Alien: River of Pain (Book 3) - Reviews

Started by Perfect-Organism, Nov 18, 2014, 10:36:08 PM

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Alien: River of Pain (Book 3) - Reviews (Read 42,000 times)

razeak

I thought it was pretty good overall. I liked the development of most of the characters. Aside from a few obvious continuity errors with the films, it was an enjoyable read for an Aliens novel. I would really like to see where it goes next. 7.5/10



HuDaFuK

Started this last night and got a third of the way through it in my first sitting. Really enjoying it.

So far I'm finding it to be the best of the three. I like that I haven't actually got to any Aliens yet. The recreation of scenes from Aliens is a neat and very welcome touch. I'm also getting a kick out of picturing Hollister from Red Dwarf in all the new Simpson scenes. I prefer Golden's writing to the other two. Looking forward to finishing it.

Corporal Hicks

I thought I'd recognized a number of the things from the book - other than from Aliens. Draper, Aaron, Tim's birth segment and the Annie's death.

So I've just re-read Newt's Tale and Golden took those elements from the comic.

HuDaFuK

Yeah, there's a lot from the comic in the book.

Mr. Clemens

Thanks for keeping the spoilers hidden, folks. I'm only 1/3 of the way in, but so far I'd agree that it's the best of the three. The characters are engaging and appealing, and I'm having a fine time reading about them; half the time I'm forgetting that there are going to be aliens, eventually. A good sign. :)

That said, a couple of quibbles:


  • I don't - what's the word... appreciate? I don't appreciate reading scenes from Aliens through the author's own idea of what Ripley might have been thinking/feeling at the time. Case in point: Burke. Almost as soon as he appears on Gateway, Golden is having Ripley think of him as a "creep" and a "sleazeball". I never got that impression from the film, and it certainly never came across in Alan Dean Foster's novelization. At worst, from my perspective, she seemed to think of him as just another yuppie, a man of no consequence in light of all she's experienced. Am I alone in thinking that it wasn't until the confrontation in the APC that words like "creep" and "sleazeball" would have applied?
  • If you're gonna quote scenes from the movie... quote 'em correctly! There are two instances in the inquest scene where Ripley said "goddamn" or "godammit". Golden cut the first, and changed the second to "dammit". Why do that? Some sort of religious thing?

Anyway, again, small quibbles. This is the best Alien-related read I've had since ADF.

TheBATMAN

Only 100 pages in myself but in complete agreement with you regarding Burke.

RakaiThwei

Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Nov 30, 2014, 11:23:10 AM
So I've just re-read Newt's Tale and Golden took those elements from the comic.

Wait, so Newts Tale still happened? I thought they were starting over the EU as a whole.  :-\

HuDaFuK

HuDaFuK

#52
Some further thoughts now that I'm into the final third (spoiler-free, unless you haven't seen Aliens, but I've blanked it out just in case...)

Spoiler
I'm sad to say, it's gone downhill quite noticeably in the second half. It's still good enough, but some frustrating quibbles have snuck in that are bugging me in the same way Ripley being in Out of the Shadows bugged me. Most of all, I hate how several times now characters have made instantaneous leaps in logic as though they've seen the films and know exactly what's going on. Case in point - the instant Brackett is told colonists are going missing, he knows they're being taken to a hive. He doesn't suggest it as a theory, he knows it for a fact, even though no one's seen anything to suggest it previously. How the hell does he know what the aliens are doing with their victims, when it's made it clear several times no one's even seen anything like the Xenomorph? Likewise, as soon as another Marine sees a Facehugger in a jar, he knows the scientists have been killing people to get them off, even though there's been no evidence of that happening at all. It's really annoying, because things like that instantly snap you out of the world, the paranoia and tension, that the book's trying to build up.

