Customer Reviews

Prey (Aliens Vs. Predator)

5 star:		(79)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Before the AvP movie, there was the Alien/Predator crossover found in comics by Dark Horse and then brought to paperback form by Steve Perry. All the books in this series takes place in the future while humans are settling on new planets. Here we have Machiko Noguchi conducting her business on a hot wasteland world for the Coporation. Predators, the species called yuatja, have begun seeding the planet with alien eggs so they may perform a Hunt. The Hunt is a right of passage for young yuatja to join the warrior caste. Sure enough, the humans on the planet are caught in the middle when the facehuggers begin using their "cattle" beasts as hosts. During the Hunt, and older predator/yuatja is injured, found, and brought back to the settlement. This sets up the alliance formed by Broken Tusk (the predator) and Noguchi.

This book is the beginning of a fun series. We get to see into the predators' background and society in a way that doesn't make them look evil and nasty like the movies. They are honor-bound but still a warrior based society. We are further satitsfied by being able to learn various words of the yuatja language without going all Klingon-geekfest on it (no offense meant to those Trek fans out there reading this). It's a well done book and a great adventure that goes deeper than the comics. You can also pick up traces of the story that influenced the writing for the movie AvP set in modern day. Noguchi and Lex (from the movie) are very similar characters in these circumstances. Well done and the other books are just as enjoyable.

After the interesting but poorly executed Alien trilogy by the Perrys, and a well executed but uninteresting Alien novel from Bischoff, I was fairly skeptical when I came to this one, but it was worth it.

This was easily the best book so far in this Aliens/Predator series. The aliens are an unknown threat who are to be "contained until the Marines arrive." The colonists are just normal people, not Marines or, in fact, essentially armed at all except for a few personal sidearms.

But where this book is really interesting is in the exploration of the Predator, or "Yautja," culture. While occasionally their thought processes are a little too human, that's okay, because they are biologically similar.

The action is fun and fast, the characters interesting, and, if not perfectly believable, they aren't bad either. The confrontation with the Queen was a little anticlimactic, but other than that this was a really good book.

Definitely recommended.

This series contains 3 books: Prey, Hunter's Planet, and War. The first and third are absolutely spectacular. The writing is fantastic--beautifully descriptive, with believable characters, and most importantly, they fit seamlessly with both the Alien and Predator universes. The second is a different story--Hunter's Planet certainly isn't the worst book I've ever read, but it's far inferior to the other two in this series. It is an enormous let-down, both in terms of writing quality and just plain fun. It makes all Machiko's adventures in Prey seem meaningless, and the behavior of both the Aliens and Predators just doesn't feel right, doesn't feel like things they would actually do. (Note that the first and third have the same author; the second is different.)

This is going to sound peculiar, but I recommend reading the first and third and skipping the second, and not just because of the differing quality of the novels. The events of War actually take place between Prey and Hunter's Planet, and War is perfectly readable without reading Hunter's Planet. In fact, several scenes that were told in flashback in Hunter's Planet are RETOLD in War, only told far more descriptively, and even with important events completely altered! If I had the chance to start over, I would skip Hunter's Planet entirely.

I have read many science-fiction novels, and I rank Prey and War among my absolute favorites, worthy members of the Aliens and Predator franchise. On the one hand, it's like getting more of the movies--more terrifying bugs, more awesome Predators, more battles, more excitement--and on the other, there is a lot of fascinating new information about the culture of the Predators, things I always wanted to know but never thought I would. I love the star character, and appreciated the fact that she wasn't the typical mindless sci-fi babe. If you love Aliens and Predator, you might find Hunter's Planet mildly interesting.

(As a side note, the AvP movie borrowed a LOT from these books :)

I just finished this book today and I've got to say that I really enjoyed it. True, it's not really a very complexly written piece, but this facet merely adds to the fast pace and unrelenting tension in the book. Steve Perry doesn't go to great pains to describe heavy detail, but this allows you to use your imagination more and ensures that you're always kept interested.

At the end of this book you feel a strong connection with each character, and what surprised me the most is the connection you feel for the main Predator, Dachande. Perry creates believable characters that all act according to their past experiences and beliefs - for example, Machiko Noguchi is trained in Karate and has obviously suffered great pain in her past (that Perry reveals early on in the book) that causes her to be seen as a steely, cold individual. Dachande is a noble and highly respected Predator, skilled in the ways of the hunt and is certainly wise, agile and knowledgeable. He too has suffered loss in the past; and we even get the impression that Dachande is very close to a human in terms of his thinking and even his feelings. Both characters are strong-willed and determined, and "Aliens Vs. Predator: Prey," we see how the two will ultimately have to depend on each other as their fates become inextricably intertwined.

