Aliens: The Official Movie Novelization is a 2014 science fiction horror novel written by Alan Dean Foster and published by Warner Books. The novel follows Ellen Ripley as she returns to the moon where her crew encountered the hostile Alien creature, this time accompanied by a unit of space marines.

A lot of movie novelizations fail to inspire, explore, or expand. But I’m happy to say that Aliens: The Official Movie Novelization not only manages all three but also gives more. The story follows Ellen Ripley who, after being rescued after a 57 year hypersleep, joins a group of colonial marines as they descend onto the moon that the Nostromo visited which has been colonized.

The story is absolutely awesome with rich storytelling that not only provides a strong sense of dread but also expands more into the events of the film. We get insight into the colony before the infestation but it could’ve benefited the story a little had there been exposition between the facehugger getting Newt’s father and the marines touching down on the planet.

I liked that we get a great arc for Ripley, who begins the story haunted by her experiences on the Nostromo but as the story progresses and the stakes begin rising, Ripley grows into a stronger character taking the lead. The story starts off really slow but the focus on Ripley’s story is a good foundation. However, I would’ve liked to have seen more sidestories explored such as the relationships between the marines, the corporation while the main story’s taking place, or Newt while hell is breaking loose. Still, the story’s suspenseful and everything culminates into a fantastic showdown between Ripley and the xenomorph queen. (4 out of 5)

I just love the characters and the fact that the characters are more fleshed out with a stronger focus of their personality and motivation is a great welcome. Although Ripley is the star of our story she shares the spotlight with other characters such as Hudson, Hicks, Newt, Burke, and a few others. We get deeper into Ripley’s mindset seeing more into how her experiences have harmed and strengthened her. You’d have to be cold not to appreciate the relationship between Ripley and Newt. I liked her relationship with Hicks and how it’s alluding to a possible spark between the two.

Foster does a great job of showing how charismatic and a sleaze Burke is. The way he tries to manipulate Ripley into helping him with his schemes. I would’ve liked more insight into the characters, motivations, and backstories but they’re pretty awesome. (5 out of 5)

For the writing, I have to admit that Alan Dean Foster is a force to be reckoned with, taking James Cameron’s masterpiece and making it shine even brighter. Foster manages to flesh out some already awesome characters as well as strengthening the characterization of others. Foster even strengthens the overall dialogue by not only including most of it from the film but also adding new dialogue.

There are some additional scenes like the scene with Burke’s coccoon sequence (which was a deleted scene of the movie) but also the changes Foster retells. Some changes that I appreciated revolved around the Xenomorphs and their habits. For one thing, the tail’s used to paralyze victims. Yeah, they have superior strength but it makes sense that paralyzing their victims makes coccooning them that much more efficient. Also, the brutal details of the creature’s hive formed from the aliens’ secretions with the torn equipment and the skeletons from long dead victims. The addition of the albino drones that move the eggs was a warm welcome.

One of the few gripes I had was the lack of swearing. I get that this is a book but honestly, the film has some really good lines and unfortunately Foster does miss the mark pretty bad. I’m not sure about this decision because the lines don’t feel as memorable or impactful as their movie counterpart.

I liked the action and how well Foster details it. The hive attack is one of my favorites scenes in the franchise and Foster captures it masterfully switching between the chaos of the marines battle with the xenomorphs and the suspense surrounding Ripley, Gorman, and Burke witnessing it. I like that Foster is able to balance the action and horror and keep a strong tense atmosphere. I’ve really enjoyed Foster’s writing direction and look forward to more of his work. (4 out of 5)

In the end, Aliens: The Official Movie Novelization is not only a great read but also a great adaptation of the movie (director’s cut). Although I did have issue with the lack of profanity and the lack of additional scenes, I really enjoyed this reading experience. The book has great characters, a great story, great writing, a good balance of horror and science fiction. Aliens: The Official Movie Novelization gets 4 out of 5. If you’re a fan of the film (and of the series) you’ll definitely enjoy this reading experience.