![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() He has made a great career around translating films to books, and is an accomplished science-fiction writer as well. Alien is ably written by Alan Dean Foster, perhaps one of the best movie-to-book interpreters of all time. And that is the one piece that is missing from the book. That duality of fear is the main ingredient of success that allows the viewer to truly feel the crew's horror in their hopeless situation. The reason the movie works so well is the sense of isolation, helplessness, and claustrophobia that underlines the terror of an alien life-form slowly picking off crew members one by one. ![]() The book has a lot more exposition and flair for detail than can be found in the movie, which is both its greatest strength and by far its greatest weakness. Once you get past the introduction of the crew in their sleep pods, it kicks into action. But, Alien (the book) is a different beast altogether. The interminable discussion of the relative worth of the crew members as paid dreamers felt like nothing I ever experienced in watching the movie Alien and I was worried about reading the rest of it. A few pages in and I had to check the cover to make sure I really was reading the novelization of one of the most intense sci-fi horror films ever made. "Alien: The Official Movie Novelization" Book ReviewĪt first, I'd honestly thought I picked up the wrong book to read. ![]()
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