We also learn alot more about the Predator culture: one thing we learn is that the Predator Society is built strongly around the concept of honour, bravery, strength, skill, wisdom and agility. We also see that some young Predators (such as Tichinde) are rather aggressive and head-strong; just as many human youths are. We learn that Predator females are much larger than the males and, according to the law of averages (and possibly a feminist movement on the Predator homeworld), that they are usually smarter than the males. The reader is also given a greater insight into the language of the Predator: here are some terms that you may want to use: (Skip this if you like)

1) Thwei - Blood.
2) Da'dtou-di - Small Knife (female form)
3) S'yuit-de! - *Some form of curse*
4) tarei hsan - Alien Drone
5) kainde amedha - Aliens or Xenomorphs
6) te'dqi - Alien Secretion or resin
7) z'skvy-de - A hosts convulsion before a chest-burster's birth.
8) ki'cti-pa - Wristblade

That's most of the terminology from the book. As you can see, the Predators have a very involved language involving many clicks and sharp sounds, much like that of the Khoi-Khoi people in my country, South Africa.

Many unpredictable things occur in this book, and many of the people you believe will die actually don't (although some deserve it, such as Ackland.) There are a few plot twists and you'll feel a sadness for those characters that perish, especially the ones you get to know well. Steve Perry is able to create attachments between the reader and his characters; and also manages to create some epic battle scenes. His technique gives you the idea of a frenzied, relentless and truly tiring battle; and as you read you'll feel that you too are in the battles between the 3 races.

There's action, irony, dark humour, sadness, adventure and an interesting plot with many twists and turns along the way. Steve Perry starts off this Saga excellently and that's why I give "Aliens Vs. Predator: Prey" a fat 95%. My only complaint is that a few more humans got their asses kicked, but it's minor. So if you like action-packed Science-Fiction with interesting characters and an inspired tale; then Steve Perry's "Aliens Vs. Predator: Prey" will be exactly what the doctor ordered. It's a must read for any Predator and Alien fan alike - so go on, get it out your local library or steal it or buy it, it's a good, exciting read and it won't disappoint! Long Live AVP!

This book was realy realy good because it has all the elemants i like in a book. It started pritty slow because they where just beggining it but in about the middle of the book it bacame realy action packt and violent if you like that kind of book youl like this one.

I bought this book in 94' or 95' and have had to since purchase a new copy due to wear and tear on the original. I have had numerous people ask to borrow the book from me, and am more than glad if it will bring them into the Aliens/Predator world. Everyone I have introduced to the book has purchased it and others, but I for one still see this as the best of the best.

This is such a great book. If you are a AVP fan you should definitly read this book. This book is very good comparing to the movie which just came out. So i would suggest if you really want a good AVP experience you should read this book rather than spend $10 on the movie. I am have done filmmaking before and if I were to direct the film i would rather turn this book into the film. So read this book and find out for yourself why this book is so good.

Aside from the suggestive and strong language used in this book, I really liked it.
So much so, that I read it a second time.
I never really read to many science fiction novels, but this one really grabbed my attention. I would love to pick up the other two sequels of this book and take a look at them.

This is the type of science fiction book that you just can't put down, there is just correct amount of mystery, action and gore to make this a fun reading experience. The scene is set on a farmer's planet where colonies of ranchers live. The people raze animals for meat and sell them to people, the farmers don't make that many sales so when they here that they are about to make there biggest sale ever they are excited because it will hopefully propel them out of a time of poor economy. Little do the people know that orbiting there planet is a race of intergalactic hunters known as Predators, and they have decided to hold a hunt on there planet. All hell breaks lose when the predators drop alien parasites down on the planet to start the hunt. And it's up to a small quiet girl and a lone predator to take out the alien race and save the small planet.

I thought that this is a great action science fiction book and it's easy to read too. There are some dry parts throughout this book, but they are quickly followed up by intense fight scenes between two of horror movies most favorite characters. This book has nothing to do with the flop of a movie that fox churned out this past summer, and if they had followed this story line it probably would have done a lot better in the box office. I am also a fan of the writers of the books Steve and Stephanie Perry, who wrote another good book that was based on the Resident Evil video game series.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves science fiction, action or fans of the Alien and Predator series. If you like this book you may also want to try reading one of the other Alien VS Predator books, but this one is by far my favorite out of the three.

i bought this book thinking that it was a graphic novel,and i felt disappointed after realising that it's not. so i decided afterwards to finish reading it fast.but to my surprise ,i ended up liking it.
i wanted to give it a five star,but the fact that it's an adaptatoin from a graphic story by randy stradley and chris warner,and that it's written by two people, a father and daughter team,steve perry and stephani perry,changed my mind.
the story.human colonization of outer space,a planet called ryushi,a wrong choice, for we discover later that the predators use it as a training ground.the human with their cattle and ranches,the predators with their aliens fox hunting.the ranchers don't like their female japanese boss.a young predator warrior doesn't like his captin.discoveries of both sides , the aliens break loose and the plot thickens.
what i really liked about the book is it's depiction of the predators army life ,their language and the human encounter ,especially on pages 164 and 165.this form of greeting,placing the right hand on the left sholder of a friend and shaking it slightly,is used by sudanese men in sudan africa.i don't know if the writers know that or not.
an enjoyable pulp.