Aliens Bishop

[xShadowFoxX]

Sorry Slutty Badger, you're not gonna like this...

Just finished Aliens: Bishop. Listened to the Audiobook version, so the spelling mistakes weren't a detractor for me.

Even though I heard some troubling stuff from some who've had a chance to read it before, it all just sounds a lot worse than it is actually.
The author did shoot himself in the foot by adding of his own volition another family member of movie characters after a long recent string of poorly written family members in other novels. But Apone there feels very natural, very earned and doesn't overstay his welcome, he's actually a secondary character. And as the author said, military families are a thing, so it worked better than I expected.
I jumped to conclusions and started on the wrong foot expecting I won't like it, but after a lot of positive reviews as well, I had to see for myself. Tried to go in with an open mind as much as I can.

Lets get the negatives out of the way first. Cause there were fewer of them than I feared!
The dialogue at times does seem a bit awkward, but I can't say it's unrealistic. It never ripped me out of the scene. And that katana was unnecessary, but again, it was slowly built up, earned and not too over the top. Apone was a bit unnecessary (though well written), but on the other hand, without his motivations, I doubt any other squad would've tried that hard to to for Bishop. That's about it for the negatives, not much.
Now the positives. The most important thing for me always is how the Alien is portrayed. And this here is some of the best I've seen in the novels ever. Pulse Rifles and smart guns kill them of course (but not with one bullet like in the old Perry novels), but the Aliens are fast, they dodge, stalk you and use sneak attacks. Pistols regularly ricochet from their skull as they should. The deaths are brutal, acid is not forgotten about and regularly does significant damage TO EVERYTHING. The Aliens are shown to be smart and constantly underestimated. They try to manipulate the creatures, to use them and it goes so horribly wrong cause the creatures are smarter than they anticipated. They are also extremely deadly and do some gruesome damage. From the facehugger to the adult, all stages feel like a threat.
The action is very well written unlike in the last trilogy, very descriptive and easy to follow. You can imagine the whole scene with no effort.

The worldbuilding is phenomenal. You can see the author understands and loves the expanded universe. And that Fox actually took on a writer which already writes similar stuff on his own time. The Australia wars and the UPP are very well done here. Expanded upon a good amount, written engagingly and it felt all faithful to the universe.
There's more good setup and execution of people/factions/rebels breaking away from their parent organizations than the whole of the previous "Colony War" trilogy. So it's hilarious to see that here, but welcomed!
Even though I mentioned that the dialogue is sometimes clunky, what is being said, what is meant, how they say it, the whole context of conversations is fantastic. Not one character was bland or annoying. All are memorable and engaging which is rare for me! And there are a lot of main characters and side characters. All of them have prominent good and bad qualities, nobody's perfect, virtues get used and setup, faults bite them in the ass, a lot of morally gray stuff through the book which I love.
 I was worried at first mostly by the Bishop (Michael) vs Bishop (synth) dialogue, if the author was going to be able to pull that off. That has the potential to be so bad, but was executed wonderfully. A lot of nuance, a lot of subtlety and you're never quite sure what to trust, cause there's a lot of convincing arguments. Lot of surprises, but all of them get realistic explanations in due time. Not perfect, but some of the best dialogue about the nature of AI and immortality.

The marine dialogue and interactions in the beginning is some of the best I've ever seen in the novels.

Finally someone that knows how to write synths! If they're not getting glossed over, and actually getting some focus, they're usually written very poorly like in the last trilogy. They are not stiff Doctor Who robots, in the Alien universe they can easily pass off for humans, behavior wise. Even the Working Joes have a sinister understanding and intelligence in their programmed limited responses. This author gets that. Synths may not be humans on the inside, but they sure do act like it on the outside. And that's how they're portrayed here.
The blond twins?  Loved them.
What I love most of all is that this novel has a bit of everything for everyone. And yet everything is fleshed out just enough. You want worldbuilding? Tons of it, Australian refugees, UPP, Gateway UA training camp. You want decent and intense action for a change? Say no more. Want some horror and tense moments without the rifles? You have that too. Engaging marine pov? Hell yeah. Not just Russian UPPs again? You got the Chinese pov finally. A look at a pirate's/smuggler's life? You got it. Aliens handled with dignity? Certainly. WY people having more than one brain cell and not being cartoonishly evil? Now we're talking.

So much stuff happens it feels like a rollercoaster ride. A fun one. Easily in my top 5, hope we see the author return.

It just feels a lot more fun and intense and a lot more was happening than in the recent books, it just felt very different. Maybe because I was expecting such a trainwreck, I got pleasantly surprised when this wasn't Colony War all over again.

And I'm saying this as someone who puts the Alex White novels at the top, followed by Phalanx. Really was surprised with Echo, really liked Out of the Shadows in spite of Ripley, Sea of Sorrows, enjoyed good bits of the Rage War Trilogy (even though I hated the Rage themselves and the portrayal of the Aliens...).

