![]() | |
Author | Scott Sigler |
---|---|
Audio read by | Bronson Pinchot |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Series | Alien |
Genre | Science fiction, horror |
Publisher | Titan Books |
Publication date | 2020 |
Media type | Print, ebook, audiobook |
Pages | 512 pages |
ISBN | 1789095255 First edition hardback |
Preceded by | Alien: Prototype |
Aliens: Phalanx is a 2020 science fiction horror novel by Scott Sigler and the ninth book in the third novel series based on the Alien franchise. The novel is set on Ataegina, a planet of castles and medieval culture where a sect of humanity is engaged in conflict with an army of Xenomorphs. [1] The story received an epilogue titled Another Mother in the 2022 anthology Aliens vs. Predators: Ultimate Prey.
The novel is set on the world of Ataegina, where humanity lives in mountain holds in order to escape death from the "demons", their name for Xenomorphs. They are unaware of life on other planets or other events in the Alien universe and their culture is varied but similar to feudalism. The inhabitants pass along what limited information they know about the demons, including knowledge of a Demon Mother living on Black Smoke Mountain, through warnings and mythology.
The story focuses primarily on Ahiliyah, Brandun, and Creen, runners from Lemeth Hold. Runners are responsible for making trips to various holds such as Dakatera and Keflan while carrying large amounts of cargo to trade for much-needed goods, supplies, and information. Although proud of her skills, Ahiliyah chafes under the patriarchal mindset of the Hold and would rather be a warrior. Women are not allowed to become warriors due to the Margrave and council's belief that women cannot be good warriors and can only perform gender-specific roles, such as motherhood and marriage.
On a run from her hold to Dakatera and Keflan, Ahiliyah is approached by the Margravine of Dakatera, the only female hold leader, with an offer to move to the more liberal Dakatera and become a trainer. Ahiliyah declines and continues on to Keflan to retrieve medical supplies, only to discover that it has been overtaken by demons. On the run back to Lemeth the trio are discovered by a demon and almost killed, however Ahiliyah manages to kill it. In the process they discover that the caminus leaves they use as camouflage, which grow in abundance everywhere, can neutralize the demons' blood. When they finally reach their hold they discover that Keflan survivors had made it to Lemeth but were turned away by the unsympathetic Margrave. Ahiliyah is successful in convincing the Margrave to allow Creen to research caminus leaves as a weapon, but cannot convince him that Lemeth could end up like Keflan – not even after another hold is discovered to have met a similar fate.
Creen manages to create a paste that can kill demons, albeit slowly. While on their way back from testing it they discover the Margravine and many survivors from Dakatera, as their hold had also fallen. They manage to help the survivors inside, only to soon discover that Lemeth is also under attack. The demons managed to break into the holds by breeding with a burrowing animal, creating demons that can create tunnels for infiltration. Ahiliyah takes command of several warriors and, using the paste, successfully makes it through both the initial attack and a second wave of demons. She sends word to other holds to send warriors to march on Black Smoke Mountain and kill the Demon Mother, as they now have a weapon against them. Troops from one of the other holds arrive and march with her, but the commander refuses to follow Ahiliyah's strategy of a circular phalanx. As a result they are overtaken and brought into the mountain to become hosts for new demons.
Ahiliyah, Brandun, and Creen manage to survive by eating the caminus leaves on their clothing, which kills the demon embryos. While trying to escape they encounter Zachariah, a synthetic that tells them the history of the demons. Just over 300 years ago a colony ship was overtaken by Xenomorphs and crash-landed on Ataegina. The ship's crew and presumably adult colonists died, but the children survived and went on to form civilizations without knowledge of the outside universe. The Xenomorphs also survived and eventually managed to make their way out of the mountain and overtake the humans, forcing them to live in holds.
Ahiliyah comes up with the idea of killing the Demon Mother by cooking her with a superheated blast of water from a geyser, but this plan is unsuccessful and Zachariah is killed by one of the demons. Brandun then chooses to use their final dose of poison to kill the Demon Mother, sacrificing himself in the process. The remaining demons are relatively easily killed by the remaining troops and new reinforcements from other holds and Ahiliyah becomes the ruler of a new, unified Ataegina, continuing to train her army against the threat of human raiders from across the sea to the north.
