Alien Isolation - NovelReview (2019)

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Originally published on dreamcage.com

Release date: July 2019
Writer: Keith R. A. DeCandido

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The Promise

One of the saddest things about Alien isn't that Ellen Ripley lost her crew-mates aboard the Nostromo at the hands - or jaws - of a vicious killing machine, it is the heartbreaking fact that she never returned home to Earth in time for her daughter's Eleventh birthday, and that she never got to see Amanda "Amy" Ripley EVER again! In Aliens DIRECTOR'S CUT we get to view the moment when Carter J. Burke, junior executive for the Weyland-Yutani Corporation, reveals that Amanda Ripley-McClaren died at the age of 66, two years prior to Ellen being found in deep space. She had died of cancer. However, what we as viewers never got to see was Amanda's own personal journey. Until now...


"Dallas wants me on the Nostromo, and they just took on a big contract to bring cargo back from Thedus."

Titan Books have published some terrific titles in the Alien catalogue, my favourite being Alien: River of Pain. However, there had yet to be a title covering Ellen Ripley's lost years, those being her 57 years absent in hypersleep aboard the Narcissus.

November 2137, the crew of the salvage ship Anesidora discover the flight recorder of the commercial space tug Nostromo, which had now been missing for 15 years. Altering course, the Anesidora goes to LV-426, the last known location of the missing ship. Those familiar with Alien won't be too surprised when things turn sour and one of the Anesidora crew gets attacked by a facehugger. With no time to lose, they leave the planet and head to Sevastopol Station where they hope to find help.


"Sevastopol's a supply depot in the region. It's a permanent freeport facility."

While repairing a Lagdamen X34 land buggy, engineer Amanda Ripley is told of the fortunate black box discovery by Christopher Samuels, a Weyland-Yutani Corporation employee. At first sceptical that the information could lead to yet another dead end, she eventually agrees to board the USCSS Torrens and head for Sevastopol. This being Alien, nothing goes to plan and Amanda finds herself trapped on board the space station among armed civilians and a deadly monster stalking the corridors and ventilation system. Her single goal: to locate the flight recorder and find out just what happened to her mother all those years ago.

As the book proudly states on the cover, Alien Isolation is an "original novel based on the hit video game" of the same name from 20th Century Fox. The game was a 2014 first-person survival console experience developed by Creative Assembly, it was published by SEGA for various gaming platforms such as PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One and PC. Once it was announced that a book would be released based on Alien Isolation, however, you can just imagine my excitement. Author Keith DeCandido, who has written a plethora of sci-fi works including media tie-in books such as Star Trek as well as his own fiction, was tasked to adapt the game. Titan Books couldn't have chosen a better writer. What you get with Alien Isolation the novel is a lot more than just a mirror image of someone else's work, he literally adds depth to the back story of Amanda Ripley. We get to see her childhood, and the moment when she had to say goodbye to Ellen before that ill-fated trip aboard the Nostromo. DeCandido also includes a scene one month before her eleventh birthday when her stepfather Paul gets the news that the Nostromo is being declared "missing in action".

There are other inclusions that I will leave for you to discover.


Celebration and the Xenomorph

Titan Books couldn't have chosen a better time to release Alien Isolation. It is now 40 years since director Ridley Scott gave us the Xenomorph in Alien (1979). The franchise has exploded like a Chestburster, impacting on every media from movies to novels, comics and video games. And collector's merchandise. Though the movies first focused on warrant officer Ellen Ripley, played so perfectly by Sigourney Weaver, follow-up titles such as Alien vs. Predator (2004) and Prometheus (2012) have opened the door for other characters to confront the nasty saliva-dripping creatures.

Considering this is an official canonical expansion of both the game and Alien universe in general, what is there not to love? Published 30th July 2019, you'd be crazy not to board the Torrens with Ripley and explore Sevastopol.

Just pick up your motion tracker, and watch out for bugs.

You can pick this up, as well as other great titles, direct from Titan Books.

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Ash vs Alien Files #1 - The Curse of Ripley

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Ellen Ripley and the Xenomorph (ALIEN³)

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Many franchises seem to be a divisive issue these days, you can't afford to have an opinion without someone wanting to tear your soul apart. Thankfully fans aren't Cenobites, so no blood loss or physical torment. Mentally and emotionally, however, can be quite draining if you let it. The problem arises from passion, we're all passionate about what we love. And franchises are deeply loved by fans. So much so that many can't accept changes to their movie or television series, or embrace something that doesn't fit in with established continuity. They want more of the same, or complain that it is too much the same and when given a radical shift from the norm they complain that it's too different, and want more of how it was before.