All that is fine.. but it doesn't make the book any more interesting.. or any less boring. And somebody else in this thread said it best.. it undermines the events in Alien 3.

[Slutty Badger]

Nope, still think it's crap. Sorry.

[Xiggz456]

Sorry Slutty Badger, you're not gonna like this...

Just finished Aliens: Bishop. Listened to the Audiobook version, so the spelling mistakes weren't a detractor for me.

Even though I heard some troubling stuff from some who've had a chance to read it before, it all just sounds a lot worse than it is actually.
The author did shoot himself in the foot by adding of his own volition another family member of movie characters after a long recent string of poorly written family members in other novels. But Apone there feels very natural, very earned and doesn't overstay his welcome, he's actually a secondary character. And as the author said, military families are a thing, so it worked better than I expected.
I jumped to conclusions and started on the wrong foot expecting I won't like it, but after a lot of positive reviews as well, I had to see for myself. Tried to go in with an open mind as much as I can.

Lets get the negatives out of the way first. Cause there were fewer of them than I feared!
The dialogue at times does seem a bit awkward, but I can't say it's unrealistic. It never ripped me out of the scene. And that katana was unnecessary, but again, it was slowly built up, earned and not too over the top. Apone was a bit unnecessary (though well written), but on the other hand, without his motivations, I doubt any other squad would've tried that hard to to for Bishop. That's about it for the negatives, not much.
Now the positives. The most important thing for me always is how the Alien is portrayed. And this here is some of the best I've seen in the novels ever. Pulse Rifles and smart guns kill them of course (but not with one bullet like in the old Perry novels), but the Aliens are fast, they dodge, stalk you and use sneak attacks. Pistols regularly ricochet from their skull as they should. The deaths are brutal, acid is not forgotten about and regularly does significant damage TO EVERYTHING. The Aliens are shown to be smart and constantly underestimated. They try to manipulate the creatures, to use them and it goes so horribly wrong cause the creatures are smarter than they anticipated. They are also extremely deadly and do some gruesome damage. From the facehugger to the adult, all stages feel like a threat.
The action is very well written unlike in the last trilogy, very descriptive and easy to follow. You can imagine the whole scene with no effort.

The worldbuilding is phenomenal. You can see the author understands and loves the expanded universe. And that Fox actually took on a writer which already writes similar stuff on his own time. The Australia wars and the UPP are very well done here. Expanded upon a good amount, written engagingly and it felt all faithful to the universe.
There's more good setup and execution of people/factions/rebels breaking away from their parent organizations than the whole of the previous "Colony War" trilogy. So it's hilarious to see that here, but welcomed!
Even though I mentioned that the dialogue is sometimes clunky, what is being said, what is meant, how they say it, the whole context of conversations is fantastic. Not one character was bland or annoying. All are memorable and engaging which is rare for me! And there are a lot of main characters and side characters. All of them have prominent good and bad qualities, nobody's perfect, virtues get used and setup, faults bite them in the ass, a lot of morally gray stuff through the book which I love.
 I was worried at first mostly by the Bishop (Michael) vs Bishop (synth) dialogue, if the author was going to be able to pull that off. That has the potential to be so bad, but was executed wonderfully. A lot of nuance, a lot of subtlety and you're never quite sure what to trust, cause there's a lot of convincing arguments. Lot of surprises, but all of them get realistic explanations in due time. Not perfect, but some of the best dialogue about the nature of AI and immortality.

The marine dialogue and interactions in the beginning is some of the best I've ever seen in the novels.

Finally someone that knows how to write synths! If they're not getting glossed over, and actually getting some focus, they're usually written very poorly like in the last trilogy. They are not stiff Doctor Who robots, in the Alien universe they can easily pass off for humans, behavior wise. Even the Working Joes have a sinister understanding and intelligence in their programmed limited responses. This author gets that. Synths may not be humans on the inside, but they sure do act like it on the outside. And that's how they're portrayed here.
The blond twins?  Loved them.
What I love most of all is that this novel has a bit of everything for everyone. And yet everything is fleshed out just enough. You want worldbuilding? Tons of it, Australian refugees, UPP, Gateway UA training camp. You want decent and intense action for a change? Say no more. Want some horror and tense moments without the rifles? You have that too. Engaging marine pov? Hell yeah. Not just Russian UPPs again? You got the Chinese pov finally. A look at a pirate's/smuggler's life? You got it. Aliens handled with dignity? Certainly. WY people having more than one brain cell and not being cartoonishly evil? Now we're talking.

So much stuff happens it feels like a rollercoaster ride. A fun one. Easily in my top 5, hope we see the author return.

