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.
Besides standard print editions, in 2016 the novel was released in audiobook format, published by Audible Studios. Instead of a traditional audiobook, the novel was presented in the format of an audio drama, read by an ensemble cast and directed by Dirk Maggs. It was released on April 26, 2016, as part of Alien Day.
Out of the Shadows is the first novel in the Alien trilogy,[2][3][4] designed to tie into events from the existing film series. It is followed by Alien: Sea of Sorrows and Alien: River of Pain. Originally slated for release in December 2013, the book wouldn't see release until January 28, 2014.
Synopsis
As a child, Chris Hooper dreamed of monsters. But in deep space, he found only darkness and isolation. Then on planet LV178, he and his fellow miners discovered a storm-scoured, sand-blasted hell – and trimonite, the hardest material known to man.
When a shuttle crashes into the mining ship Marion, the miners learn that there was more than timonite deep in the caverns. There was evil, hibernating – and waiting for suitable prey.
Hoop and his associates uncover a nest of Xenomorphs, and hell takes on new meaning. Quickly they discover that their only hope lies with the unlikeliest of saviours…
Ellen Ripley, the last human survivor of the salvage ship Nostromo.
Plot summary
In 2159, DSMO Marion is in orbit above LV-178 while its crews mine for trimonite beneath the planet's surface. Two days after Marion loses contact with the mine complex, the ship's transport shuttles, Samson and Delilah, launch from the planet and head for Marion at full speed; contact with their crews reveal alien creatures that are slaughtering the shuttles' occupants. The Delilah ploughs into the Marion, severely damaging the ship and killing its captain and security officer. Samson docks successfully, but the survivors aboard the Marion, now led by Chief Engineer Chris "Hoop" Hooper, seal it off to contain the four Aliens on board. The impact has knocked Marion out of orbit, meaning the ship will soon burn up when it hits LV-178's atmosphere. Worse still, the long-range antenna has been destroyed, forcing the survivors to transmit a localized distress call.
The Marion's transmission is detected by the Narcissus, the escape shuttle used by Ellen Ripley to flee the destruction of the Nostromo thirty-seven years previously. Unknown to Ripley, the shuttle is under the control of Ash, who, before his destruction on the Nostromo, uploaded his AI consciousness to the shuttle's systems. Learning of the Aliens on the Marion, Ash reroutes the shuttle to rendezvous with the mining vessel, still seeking to fulfill Special Order 937 and recover one of the creatures. Upon arrival, Ripley's quickly realizes that she has been drifting for three and a half decades, that Ash is still with her, and that she has awoken in the midst of another life-threatening scenario involving the Aliens.
With time running out before the Marion enters LV-178's atmosphere, the survivors hatch a desperate plan — to flee in the Narcissus, taking it in turns to use the shuttle's single stasis pod for six months at a time, hoping to reach inhabited space before they die of old age. However, they must replace the shuttle's spent fuel cell, and the only ones available are stored in the mine on LV-178. Worse still, the only ship capable of taking them there is the Samson, still docked and sealed with four Aliens on board. With no alternative, the crew open the Samson and take on the Aliens using mining tools. Engineers Welford and Powell are killed, along with medic Garcia, while one of the Aliens survives and escapes onto the Marion.
Leaving the Alien on board the Marion, the remaining survivors — Hoop, Ripley, Sneddon, Baxter, Kasyanov and Lachance — fly below to LV-178 in the Samson and enter the mine. As they descend into the complex, Ash — having now infected the Marion's computers — sabotages the elevator and sends them plunging to the very lowest level of the mine, where the Aliens were discovered. The elevator is smashed beyond repair, and the survivors are forced to trek through the complex to reach a second elevator at the far side. They soon stumble upon an Alien hive, as well as a massive derelict spacecraft buried underground. With the Aliens pursuing them, they have no choice but to head inside the ship.
