Aliens: Bug Hunt - Aliens Anthology Announced!

[SM]

Dark Mother -hooooo boy...

Spoiler

Easily the most disappointing so far because it had the most potential.  Right from the outset it humanised Burke with the flashbacks to his mother.  You actually felt sorry for him.  His attempts to reason with the Alien were true to character, as was the Alien smashing him against the wall to knock him out.  His later attempts to try and be a hero was a nice switch too.

These were flashes of brilliance. Same with his plan to try and accept his fate and take the embryo then try and get away with it so it could be extracted later.  It was a really great idea, and just how Burke would think.  I thought it was a way to deal with the continuity error when he meets Ripley and the facehugger is already gone.  Don't fight it and it's much faster.

Sadly not.  This reads like a first draft.  Literally since this is the story that has the editorial notes left in (as someone mentioned earlier) as far as I can see.  During the flashbacks to his childhood, there's no change of perspective when it comes to naming.  He's still referred to as Burke.  His parents don't call him that, but during those passages the narration should've referred to him as Carter.  The editorial notes (don't know if this was Maberry or Izzo when he was still at Fox) outline - twice - that the timeframes don't work in terms of gestation.

There's a number of continuity errors with other time references to the film.  It's mentioned a number of times that Burke can't get out of the cocoon, yet within a sentence or two, he's out and running after Ripley.  He's carrying a grenade, but there's no mention of his conversation with Ripley, nor Ripley giving it to him.  It's like there's pages missing.  Before he's impregnated the Queen is nearby.  Later she's gone - to run after Ripley perhaps? Who can tell?

Really solid ideas turned into a monumental mess.

[close]

[HuDaFuK]

Got another two done last night.

I thought No Good Deed was going to be decent, but then there was

Spoiler

red Hulk,

[close]

which pretty much totally killed the story.

Zero to Hero I really enjoyed. The main character was a laughable cliché but despite that I ended up liking him, and the darkly comic ending was great.

[SM]

It was flagged enough times throughout the story for it not to be an issue, IMO.

[HuDaFuK]

It wasn't that it came out of nowhere, it's that I thought it was just plain silly.

It's a shame, because I really liked Mad and Jex.

[The Cruentus]

It wasn't that it came out of nowhere, it's that I thought it was just plain silly.

It's a shame, because I really liked Mad and Jex.

Remember not all storiesin bug hunt are canon, so you don't need to have any serious expections regarding the lore/plausibilty etc. 

[Hudson]

Dark Mother -hooooo boy...

Spoiler

Easily the most disappointing so far because it had the most potential.  Right from the outset it humanised Burke with the flashbacks to his mother.  You actually felt sorry for him.  His attempts to reason with the Alien were true to character, as was the Alien smashing him against the wall to knock him out.  His later attempts to try and be a hero was a nice switch too.

These were flashes of brilliance. Same with his plan to try and accept his fate and take the embryo then try and get away with it so it could be extracted later.  It was a really great idea, and just how Burke would think.  I thought it was a way to deal with the continuity error when he meets Ripley and the facehugger is already gone.  Don't fight it and it's much faster.

Sadly not.  This reads like a first draft.  Literally since this is the story that has the editorial notes left in (as someone mentioned earlier) as far as I can see.  During the flashbacks to his childhood, there's no change of perspective when it comes to naming.  He's still referred to as Burke.  His parents don't call him that, but during those passages the narration should've referred to him as Carter.  The editorial notes (don't know if this was Maberry or Izzo when he was still at Fox) outline - twice - that the timeframes don't work in terms of gestation.

There's a number of continuity errors with other time references to the film.  It's mentioned a number of times that Burke can't get out of the cocoon, yet within a sentence or two, he's out and running after Ripley.  He's carrying a grenade, but there's no mention of his conversation with Ripley, nor Ripley giving it to him.  It's like there's pages missing.  Before he's impregnated the Queen is nearby.  Later she's gone - to run after Ripley perhaps? Who can tell?

Really solid ideas turned into a monumental mess.

[close]

Do you have the page numbers handy where you noticed those issues? Somehow they got by me on my first read, but granted there are 18 stories and I read this in about three days, so it all kind of blended together. Not that reading the book at a slower pace would do it any favors...