Sigler first contributed to the franchise with the short story Dangerous Prey in the 2017 anthology Aliens: Bug Hunt, written from the perspective of the Xenomorphs. When creating the novel's storyline, Sigler chose to focus on what would happen if there was a planet-wide Xenomorph attack and the survivors could only fight using spears and shields. [2] He also chose to set this in a medieval society that had no knowledge of the rest of the universe, spaceships, advanced weaponry, or Weyland-Yutani, as well as other science fiction elements typically featured in the Alien franchise, something he described as challenging. [3] In an interview with Daily Dead he described this as “ 300 meets Aliens.” [4] Sigler researched Sumerian, Egyptian, Greek, and Roman societies and used Myke Cole’s Legion vs. Phalanx heavily as reference material. [4]
Aliens: Phalanx was released in paperback and e-book format on February 25, 2020, in the United States and United Kingdom through Titan Books. [5] A limited-edition hardback was also released through Titan Books on the same day. [6] An audiobook adaptation narrated by Bronson Pinchot was simultaneously released through Blackstone Publishing. [7] Titan Books will republish the novel in The Complete Aliens Collection: Living Nightmares, the third volume in the reprint series, together with Infiltrator and Vasquez in November 2024.
In a review for the British Fantasy Society, Sarah Deeming praised the character of Ahiliyah and the novel's tension. [8] Empire Online listed the audiobook adaptation as one of thirteen "Best Audiobooks For Movie Fans" and Aliens: Phalanx also received a review from the Financial Times . [9] [10] Ginger Nuts of Horror stated that they were concerned "whether the constraints of the Aliens franchise (acid for blood etc) would hold back the multi-dimensional imagination of the Future Doom Overlord (FDO), as his hardcore fans like to call him" and that while this did prove to be the case, the novel was "still an excellent Scott Sigler novel and if you’re a fan of his high-octane action sequences, gory violence and tough characters there is much to enjoy here." [11]
Alien primarily refers to:
Alien Resurrection is a 1997 American science fiction horror film, directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, written by Joss Whedon, and starring Sigourney Weaver and Winona Ryder. It is the fourth installment of the Alien franchise, and was filmed at the 20th Century Fox studios in Los Angeles, California.
The xenomorph is a fictional endoparasitoid extraterrestrial species that serves as the title antagonist of the Alien and Alien vs. Predator franchises. The species made its debut in the film Alien (1979) and reappeared in the sequels Aliens (1986), Alien 3 (1992), Alien Resurrection (1997), and Alien: Romulus (2024). The species returns in the prequel series, first with a predecessor in Prometheus (2012) and a further evolved form in Alien: Covenant (2017). It also featured in the crossover films Alien vs. Predator (2004) and Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007), with the skull and tail of one of the creatures respectively appearing briefly in Predator 2 (1990) and The Predator (2018), as a protagonist in the video game Aliens vs. Predator (2010), and will return in the upcoming FX television series Alien (TBA). In addition, the xenomorph appears in various literature and video game spin-offs from the franchises.
Ellen Louise Ripley is a fictional character and the original protagonist of the Alien film series, played by American actress Sigourney Weaver. Considered one of the greatest characters in science fiction film history, the character earned Weaver worldwide recognition, and remains her most famous role to date. Although she was originally conceived as male for the first Alien film, director Ridley Scott decided early in production to make her a woman.
Alien vs. Predator is a 2004 science fiction action horror film written and directed by Paul W. S. Anderson, and starring Sanaa Lathan, Raoul Bova, Lance Henriksen, Ewen Bremner, Colin Salmon, and Tommy Flanagan. It is the first film installment of the Alien vs. Predator franchise, the fifth film in the Alien franchise and third film of the Predator franchise, adapting a crossover bringing together the eponymous creatures of the Alien and Predator series, a concept which originated in a 1989 comic book written by Randy Stradley and Chris Warner. Anderson wrote the story, with the creators of the Alien franchise, Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett receiving additional story credit due to the incorporation of elements from the Alien series, and Anderson and Shane Salerno adapted the story into a screenplay. Their writing was influenced by Aztec mythology, the comic book series, and the writings of Erich von Däniken. In the film, scientists are caught in the crossfire of an ancient battle between Aliens and Predators as they attempt to escape a bygone pyramid.
Scott Carl Sigler is an American author of science fiction and horror and a podcaster. Scott is a New York Times No. 1 bestselling author of nineteen novels, seven novellas, dozens of short stories, and thousands of podcast episodes. He is a co-founder of Empty Set Entertainment, which publishes his young adult Galactic Football League series. He lives in San Diego.
