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Post by Scott on May 1, 2018 12:14:00 GMT -5
Has anybody read any of the Alien novels? I’ve been tempted to check one out, Out of the Shadows, but I haven’t heard any opinions.
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Post by GRWelsh on May 1, 2018 12:34:29 GMT -5
It's funny you mention that, because I was just recently checking out the novelization of ALIEN: COVENANT and a prequel to it written by Alan Dean Foster, who also did the novelizations for the first three Alien movies. I downloaded samples onto my Kindle and read them, but haven't bought them yet. But I did want some detail on the Alien universe. I recently heard Ridley Scott say in an interview how the movie studio proposed to him to expand on the universe, make it about more than just the same old horror story.
About a year ago, I bought the audio book for ALIEN: OUT OF THE SHADOWS by Tim Lebbon, and below is what I posted at the time:
In short, it reads like high quality fan fiction. But the audio performance makes it worth recommending in that medium.
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Post by davegibsongreyhawkdm on May 1, 2018 13:57:18 GMT -5
I read the original ALIEN novelization in my youth and enjoyed it at the time.
I have not tried any others of the series.
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foster1941
Warlock
Duke of California, Earl of Los Angeles, Knight Bachelor
Posts: 475
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Post by foster1941 on May 2, 2018 12:46:03 GMT -5
I finally watched Alien:Covenant a few days ago. Despite a couple of good sequences (I really liked the fight on the deck of the cargo-shuttle) my overwhelming feeling was that it was just too much more of the same thing, that there really wasn't anything in it that wasn't just a lightly-reskinned rehash of elements from the first two movies. I still love both of those movies, but have never been anything but disappointed by anything else from this franchise.
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Post by GRWelsh on May 2, 2018 15:17:32 GMT -5
That's a valid criticism and I think what happened was that Ridley Scott responded to the detractors of PROMETHEUS by, to some extent, "going back to the original formula" of what people evidently liked about the ALIEN movies. So, ALIEN: COVENANT tried to be two things at once, a traditional 'greatest hits' ALIEN movie yet also a movie expanding on the ALIEN universe with things that we have never seen before (Engineers' homeworld, neomorph, protomorph, the continuing story of David, David vs. Walter, etc.). And so you end up with a movie that is tonally uneven and feels like it is trying to fit into the mold of what has gone before, yet also break new ground. Its greatest flaw is failure to develop -- and help us as viewers identify with -- the human characters. And that's because it wants moreso to be about David and grandiose themes which I doubt most audience members connected with. For example, I couldn't believe they killed Shaw off screen. She was the heart of PROMETHEUS, the human character we were supposed to identify with! I wanted to see her meet the Engineers. They want to kill us -- but why? Like Shaw, I wanted to hear the answer from them. But that got dropped, so that is an awkward break in the narrative. I love what Ridley Scott is trying to do with the big themes and expanding on the ALIEN universe, but this could have used a better script, with more of the new and less rehashing of the old.
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Post by grodog on May 2, 2018 21:37:38 GMT -5
Has anybody read any of the Alien novels? I’ve been tempted to check one out, Out of the Shadows, but I haven’t heard any opinions. I read the ADF novelization of Alien, and enjoyed it. There was a minor developmental element of "dreaming" in the novel that I liked---it added some depth to Ripley and colored my perception of her nightmares at the start of Aliens (in a good way---lent them some more depth). I picked up the ADF Aliens and Alien^3 novelizations at the same time as the first one, but haven't read them yet. I finally watched Alien:Covenant a few days ago. Despite a couple of good sequences (I really liked the fight on the deck of the cargo-shuttle) my overwhelming feeling was that it was just too much more of the same thing, that there really wasn't anything in it that wasn't just a lightly-reskinned rehash of elements from the first two movies. I still love both of those movies, but have never been anything but disappointed by anything else from this franchise. I like lots of pieces of the other films (minor spoilers for Alien^3, A:Ressurection, and AvP if you've not seen them): *** spoilers *** spoilers *** spoilers *** spoilers - Alien^3: a cool world and setting that is unfortunately wasted through the casual killings of Newt and Hicks - Alien: Resurrection has some fun parts in it, particularly its proto-Firefly vibe, but those are unfortunately lost among and over-ridden by its clumsy and campy