An aging soldier who knows far more than the young Colonial Marine’s he’s paired with, Wilks easily wins the adoration of readers. Wilk’s own disillusionment also rings true. Billie’s journey falls squarely within this vein. So much of the Alien(s) franchise has been about psychological terror.

Perry’s development of the Newt-like Billie, particularly her PTSD as an adult and her struggles to find meaningful relationships, is compelling. Fans of the films will definately enjoy this story, particularly those who grew up in the 80s and spent six years imagining what came after Aliens. What the Novel Does WellĮven though it’s not literally an alternate future for Hicks and Newt, the novel essentially provides a statisfying narrative that does exactly that.

However, the novel does end somewhat ambiguously as it is only book one of a trilogy. How Wilks and Billie navigate the challenges of their mission and respond to unexpected crises is the bulk of the narrative. Their task-capture a specimen for the government’s weapons division.Įventually, chaos ensues, and as the title suggests, a Xenomorph infestation begins on Earth. An expert will be needed.Īs the story progresses, Wilks rescues Billie and the two undertake a mission to what is believed to be the Xenomorph homeworld. Weyland-Yutani refuses to push for a discharge however as the company and the government believe another encounter with the Xenomorphs is inevitable. Similarly, Colonial Marine Wilks has struggled since surviving the rescue mission on Rim, abusing alcohol and routinely ending up in the brig for fighting. When Billie refuses to deny what she knows to be real, she is schedule for a lobotomy. Doctors run medical experiments on her and try to convince her that her memories are symptoms of psychosis. Having survived a Xenomorph infestation on a colony known as “Rim,” Billie has grown into adulthood within the confines of an asylum. Synopsis Like Newt, Billie survived a colony overrun by Xenomorphs. As such, the story exists within the canon of the films, but essentially plays out a fan fiction wherein the two survive. As a result, the novel, which released at the same time as the film, follows Wilks and Billie, two obvious stand-ins for Hicks and Newt. However, when Alien 3 released in theaters, the two beloved characters met a darker fate. Steve Perry’s novel is based upon the spin-off Aliens comic Outbreak, which follows the two characters. One of the earliest novels outside of the original novelizations of the screenplays, Aliens: Earth Hive is a thrilling “what if?” narrative that explores a potential future that Hicks and Newt might have lived had they not died in the crashed lifeboats in Alien 3. Publisher: Titan Books, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Aliens by Steve Perry