Friday, April 26, 2019

Review: The Complete Aliens Omnibus Volume 7

Title: The Complete Aliens Omnibus Volume 7
Author: S.D. Perry and B.K. Evenson
Pages: 573
ISBN: 9781783299133
Publisher: Titan Books
Published: 24 December 2018
Genre: Science Fiction
Source: Review copy from publisher


Buy it from:
The Book Depository

CRIMINAL ENTERPRISE by S. D. Perry
Thomas Chase wakes up from cryosleep to his first day at a new job - as a pilot for a contraband drug company dropping a shipment on Fantasia, a planet hiding an elaborate drug manufacturing operation. Everything from synthetic heroin to MX7 is cooked here, in protected caves guarded by the savage Aliens. When Chase touches down on Fantasia, a chain of events begins that cannot be stopped. As criminals and competitors try to take over the drug empire from the dangerous kingpin, Chase and his brother Pete are caught in the crossfire... with the Aliens adding blood to the mix.

NO EXIT by B. K. Evenson
After thirty years of cryosleep, Detective Anders Kramm awakens to a changed world. The Alien threat has been subdued. Company interests dominate universal trade, with powerful men willing to do anything to assure dominance over other worlds. But Kramm has a secret. He knows why the Company killed its top scientists. He knows why the Aliens have been let loose on the surface of a contested planet. He knows that the Company will do everything it can to stop him from telling his secret to the world. Haunted by the brutal murder of his family, Kramm is set adrift amid billion-dollar stakes... with Aliens waiting around every corner.

This was my first foray into the world of Alien tie-in novels and it turned out to be a largely mixed experience. This omnibus contains two novels, Criminal Enterprise by S.D. Perry and No Exit by B.K. Evenson.

Criminal Enterprise by S.D. Perry tells the story of two brothers, Thomas and Pete Chase, who get forced into the seedy world of drug dealing. In order to save his brother’s life Thomas has to act as pilot, transporting drugs and personnel to and from an illicit drug manufacturing plant hidden on a barely terraformed world overrun with aliens. The xenomorphs are purposefully used as a security measure and when the manufacturing plant is attacked all chaos ensues.

Criminal Enterprise just didn’t work for me. I never connected with any of the characters, they all felt disposable and their inevitable deaths seemed certain. The pacing is uneven, mostly due to the odd focus on the sex lives of the plant’s ragtag crew consisting mostly of sex workers. When the action starts, people start to die by droves and everything happens too fast. The aliens are largely used as an afterthought and plays only a small role in the story The ending is predictable and while there is a redemption arc, it left me cold. An average read at best.

No Exit by B.K. Evenson delivered the goods in more ways than one. It drew me in from the start and had me engaged until the very end. When you think of the Alien franchise you think about the horrific experience of being trapped in confined spaces with the xenomorphs and No Exit manages to deliver on that traumatic, claustrophobic horror in unexpected ways. You actually care about the main protagonist, Anders Kramm, and the traumatic experiences he has gone through. The story takes unexpected twists and turns which will have you on the edge of your seat. While there are some rough spots towards the end Evenson delivers a captivating ride that remains true to the franchise with some truly horrific moments. Recommended!

The Verdict:
The Complete Aliens Omnibus Volume 7 is quite a mixed bag. I didn’t much care for the first novel, Criminal Enterprise, but the second story, No Exit, single-handedly redeems the omnibus. Evenson provides the claustrophobic horror you’d expect from the Alien franchise and then some!

The Rating: 6.5/10 (Good)

Thanks to Charlene from Jonathan Ball Publishers for the review copy.

Thursday, April 11, 2019

On My Radar: The New Voices of Science Fiction

There's nothing better than finding a brand new author whose work you can fall in love with from the very start. Short story anthologies are great for discovering new authors and The New Voices of Science Fiction from Tachyon Publications looks like it will be the perfect gateway to some of the newest, most vibrant voices in science fiction. (Plus who could resist a cute robot cover like that?!)


THE NEW VOICES OF SCIENCE FICTION
Edited by Hannu Rajaniemi and Jacob Weisman
ISBN: 9781616962913
Release date: November 2019

What would you do if your collective of tiny bots suddenly decide to mutiny? Would you find bioprinted steak delicious, even after it was signed by the artist? Is an 11 second attention-span long enough to bond with a cryogenically-revived tourist? Would you sell your native language to send your daughter to college?

The avant garde of science fiction has appeared, arriving via time machines and portals that may (or may not) work properly. In this space-age sequel to award-winning anthology, The New Voices of Fantasy, The New Voices of Science Fiction has launched the rising stars of the last five years of science fiction, including Rebecca Roanhorse, Amal El-Mohtar, Alice Sola Kim, Sam J. Miller, E. Lily Yu, Rich Larson, Vina Jie-Min Prasad, Sarah Pinsker, Darcie Little Badger, S. Qiouyi Lu, Kelly Robson, Suzanne Palmer, Nino Cipri, and more. Their wide-ranging tales were hand-selected by cutting-edge author Hannu Rajaniemi (The Quantum Thief) and genre expert Jacob Weisman (Invaders).

So go ahead, join the starship revolution. The new kids hotwired the AI

Cover art by Matt Dixon
Cover design by Elizabeth Story

***

I'm definitely going to add this one to my wishlist!

Tuesday, April 9, 2019

New Arrivals: Just One More Book

It all started with one book. Reader's Warehouse had a copy of Lauren Beukes' Survivors' Club comic at a price that was too good to resist. Of course that also meant that I had to order a few more books to qualify for free shipping. In the end one book grew to five and before I knew it I ended up with these beauties.


Novels: Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill, The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin and The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton


Comics: Survivor's Club by Lauren Beukes and Dale Halvorsen and The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born by Peter David and Robin Furth.

I just couldn't resist. Who needs a book budget anyway?

Wednesday, April 3, 2019

On My Radar: Cage of Souls by Adrian Tchaikovsky

I don't know how I missed the fact that this is coming out, but Cage of Souls by Adrian Tchaikovsky releases this week. I'm intrigued by the premise and it's by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Who needs more reasons than that?


CAGE OF SOULS by Adrian Tchaikovsky
ISBN: 9781788547246
Release Date: 4 April 2019

The sun is bloated, diseased, dying perhaps. Beneath its baneful light, Shadrapar, last of all cities, harbours fewer than 100,000 human souls. Built on the ruins of countless civilisations, Shadrapar is a museum, a midden, an asylum, a prison on a world that is ever more alien to humanity.

Bearing witness to the desperate struggle for existence between life old and new is Stefan Advani: rebel, outlaw, prisoner, survivor. This is his testament, an account of the journey that took him into the blazing desolation of the western deserts; that transported him east down the river and imprisoned him in the verdant hell of the jungle's darkest heart; that led him deep into the labyrinths and caverns of the underworld. He will meet with monsters, madman, mutants.

The question is, which one of them will inherit this Earth?