It just feels a lot more fun and intense and a lot more was happening than in the recent books, it just felt very different. Maybe because I was expecting such a trainwreck, I got pleasantly surprised when this wasn't Colony War all over again.

And I'm saying this as someone who puts the Alex White novels at the top, followed by Phalanx. Really was surprised with Echo, really liked Out of the Shadows in spite of Ripley, Sea of Sorrows, enjoyed good bits of the Rage War Trilogy (even though I hated the Rage themselves and the portrayal of the Aliens...).

Great review! Agreed on all points!

Amazon's aggregate review is 4.3/5 and Goodreads aggregate is 4/5 so even though the reviews here on AVPG are split between loving and hating the book, the majority of readers seemed to have enjoyed it.

[xShadowFoxX]

Great review! Agreed on all points!

Amazon's aggregate review is 4.3/5 and Goodreads aggregate is 4/5 so even though the reviews here on AVPG are split between loving and hating the book, the majority of readers seemed to have enjoyed it.

Colony War has a 4.3 on Amazon. So I guess it must be good.

[Slutty Badger]

Colony War has a 4.3 on Amazon. So I guess it must be good.

Well, can't argue with that.

[Still Collating...]

Sorry Slutty Badger, you're not gonna like this...

Just finished Aliens: Bishop. Listened to the Audiobook version, so the spelling mistakes weren't a detractor for me.

Even though I heard some troubling stuff from some who've had a chance to read it before, it all just sounds a lot worse than it is actually.
The author did shoot himself in the foot by adding of his own volition another family member of movie characters after a long recent string of poorly written family members in other novels. But Apone there feels very natural, very earned and doesn't overstay his welcome, he's actually a secondary character. And as the author said, military families are a thing, so it worked better than I expected.
I jumped to conclusions and started on the wrong foot expecting I won't like it, but after a lot of positive reviews as well, I had to see for myself. Tried to go in with an open mind as much as I can.

Lets get the negatives out of the way first. Cause there were fewer of them than I feared!
The dialogue at times does seem a bit awkward, but I can't say it's unrealistic. It never ripped me out of the scene. And that katana was unnecessary, but again, it was slowly built up, earned and not too over the top. Apone was a bit unnecessary (though well written), but on the other hand, without his motivations, I doubt any other squad would've tried that hard to to for Bishop. That's about it for the negatives, not much.
Now the positives. The most important thing for me always is how the Alien is portrayed. And this here is some of the best I've seen in the novels ever. Pulse Rifles and smart guns kill them of course (but not with one bullet like in the old Perry novels), but the Aliens are fast, they dodge, stalk you and use sneak attacks. Pistols regularly ricochet from their skull as they should. The deaths are brutal, acid is not forgotten about and regularly does significant damage TO EVERYTHING. The Aliens are shown to be smart and constantly underestimated. They try to manipulate the creatures, to use them and it goes so horribly wrong cause the creatures are smarter than they anticipated. They are also extremely deadly and do some gruesome damage. From the facehugger to the adult, all stages feel like a threat.
The action is very well written unlike in the last trilogy, very descriptive and easy to follow. You can imagine the whole scene with no effort.

The worldbuilding is phenomenal. You can see the author understands and loves the expanded universe. And that Fox actually took on a writer which already writes similar stuff on his own time. The Australia wars and the UPP are very well done here. Expanded upon a good amount, written engagingly and it felt all faithful to the universe.
There's more good setup and execution of people/factions/rebels breaking away from their parent organizations than the whole of the previous "Colony War" trilogy. So it's hilarious to see that here, but welcomed!
Even though I mentioned that the dialogue is sometimes clunky, what is being said, what is meant, how they say it, the whole context of conversations is fantastic. Not one character was bland or annoying. All are memorable and engaging which is rare for me! And there are a lot of main characters and side characters. All of them have prominent good and bad qualities, nobody's perfect, virtues get used and setup, faults bite them in the ass, a lot of morally gray stuff through the book which I love.
 I was worried at first mostly by the Bishop (Michael) vs Bishop (synth) dialogue, if the author was going to be able to pull that off. That has the potential to be so bad, but was executed wonderfully. A lot of nuance, a lot of subtlety and you're never quite sure what to trust, cause there's a lot of convincing arguments. Lot of surprises, but all of them get realistic explanations in due time. Not perfect, but some of the best dialogue about the nature of AI and immortality.

The marine dialogue and interactions in the beginning is some of the best I've ever seen in the novels.