[gantarat]

It wasn't that it came out of nowhere, it's that I thought it was just plain silly.

It's a shame, because I really liked Mad and Jex.

Remember not all storiesin bug hunt are canon, so you don't need to have any serious expections regarding the lore/plausibilty etc. 

At this point i don't think all story in the book is canon.

[HuDaFuK]

Knocked out a couple more.

Dark Mother... Yeah, SM and others have already summarised. Potentially great idea completely ruined by shitty writing and a feeling the author doesn't really know what he's talking about. Plus, when you get the impression no one has even proof-read what you're reading, you know you're up shit's creek.

Episode 22, on the other hand, I loved. It was completely left-field in tone and form, and I liked that. It read like something I could imagine seeing on TV. I enjoyed that it gives some backstory on such a classic fictional weapon and, so far as I could tell, it all matched up with Colonial Marine Tech Manual. Plus I loved how the talk of the initial M41 suffering from jamming issues tied into the 1999 Aliens versus Predator game, which featured the M41 and yep, that bitch would randomly jam at inopportune moments.

My only real issue was that it overlooked the fact Heckler & Koch solved the issue of ceaseless ammunition overheating with the G11 in the 70s They also invented the rotating breech. Still, a strange read but one of the most enjoyable so far.

[SM]

It wasn't that it came out of nowhere, it's that I thought it was just plain silly.

It's a shame, because I really liked Mad and Jex.

They were okay, but the "f**k off" running gag got old very quickly. One thing I did like about that story was

Spoiler

them arriving right in the middle of the infestation.

[close]

Dark Mother -hooooo boy...

Spoiler

Easily the most disappointing so far because it had the most potential.  Right from the outset it humanised Burke with the flashbacks to his mother.  You actually felt sorry for him.  His attempts to reason with the Alien were true to character, as was the Alien smashing him against the wall to knock him out.  His later attempts to try and be a hero was a nice switch too.

These were flashes of brilliance. Same with his plan to try and accept his fate and take the embryo then try and get away with it so it could be extracted later.  It was a really great idea, and just how Burke would think.  I thought it was a way to deal with the continuity error when he meets Ripley and the facehugger is already gone.  Don't fight it and it's much faster.

Sadly not.  This reads like a first draft.  Literally since this is the story that has the editorial notes left in (as someone mentioned earlier) as far as I can see.  During the flashbacks to his childhood, there's no change of perspective when it comes to naming.  He's still referred to as Burke.  His parents don't call him that, but during those passages the narration should've referred to him as Carter.  The editorial notes (don't know if this was Maberry or Izzo when he was still at Fox) outline - twice - that the timeframes don't work in terms of gestation.

There's a number of continuity errors with other time references to the film.  It's mentioned a number of times that Burke can't get out of the cocoon, yet within a sentence or two, he's out and running after Ripley.  He's carrying a grenade, but there's no mention of his conversation with Ripley, nor Ripley giving it to him.  It's like there's pages missing.  Before he's impregnated the Queen is nearby.  Later she's gone - to run after Ripley perhaps? Who can tell?

Really solid ideas turned into a monumental mess.

[close]

Do you have the page numbers handy where you noticed those issues? Somehow they got by me on my first read, but granted there are 18 stories and I read this in about three days, so it all kind of blended together. Not that reading the book at a slower pace would do it any favors...

I have the Kindle version. But the passages go like this:

Spoiler

Burke woke to blaring sirens with a throat rubbed raw,  They fall off of their own accord.  ALSO - and shit this doesn't work. The facehugger stays on for a few hours.  The amount of time between when Burke "is" taken and the end of Alien is a ticking clock.  And then it blows up.
(I think Alien is meant to be Aliens there)

Blood and fluids gushed out with it, his guts and stomach spilling onto the metal flor like afterbirth.  NO. It takes 12-18 hours to gestate!

[close]

[Hudson]

Knocked out a couple more.

Dark Mother... Yeah, SM and others have already summarised. Potentially great idea completely ruined by shitty writing and a feeling the author doesn't really know what he's talking about. Plus, when you get the impression no one has even proof-read what you're reading, you know you're up shit's creek.

