David McK (3854 KP) rated Alien: River of Pain in Books
Jul 21, 2019
Remember I said alongside the start of Aliens? To put that into context, this is - largely - filling in the gaps in the movie, between the point at which Ripley's escape pod is picked up, and the arrival of the Marines (and Ripley, and Burke) to that colony, after all communication with it is lost. As such, there are several scenes in here which are lifted straight from that movie, with some - slightly - expanded upon.
It also gives a reason why Newt is the only survivor found hiding in the air-ducts ("They mostly come at night. Mostly"), why there's Alien Face-huggers in jars in the colony, why the marines are so hyped up when we first meet them in the film (they're just back from R&R), and even why Newt's family went out prospecting in the first place.
Worth a read/listen? Yes, although I have to say that there are elements of this that reminded me quite a bit of the 90s comic/novel "Aliens: Nightmare Asylum" - especially in some of the characters - and that it just seems weird, now, that the presence of Marines on the planetoid, pre Ripley and co, are never mentioned at all!
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2615 KP) rated Saturn Night Fever in Books
Jan 16, 2019
I was anxious to pick up this book to find out what happened after the revelation that ended the previous book. We definitely get more on that here. In fact, we get plenty on that as Sylvia is also trying to resolve her latest troubles. There are plenty of twists and turns there as well since Sylvia doesn't really know who she can trust. I did feel that in the midst of the twists the original premise got hurt a little, but I may be overthinking things, and it was definitely a minor issues. Author Diane Vallere does a great job of making the science fiction setting and alien characters relatable. Cozy mystery fans like myself will feel right at home here. The alien characters allow for a few more over the top characters, but I loved that, and overall, I still found them to be relatable characters.
Phil Leader (619 KP) rated Primordial (A Liberator Universe Novelette) in Books
Nov 25, 2019
A vessel headed out to a distant star system comes across an ancient artifact in uncharted deep space together with an old damaged and apparently lifeless spaceship of unknown design. Despite misgivings the lure of salvage is too much for the crew to ignore. But they soon discover that although the ship may be derelict there is an entity there that has been waiting patiently for a long long time for visitors. For fresh meat.
Told from the point of view of XO Koby Solomon this is a terrific slice of science fiction horror, very much in the mould of something like Alien. Bailey plays the disorientation and claustrophobia of the derelict alien vessel for everything it is worth as well as the panic and paranoia of the salvage crew. Like the best horror stories it's never clear to the reader exactly what is going to happen next or where they - or the crew - ought to be looking: into the darkness ahead or over their shoulders?
There's really nothing to fault here. The change in pace from Liberator shows the breadth of imagination and story telling from Bailey (and his Liberator co-author Darren Bullock) will ensure that readers will want to keep reading.
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LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Independence Day: Resurgence (2016) in Movies
Mar 3, 2022
On the one hand, it's brimming with corny dialogue, bloated exposition, ridiculous set ups for sequels that will probably never happen, characters that are difficult to care about, and loads of plot points that don't make sense (the alien ship is so big, it has its own gravitational pull, causing mass destruction to Earth upon arrival, but then just fucks off at the end without any further damage)
On the other hand, I was surprised by how commited Jeff Goldblum is to his returning role, and is quite simply a pleasure for the entirety of his screentime, the ultra-destruction that's we're all here to see is visually pleasing and satisfying, there are some genuinely fun set pieces (the alien queen running around the desert fucking shit up is a blast), and it's all self aware enough to not disappear up its own arse.
I personally feel that Resurgence gets an unjustified bad rap. It doesn't need to exist, and is far from perfect, but there's enough here to enjoy. Just be sure to leave your brain at the door.
Chris Hooker (419 KP) rated Eruption (Supervolcano, #1) in Books
Jan 12, 2018
Usually I have stayed away from [Harry Turtledove] since stuff with aliens is not my thing and that is what I thought about when I saw his books but in the first installment of [Supervolcano] I was happy to not see one alien! [Turtledove] does have a good story telling style and perhaps I may give some of his alternative history a shot.