Customer Reviews

Aliens: DNA War (Aliens (Dark Horse))

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Sorry some readers didn't like the new twists, but readers should realize that any media tie-in book like Aliens, Star Trek, Star Wars is a collaborative effort between the publisher, studio, and author. In the case of the different behavior of the aliens in this book, I was specifically asked by the publisher to come up with some traits, methods, abilities, behavior that had not been seen before. Some readers also did not like Star Trek TNG: Ship of the Line, in which Kelsey Grammer's character returns for more than a cameo, suggesting that I was infatuated with the momentary appearance and got carried away. In fact, I never saw the episode with Kelsey Grammer's appearance. I was asked by the franchise licensors (Pocket Books and Paramount Studios) to write a book with that character as a main character in response to fan enthusiasm, so I did. Be aware that content in media tie-in books is not always solely the conception of the author, but part of a marketing plan from those who own or license the property.

Authors cannot arbitrarily enhance or alter these owned properties. Each book must be approved by the owner or licensor before it can be published, and therefore becomes a kind of "canon." I'm somewhat surprised that long-time fans and frequent readers of licensed properties are tuned in to every micro-detail, yet don't know that their beloved venue is tightly controlled, and not by the authors.. Apparently many reviewers are not aware of the cramped box within which professional writers must work. It's hardly a "whim" business. What readers find in these books is not always the author's idea.

PS I am not giving a star rating to the book, because I'm the author; I only put "3" because the review menu required it.

Aliens Novels: Book 11, DNA War / 978-1-59582-032-7

In my review for Original Sin, I noted that all its predecessors in the aliens series have relied on one of two overused plots points to drive the story - either (1) mad scientist experiment gone wrong or (2) military cannon fodder stomping into a nest to retrieve a MacGuffin - and I congratulated "Original Sin" for being a bright and shining exception to this rule by providing an original plot line. Unfortunately, "DNA War" falls back on old habits, returning us to a tired mad scientist plot line for something like the eight time now, with the only 'innovative' additions being a complete disregard for established alien canon and a narrative style that seems better suited to a B-movie hard luck detective.

The complete disregard for the previous aliens books is disconcerting - aliens are now a mysterious and largely unknown threat, as opposed to those-buggers-who-nearly-wiped-out-humanity for which every schoolchild has at least a passing knowledge and a healthy respect. Possibly the author-imposed cluelessness is supposed to forestall the inevitable "why are the protagonists being such idiots?" question as the moronic crew stumble about blindly getting into danger, but author Carey can't figure out how much she wants to commit to the widespread amnesia. For example, the crew seem vaguely aware of the chest-bursting aspect of alien births, and they are also aware of the existence of aliens on the planet, but when confronted with a large number of human corpses with exploded rib cages, they wonder loudly and at great length whether the scientists 'went crazy' and murdered each other. So if the break from canon was done to forestall the crew from looking like idiots, we're looking at a pretty epic failure in that regard.

While we're on the subject of non-canon, now is really not the time in the series to introduce flying face-huggers, let alone to claim that alien warriors travel by curling into a ball and rolling about the countryside like a particularly deadly cheese wheel. The point at which hordes of aliens combined into a giant 'death ball' to roll over the countryside was the point at which I felt that we had not merely abandoned realism, but had actively tied it up and tossed it over a cliff. Carey has also heard just enough chemistry to be dangerous and has decided that the incredibly dangerous alien acid can be instantly neutralized by any old "can of base" that might be lying around. (This isn't the only soft-science to be had - the marine ship also carries a crew of genocidal robots programmed to wipe a planet clean of any creature whose DNA isn't native to the planet, a weak plot device to construe the robots as being just as much a danger to the humans as to the aliens.)

While I'm not ignorant of the fact that with a novel franchise, the author du jour may not have a massive amount of control over, say, the fact that the cookie-cutter plot has been massively overdone already or the alien details are incredibly stupid, the one thing the author does have control over is the quality of writing. Here is where "DNA War" really disappoints - fundamentally, Carey just does not seem able to write well, even to the point of basic sentence construction. Her subjects and verbs don't merely fail to agree, they're actively locked into a vicious custody dispute over the objects and prepositions. And while it's not uncommon for the characters in an aliens novel to be pulled from the science fiction horror stereotypes bag, Carey's characters are so over-stereotyped that I'd suspect a clever and subversive parody if the rest of the writing was good enough to support such a charitable interpretation.

To wit, the plot revolves around a tough, rugged, manly, wiry, B-movie detective stereotype heading to a planet infested with aliens in order to retrieve his mother who is oh-so-subtly-named 'Jocasta'. But it's okay, because he doesn't *really* have an Oedipus complex - his obsession with his mother is one of love AND hate rather than just love. Author Carey subscribes to what I call the "Jim Butcher school of writing", and thus protagonist Rory can't help but break the narrative constantly to look directly at the reader and remind us how tough, awesome, scrappy, and unbelievably cool he is. He's a man's man, who doesn't play by the rules, and he isn't above such 'clever' narration as "The idea was to bring him to justice. Instead, I cut his arms off and let him bleed to death. Oops."