The survivors soon discover they have been herded inside because the ship is full of Alien eggs, which were apparently being nurtured by the ship's long-dead creators, a mysterious race of dog-like aliens. The survivors desperately fend off multiple Alien attacks and the repeated assaults begin to take their toll — Baxter breaks an ankle, Sneddon is subdued by a Facehugger, Kasyanov is sprayed with acid and loses the use of one arm, and Ripley is badly wounded. Despite their injuries, the survivors escape the ship and reach the second elevator, although Baxter is bisected when an Alien pulls him partially out of the cage as it is ascending. The survivors finally recover a replacement fuel cell, setting a second to overload and destroy the mine before returning to Marion. Once on board, they witness the explosion on the planet's surface.
As the group heads to the medical bay, they are attacked by the remaining Alien and Lachance is killed. A revived Sneddon chases after the creature, eventually cornering it in a hold where she blows herself up as the Chestburster inside her begins to hatch, killing the adult Alien as well. With time running out before Marion breaks up, Hoop and Kasyanov place Ripley in the ship's med pod to treat her wounds. Tormented by recurring nightmares of her daughter Amanda being attacked by the Aliens, Ripley also begs to have her memories of recent events wiped, and Hoop reluctantly complies. Kasyanov also enters the med pod to heal her own injuries, but Ash takes over and has the machine kill her.
Hoop carries an unconscious Ripley to the Narcissus and puts her into stasis with Jones, who had remained safely locked aboard the shuttle all along. Hoop then wipes Ash from the shuttle's computer with a powerful virus program, finally destroying him, but discovers that the rogue AI, in a final act of defiance, has sabotaged the shuttle's automatic docking release. With no alternative, Hoop bids farewell to Ripley and steps back onto Marion to launch the shuttle. He tearfully watches her leave, knowing that she won't even remember him when she wakes up. Awaiting the Marion's disintegration, Hoop fetches all the supplies he can and boards the Samson. Watching the Marion break up in LV-178's atmosphere, looking down on the obliterated mining complex, Hoop helps himself to a bottle of bourbon and records a distress call, declaring himself as the last survivor of the Marion.
Development
The novel is the first in a new trilogy that ties into the events of the Alien films, although the subsequent books will not be penned by Lebbon, but by two other authors — James A. Moore and Christopher Golden, respectively. The project was said to have been spearheaded by Golden after Titan Books expressed an interest in publishing new Alien novels.[5] According to Lebbon, "the three novels are very much stand-alone, but they do together form a fascinating, wide-ranging look at the Alien universe, and Weyland-Yutani's scheming place in it."[5] The novels were written under the supervision of 20th Century Fox, and have been confirmed as part of the film series' canon.[5]Out of the Shadows was the first Alien novel to be published by Titan Books.
Reception
Reception to the novel was generally positive, although with a fair amount of reservation and criticism directed at the inclusion of Ellen Ripley, which was viewed as unnecessary and — given that her survival into Aliens was guaranteed — detrimental to any suspense the book may otherwise have generated. The manner in which Ripley's memories of the events aboard the Marion were erased was also derided. The lack of development in the supporting characters was likewise singled out as one of the novel's shortfalls, with many agreeing the supporting cast were merely "fodder for the aliens". However, the book's action sequences were strongly praised, as was the introduction of the unidentified aliens and their derelict spacecraft buried under the surface of LV-178. Lebbon was also commended for his grasp of Ripley's character, with several reviewers pointing out that her dialogue in particular sounded very much like it could have come from Ripley as portrayed in the film series by Sigourney Weaver.[6]
Audiobooks
Audible Studios released an audio drama version of Out of the Shadows in April 2016, performed by an ensemble cast, directed by Dirk Maggs and with music by James Hannigan. Cast members include Matthew Lewis, Laurel Lefkow, Corey Johnson, Rutger Hauer, Kathryn Drysdale and Andrea Deck.[7] Later in June, an unabridged audiobook version narrated by Jeff Harding was also released.
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Alien 3 (stylized as ALIEN3) is a 1992 American science fiction horror film directed by David Fincher and written by David Giler, Walter Hill, and Larry Ferguson, from a story by Vincent Ward. It stars Sigourney Weaver, reprising her role as Ellen Ripley. It is the third installment of the Alien franchise and led to a sequel, Alien Resurrection (1997).
