Grim but Gripping

First of all let me just say - this is a dark and unrelentingly grim tale. It's the story of the colonists on Hadley's Hope, LV426. Without giving spoilers, we know what happens here. Everyone dies. It's quite an experience hearing a narrative unfold when you kinow the end fate of everyone. Like I say, it's bleak, grim and somewhat depressing. But if you're a fan of the Alien franchise then you like that sort of stuff so don't wimp out now!

The story tells the tale of the colony, focussing on the Colonial Marines, The Weyland-Yutani scientist on the planet and the Jordan family. As we know from Aliens, Russ Jordan is the one who gets a facehugger and Newt (Rebecca Jordan) is the lone survivor. We get to know the Jordan family, which is a very bittersweet experience. We get to know all the players in the drama.

It starts off fairly slow but by the final 3rd of the book the tension is almost unbearable, the sense of dread almost overwhelming.

There are also some scenes with Ripley, lifted straight from Aliens, Maybe would have preferred some different scenes of Ripley back on earth from what we know already but it gives an interesting counter-narrative to remember that while all this is going on at the Colony, Ripley is back on Earth all broken.

The narration is workmanlike. Lacks the gravitas of some of the other ones in the series but once you get used to him he's ok. He's a southern boy (Texan?) so basically a lot of the characters are as well which does grate at times, as does his woman's voice which at times is a bit silly. Newt also can be a bit annoying at times but shes a 6 yr old child so I guess that's just realism! He does a few different accents which he actually pulls off well. If you bear with him his quirks are easily bearable.

Overall this is an essential, untold story in the Alien universe that stays with you and dare I say haunts you long after you've finished. It brings a human element and human narrative into the Alien Universe that was maybe lacking before. Also the pure narrative is such a powerful one, to know that everything ends horribly and know that's the journey that you're on. I can't believe they haven't made it into a movie yet, you could easily make this into a badass movie with some minor amendments

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enjoyable

loved the link between Alien and Aliens, good story. I would recommend to any Alien universe fan.

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a good prequel to an excellent film.

I was a little confused at the begining as to what story I was listening to. Soon realised the initial chapters were giving more depth and context. The story itself takes a bit of time to get going, but when it does it's well worth the wait. If you ever wondered what happened to the colony on Zacheron, this is the book for you.

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Great for alien fans

If you love the alien franchise you will love this book tells the story of what happend on lv426 before Ripleys return with the marines and the downfall of Hadleys Hope

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Narrator ruins Ripley

So this narrator thinks all women, but especially Ripley, speak like breathless little girls on the verge of tears all the time. It's so frustrating - has he that low an opinion of women? Do we all sound like that to him?
Story itself is fine, standard Alien fare - I'm listening to fall asleep so I'm not looking for literary excellence, and since I've never written a novel, I'm not going to critique something that sells so well.

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Amazing listen, Alien lovers will enjoy this

Amazing story and fills in the blanks that we see at the beginning of Aliens. Would have loved for this to be made into a film, rather than the odd deleted scenes of Hadley Hope.

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my favourite yet

This was great to see what happened before Riply was asked to go back to the planet as an advisor. I got to like and dislike many characters.

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Great story and excellently read

Really enjoyed it, I've already read the book and enjoyed the story, but I think that being able to listen to it being read to you gives your imagination more freedom to see the story .
The book is very well read.
I enjoyed this version even more than the audible original live action radio play version.

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2 people found this helpful

classic aliens

gripping tale well read. nice descriptions of events. developing characters hold engagement. easy listen not to gory.

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The untold story of Hadley's Hope

I really enjoy these looks into other parts of the Alien Universe. I couldn't help but feel sad listening to the colonists, knowing their fate. Great story. I'll never watch the Aliens movie the same again.

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1 person found this helpful