Tag: Aliens

Alan Dean Foster – Aliens | Review

Title: Aliens

Author: Alan Dean Foster

Type: Fiction

Page Count: 250

Rating: 3.75/5

This book is the novelisation of the second Alien movie, and it’s actually a pretty good read. Foster is a well-known and well-loved novelist in his own right, and before picking up this and Alien, I’d already read Midworld, which is my friend Todd the Librarian’s favourite book. That was great, Alien was great and so was this one.

The only real flaw for me was that it’s a little top heavy and so the last twenty pages contain the most climactic scenes. But at the same time, I can see how this could happen when you’re writing a novelisation based upon a movie. Movies and books work differently, and it’s kind of noticeable here.

Still, Foster’s writing style combined with the original script make for a compelling read, and I was impressed again by the way that he was able to bring the story to life. His writing style is super evocative, so at times you feel as though you can smell the stench of alien blood burning its way through steel decking.

Of course, the downside is that by this point, most people have seen the movie and so they already know what happens. That kind of gives it the weird sensation of being a re-read even if it’s the first time you’ve picked it up. That’s not a bad thing though, and I thought it was decent.

Click here to learn more about Aliens.


Oli Jacobs – The Children of Little Thwopping | Review

Title: The Children of Little Thwopping

Author: Oli Jacobs

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 160

Rating 3.75/5

 

 

This book was a riot, although it’s also not for the easily offended. It follows a bunch of debaucherous young gentlemen in 1950s England when for some reason, everybody’s wives all become pregnant and the babies turn out to be aliens with laser beams for eyes.

It’s not necessarily the most realistic of books, but it is pretty entertaining and it reminded me of a sort of comedy horror take on something like The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham. I also think it was just the right length, because it would have been easy to make it double the length and to dilute it. I think that the story line could have stretched and so could the humour, but with the two of them together, I thought it was just right.

 

 

Click here to buy The Children of Little Thwopping.