Aliens is a 1986 science fiction action film written and directed by James Cameron. It is the sequel to the 1979 science fiction horror film Alien, and the second film in the Alien franchise. Set in the far future, it stars Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley, the sole survivor of an alien attack on her ship. When communications are lost with a human colony on the moon where her crew first saw the alien creatures, Ripley agrees to return to the site with a unit of Colonial Marines to investigate. Michael Biehn, Paul Reiser, Lance Henriksen, and Carrie Henn are featured in supporting roles.
Absolution Gap is a 2003 science fiction novel written by Welsh author Alastair Reynolds. It takes place in the Revelation Space universe and is a direct sequel to Redemption Ark.
Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard is a 1904 novel by Joseph Conrad, set in the fictitious South American republic of "Costaguana". It was originally published serially in monthly instalments of T.P.'s Weekly.
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.
Bishop, designated HS17B48XG5-D5, is a fictional character in the movie Aliens, who was portrayed by actor Lance Henriksen. The character is the science officer of the Sulaco, and his actions and self-sacrifice are critical to the survival of Ellen Ripley. When Ripley discovers that Bishop is an android, just like Ash, an antagonist of the first Alien film, she initially treats him with extreme distrust due to her previous experiences.
Aliens versus Predator versus The Terminator is a comic published by Dark Horse Comics about fictional characters from three separate movie series: Alien, Predator, and Terminator. The series was in four parts, with parts 2–4 having a tagline on their cover.
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".
Aliens: Earth Hive is a 1992 novel by Steve Perry, set in the fictional Alien movie universe. It is an adaptation of the story "Outbreak" which was the first in the Aliens comic book series, written by Mark Verheiden.
Alien is a 1979 science fiction horror film directed by Ridley Scott and written by Dan O'Bannon. Based on a story by O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett, it follows the crew of the commercial space tug Nostromo, who, after coming across a mysterious derelict spaceship on an uncharted planetoid, find themselves up against a deadly and aggressive extraterrestrial loose within their vessel. The film stars Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm, and Yaphet Kotto. It was produced by Gordon Carroll, David Giler, and Walter Hill through their company Brandywine Productions and was distributed by 20th Century-Fox. Giler and Hill revised and made additions to the script; Shusett was the executive producer. The Alien and its accompanying artifacts were designed by the Swiss artist H. R. Giger, while concept artists Ron Cobb and Chris Foss designed the more human settings.
Ash is a fictional character in the film Alien (1979) portrayed by actor Ian Holm who, while known in the UK as a stage actor, was at the time unknown to American audiences. Ash serves as the secondary antagonist of the first film. The character is the science officer of the Nostromo, who breaks quarantine by allowing Kane, a member of the crew, back on board after he has been infected by an alien life form. It is later discovered that Ash is not human, as he appears, but is a Hyperdyne Systems 120-A/2 android, a sleeper agent who is acting upon secret orders to bring back the alien lifeform and to consider the crew and cargo as "expendable".
Alien: Isolation is a 2014 survival horror game developed by Creative Assembly and published by Sega for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. Based on the Alien film series, the game is set 15 years after the events of the original 1979 film, and follows engineer Amanda Ripley, daughter of Alien protagonist Ellen Ripley, as she investigates the disappearance of her mother aboard the space station Sevastopol. Once inside, Amanda discovers that the station has fallen into disarray due to an Alien creature on the loose and must find a way to escape. The game emphasizes stealth and survival horror gameplay, requiring the player to avoid, outsmart, and fight enemies with tools such as a motion tracker and flamethrower.
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 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: Isolation – The Digital Series is an American adult animated science fiction horror web series directed by Fabien Dubois, based on the Alien franchise created by Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett, and the 2014 video game of the same name by Creative Assembly, that premiered on February 28, 2019, on IGN. The series was created by Kinga Smith and Fabien Dubois and features most of the actors from the game reprising their roles. It takes place fifteen years after the events of Alien and follows Amanda Ripley, daughter of Alien protagonist Ellen Ripley, as she investigates the disappearance of her mother aboard a decaying space station.
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.
Jones, commonly known as Jonesy, is a fictional ginger American Shorthair cat from the Alien franchise. He is a ship's cat on the Nostromo, the setting of the first film. Jonesy is also the protagonist of a book adaptation of Alien, Jonesy: Nine Lives on the Nostromo.
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