Anyway, Jocasta and her gang of scrappy scientists have come out to this planet to observe the aliens. They've been here for awhile, although Carey can't decide quite how long - for instance, she says that the aliens were discovered on the planet three years ago and that's when Jocasta's team was dispatched. However, it takes about a year and a half to travel to the planet, so apparently Jocasta was sent off and about the time she ARRIVED at the planet, the mission was declared overdue and a rescue team was sent off the next day. Whatever, the point is: son Rory has a court order telling the scientists to stop their research and clear out and, faced with a court order and several marines with very large guns, the scientists naturally decide to sit down and have incredibly long-winded discussions about the morality of exterminating aliens. It's all riveting stuff, particularly with Jocasta strutting around cackling loudly and wearing a shirt saying "I am an evil, murdering psychopath". Before stuff can hit the fan, a local alien war breaks out, the practical upshot of which is that the aliens won't kill or impregnate the humans until after the alien war is settled and to the victor will go the spoils, allowing the humans to walk unmolested amongst the aliens at critical points in the storyline. And if that little twist strikes you as so remarkably coincidental as to put the most blatant Deus Ex Machina to shame, you're not the only one.

Despite the incredibly bad plot and cringe worthy writing, "DNA War" does manage to be slightly entertaining at times, at least more so than the snore-fest Music of the Spears, which I still consider to be the worst of the aliens series so far. But I simply don't recommend "DNA War" - only the most die-hard fans will be willing to wade through the terrible writing, but the die-hard fans are the ones who will be most offended by the exchange of alien canon for silly gimmicks.

~ Ana Mardoll

Aliens: DNA War is a very well-written book, but has a few annoying and corny short comings.

It is a very well-written book. The characters are captivating, well-described without actually being described, and very easy to actually bbe cared about. I found myself upset when certain characters died. The story is well paced and detailed. I especially liked that, as the reader, I wasn't aware that I was reading an "Aliens" novel.

I only find a few problems with the book. The story adheres to the standard "Aliens" template. The main character is a broken, dark person caught along with a rag-tag crew on a ship. There a company who put the gears in motion (PlanCom) and the crew is investigating an installation on a planet because the installation hasn't been heard from. Then aliens attack, people die, and so forth.

I was also dissapointed in the fact that there were few original twists to the Aliens saga. The book tended to keep to traditional aliens hazards (i.e. face-huggers, chest-bursters, and drones) another similiar danger is the lead scientist, Jocasta Malvaux. Like in many other aliens stories (the movies, Nightmare Asylum, many others) Jocasta is obsessed with the aliens and thinks they can be trained.

However, I am an "Aliens" wonk and I found it entertaining anyway. The thing that made the real difference for me was the writer. Diane Carey is an excellent writer. I am not exaggerating. The book was very captivating, I read it in two sittings. The writing really saved it and made it fun. At first I was skeptical because she was new the the alien mythos, but Diane Carey rises to the ranks of the Perries.

I know it sounds like I complained a lot, but this books good points outway it's steriotypes, though I do have one more small complaint (spoilers ahead). The main character, Rory Malvaux, has a hatred for things that fly. This hatred is discussed frequently early on, then forgotten about. This leads on that it will come to play later on in the story, obviously around the climax. It does, however, minimully. The face-huggers sprout wings in the final battle, but aren't emphasized as a threat as much as I assumed they would be. Also, the worst part about it is Rory's hatred doesn't seem to stem from anywhere. He describes that flying enemies can't be predicted, but how can someone hate things that fly; it is such a broad catagory. Clearly, it is a corny writing tool used to make the flying face-huggers scarier, but failed.

Still, that was such a small aspect of the book that I didn't recognize it until a week later. A WEEK LATER! If an "Aliens" book can keep me thinking about it a week later, than it clearly was worth the price. This book was a fun read. It absorbs the reader into the story and is written amazingly. THe only short-comings were is "Aliens" cliches. Regardless, its a great read for "Aliens" fans. All complaints aside, it was a fun-fest of aliens and I loved it!

If you are an Alien(s) fan then this book will keep you interested. Well written and keeps your attention. One of the best in the Alien(s) series.

A good fun read. I enjoyed it and it kept my interest. Not the best I have read but not the worst by far :) If you are an Alien fan, you will def enjoy.

I agree with another reviewer. Read this one immediately after finishing Original Sin. This book is far superior. The characters are fully fleshed out and interesting. Also, I enjoy the changes in the Aliens, as one of Original Sin's faults was that it just copied what happened in the first movie.

Here we get an interesting concept, new characters (both likeable and unlikeable), and we get to observe the aliens along with the researchers.