Bolaji Badejo was a Nigerian visual artist and actor. He was known for playing the Alien in Ridley Scott's 1979 film Alien. He was 6 feet 10 inches (208 cm) tall, a height which convinced Scott to cast him in the role. It is his sole acting credit.
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem is a 2007 American science fiction action film starring Steven Pasquale, Reiko Aylesworth, John Ortiz, Johnny Lewis and Ariel Gade. The directorial debut of The Brothers Strause, the film was written by Shane Salerno and is a direct sequel to Alien vs. Predator (2004) as well as the second and latest installment in the Alien vs. Predator franchise, the sixth film in the Alien franchise and the fourth film in the Predator franchise, continuing the crossover between the Alien and Predator franchises.
Alien is a science fiction horror and action media franchise centered on the original film series which depicts warrant officer Ellen Ripley and her battles with an extraterrestrial lifeform, commonly referred to as the Alien ("Xenomorph"), and the prequel series following the exploits of the David 8 android and the creators of the eponymous creatures referred to as the "Engineers".
GraphicAudio is an audiobook publishing imprint of RBMedia. Its tagline is "A Movie In Your Mind". The GraphicAudio format includes a full cast of actors, narration, sound effects and cinematic music. GraphicAudio has published over 1,600 action-adventure titles and over 180 series in the fantasy, science fiction, post-apocalyptic, comic and western genres.
The Predator, also known as Yautja, is the titular extraterrestrial species featured in the Predator and Alien vs. Predator science fiction franchises, characterized by its trophy hunting of other "challenging" species for sport. First introduced in the film of the same name, the creatures returned in the sequels Predator 2 (1990), Predators (2010) and The Predator (2018), and the prequel Prey (2022), as well as the crossover films Alien vs. Predator (2004) and Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007). In 2023, the species was licensed to Adult Swim to appear officially in the seventh season of the animated series Rick and Morty, introducing the Skin Thieves clan.
Alien: Covenant is a 2017 science fiction horror film directed and produced by Ridley Scott, and written by John Logan and Dante Harper from a story by Michael Green and Jack Paglen. A joint American and British production, it is a sequel to Prometheus (2012), the second entry in the Alien prequel series, and the sixth installment in the series but counting crossovers eighth film in the overall Alien franchise. It features returning star Michael Fassbender, with Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, Danny McBride, and Demián Bichir in supporting roles. It follows the crew of a colony ship that lands on an uncharted planet and makes a terrifying discovery.
Fire and Stone is a comic book series crossover set in the fictional universe of the Alien vs. Predator franchise. It was first published by Dark Horse Comics in the fall of 2014 and continued until 2015 and was followed by the crossover comic book series Life and Death (2016–2017). The comic book series is considered part of the extended universe of the Alien and Predator franchises, being set after the events of Prometheus.
Alien: Out of the Shadows is a 2014 novel written by Tim Lebbon and published by Titan Books. Set between Alien and Aliens, the book chronicles Ellen Ripley's involvement in a Xenomorph outbreak on the planet LV-178 and the mining vessel in orbit above it. The survivors' attempts to escape the creatures are further complicated by Ash, whose A.I. consciousness has survived inside Narcissus, the shuttle that brought Ripley to them.
Corporal Dwayne Hicks, also known mononymously as Hicks, is a fictional character in the Alien franchise. First appearing in the film Aliens, he was portrayed by actor Michael Biehn. The character is a Senior Corporal of the United States Colonial Marine Corps aboard the USS Sulaco and is one of only four survivors of the Sulaco crew's expedition to LV-426, along with Ellen Ripley, Rebecca "Newt" Jorden and the android Bishop. Hicks was initially killed during the introduction of the film's sequel Alien 3, a decision that garnered negative backlash from fans of the franchise. Hicks was later rewritten to have survived, as he returns as the main protagonist of the "Stasis Interrupted" DLC in the videogame Aliens: Colonial Marines and as a side character in the game's main story.
Aliens: Fireteam Elite is a 2021 third-person shooter game developed by Cold Iron Studio in collaboration with Disney's 20th Century Games. It is a standalone sequel to the original Alien trilogy. In contrast to Alien: Isolation, Fireteam Elite is more in line with Aliens: Colonial Marines, and focuses on action rather than survival-horror.
Aliens: Dark Descent is a real-time tactics video game developed by Tindalos Interactive in collaboration with Disney's 20th Century Games and published by Focus Entertainment. Set in the Alien universe, the game was released for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on June 20, 2023. It received generally positive reviews from critics.