Africans as fodder and useful slaves AND when the thought process for a women's place is in the home.
Today? Not a huge huge deal anymore like of course women can do more and no one should be judged by skin color, it's just simply not the case back then.