The Complete Aliens Omnibus Volume: 3 by Sandy Schofield & S.D. Perry
I have been privileged enough to review several Aliens novels and omnibuses of this award winning writing team. Sandy Schofield and Stephanie Perry create a couple of novels, Rogue and Labyrinth - and at the same time creates a thick novel that goes well with others of equal size and weight. This particular omnibus does two things, it excites fans of the original movies and keep them waiting for the 2017 release of Aliens: Covenant.
Stephanie and Sandy are the pen names of Dean Wesley Smith and Kristine Kathryn Rusch, known for their tie-in novels on science fiction Star Trek, Quantum Leap, Predator and Aliens. Here they concentrate on what makes Aliens one of the most successful movie franchises of all time.
What is nice to see is the daunting feeling the Aliens give you as well as the hallmarks of their look, the double mouths, acid blood and fact they don't have eyes (which Alien artist Geiger believed would make them look more terrifying and indicate they had no souls). Kleist, the Marines find has has a weapon that can frieze the Aliens in their step so they can be controlled, though it only lasts for sixty seconds. Will this stop the Rogue?
In Rogue, Sandy takes readers through what Captain Joyce Palmer hopes will be their last trip to Charon. As she is only a few hours away, she prepares for what, in her mind will be a daunting mission to prevent to unhinged Professor Kleist from creating the Rogue. As in the previous omnibus, the Complete Aliens Volume Two by David Bischoff and Robert Sheckley, the dread feelings of exploring where the aliens have turned up dominates the stories. Joyce has a bunch of Marines to help her reach her goal;, but the threat of being killed is real enough to cause the raising of the nape hairs.
If readers thought Rogue was a harrowing read, prepare for The Labyrinth as S.D. Perry's writing talents will leave them looking for other novels by the same author.
In The Labyrinth, Dr. Paul Church has recently faced and solved a dangerous space borne virus that had wiped out three colonies as though it was simple. In turn, Colonel Crespi wants to work with him, even if it is only as an assistant, but Crespi has no idea of the insanity that awaits him on the Innominata.
Dr. Church has tried to hide his experiment results from others and wants to find out what his work on fusing human and Alien as one person. Church has attempted many times to do this and failed, so Dr. Crespi could become trapped in the hell of another man's making if he can't control the situation he has put him and his men in. What Crespi discovers from Church's experiments is that the Aliens run completely on instinct and after all the tests has run over the months, the results have sent him insane.
I enjoyed The Complete Aliens Omnibus Vol: 1 and this goes to show that the Aliens franchise is still going strong in writers today who will no doubt remember when the original movies were out at the cinemas.