Another frustration is Dr. Reese. He's become a dreadful cliché. All hell's breaking loose around him, and he's there twiddling his bad guy moustache making evil plans like a caricature. He is literally no safer than anyone else. He could be taken by an alien at any time. But is he bothered? No, he's too preoccupied being a silly corporate bad guy stereotype. Burke was corporate bad guy, but he was at least emotionally affected by the horror he found himself in. Reese doesn't seem to give a shit. Again, it's frustrating because it lacks believability. It's doubly annoying because Reese could've been a much more interesting character.

Lastly, Simpson mentions that he's sent a distress call to Gateway now that shit's gone bad. So how come no one in Aliens knows what the hell's going on? Even Burke is clueless.
[close]

Quote from: RakaiThwei on Dec 01, 2014, 03:49:36 AMWait, so Newts Tale still happened? I thought they were starting over the EU as a whole.  :-\

Apparently not. The scene where Newt and Tim watch the Chestburster pop from Russ is recreated exactly as it was in the comic, and some of the characters from the comic are in the novel (Aaron, Bill Andrews).

Quote from: Mr. Clemens on Nov 30, 2014, 11:17:21 PMIf you're gonna quote scenes from the movie... quote 'em correctly! There are two instances in the inquest scene where Ripley said "goddamn" or "godammit". Golden cut the first, and changed the second to "dammit". Why do that? Some sort of religious thing?

This. It's a small point, but it's bugged me quite a bit. The scene with Simpson and Lydecker in Operations from the SE was particularly culpable - it felt like Golden had written it after reading the comic rather than watching the film.

RakaiThwei

RakaiThwei

#53
Quote from: HuDaFuK on Dec 01, 2014, 08:54:56 AM
Apparently not. The scene where Newt and Tim watch the Chestburster pop from Russ is recreated exactly as it was in the comic, and some of the characters from the comic are in the novel (Aaron, Bill Andrews).

Sounds like then that they are cherry picking what's in the safe zone and what isn't ala the New 52. I had assumed that they really were starting over again considering that everything was being rebooted. But then again, I'm guessing Mike Richardson's statement of actually wiping the slate clean applies only to Dark Horse. Meh.

Spoiler
[close]

keithpuryear

I really liked this book. I feel that it is definitely the best in the trilogy,  and one of my favorite side stories of the franchise.  I did even like the rehashing of material from the movies and Newts Tale. I think it made it feel more real. Anybody catch the Fire and Stone references?

Corporal Hicks

Quote from: HuDaFuK on Dec 01, 2014, 08:54:56 AM
Spoiler
I'm sad to say, it's gone downhill quite noticeably in the second half. It's still good enough, but some frustrating quibbles have snuck in that are bugging me in the same way Ripley being in Out of the Shadows bugged me. Most of all, I hate how several times now characters have made instantaneous leaps in logic as though they've seen the films and know exactly what's going on. Case in point - the instant Brackett is told colonists are going missing, he knows they're being taken to a hive. He doesn't suggest it as a theory, he knows it for a fact, even though no one's seen anything to suggest it previously. How the hell does he know what the aliens are doing with their victims, when it's made it clear several times no one's even seen anything like the Xenomorph? Likewise, as soon as another Marine sees a Facehugger in a jar, he knows the scientists have been killing people to get them off, even though there's been no evidence of that happening at all. It's really annoying, because things like that instantly snap you out of the world, the paranoia and tension, that the book's trying to build up.

Lastly, Simpson mentions that he's sent a distress call to Gateway now that shit's gone bad. So how come no one in Aliens knows what the hell's going on? Even Burke is clueless.
[close]

Yeah - pretty much what I also thought too. It was nice not to have a rehash of what the Aliens did shoved in my face but it was handled very blaise, I thought. But they just can't win with us can they. Bloody fans!  :P

Quote from: RakaiThwei on Dec 01, 2014, 04:33:51 PM
Quote from: HuDaFuK on Dec 01, 2014, 08:54:56 AM
Apparently not. The scene where Newt and Tim watch the Chestburster pop from Russ is recreated exactly as it was in the comic, and some of the characters from the comic are in the novel (Aaron, Bill Andrews).