Being a director can be a thankless job these days.

I've been obsessed with the Alien franchise since the late eighties, having watched Aliens (1986) for the first time on VHS. It was a breathtaking ride of sci-fi and horror, with plenty of action and state-of-the-art special effects. I had not seen anything like it. The Xenomorph was the stuff of nightmares, as it had meant to be. We were introduced to Hadley's Hope, a small colony on the moon of Acheron (originally named LV-426) after it had fallen prey to the aliens. Ellen Ripley (played superbly by Sigourney Weaver) was persuaded to return to the moon where it had all began for her - in Alien (1979) she had first visited LV-426 with the crew of the commercial space tug USCSS Nostromo, a nightmarish mission that would later see the deaths of everyone except Ripley.

While on Acheron for the second time, Ripley encounters a young survivor, a girl named Rebecca Jorden, known to everyone except her brother as "Newt". They immediately form a bond. This is one of the parts that I like most about Aliens, and Carrie Henn's performance is outstanding. "My mommy always said there were no monsters - no real ones - but there are, aren't there?"

Following this viewing, it was inevitable that I would delve into Ridley Scott's original 1979 masterpiece sooner or later. Funnily enough, compared to the busyness of Aliens, its predecessor felt a little... bare. One alien, no weapons at the crew's disposal except for flame throwers. It was a fun experience, though not one I warmed to instantly. In truth, I had been spoiled by the sequel, and had to learn to accept Alien on its own merits. This I eventually succeeded in doing, and I now regard the first movie as one of the best in the franchise.

In 1992 came the third and final instalment in what I regard as Ellen Ripley's trilogy: Alien 3, directed by David Fincher. This is where fans are split in their support and admiration. Many people have felt that it was wrong, insulting even, to kill Newt and Captain Dwayne Hicks off screen, instead casting Ripley to a prison colony to face off against yet another single alien creature. Surely two of the most popular characters from Aliens deserved better? Well, as much as I adore Newt, for me the first three movies were always part of what I refer to as the 'Shakespearean tragedy of Ripley', for it was Warrant Officer Ellen Ripley who was destined to be haunted by this nightmare as her life unfolded beyond her control.

Her daughter, Amanda, was only 10-years-old when Ripley took a job that would ultimately lead her to LV-426 (Alien). First tragedy, the loss of the Nostromo crew; third tragedy, returning home to Earth 57 years later after her "lifeboat" the Narcissus was found drifting through space by a passing salvage vessel, and learning that Amanda had grown old and died (Aliens).

Notice I skipped something? If you are at all familiar with Alien: Out of the Shadows (the first in a published canonical Alien trilogy) you will know that Ripley had actually been awoken thirty-seven years after her Nostromo incident, by the crew of the DSMO Marion orbiting LV-178, also called New Galveston. They, too, are being plagued by Xenomorphs and the reality of their situation, Ripley discovers, is that the vessel will burn up in the planet's atmosphere. Their only hope: the Narcissus! To complicate matters, they must replace the shuttle's empty fuel cell by going down to LV-178 to obtain fuel from a mining colony. On the planet surface - why is it never easy? - they face further aliens. You might be wondering why Ellen Ripley never recalls this encounter in further movies? Well, read the book and find out. Her experiences on the Marion is the second tragedy.

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The sacrifice of Ellen Ripley on Fiorina 161 (ALIEN³)

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Fourth tragedy, the massacre of Hadley's Hope and the marines that accompany Ripley to the moon. Newt is Ripley's connection to the colony, as we learn that the girl's family was killed (you can learn more about the fall of Acheron in Christopher Golden's Alien: River of Pain novelisation). There is a beautiful mother-daughter relationship between the two, especially when you realise that they have both suffered loss. Though not a replacement for Amanda, could Newt become the child that Ripley needs? This finally leads to tragedy five and six: Newt's off-screen death and Ripley's sacrifice (Alien 3).

It is clear that our protagonist was never meant to meet a happy ending. Those that she loved were taken from her, hope quickly snatched at every turn. And all because of the alien...

