Customer Reviews

Labyrinth (Aliens)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I read this book in 2000 when I was just 12 years old. I read my old review and found it really sketchy and childish (hey, I was 12!) but surprisingly everybody found the review helpful.

Anyway, I had a look over the book again the other day, and I must admit that S.D Perry did a great job at creating an immersive, strange story. The ending to the book is quite depressing but is an anti-climax, so although I felt pretty bad about it, it was an ending I didn't expect, which is fantastic! To write a Sci-Fi book on such a popular franchise must be extremely difficult, and I think S.D Perry has executed this book with great gusto. He clearly has a great knowledge of the series and has an ability to write extremely well, and evokes real and honest emotions through his careful technique. You certainly feel a connection with Crespi and other characters as well; and when something happens to any of them you truly feel a sense of sadness or loss. In my opinion, that is the mark of a masterful writer. Perry certainly gets 10/10 for his execution of the story.

The storyline is also complex, unique and immersing. You certainly won't get books like this very often, so it's undoubtedly worth the read, even if you just get it from your local library. I can still remember some scenes and situations from the book that have stayed with me since the 7th grade, and now I'm finishing High School! It really is just fantastic.

So "Aliens: Labrynith" gets 4.5/5 or 9/10. It isn't suitable for young readers (even though I was 12 when I read it. Ee-hee!) It's a great introduction to the books or the franchise and reveals alot about the human society and the Alien Social structure. A very good read for fans of the Alien Series and Sci-Fi fans alike...

Aliens Labyrinth is an outstanding tale , probably the best spin off novelization from the original movie bloodline. I don't want to give the plot away too much but as the name suggests there is a labyrinth ...the story itself, the scenarios tightly weaved , the sharp twists and turns and surprise ending . I personally found that much of the 'horror ' of the story disturbed me immensley , It captures the original desperate spirit of the original movie and expands upon it ,leaving your skin cold and blood chilled. Here is an important detail ... I'd like to commend JIM WOODRING for writing this truely outstanding story , when you buy this novel you may note in the small print a mention of his name , alternatively you could look out for the original graphic novel version of this book , beautifully illustrated by Kilian Plunkett and proper credit given to the storys true author . The SD Perry adaptation of the story is fair enough , in many ways it reminds me of Karioke but in a literary way.

Aliens Labyrinth is an outstanding tale , probably the best spin off novelization from the original movie bloodline. I don't want to give the plot away too much but as the name suggests there is a labyrinth ...the story itself, the scenarios tightly weaved , the sharp twists and turns and surprise ending . I personally found that much of the 'horror ' of the story disturbed me immensley , It captures the original desperate spirit of the original movie and expands upon it ,leaving your skin cold and blood chilled. Here is an important detail ... I'd like to commend JIM WOODRING for writing this truely outstanding story , when you buy this novel you may note in the small print a mention of his name , alternatively you could look out for the original graphic novel version of this book , beautifully illustrated by Kilian Plunkett and proper credit given to the storys true author .

This is a truly creepy novel. The way the Aliens are portrayed is astounding. I am a huge Alien fan and I must say, this book impressed me. The ending where Crespi and Sharon McGuinness were in the maze with the Alien drones running around was awesome. And Paul Church is truly a freaky character. If you're into the Alien movies, comics etc. this would be a great book. I especially like Crespi and Churches flashback scenes to their previous encounters with the Alien. This is a definite must read.

The novelazation of Aliens: Labyrinth is amazing. It is a must for all "Aliens" fans. This book explains much of the biological information about the terrifying creatures. Despite the fact that I haven't read the comic, the images of events are clear in my head.

I love the whole ALIENS mythos and I've seen all the movies and read all of the novels. S.D. Perry offers some of the best contributions to the series, in my opinion, and LABYRINTH is outstanding. Perry does a great job of combining gritty sci fi with pulse pounding horror; important elements that contributed to the success of the films. Highly recommended.

Aliens Novels: Book 6, Labyrinth / 0-553-57491-4

After suffering through the poorly written and almost-identical-to-one-another Genocide and Alien Harvest, I have to praise "Labyrinth" for returning to the basics of the first three books of the series and for understanding what really drives the suspense and terror in the alien universe. "Labyrinth" has the closed spaces and the inability to escape that is so crucial for suspense. When a space inhabited by aliens isn't closed, but rather entered into voluntarily (see "Genocide" and "Alien Harvest"), the reader doesn't feel pity for the victims so much as open contempt, doubly so if the reasons for deliberately exposing themselves to such danger are stupid, greedy, and ill-conceived. Perry seems to recognize this, and returns us back to the basics of Nightmare Asylum and Alien Resurrection by giving us a mad scientist intent on betraying his own race by feeding his fellow humans to the aliens for 'breeding' purposes.

