We win wars. Yes, the build-up to the apocalypse-style ending is admittedly a slow burn, but this makes the journey all the more worthwhile.
What makes this such a great Alien novel is the characterisation. Also, it would not be a halfway decent Alien novel without some level of kinkiness to it. Instead of conducting research like a good Weyland-Yutani drone into weaponising the snatchers, Blue instead has a pet project on the side to seek a cure for her own disease, which will ultimately be the key to unlock a host of other genetic disorders.
Here her efforts are focused on the face hugger, and how the parasite enters its victim: Plagiarus praepotens is the ultimate builder, able to rewrite and reconstruct organic matter in seconds. Blue is interested fascinated by what happens to the host at a molecular level: It first became apparent at the moment of impregnation.
The fleeting heat of a molecular change within the oesophagus of the chimpanzee, not a larva or worm placed into the subject, but a set of complex chemical instructions that went beyond the intricacy of anything humanity had ever seen. It is also an uncomfortable, but obviously completely unintentional, reference to the current Coronavirus pandemic sweeping the world.
And the reader quickly gets the feeling that Blue is obsessed to the point of losing all ability to see the bigger picture. Especially when another type of virus altogether comes into play. However, Weyland-Yutani quickly notices that the Cold Forge is bleeding money and not producing results as per its ongoing investment.
If that sounds extreme, the key to a good Alien book is that you have to paint in broad strokes. Dorian is a thoroughly detestable character, with no redeeming qualities whatsoever. Indeed, his Damascus Road moment at the end has nothing to do with personal redemption, and everything with self-immolation.
Actually, none of the characters are that likeable, human or alien. That White is able to inject some frisson of energy and excitement into his descriptions of the creatures is testament to his writing chops. This is an extremely well-written and thought-out book, and just goes to show what happens when you let somebody loose on the IP who understands what makes Alien, well, alien. Sep 04, Ethan rated it really liked it.
Among their projects is one to weaponize the Xenomorphs, of which the station has many in an ultra-secure system of kennels. The kennels, unlike most of the ship's systems, can only be opened manually by a human, and there are automated gun emplacements trained on the exit doors at all time In Alex White's Alien: The Cold Forge , a group of technicians, programmers, and scientists develop weapons for the Weyland-Yutani Corporation in deep space on a station called RB, a.
The kennels, unlike most of the ship's systems, can only be opened manually by a human, and there are automated gun emplacements trained on the exit doors at all times. The Xenomorph project, codenamed "Glitter Edifice", is headed by Doctor Blue Marsalis, who has run into a stumbling block in her research.
As the station's projects have failed to be profitable or produce tangible results, Weyland-Yutani dispatches an auditor to the station to analyze its operations and either find a way to make it profitable or shut it down. But things are not what they seem. One or more of the crew have their own motives in mind. A containment failure occurs, and Xenomorphs are soon loose on the ship. But who freed them, and why? Can the crew survive the Xenomorphs and come up with a plan?
And more importantly, can they survive an even greater threat that could destroy them all? The first pages of the book were unbelievably boring. The book actually started to get interesting pretty much exactly pages in. This means that over one-third of this entire book is boring, as it's only pages long or at least the Kindle version is.
I really disliked some of the characters, for different reasons mainly Lucy and Blue Lucy just cries all the time, swears angrily at people she needs anger management training , and generally has a permanent deer-in-the-headlights look on her face.
Blue on the other hand becomes an OK character over time, but she suffers from a million and a half health problems and is portrayed as a bit of a victim. These health problems also make her a very depressing character to read, as the reader is constantly told about new problems she has, and about how she is incredibly frail and basically has one foot in the grave.
Why you would throw a character like that into an Alien novel, where you have to be tough and ruthless to survive, is beyond me. That being said, there's a lot to love in this book. One of the characters starts out as a sociopath and becomes a psychopath over the course of the book, and this was portrayed brilliantly, and to bone-chilling effect. The author must have done a lot of research into these personality types.
White's greatest achievement with this book, in my opinion, is that in a book where Xenomorphs are loose on a spaceship, killing off a crew who are helpless to escape and ill-equipped to fight them, the deadliest threat on board isn't even the Xenomorphs. White manages to create a threat far more terrifying and far more potent than the Xenomorphs, and this, in my view, is very impressive.
If you're a fan of the Aliens franchise, this is a must-read. The story can be a bit repetitive at times, with crew members being sent out amongst the Xenos time and again to fix this or that system and to get this or that back online, but the writing is sharp and the story original, and besides a sleep-inducing first hundred pages, it's a captivating and terrifying thriller the rest of the way.
Nov 03, Bradley rated it really liked it Shelves: shelf , sci-fi , horror. Let's put this book into context, shall we? I didn't expect too much because it is, after all, a horror in an SF setting just like the movies.
We have a cross between Alien 3 and Alien 4 without so much of the goofy, with Weyland corp still being the bad guy, and very few actually likable characters. Stir, mix, let steep in some xenomorph stew, wait for the stupid humans to do something nasty, perverse, and generally unlikable.
Honesty here: I was pretty bored by the formula leading up to the alien breakouts, with a slight exception to Blue, who suffers from a massive degenerative disease and who also uses or abuses a synth. Maybe I wanted something rather more One thing I can say about the newer canonical movies is that they broke new ground even if they kinda broke the cannon and some credulity. But, in the end, I did end up enjoying the human monster twists, the glorified horror, and the bloodshed.
Should anyone expect anything more from movie-universe tie-ins? Maybe not. Jun 03, kartik narayanan rated it it was amazing. Game Over, man, Game Over! Welp, that sentence doesn't come in the book but Alien: The Cold Forge manages to hit all the other beats from the Alien movies, especially Aliens.