I am a huge fan of Aliens & Predators and thought this book was excellent. My husband and I read it simultaneously, each grabbing it and ducking into a quiet room to hide. I have read so many re-hashes of the same old thing... We really enjoyed the twist with this one--the mystery of the aliens' agenda. The only thing that my husband and I both were fooled by... in the beginning--until the author actually mentioned that the main character was actually a HE, we both assumed the main character was a SHE by actions/dialog. We actually had to flip back and re-read prior pages to figure out why we were led astray. In any case, great book... I have donated many paperback alien/predator books, but this one has definately earned its place on our forever bookshelf!

Great read for any scifi/horror fan, a very decent storyline and great suspense from the get go. Excellent story, characters were perfect. More books like this should be written.

Aliens: DNA War is Dark Horse Press' second book in its newly launched Alien prose series, a engaging novel far superior to the first volume, Michael Friedman's Original Sin.

What makes DNA War so much more enjoyable is that it ignores the revisionist history of Original Sin and avoids Ripley and any established characters. Author Diane Carey has noted in an interview that the events here take place following Aliens 3, but that is not so easily discernible from reading the manuscript. That's to its benefit as you can forget about continuity and enjoy the story. And as DNA War offers interesting characters, mystery, suspense, and action, that isn't hard to do.

Carey uses the first-person detective narrative to tell the story of Rory Malvaux, an Earth police investigator acting as legal officer on the Vinza's mission to Rosamund 6, a planet targeted for human colonization, plans that are now in jeopardy due to the arrival a few years past of the Xenomorphs. A research team sent to evaluate the situation hasn't been heard from in months and Rory is on hand to assess the legal implications of the Vinza's mission - certifying the death of the research crew or evacuating what remains of them, as well certifying conditions for launching hundreds of mobile, self-directed, armed robots to hunt down and scour the planet of Xenomorphs.

But when the Vinza arrives, Rory and the crew find that the Aliens are not the only problem. The researchers have succeeded in surviving and want Rory and the Vinza crew to leave them to their studies. In fact they are determined to stay in order to prevent the launching of the robots (which can't distinguish humans from Xenomorphs), putting Rory in a legal bind. Making his job all the more difficult is that the researchers are led by his mother, Jocasta Malvaux.

DNA Wars never lags, weighs in at a comfortable 270 pages, and with the first person narrative there is no cutting back and forth to different locations and characters. I found myself on more than one occasion disappointed that I had to put the book down for the evening. About the only distraction were a few too many 20th century colloquialisms and a rather silly scene toward the end borrowed from hundreds of comic books in which the hero is caught in a crossfire but manages to escape by having his opponents kill each other. Canon mavens may be annoyed by a couple of new behavioral adaptations attributed to the Xenomorphs.

Otherwise, this is an excellent Aliens novel. Carey has indicated that she hopes to write further adventures in Dark Horse's new series. I hope she has the chance.

Despite the fact that all the life has been taken out with ectreme prejudive by Aliens on Rosamund 6, a Dr. Malvaux has an idea that most people would scoff at. She believes the alies can be reasonsed with and, after reasoning with them for a while, they will not attack someone. This does not go over well with quite a few people but, when her son comes to find and save her, he discovers something equally odd. Since the aliens have not attacked her, she refuses to leave the planet. She thinks that this is the one chance for her to prove what she has thought for so long or, at worst, die with her thoughts racing on the "why" behind the alien's actions. So here these people are, a planet filled with xenos and a scientist that will not leave them, wondering what will come next.
Such happy tales.

While many people have seen this book and did not enjoy it, I found the book a good read and thought it was done well. I do agree that the ending was somewhat staged and was probably tampered with, and I know that happens quite a bit when it comes to franchise monsters. That is a sad truth but a turth nonetheless, but this tinkering does not lessen everything the book offers.

Within the book you have more of an opprotunity to look at the alien itself, to study behavior, and to see the world that has shaped around this beastie. Had it had been for the alien, for example, Earth would not have had its stretch of bad luck, people would not have found out where the alien came from or how it got loose, and they wouldn'yt know about control experiments and how the alien communicates. The Hive Mothers, the telepathy; all of that is something that people have found out and, here, you add on a layer. And the payer that is added - I think it is of interest.

also in the book is a story that is strong and characters that are strong as well. It takes a lot to try and deal with the meanest of the mean and yet some people do, whether through foolishness, pride, or lots of other emotions. Part of the fun is finding out that "why" in question. also included are some plots that twine, some motions that make good stories in and of themselves, and a whole lot of other things that add to a greater whole. This makes a reader like myself happy because, in the past, it seemed the franchise was dead. Life after death deems to be the mentra for the beasts, however, and these books are hit quite hard by people who forgets that companies, not writers, control the final cuts.
Still, these are good stories.

Check it out, judge it like you would a franchised beast, and see if you like it. If you don't it is understandable and, if you find something to write home (or reviews ) about, great. Expect the writer to be pushed and the book to have places you might not like BUT expect good things as well.
This is the way the books sem to be - expectation is the thing that powers what you recieve in the end.