Aliens: The Official Movie Novelization is a 2014 science fiction horror audiobook written by Alan Dean Foster, narrated by William Hope and published by Audible Studios. 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.

Much like the movie, we follow Ripley who’s brought out of a 57 year hypersleep, and joins a group of marines as they investigate a terraforming colony on the planet where she encountered the xenomorph creature. Now, I’ll just say it. Hearing a reading of the story is great especially when it comes from such a talented reader. A lot of unexplained plotholes are given attention especially about the characteristics of the xenomorphs. The pacing worked for me as well as the ever growing tension that kept building and building. I will say that the climax did feel a little bit rushed with Ripley’s discovery of the queen as well as the final battle. (4 out of 5)

Let’s talk about the characters. I thought the characters were good. Having been a fan of the movie I felt the translation to the novelization was done exceptionally well. Also, given the insight we see into the characters, I feel a stronger attachment. I like seeing Ripley as a human, dealing with human emotions. Her experiences of the Nostromo have scarred her but you see her develop and overcome those fears and her relationship with Newt helps to fuel that change. I did like the other characters and even though they’re fleshed out more, I would’ve liked to have seen more from the other marines. Still, I enjoyed them and the additional dialogue. (5 out of 5)

When it comes to the narration, William Hope does a fantastic job. I really enjoyed his characterization of the some of the characters including Hicks, Hudson, Vasqueaz, Bishop and Apone. There are some characters that don’t have I’ve not heard of Hope’s narration before but I have to say that I’m appreciative of his performance and look forward to hearing more of his work. But I will say that for something like this it would’ve benefited to have had 4 or 5 performaners because of all the different characters. (3 out of 5)

I’ve really enjoyed projects by Alan Dean Foster and he’s got a good way of fleshing out movie based novels. Foster has incorporated several deleted scenes from the film as well as fleshing out more of the dialogue, which I found to be quite intelligent in its delivery. The pacing was handled well enough to give an engaging story while exploring the characters and their actions. Foster also does a good job of building the suspense and drawing it out effectively. The action sequences are described well enough to be chaotic but at the same time easy to follow.

Like many of other fans I was really disappointed with the lack of profanity with the dialogue, which feels completely watered down. Even with Hope’s great performance, the dialogue (which is derived from some of the most memorable lines in the film franchise) just comes off sounding odd. A bunch of aliens start wiping out your comrades, I’d expect some profanity here and there. Despite this, Foster’s writing is good. (4 out of 5)

In the end, Aliens: The Official Movie Novelization is one of the best audiobooks I’ve ever listened to. It captures the feel of the movie and with Foster’s writing and Hope’s narration, delivers a great experience. Really, the only nitpicks I had were the lack of additional content I think would’ve benefited the story and the lack of profanity. Still, the characters are great, the writing is good, the story is excellent, the narration is good; it’s just a good adaptation of a great movie. Aliens: The Official Movie Novelization gets 4 out of 5.