Predator: Forever Midnight [Paperback]

John Shirley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 6, 2006

The year is 2117 A.D. Humanity has seized the stars, using reverse-engineered alien technology to explore the far reaches of space. For a hundred years, the Predators, sadistic extraterrestrial hunters, have been a dim memory. For a hundred years, we've been safe. That ends now. Cast in daylight for years at a time, the almost eternally lit jungle planet known as Midnight is the home to more than a thousand colonists, explorers building a haven on a new world. But the settlers aren't alone. The Predators have been on this planet all along. When the ravenous creatures attack an arriving spacecraft and capture the settlers as both slaves and prey for their hunt, terraforming the planet takes a back seat to a new fight for survival.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

John Shirley is an award-winning cyber punk and horror author, who also co-wrote the cult-classic film The Crow

Product Details

• Paperback: 250 pages
• Publisher: Dark Horse (June 6, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1595820345
• ISBN-13: 978-1595820341
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #802,890 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Painful to Read, March 15, 2007

By 

Ryan Trammel - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Predator: Forever Midnight (Paperback)

This was the first Predator book I had bought in about five years and my expectations were high but the book failed to deliver. The author completely abandons the 'yautja' backstory laid down by Nathan Archer, Steven Perry, Stephani Perry and others. This could have been overlooked if the story had been any good but instead we get a bunch of human and alien characters that aren't developed enough to care about what happens to them and then Predator children using mind control to make humans kill other humans. Does anyone really buy that the Predators that hunted Major Schaefer and Detective Harrigan would send their children to fight in their place?
The Predators aren't portrayed as noble warriors with a different worldview and value system but rather a bunch of nomadic planet-plunderers who enslave other races and steal their technology. Like an organic version of the Borg from Star Trek.
The humans aren't any better, generally being shown as a bunch of brainless, selfish malcontents.
Mr. Shirley goes back and forth between being provocative and preachy regarding religion, government, the environment and the military. It does not contribute to the story and just gets really tiring. Not to mention the poor dialogue.
I usually love anything to do with the Predator but Predator: Forever Midnight was a struggle to finish.

12 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars WHY????, January 16, 2008

By 

Dark Bulbs "For when it's too bright out" (McKinney, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Predator: Forever Midnight (Paperback)

THIS BOOK IS TERRIBLE! I'd never heard of John Shirley before eading this "book". I've been a fan of Predator for as long as I can remember, and this book is worse than having to deal with army of cockroaches on Steroids. The Creatures in this waste of paper are definetly not Predators, Yajuta, or whatever you please to call them. Reasons why they aren't
1.Predators do not change sexes! They are either Male or Female not both.
2.Their cloacking devices are not shields
3.They do not enslave other cultures
4.Predators have an honor code, they don't kill everything they see.
5.Whatever the hell I forgot to list

14 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Forever... Horrid., June 5, 2006

By 

B. Lindsey (Hobbs, NM) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Predator: Forever Midnight (Paperback)

The book IS NOT a good one. Forever Midnight flat out, is the most horrible book I've ever read. It completely contradicts the ENTIRE francise. Here are some notes over the book I made (without spoiling the plot line):

Apparently, John Shirley never read anything that reffered to the term, "Yautja" because in his book he says the true name of the race is, Hish-Qu-Ten (The People Who Take Territory)

Predator's are now... asexual? Going through cycles of hormonal changes that change deadlock colors and turn the males in females... When the gender shift happens, females carry eggs

Also, they aren't dreadlocked hair, Shirley refers to them as "fleshlocks"

Predators now also use "mindprobes" - and are very submissive to the "O Great Leader" (all of the damn O Great things the leader gets called are annoying as hell, but atleast you get to read from their point of veiw a bit)

Comics and novels before this one sometimes make mention that an unblooded does not hunt, in this book there are younger "spawnlings," around 65 years old... not 100. The Mindcontrol probes allow "spawnlings" to control humans to kill each other, as the book said, "like a videogame"

Predators now have "Kill-Glands" - that is what makes them kill. Cute, aye?

Preds also now hunt on "flying platforms"

They also show no honor in killing/hunting, they only do it for the "Joy of Hunting." Way to contradict even the AVP movie.
If you never read a predator book, I guess this would be good... it's written fantastically, but john Shirley, it seems like... just made a lot of crap up. Perhaps I am too used to the more comic-bookish novels, but man, atleast they stayed somewhat consistant.

...what I wouldn't give for Nathan Archer, or one of the Perry's to have written this.