This sense of betrayal and horror is crucial to the series; a fact that all the aliens movies explored thoroughly. As horrific as the aliens are, there reaches a point of saturation, where the prospect of being eaten or used as a breeder is no longer as frightening as it once was, at least in part because the shock aspect has dissipated. A mad scientist who mutilates his subjects in horrific ways provides much-needed shock value, plus the added horror of being used as an experiment against your will, unable to die (even breeders have the certainty that eventually their suffering will end), and that even if you somehow find a way to die, your body would still be horribly desecrated. Add to that the potent sense of outrage, that a human would so deeply betray his race, whilst other humans would meekly facilitate his madness, and you have the nice makings of a thriller. Stick all that on a remote space station, add a thick layer of mystery to the whole proceedings, and your book practically writes itself.

Unfortunately, Perry's writing style in this novel seems extremely mediocre. The style is jumpy and self-conscious, often trying to manufacture suspense by simply not telling the reader what is going on. Scenes of discovery read like something akin to (paraphrase): "She walked into the room and her heart suddenly leapt into her chest. All her worst nightmares had come true. He really was insane, a madman, and this proved it. She just couldn't believe what she saw. No, really, this is huge - very, very big - and you are just going to die when you read what she saw. Are you ready? Ok, here it is..." and so on. Perry doesn't trust the reader enough to reveal terrors openly and without a fake "suspenseful" buildup, a technique that becomes tiresome quickly.

Perry has also tackled the classic "Why isn't the main character catching on when the reader already has" hurdle that writers so often face by falling back on the standby of making the main character too stupid to tie his own shoes. Really, you can't have your main villain doing the literary equivalent of cackling frequently, twirling his mustache, and insisting that people call him *DOCTOR EVIL*, and then have your main character just totally fail to catch on without him looking like a complete moron. I understand the intent, the desire to set up a dichotomy where we are forced to confront the advantages of immoral research versus the importance of doing the right thing, but it just doesn't work and the writing comes off as blunt and ham-fisted.

This is probably as good a time as any to note that Perry also seems strangely interested in sexual violence and violence against women. She is very fond of using the concept of rape in hyperbole, as in "his nose was raped by the stench". That's.....one way to put it, I guess. She's also very intent on having the (often hysterical and screaming, despite being a trained marine) heroine being physically choked and lifted by more powerful men, particularly if they have a sexual interest in her. As a reader, I could have done without this recurring aspect of the novel.

My final criticism of Perry's writing style is that she seems not to understand the concept of Chekhov's gun: that if an object or concept is introduced in a story, it must be utilized by the end of the story, or else it ought not have been there in the first place. Perry provides the good guys at the very beginning with a perfect trump card: they have complete and total backing by the military hierarchy to investigate the mad scientist and do whatever they deem necessary to stop him, which is a big change from the usual 'little guy bucks the evil establishment' theme. However, the fact that the good guys never use their trump card and indeed never even *consider* using their trump card, is incredibly frustrating and pointless. The fact is, the trump card is never again mentioned outside the opening chapter, so it should have been removed entirely. If a trump card is introduced it MUST be used, and if it is not, then there at least has to be a very good reason why not. This never-again-mentioned trump card also completely undermines the "bad" ending that this book ends on, because if the mad scientist was already under suspicion and investigation, he wouldn't escape detection indefinitely, nor would he be able to frame the good guys in any way that would 'stick' after a full investigation. So, basically, we get an unused trump card which makes the good guys look stupid (because they have forgotten its existence) and makes the ending completely implausible. Why?

Having said all that, here are the things I did like about this book: First, it was creepy and scary, like a good aliens book should be. There's a lot of good suspense, and the evil scientist surprises are pleasantly horrifying (even if the main characters do stubbornly refuse to recognize obvious evil for what it is). Second, the entire book moves at a good clip. There are a whole lot of flashbacks, but they are nicely done and with a plethora of skin-crawling details, so that's a plus. Third, the term "royal jelly" does not, to my knowledge appear anywhere in this book at all. I am so very glad to see that we've decided to drop that fruitless side-plot and get back to the basics: which is that being kept in suspended state, unrelieved by death, for all eternity in order to suffer horrible mutilations, gruesome experiments, and painful alien invasions on your body is extremely and satisfyingly creepy.

~ Ana Mardoll

This book has by far the best story line of all the books i have read so far. It might not be the same for most but i can bet that the majority who reads this classic alien story will absolutely love it and look upon the writer and story in awe and wonder. An excellent read with great written action sequences accompanied by good character use. I am not giving away any of the story and will only tell you that this book will surely get you expecting the unexpected. Read it if you will!

On the space station the Innominata, ilegal experiments are being carried out; with humans as the subject. The breeding of Xenomorphs is taking place, and unsuspescting marines are disappearing as a result of this. Eventually one marine, Anthony Crespi is sent into a manufactured labrynth of aliens with only his wits to assist him.

I thought this, although similar to the usual conspiracy idea was an exellant book, the crisp art making it an even greater enjoyment to read.

On the space station the Innominata, ilegal experiments are being carried out; with humans as the subject. The breeding of Xenomorphs is taking place, and unsuspescting marines are disappearing as a result of this. Eventually one marine, Anthony Crespi is sent into a manufactured labrynth of aliens with only his wits to assist him.

I thought this, although similar to the usual conspiracy idea was an exellant book, the crisp art making it an even greater enjoyment to read.