Tim wrote Out of the Shadows. It was fun to read a Ripley adventure I think, but the premise of her engaging in the adventure was hokey. That being said, I think Tim Lebbon handled the adventure from a prose sense extremely well. There were a lot of action scenes, and you felt like you were there in the hive. The characterizations were fairly good in the novel and I found that I was able to empathize with the characters' dread throughout the course of the story. They characters felt real.
By comparison, I found that James A. Moore's writing in Sea of Sorrows never rose to the occasion in terms of character development, or even the action scenes. Christopher Golden by contrast was also able to write both very well. His action scenes were on par with Tim Lebbon, but I found that he was able to add another level to the characters in terms of emotionality, which in turn even enhances the horror. Here is an example of the emotional depth that Christopher Golden was able to reach in River of Pain:
Spoiler
There was a description of Newt when she was eating ice cream and her lips were stained as a result. This created a cute connection between her and the Marine Bracket whom she promised to take him for some ice cream. It made Newt seem so real and knowing her ultimate fate really added an emotional dimension to the book that I did not expect.
Anyway, Tim Lebbon did not have to deal with such emotional depth because the story he was writing did not delve into such themes really. So I think Tim's characterization is still just fine and not to worry about.
To tell you the truth, I used to be an A V P fan in the early '90s but ever since I saw the films, they ruined it for me. Also, ever since James Cameron pointed out how ridiculous the premise is, like Frankenstein Vs. Wolfman, I've been unable to take A V P seriously. It's just hokey to me now, so I'm not expecting anything great from this new series. That being said, if anyone can handle an AVP story well, it is Tim Lebbon. His writing style is the least of my worry when it comes to this series.
Alien is a much more elegant, high-brow, philosophically rich series to me now while everything to do with the Predators just seems sort of childish. Anyway, to each his own. I know the Predators have lots of fans, and they are still entertaining. Its just that Aliens fill me with a sense of wonder, and Predators fill me with,... meh.