Customer Reviews

War (Aliens Vs. Predator, Book 3)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

After years of bemoaning David Bischoff's awful AVP: Hunter's Planet, I was delighted to find that the thrid novel in the series would be written by a Perry once again. But unfortunately, as I turned the last page, I had to admit, after such a long wait, I felt cheated. While she handled her three marine character well - especially Ellis, the comtech turned cyberdemon - Ms. Perry was forced into the trap Dark Horse comics had set for her. She portrayed the Predators as evil. No code of honor, no only killing those who are armed. Just slaughter. And while having Machiko sympathize with the alien Queen was interesting, her ignorance on the hunting ways of the Preds seemed farfetched, coupled with a thread-bare plot and too many annoying, one-scene characters. Now I don't want people not to read this novel, because it is entertaining up to a point and has is far superior to the previous novel (which this book merrily contridicts left, right, and centre!) But Ms. Perry had done much better. Hopefully, next time, she'll get to write the novel we want to see, with all of the BS Dark Horse currently produces nothing more that a memory. Until next time, I guess.

To start off, I'll clear up what appears to be confusing some people, and then I'll write the review. This book takes place BEFORE Bischoff's Hunter Planet. It fills in the time when Noguchi was with the Predators, before she rejoined human society. So there.

Now, the review -- This book, frankly, stunk. Picking up right after Aliens: Berserker, a year after AvP: Prey, and two years before AvP: Hunter's Planet, War was just a short, silly, boring waste of time and money.

The characters from Berserker were still the same, still recognizable, but with roughly ninety pages to divide between the three of them, we just didn't get enough of them. Not to mention that through 2/3 of the book they were just sitting in an escape pod...As I've said, the only part of this book, besides the cover, that was any good was the two pages or so of Nirasawa and his revenge programming. Good stuff.

This book has so much potential, and it was just a huge dissapointment to read. I'd recommend staying away from this one.

This book is for anyone who knows anything about Aliens or Predators or likes Mrs. Perry. It is a real treat to those of us who have read Aliens: Berserker. This book does start off kind of slow but begins to pick up pace later. Even with this factor you'll never want to put it down. It is a great addition to any sci-fi library. Plus it actually explains AvP: Hunter's Planet I think it was? Anyway...pick up this book if you're into S.D., Aliens, Predators, or just science fiction...it won't disappoint.

I really liked this book, actually stayed up till 5 in the morning to finish it. S.D. Perry is unquestionably the best author in the Aliens and Aliens vs. Predator series and this book doesn't fail to dissapoint. The characters are strong, the action is graphic, and the atmosphere is dark and disturbing, just the way an Aliens novel should be. If anything, my only complaint would be that it was too short. She could have developed the plot a lot more, but it's a small enough complaint. Another review mentioned the error that was made in the timeline. I noticed it too, but honestly didn't care. I thought "Hunter's Planet" was awful, worth forgetting about. For anyone who hasn't started this series yet, read Aliens vs. Predator: Prey first, skip Hunter's Planet and read Aliens: Berserker instead.

When AVP:War came out by SD Perry after 4 yrs when she wrote the first AvP: Prey novel, I was overjoyed that she came back to write another novel. Gee I was sorely disappointed. The book failed to follow the timeline of the series. The Predators were underated, the Marine main characters overated and overemphasized, and you hardly ever see Machiko (hardly had a role and her character was misdeveloped) in the book. Some of the Pred characters are back from the book Hunter's Planet by David Bishoff. But how can that be (Those who read Hunter's Planet would know what I mean). Aliens were harly in it either. Lack of consistency with the AvP novel timeline as well as lack of species development; as well as a lack of character dev. and epilogue in addition. I have been a AVP fan for a long time and well I was dismayed to say the least. Maybe she should go back and write Resident Evil novels, she wrote those well anyway.

Where only the fittest shall survive, humans stand the slimest chance of all..

Machiko Noguchi (from the TPBs AvP Hunter's Planet and AvP Prey) lived for the thrill of the hunt. She ran with the Predators until her human ingenuity marked her as an outcast. Now the thrill is over. Meanwhile, Jesse, Lara, and Ellis, remnants of a bug-hunter team (from TPB Aliens: Berserker) that wiped out an alien infestation in a Company space station, know too many sevrets to be allowed to live. They are being set up by a ruthless ambitious Company boss who will stop at nothing to silence them forever.

An outcast human hunter and a trio of bu hunters. They are the most unlikely allies. Yet on the spamp planet Bunda, they must join in a desperate fight. Company hit-squads are already moving for the kill. Fearsome Predators are heading for a showdown with a ferocious colony of aliens. And between then stand four brave warriors in an all-out war between the galaxy's most savage life-forms - a war nothing human can survive.

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 bought this book saturday and I already breezed right through it. I really wish it was a little longer...almost every scene in the story seemed fast paced.
Yes, there were some parts of the book that I liked; the character Machiko was pretty likeable, but that's about it.
There weren't to many other characters in the story that you could get attached to.
I also didn't like how the 'Predator' characters were written; almost as if they were "chauvinistic" men. But I guess it made sense(in a way), given that Machiko was both human and a woman; so you gotta add some conflict of discrimination.
It's not a bad a book... if you're a 'die-hard' fanatic of AVP you're probably like it a lot. But if you're new to the franchise, I recommend you read the first book and pick up this copy later; that is, if you're interested in finding out what happens after 'Prey.'

Of course, the first one is always best. The second was alright. This one isn't bad either, just has a major plot hole. I think the difference between this book and book 1&2 is the action. This lacks ALOT of action that the previous books had. The real action didn't really start til the end. Anyway, this story takes place BEFORE book 2 in the timeline. This should have been book 2 instead. Bottom line, I only recommend this book if you're a HARDCORE AvP reader and curious to know what happened to Noguchi before Hunters Planet. But I warn you, you will be disappointed because of the MAJOR plothole.

After having read AVP: Prey, I followed reviewer Seth's advice from below and read Aliens Berserker and AVP War in sequence. I couldn't put either of them down! The descriptions of the MAX dealing destruction to A's and P's alike are really vivid, painting pictures in my mind...Perry rocks! I recommend the entire trilogy, but like others here, I wish there had been some Predatorial 'diversity of attitudes' in the 3rd book.