Episode 22, on the other hand, I loved. It was completely left-field in tone and form, and I liked that. It read like something I could imagine seeing on TV. I enjoyed that it gives some backstory on such a classic fictional weapon and, so far as I could tell, it all matched up with Colonial Marine Tech Manual. Plus I loved how the talk of the initial M41 suffering from jamming issues tied into the 1999 Aliens versus Predator game, which featured the M41 and yep, that bitch would randomly jam at inopportune moments.

My only real issue was that it overlooked the fact Heckler & Koch solved the issue of ceaseless ammunition overheating with the G11 in the 70s They also invented the rotating breech. Still, a strange read but one of the most enjoyable so far.

I thought that story was the worst in the whole book. The Pulse Rifle was invented by a retired guy running a BBQ food truck during the day? Where is that in the Technical Manual?

Also, the Pulse Rifle jams in AvP??

[Xenomrph]

How many of the stories in the anthology adhere to the new EU of the recent novels and comics? Do any of them stand on their own?

What do you mean by "adhere to"? Do you mean "directly reference", or "don't contradict", or what?

Directly reference, mostly.

i think there's just the Tim Lebbon one that references the Rage War.

[Engineer]

Knocked out a couple more.

Dark Mother... Yeah, SM and others have already summarised. Potentially great idea completely ruined by shitty writing and a feeling the author doesn't really know what he's talking about. Plus, when you get the impression no one has even proof-read what you're reading, you know you're up shit's creek.

Episode 22, on the other hand, I loved. It was completely left-field in tone and form, and I liked that. It read like something I could imagine seeing on TV. I enjoyed that it gives some backstory on such a classic fictional weapon and, so far as I could tell, it all matched up with Colonial Marine Tech Manual. Plus I loved how the talk of the initial M41 suffering from jamming issues tied into the 1999 Aliens versus Predator game, which featured the M41 and yep, that bitch would randomly jam at inopportune moments.

My only real issue was that it overlooked the fact Heckler & Koch solved the issue of ceaseless ammunition overheating with the G11 in the 70s They also invented the rotating breech. Still, a strange read but one of the most enjoyable so far.

I thought that story was the worst in the whole book. The Pulse Rifle was invented by a retired guy running a BBQ food truck during the day? Where is that in the Technical Manual?

Also, the Pulse Rifle jams in AvP??

I second that! (The last part at least). I don't recall the AvP pulse rifle jamming either...

[HuDaFuK]

Also, the Pulse Rifle jams in AvP??

It did. No animation or anything but often it would just fail to fire when you clicked the mouse trigger. It would also occasionally stop shooting during bursts of automatic, requiring you to release the trigger and hit it again to resume firing. Unless my copy of the game had a very persistent and specific glitch lol.

I thought that story was the worst in the whole book. The Pulse Rifle was invented by a retired guy running a BBQ food truck during the day?

The Colt revolver was invented by a teenager with precisely zero prior weapons design experience.

Do you have the page numbers handy where you noticed those issues?

To expand on SM's answer, pages 216 and 219 in my copy of the book.

[Engineer]

I don't remember the jamming. But I do remember the animation being a little sporadic. Is that what you're talking about?

[Hudson]

The Colt revolver was invented by a teenager with precisely zero prior weapons design experience.

Okay, all plausibility issues aside (and ignoring some oversimplification of historical fact), I didn't personally feel like it fit with the tone or continuity of the Alien franchise, which is my problem with 95% of the stories in the book. Episode 22 transgressed in this department the most of all, affecting a ridiculous tone throughout. I think the story thinks it's either funny or clever, or both. Also, in the talking head interviews (I'm guessing that's what those are), pretty lazy effort coming up with a lot of the character names: Michael Newman, Daniel Walker, Hank Reynolds, Chris Johnson, Mike Willis...*yawn.* Larry Correia might be a big deal but this story made me roll my eyes.

And it must be your computer. The Pulse Rifle in AvP 1999 doesn't jam as a feature of the game. I think I would've caught that at some point during my 200 rereads of the Prima strategy guide in grade school. Maybe it's the Steam copy.