Aliens Omnibus Volume 4 (v. 4) [Paperback]

Various (Author, Artist)

Book Description

Series: Aliens Omnibus | Publication Date: June 24, 2008

Like sports, the victor is he who wants it more. Unlike sports, the loser earns extinction! Mankind has fought for survival over countless millennia, but nothing has threatened humanity's existence like the murderous Alien scourge. While some have tried to use the creatures' deadly abilities to serve their own selfish ends, no one can dance with the devil, and ultimately only one species must prevail. To that end, men have turned their own lethal instincts and cold intellect against the monsters, creating engineered plagues, cybernetic fighting suits, and even bogus android aliens, but survival rides not on technology, but on the primacy of the most deep-rooted, feral instincts.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Dark Horse (June 24, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593079265
• ISBN-13: 978-1593079260
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #628,139 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I'd Like to Teach the world to sing in PERFECT HARMONY, December 5, 2008

By 

TastyBabySyndrome "Matthew Lewis, author of M... ("Daddy Dagon's Daycare" - Proud Sponsor of the Little Tendril Baseball Team, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Aliens Omnibus Volume 4 (v. 4) (Paperback)

Omnibus 4 has a few really great pieces wrapped within its lining, making me glad I decided to once again read them. Since no listing exists at this time, here we have (1) Music of the Spears, (2) Stronghold, (3) Frenzy, (4) Taste, (5) Mondo Pest and (6) Mondo Heat.

Out of these, I would have to say that I am inclined to side with Music of the Spears first and foremost. I say that both because it has a rich texture and because it has something odd to offer the Alien world. As Aliens are found almost everywhere by now, it have obviously become a crime to keep one - despite the fact that many collectors do. Aside from the dangers that are obvious in that statement are more subtle things: to keep one, a person would have to themselves be dangerous. They would have to feed the beast and love the beast and keep it stocked with live bait because Aliens do not like dead prey. A person would also have to have a reason, too, and the reason here is quite evocative. Here we are dealing with a musician, a great one, who wants to do something profound. In order to create that perfect concerto, one would have to have the perfect instrument. As one takes more and more of the very essence of the Alien into them (AKA Royal Jelly), they begin to understand that the most beautiful sound is not something they can create but something they can manipulate. An Alien: The perfect musical host. This read is too enjoyable to say more other than to read it and wonder what is more monstrous - the man or the musical mandate?
I also like Taste in some of the same rights because, simply, it is odd for an Alien issue. I can't say much about it because it is easily ruined. So, instead, I'll say it is fun little get together with a little heart that bursts a long way.

Nest on the list is Stronghold. Stronghold is a story of something besieged and what it means to try to stay alive. It has a lot of action elements, shows a nice face on the art plateau, and makes the reader happy with a little depth and a lot of motion. I personally liked it over things like Frenzy because it had characters and, well, characters make worlds go round. Speaking of Frenzy - or Berserker as it is better known-, it introduces M.a.X. and explains a little of the Hive dynamic to people out there. It isn't complex - many of the stories are not - but it is a nice little page rage and it makes for something good to read.

The Mondos - well - they are decent IF you get past the art. I liked them because all pieces in this universe add something and they are forgotten ones that a person will not find just setting about. They are also good to have because, simply, there are not enough stories involving the Alien and people. Granted, this is a goofy look at the Alien and, in some ways, defeatist to what Aliens tried to be for so long. Still, you have to remember that these were Dark Horse's little gifts to a big world and many of them had to laugh at themselves.
So take the Music and the Tatse, enjoy the middle selections, and dance like a monkey on a bender while reading the rest. Having these stories is great and that is a beautiful fact. I had to break a wallet to collect these myself once upon an ago and, looking back now, I'm glad I did. That said, having them at a great price is certainly better and I recommend all the sets because of that. Besides, missing the one containing "music" would be dire.
Read it and just maybe I won't slip a facehugger in your bedroom as a joke. Dismissed.

5.0 out of 5 stars Aliens Omnibus 4 is a complillation of 6 great artistically talented stories on the murderous feral alien scourages themselves!, July 8, 2010

By 

Peppercorn (sydney australia) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Aliens Omnibus Volume 4 (v. 4) (Paperback)

Aliens Omnibus Vo.4 has nearly four hundred story pages in full colour, as usual fantastic art work a couple of stories never before shown. Creators Chet Williamson known for his horror stories, John Arcudi, Dough Mahnke, Jon Wagner and many more this book was a collaboration of many my great writers great minds. The stories in this omnibus are 6 in total Music of the Spears, Stronghold, Frenzy, Taste, Mondo Pest and Mondo Heat. . The cover of volume 4 is exceptional it conveys exactly what it's all about. A great book with different stories great artwork fantastic writing. My favourite story by far would have to be Music of the Spears, it' by far the most unique and unusual of all the stories in this book. In this story Al iens have almost become collector's items mainly because it's illegal to keep any. Aside from the dangers that are pretty obvious, but to keep one a person would have to be a raving lunatic. They're not exactly a common household pet, they have strange habits especially the face huggers. In this story we are dealing with a musician little known, rather underrated, who wants to do something not done before. In order to create that perfect concert one would need the perfect instrument. As he takes in more and more of that miracle essence royal jelly,from his own hateable music company called synosound his thought patterns become entangled with the perfect which sound which becomes what is not what can be created but what can be manipulated from it. He wants to hatch an Alien egg and nurture it in captivity and capture its sound of hatred and pain, he nicknames this alien Mozart. This is a story about one man's (Ramon) decent into obsession and madness of music. Stronghold Phillip and Joy are on a routine run delivering a shipment to Grant Corporation. Here they realise that there's more to Nording a biotechnologist than meets the eye. This story is very much a representative of Harvest. Here they are producing synthetic alien characters out of synthoid , and it's because of this that the progression of synthetics have stood out most of all to create for serving mankind's surival. This story has lots of action and motion. Stronghold is a story of something besieged and what it means to try to stay alive. It also introduces the complexity and the dynamics of the Alien hive. Frenzy instead is a story about a 5 man strike team which is sent on a single mission to destroy the Aliens, but when they land they will land right in the middle of a full blown hive that is the beginning of their unfortunet nightmare. This story was Beserker and the title of the name was changed. This story needless to say is full of action no character interaction and just lots of action in it for staying alive. Frenzy is an epic in which has hives numbering in the thousands,which have face huggers in it for swarming out of every corner and elevator shafts out of each and every corner and then there's finallyMAX he's a mobile assault exowarrior sent in with a human inside and equpped with a pulse rifler and grenade launcher in it and because of this he was sent in by the army marines from the company which is called ds49 and in the end they are sent by the five membered crew to dstroy the frenzy hive.Frenzy is exactly as its name implies which unfortunetly in a rotten way is blood and gore of guts. Taste is a short strange story. A giant Alien creature gets an Alien egg hatching throws it on a grill for consumption. Mondo Pest Herk Mondo the famous Alien hunter is back once more. He answers a distress call and finds himself in his favourite spot in the middle of his favourite targets. Mondo is a nasty ex marine with an extreme hate for Aliens. Mondo Heat is again about Herk Mondo. There's a major infestation of Aliens no marines in sight but then there's Herk only problem is he's completely unarmed in the middle of the biggest infestation he's ever had to deal with, and that's not all he has to deal with he's got an active volcano almost ready to explode right under his feet. As Herk Mondo is a cool kinda person he's calm throughout the entire ordeal. For him it's just more of the same. He's got Aliens to kill farmers to save and volcanoes to escape for which in the end unlike sport the loser becomes extinct and happily earns his reputation for being victorless!