Sounds like then that they are cherry picking what's in the safe zone and what isn't ala the New 52. I had assumed that they really were starting over again considering that everything was being rebooted. But then again, I'm guessing Mike Richardson's statement of actually wiping the slate clean applies only to Dark Horse. Meh.

I don't think it's that much of a big deal, personally. It's 1 scene and several small aspects of a 2-shot comic that isn't even available in the main omnibuses.

Quote from: keithpuryear on Dec 01, 2014, 09:45:47 PM
Anybody catch the Fire and Stone references?

Certainly did. Was nice to see Chris tidy up the thing about Russell being in-charge. Also, anyone else notice the time discrepancy between River of Pain and Fire & Stone? Fire and Stone starts a week after River of Pain ends apparently and it just doesn't seem to sync up.


HuDaFuK

HuDaFuK

#56
Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Dec 02, 2014, 08:18:32 AMYeah - pretty much what I also thought too. It was nice not to have a rehash of what the Aliens did shoved in my face but it was handled very blaise, I thought.

Good to know I'm not alone. I am still enjoying the book, and it's definitely the best of the three, but the second half is full of these disappointing continuity gaffs. Even if they're trivial, they're still there, and there are quite a few of them. Like when they enter the main atmosphere processor - they call the lifts elevators and they come up from below, but Aliens shows us that when the elevators aren't in use they return to the landing pad at the top, so they should be coming from above. Little things like that.

Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Dec 02, 2014, 08:18:32 AMBut they just can't win with us can they. Bloody fans!  :P

F*cking Simpson having a f*cking moustache..?! :)


Quote from: Morgoth on Nov 25, 2014, 03:25:34 AMIs this connected any way to the previous two books?

Your comment's old, but I noticed no one had really replied -

The book doesn't seem to be directly connected (haven't quite finished it yet), but there are some references to Out of the Shadows. For instance, when Ripley is rescued from deep space, the harpoon gun she used to kill the Alien at the end of the first film is found lying on a computer console inside the Narcissus rather than wedged under the door, indicating the door had been opened and someone had been on board at some point. (Of course, this is regardless of the fact we see the harpoon gun under the door in Aliens, but that was as much of a problem with the first book as this one).

There were also some bits aboard Gateway that I took to be references to Out of the Shadows, where Ripley monologues internally about some vague memories of fear and terror that she can't quite remember, which I took to be a reference to her having her mind wiped before leaving the Marion.

Mr. Clemens

Quote from: HuDaFuK on Dec 02, 2014, 08:48:36 AM
F*cking Simpson having a f*cking moustache..?! :)

Yeah, wassup witdat?  :-\

Also, the whole 'folks, we have scored big this time' scene was odd, with half-quoted dialogue appearing differently than the film in relation to what was said inside/outside the tractor. Just pointlessly odd stuff.

Seems crazy, but maybe Golden's never actually seen the special edition?

[EDIT: Nah, couldn't be. He even had Van Leuwen putting the cap back on his pen before "it is the finding of this court of inquiry..."]

Xenomrph

Quote from: RakaiThwei on Dec 01, 2014, 03:49:36 AM
Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Nov 30, 2014, 11:23:10 AM
So I've just re-read Newt's Tale and Golden took those elements from the comic.

Wait, so Newts Tale still happened? I thought they were starting over the EU as a whole.  :-\
You're kidding, right? No one ever claimed that was going to happen.

RakaiThwei

RakaiThwei

#59
Quote from: Xenomrph on Dec 04, 2014, 07:40:32 AM
You're kidding, right? No one ever claimed that was going to happen.

I'm accounting what one of the writers said of the Titan books when they said "Fox wants to unmuddy the waters by comics, games, other novels by writers". I know it was mentioned in an audio interview or podcast.. I can't remember which author said it.

As for whoever said that they were starting over.. More than one sources have said it.. Scott Allie, Mike Richardson, and I think Golden did too. Now that I think about it.. I think it was him or Lebbon who said the powers that be were wishing to unmuddy the waters.

But hey, you're the go to guy regarding canon and continuity, so why should I argue with you? I'm just telling you what I heard.

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