Alien, Aliens and Alien 3 (and Alien: Out of the Shadows) combined tell the extraordinary tale of a curse. This becomes even more significant when you take into account Alien: Isolation, a story that explains Amanda Ripley's own encounter with the Xenoporph. And don't get me started on Alien: Sea of Sorrows, this is when things just get weird...

I've omitted Alien Resurrection as this movie features Ripley Clone 8, and not 'the' Ellen Ripley. This is a different story entirely and one that deserves its own article.

Maybe.

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Women of Hollywood - Sigourney Weaver - From Alien To Rwanda

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Article author: Alwyn Ash
"At the right time, in the right light, everything is extraordinary"

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In this series of articles, Alwyn Ash takes a look at some of the most inspirational ladies to rise from Hollywood's light...

Born Susan Alexandra Weaver on 8th October, 1949, American actress Sigourney Weaver has won the hearts and respect of fans and fellow artists around the world, starring in movies to die for and becoming a positive role model for young women. 1979 was a particularly interesting year: the Music for UNICEF Concert took place in January, raising money for charity; the Albert Einstein Memorial, a bronze statue of the famous German-born physicist, was unveiled at The National Academy of Sciences, USA; and the first ever Star Trek feature film was released in theatres. But perhaps one of the most fascinating events to emerge was this unknown "little" movie called Alien.

Directed by Ridley Scott, the story of a sinister acid-for-blood creature at liberty aboard a spacecraft, killing its crew, turned one of its characters into a cinematic icon. Weaver played Warrant Officer Ellen Ripley, protagonist of what would eventually become a film series. In contrast to blockbusters of the time including Mad Max, Rocky 2, and James Bond: Moonraker, Scott's sci-fi horror gave us a woman who survives a hellish nightmare even when the rest of her shipmates are killed. Ripley is strong-willed and intelligent, her instinct for self preservation equal to that of any Xenomorph! And Weaver was perfectly cast. Relatively unknown, the Manhattan-born actress had only appeared in a minor role in a Woody Allen film before auditioning for a part in the 1979 feature.

American film critic Ty Burr once said, "One of the real pleasures of 'Alien' is to watch the emergence of both Ellen Ripley as a character and Sigourney Weaver as a star".

For over three decades Weaver has worked tirelessly, featuring in everything from Ghostbusters (1984), Copycat (1995), and Red Lights (2012) to Ghostbusters 2 (1989) and Galaxy Quest (1999). Her career has brought her back to some familiar places, and back to working with old faces such as director James Cameron. In 1988 she helped bring to our attention the terrible practises that resulted in poaching and brutality inflicted on mountain gorillas, in the beautifully-produced Gorillas In The Mist, directed by Michael Apted and filmed on location in Rwanda. The work undertaken by primatologist Dian Fossey (who was viciously murdered in 1985 while camping in the Virunga Mountains) was inspirational, and Weaver's performance simply award-winning; she returned 20 years later for a documentary further examining Fossey's work and the gorillas that had become so important.

In 2006, Weaver said of her diverse work, "Certain roles demand stepping out of one's comfort zone, maybe every role demands it". A passionate environmentalist, the actress became honorary chairwoman of The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, whose goal is the "conservation and protection of gorillas and their habitats in Africa".

Trickle Up, a programme founded in 1979 with the mission of empowering people living in poverty, had its 2008 annual gala hosted by Weaver. "More than 90% of Trickle Up participants are women, both because women’s access to capital is often restricted due to social and cultural constraints and because they consistently direct economic resources toward household needs. Trickle Up provides a pathway toward economic and social empowerment, helping participants build financial independence, gain self-confidence, and take on larger roles in their households and communities."

Sigourney Weaver is seen as independent and strong; a powerful representative of both Hollywood and women's rights. She clearly possesses passion, and empathy for the well-being of others. If the inspiration for Women of Hollywood has been a rise in feminism, of which I am a supporter, then who better an ambassador than a woman who has portrayed the independent and memorable? When talking about Ellen Ripley's creation, she has this to say, "I don't think the producers were feminists. In the original script, they were all men. I think they thought, 'let's change it up and make the survivor a woman because no one will ever think the survivor will be a woman'".

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Image source courtesy of imdb.com. Article © Alwyn Ash 2015. Quotes (if applicable) used for publicity purposes only; no infringement of copyright is intended.

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