Alien: The Official Movie Novelization by Alan Dean Foster (Book Review)
Alien: The Official Movie Novelization by Alan Dean Foster
1979 Warner Books, Book Club Edition Cover Illustration by D.K. Stone, 185 pages
It's a tale as old as time:
Spaceship's crew finds wrecked craft. Alien on wrecked craft impregnates male crew member. Male crew member gives birth to terrifying new version of alien that sadistically murders the rest of the crew. Maybe it's just a tale as old as 1979. Ridley Scott's 1979 film, Alien, presents an entirely unique blending of horror, science fiction, and bleak existential ponderings that audiences had never seen before. It still feels fresh in 2023, and it likely always will. Near the release of Alien, Alan Dean Foster was tasked with providing its novelization, based solely upon the shooting script. His works offers a unique experience that, while not quite on par with the film, is still enjoyable.
Foster immediately showcases his writing talents in the book's first passage, offering an impressionistic description of the in-stasis Nostromo crew members as "dreamers," alluding to the nightmare to come. His descriptions of the Nostromo and its inner workings, as well as of the alien planet and craft, are all detailed and evocative. Foster also does solid character work, providing a few insights that aren't apparent in the film, particularly when it comes to character relationships.
At the same time, the book does have its deficiencies. For one, it's obvious that some of the film's most memorable moments weren't in the shooting script given to Foster. For instance, the incredible imagery of the alien craft's decomposing, giant pilot has stimulated millions of viewers' imaginations, but that moment is absent here, and the ship is void of any signs of life, save the alien eggs. Foster also seems a bit disinterested in the story's moments of action and horror, as he zooms right through each character death with little fanfare, as if he's much more interested in the moments in between.
Overall, though, this is a very good novelization, featuring crisp, enjoyable writing, and even some fun musings that aren't in the film, as when the crew discusses if the terrifying adult form of the alien is even its final variation, and that maybe it has an even more terrifying visage to come. The crew also discuss, in detail, what would happen if the alien makes it back to Earth. As a huge fan of the film, I found a lot to enjoy here, and I particularly like D.K. Stone's artwork on the rarer Book Club Edition of the book, which somehow nails the vaginal imagery of the entrance to the alien craft, despite the fact that the artist was not allowed to see any footage from the film beforehand. I consider this book a fine addition to my collection, though it would be with the normal cover, as well.
Foster immediately showcases his writing talents in the book's first passage, offering an impressionistic description of the in-stasis Nostromo crew members as "dreamers," alluding to the nightmare to come. His descriptions of the Nostromo and its inner workings, as well as of the alien planet and craft, are all detailed and evocative. Foster also does solid character work, providing a few insights that aren't apparent in the film, particularly when it comes to character relationships.
At the same time, the book does have its deficiencies. For one, it's obvious that some of the film's most memorable moments weren't in the shooting script given to Foster. For instance, the incredible imagery of the alien craft's decomposing, giant pilot has stimulated millions of viewers' imaginations, but that moment is absent here, and the ship is void of any signs of life, save the alien eggs. Foster also seems a bit disinterested in the story's moments of action and horror, as he zooms right through each character death with little fanfare, as if he's much more interested in the moments in between.
Overall, though, this is a very good novelization, featuring crisp, enjoyable writing, and even some fun musings that aren't in the film, as when the crew discusses if the terrifying adult form of the alien is even its final variation, and that maybe it has an even more terrifying visage to come. The crew also discuss, in detail, what would happen if the alien makes it back to Earth. As a huge fan of the film, I found a lot to enjoy here, and I particularly like D.K. Stone's artwork on the rarer Book Club Edition of the book, which somehow nails the vaginal imagery of the entrance to the alien craft, despite the fact that the artist was not allowed to see any footage from the film beforehand. I consider this book a fine addition to my collection, though it would be with the normal cover, as well.
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