A:TCF is a sleeper hit. I picked it up with low expectations since there have been so many hit or miss productions with this property.
But, I ended up putting a night out just to finish it. This shows just how awesome it is. It takes all the elements that work, from Aliens, and manages to put a unique twist on everything. Yo Game Over, man, Game Over! You will be able to recognize the inspirations but you will also be able to appreciate the uniqueness of the presentation in the book. And this book has a further surprise. It has one of the most reprehensible villains ever written.
But, secretly, I started rooting for this person. And I feel, this is how the character should have been played in the movie too.
In addition, heroes becomes villains and vice versa. Overall, if you are an Alien fan, this book is a must read. Go for it. Oct 28, Holly The GrimDragon rated it it was amazing Shelves: the-infinite-library , fantasy-sci-fi. She washes him in her fantasies, wringing every last drop of ecstasy from his bones, and showing him that he's been missing from her station life for far too long.
He is startled. He is aroused. He is accepted. I haven't read the newer canonical Alien trilogy, but I dig all of the novelizations, for the most part.
In fa "She shoves him down and shows him all the wonderful things her body can do, devouring every inch of his flesh. In fact, the first Alien is in my top movie novelizations of all-time!
For me, Alex White produced something that both pays homage to the spirit of the franchise, yet their style also results in something wholly original. Two of them have fallen behind and the third is running out of funding. We soon find out that RB is shrouded in secrets. I'm sure you can figure out what the mystery may revolve around if you know the formula for Alien! HINT: Xenomorphs! The thing with Alien is that it has proven time and time again that mankind itself is the real horror.
As Lovecraft once said, the oldest and strongest emotion is fear. Because of that, people behave fucking terribly, whether from some form of fear or misanthropy or because they are just shitty humans. Truly, people are the scariest monsters and always will be! White writes utterly vile yet diverse characters within this book. I struggle to think of a single likable person. The closest to a protagonist that we are given is Blue, a doctor that is suffering from a degenerative disease that leaves her bedridden.
She uses a special interface that allows her to control an android body to move around in, which gives her such a unique story. However, it's hard to sympathize with her because she's.. She is driven by desperation to save herself. Ripley, she is not! Between her and the wank stain that is Dorian, there isn't a lot of altruism going on. But that works for this story.
For this hostile setting. I loved that so goddamn much, which is rare for me. I tend to find a character or two that I gravitate towards and want to cocoon them in my skin forever, but I loathed these assholes! Seriously, some of the most downright despicable characters that I've ever read. And I read a lot of fucked up shit! That's not to say that the Xenomorphs don't play into the horror. Because they do. There are some gritty, brutal, squishy scenes in this that are fucking gnarly.
It's glorious!! The Cold Forge was fucking grimy and chaotic and violent and compulsively delightful! Blue is forgotten about by the other fleeing crew, so she crawls out of bed and into a wheelchair, making for the escape pods. She picks up Khambili along the way. Aliens board the Athenian however, killing the crew and causing the ship to rip a huge hole in the docking area. Several people are killed including Khambili and Cordozo. Blue is stuck at the crew end of the station and Sudler and group of others are stuck at the SCIF end.
Blue goes back to her room and recieves a message from a nearby ship that they can rescue her as long as she brings a specimen. She links to Marcus, who is in the hive programming a Powerloader to also be piloted by Blue. It took no time at all for me to hate the Suit sent by WY, and most of the other characters.
Just felt like very self riotous, narcissistic dirt bags. And for being an Alien book, they didnt have very much of a presence to me. The suit felt like more of a threat than the alien did most of the time.
And yeah A;CM mentions cancer, but nothing about the implant if I recall. Unfortunately I do not possess the book, was a mighty little too expensive when it came out.
It was quite awhile ago, so I obviously misremembered. The only other source it came from that I know of, is AVPR behind the scenes, which during an interview, has someone talk about the life-cycle and theorize that facehugger could implant a virus. Will have to have a quick glance back over the WYR. Woah…seems that Alien literature has really found its sweet spot lately.
The distance to RB and the time it took to get there. I read a draft of this months ago and get very anal about continuity — and I think this fits just fine. Looking forward to reading this very much.
I am a touch disappointed about the lack of explanation for where the eggs came from. It does seem to disrupt continuity. I did kind of like how the company never actually got their hands on a sample until the end of Sea of Sorrows which then pretty much led directly into the Rage War. Is there a reason why this particular story needed to be set in , or could it have worked just as easily as a stop gap between Sorrows and Pred Incursion?
Those are high marks Hicks. Great review. I know what you mean about earth hive and nightmare asylum. They were the first of the novels I ever read as well. They were actually what got me back into books again.
If Cold Forge brings that kind of quality and excitement to the table, I really look forward to reading it. Menu Register. I say they let Alex write more Alien stories! But yeah, that cover art needs to change! I was really disappointed with the book myself. While i did like making the company the antagonist, the aliens felt very underused. The only character i really liked and felt bad for was Marcus and a few minor named characters.
This is the best Titan novel thus far. Please type in your email address in order to receive an email with instructions on how to reset your password. A dramatic new Alien novel, as Weyland-Yutani seeks to recover from the failure of Hadley's Hope, and successfully weaponize the XenomorphsWith the failure of Hadley's Hope, Weyland-Yutani has suffered a devastating setback-the loss of the Aliens they aggressively sought to exploit.
Yet there's a reason the Company has risen to the top of the food chain. True to form, they have a redundancy already in place Remote station RB has become their greatest asset in weaponizing the Xenomorphs. However, when Dorian Sudler is sent to RB to assess their progress, he discovers that there's a spy aboard-someone who doesn't necessarily act in the company's best interests.
For Dorian, this is the most unforgivable of sins.
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