Finally someone that knows how to write synths! If they're not getting glossed over, and actually getting some focus, they're usually written very poorly like in the last trilogy. They are not stiff Doctor Who robots, in the Alien universe they can easily pass off for humans, behavior wise. Even the Working Joes have a sinister understanding and intelligence in their programmed limited responses. This author gets that. Synths may not be humans on the inside, but they sure do act like it on the outside. And that's how they're portrayed here.
The blond twins?  Loved them.
What I love most of all is that this novel has a bit of everything for everyone. And yet everything is fleshed out just enough. You want worldbuilding? Tons of it, Australian refugees, UPP, Gateway UA training camp. You want decent and intense action for a change? Say no more. Want some horror and tense moments without the rifles? You have that too. Engaging marine pov? Hell yeah. Not just Russian UPPs again? You got the Chinese pov finally. A look at a pirate's/smuggler's life? You got it. Aliens handled with dignity? Certainly. WY people having more than one brain cell and not being cartoonishly evil? Now we're talking.

So much stuff happens it feels like a rollercoaster ride. A fun one. Easily in my top 5, hope we see the author return.

It just feels a lot more fun and intense and a lot more was happening than in the recent books, it just felt very different. Maybe because I was expecting such a trainwreck, I got pleasantly surprised when this wasn't Colony War all over again.

And I'm saying this as someone who puts the Alex White novels at the top, followed by Phalanx. Really was surprised with Echo, really liked Out of the Shadows in spite of Ripley, Sea of Sorrows, enjoyed good bits of the Rage War Trilogy (even though I hated the Rage themselves and the portrayal of the Aliens...).

All that is fine.. but it doesn't make the book any more interesting.. or any less boring. And somebody else in this thread said it best.. it undermines the events in Alien 3.

The undermining of Alien 3 is valid. Though less than ACM did with Hicks and A:R did with bringing back Ripley. Bishop is a synth, he was just hoping he wouldn't be found in the trash, but Ripley's obviously bad at hide and seek. Reactivating him isn't the worst course of logic the EU has done in recent years.

Great review! Agreed on all points!

Amazon's aggregate review is 4.3/5 and Goodreads aggregate is 4/5 so even though the reviews here on AVPG are split between loving and hating the book, the majority of readers seemed to have enjoyed it.

Colony War has a 4.3 on Amazon. So I guess it must be good.

Yeah, I get that with scores you can't be certain of anything. It is anecdotal, but with Colony War I noticed either people in the bigger, more causal fan groups either not talking about it or hating it extremely. With this book I've seen multiple people on different groups like it. So I have a feeling it's better received than Colony War.

And the author did say that Fox/Titan was very happy with the novel. And I've never heard that about Colony War...

Again, I know, we don't have the big picture. I know we won't see it, but I'd love to know how well did these books sell. Which ones sold better, which ones sold worse etc.

[Local Trouble]

I might be more concerned about undermining Alien 3's ending if Alien 3 didn't undermine Aliens' ending first.

Anyone who loves Alien 3 for being so grimdark and nihilistic should also love a sequel in which Ripley's sacrifice is shortly thereafter rendered ultimately meaningless.

Just own it, edgelords.

[SiL]

People who think Alien 3 supports nihilism are media illiterate.

[Local Trouble]

The very antithesis of the thing you hold dear.

[Immortan Jonesy]

All Right Fincherholics! come here to fight for Alien³ ✊️

Edit - except me cos I'm just a pleb who loves orange soda 👉👈

[BlueMarsalis79]

People who think Alien 3 supports nihilism are media illiterate.

You so real for this.

[SiL]

David Fincher and fans of his movies who miss the point: name a more iconic duo.

[Slutty Badger]

People who think Alien 3 supports nihilism are media illiterate.

Well, the RPG says that the Dragon managed to construct a small hive, with Andrews, Boggs and Rains being turned into Ovomorphs.

So, Ripley basically died for nothing - oh, sorry, nihil.

[SiL]

Well, the RPG says that the Dragon managed to construct a small hive, with Andrews, Boggs and Rains being turned into Ovomorphs.

What does this have to do with what Alien³ itself says?

So, Ripley basically died for nothing - oh, sorry, nihil.

That's ... not what nihilism is?

Nihilism isn't acknowledging the universe is apathetic, nihilism is about what you do with this information.

Alien³ says nihilism is for losers and we must not abandon our moral and religious principles in the face of a meaningless universe.

[Slutty Badger]

What does this have to do with what Alien³ itself says?

That's ... not what nihilism is?

Nihilism isn't acknowledging the universe is apathetic, nihilism is about what you do with this information.

Alien³ says nihilism is for losers and we must not abandon our moral and religious principles in the face of a meaningless universe.

Yup. And that message is delivered in the form of Ripley making the ultimate sacrifice to do what's right. But was it worth it? Not according to the RPG which, depending on your interpretation of canon, nullifies Ripley's actions. It's even logical if you think about it; did Ripley ever consider what the Dragon was doing with the bodies it abducted?

True, the film on its own is not nihilistic; if anything, that prestige goes to Covenant. The ultimate takeaway from that film - Paradise is lost.