elements - Aliens vs. Predator: the entire cryptex-pyramid is pretty sweet and could inspire a great puzzle dungeon, and the polar setting is nice too That's a valid criticism and I think what happened was that Ridley Scott responded to the detractors of PROMETHEUS by, to some extent, "going back to the original formula" of what people evidently liked about the ALIEN movies. Good points, Gary. For example, I couldn't believe they killed Shaw off screen. She was the heart of PROMETHEUS, the human character we were supposed to identify with! I wanted to see her meet the Engineers. They want to kill us -- but why? Like Shaw, I wanted to hear the answer from them. But that got dropped, so that is an awkward break in the narrative. I love what Ridley Scott is trying to do with the big themes and expanding on the ALIEN universe, but this could have used a better script, with more of the new and less rehashing of the old. *** spoilers *** spoilers *** spoilers That echoes the poor choices to kill off Hicks and Newt in A^3 too.... Allan. |
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Post by Scott on May 6, 2018 0:22:09 GMT -5
It's funny you mention that, because I was just recently checking out the novelization of ALIEN: COVENANT and a prequel to it written by Alan Dean Foster, who also did the novelizations for the first three Alien movies. I downloaded samples onto my Kindle and read them, but haven't bought them yet. But I did want some detail on the Alien universe. I recently heard Ridley Scott say in an interview how the movie studio proposed to him to expand on the universe, make it about more than just the same old horror story. About a year ago, I bought the audio book for ALIEN: OUT OF THE SHADOWS by Tim Lebbon, and below is what I posted at the time: In short, it reads like high quality fan fiction. But the audio performance makes it worth recommending in that medium. I looked up the Out of the Shadows audio book. I found two versions. The dramatized version you mentioned is an abridged version. There’s an unabridged version that is more than twice as long. I did t look into the difference in content though. I didn’t buy either. I looked for Prometheus, but the novelization was only released in Japan, or so I read. I did get the Alien: Covenant Origins prequel you mentioned. I’m only about four chapters in. |
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Post by GRWelsh on May 7, 2018 14:57:23 GMT -5
There are rumors floating around that ALIEN: AWAKENING (the sequel to ALIEN: COVENANT Ridley Scott planned to make) is cancelled. I hope it's not true. Although PROMETHEUS and ALIEN: COVENANT have flaws, they at least make you think and started taking the series in new directions. I can't really say that about the others in the franchise after ALIENS. I'm worried now that they're going to reboot the series and re-cast Ripley. Ugh, I do not want to see that.
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Post by grodog on May 10, 2018 13:13:54 GMT -5
There are rumors floating around that ALIEN: AWAKENING (the sequel to ALIEN: COVENANT Ridley Scott planned to make) is cancelled. I hope it's not true. Although PROMETHEUS and ALIEN: COVENANT have flaws, they at least make you think and started taking the series in new directions. I can't really say that about the others in the franchise after ALIENS. I'm worried now that they're going to reboot the series and re-cast Ripley. Ugh, I do not want to see that. It's inevitable, I'm sure. If you can reboot Star Trek and Star Wars to box office revenue blockbuster levels, Aliens and others won't be far behind. Why create something original, when you can tap (and re-tap, and...) the existing fan base, and build it into a generationally-relevant, ever-green IP? Allan. |
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Post by GRWelsh on May 10, 2018 14:11:10 GMT -5
That would be really depressing. Even if I don't like all of Ridley Scott's choices, at least he's been trying to expand the universe and move the franchise into new territory. Don't get me started on STAR TREK, it is unrecognizable to me anymore... except for the fan-produced stuff, which in way makes it worse because it proves that there are still people out there who still "get it." If you are going to recast an iconic character, at least get the character right.
I don't like turning Ellen Ripley into a superhero. What made her so appealing was how normal she was. She was just a normal person, with a normal job, yet she was intelligent and resourceful and got lucky and survived. She was easy to identify with because she did what she was supposed to do... If only the other characters had observed quarantine protocol and they didn't have a treacherous synthetic on board...
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Post by geneweigel on May 10, 2018 14:30:44 GMT -5
I've never seen IT THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE (1958) on TV again after ALIEN came out in 1979. So there is a precedent in a way.
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