The Alien Novels

Out of the Shadows, The Cold Forge (Alex White) and AVP Prey (Perry) are hands down my favourite novels from the franchises!! 

I agree Out of the Shadows would be an unreal movie.

(Minor spoiler) That scene where the first encounter the facehuggers and return to the Marion is so f$&king intense!! Love it!   

Sadly i have not read any of them... i guess i better make a effort and see what i am missing out on ;)

I liked all of them. Hard to pick a favorite. If i had to rate 3, it would be this:

1. River Of Pain

2. The Rage War

3. Sea Of Sorrows

RoP would make a good thriller not only for the Xenos but also for the characters involved (scientists etc.)

TRW has the most visual potential. With its War Of The Worlds esque setting. Space battles, invaded colonies and so on.

SoS is a bit like "Aliens MK2". ;) So a movie would be something along those line.

PS.: I also liked Aliens: Bug Hunt. Lot of neat ideas in it. For example a little backstory for Hicks.

IRaptus: Yes, it’s a strong beginning of the novel as the shuttles Samson and Delilah approaches Marion . . . I think you would enjoy “Out of the Shadows” BigDave :)

Tiwaz: “River of Pain” was interesting since it gave us the story of what happened to the colonists on LV-426 (e.g. Newt’s parents and brother).

I haven't read The Rage Wars trilogy yet chli but I have finished the latest 6 canon novels. I will read The Rage Wars trilogy eventually.

I have to agree with Tiwaz on 1 and 3 while replacing number 2 with Alien: Covenant Origins or work in Alien: The Cold Forge. Hard choice with such great novels....

I really like the ending of Alien: Covenant Origins and the other 2 novels speak for themselves and would adapt so well to film.

the out of the shadows trilogy is the best by far. all 3 really get the imagination going and I loved the plot involving Ash on the ship, great idea. all worthy of being turned into feature films in the franchise. the novels are the best follow ups to the first 2 alien films imo and I agree chli that they open up the franchise in many ways but id also put Prometheus in that category also as there were so many paths AC couldv (should) continued on with but failed miserably. river of pain is my personal fave especially the derelict scene with Newts parents. if wed seen it on screen it would have only added to the intrigue of the derelict

I have just started reading River of Pain.

Between Out of the Shadows and Sea of Sorrows...

Sea of Sorrows is my favorite.

My problem with Out of the Shadows is the whole base of the story is flawed in my opinion.  I feel like the Ripley character is being stretched beyond the limit line for me.  I thought Alien: Resurrection Ripley clone was a FABULOUS idea, yet other fans of the franchise thought it was just stupid.

I thought Ripley being woken up between Alien and Aliens, and not having ANY mention of it in any of the following movies in the franchise timeline, was a bad idea, yet from reading posts in this thread, apparently some fans thought is was a good idea.

Other than how Ripley got involved in Out of the Shadows, I found the book very interesting and would definitely do great in a theater format.

Still, all that aside, I still think Sea of Sorrows was better, but enough about one being better than another.

Just generally speaking, I REALLY enjoyed Sea of Sorrows.  It definitely is a good story and I feel like it took the franchise in a new direction by not bringing Ripley back.  Still, in a way they did and that way was very creative.

Good stuff!

"I thought Ripley being woken up between Alien and Aliens, and not having ANY mention of it in any of the following movies in the franchise timeline, was a bad idea,"

I thought it was a stretch too I Moon Girl but overall the novel was great.

I believe you will love Alien: The Cold Forge.

I Moon Girl & Ingeniero I agree, Ripley in Out of the Shadows was unnecessary.

The story and other characters (particularly Chris Hooper) were more than strong enough to support the novel without dropping in an amnesia-induced Ripley XD

Her inclusion was not enough to ruin the book, because her character was well written, you could almost hear her voice/tone when reading her lines.

...She was just not needed to the plot. 

I also enjoyed "The Rage War" trilogy a lot since, like "The Lord of the Rings", you get to follow a story and characters a long time. Tim Lebbon is quite a good writer.

Some of the shorter stories in "The Complete Aliens Omnibus", Volume 1-6 (V. 7 coming in December) were also good reads.