By Keith R.A. DeCandido

Titan Books, out now

Some members of the Ripley family are determined to keep their promises…

Not being someone who’s into videogames, my encounters with Amanda Ripley’s story have been via her appearances in other media, and their references to events on the Sevastopol. The book on the making of the game offered some fascinating insights but I’d not experienced Ellen Ripley’s daughter’s tale in its entirety.

Keith DeCandido’s book, part of Titan’s range of Alien novels and celebrating the 40th anniversary of the original film, fills that gap very nicely. Without major scurrying through various wikis, I couldn’t tell which bits were from the game, which from associated comics and which were pure KRAD – it all blends into one well-told tale.

Amanda’s problems aren’t purely the xenomorph that’s brought on board the space station – all hell is letting loose there and she has to cope with mutinous crew, out of control synthetics and Weyland-Yutani politics at its finest. She has her own issues to deal with as well, and we gain insight into these through the many flashbacks to her past that pepper the book – abandonment is just part of them.

DeCandido takes a different approach to recounting the backstory on the Sevastopol, recounting it via various memoranda between station personnel. It requires the reader to join the dots themselves, rather than have everything spoon-fed.

Those who recently listened to the Audible version of William Gibson’s proposed story for Alien III may find some similarities with elements of the set up but they’re effectively part of the backstory here anyway.

Verdict: Very good to finally have a core part of the Alien canon in print, and DeCandido brings his talents for action and characterisation to bear. 9/10

Paul Simpson