By the Book: Aliens versus Predator: Prey

Welcome to my latest book review!

In my latest installment of By the Book, I will be reviewing “Aliens versus Predator: Prey” by father-daughter team Steven and Stephani Daniel Perry. Having found it during my spring cleaning prompted me to give it another read.

Way before any of the movies came out, “Aliens versus Predator” actually had a short series from BANTAM Books publishing. Being a big fan of both the Alien and the Predator franchises when I was a kid, it comes as no surprise I was drawn to this series. This novel came out in the early 90’s, which is when I originally purchased it as part of my “English as a Second Language” class in high school (french being my first). I’m glad I kept it, as I found it better the second time around.

In this novel, the reader follows the story of two protagonists. Primarily, we see main character, Machiko Noguchi, playing the role of corporate executive assigned to a ranching colony on a planet named Ryushi. Part of the story is also shown from the Predators angle, more notably from the eyes of pack leader Dachande. The Predators come to Ryushi in order to train new recruits, but the discovery of human colonists put a damper on their plans. An unforeseen mishap with the containment of Alien drones adds chaos to the mix, forcing human and Predators to unite in order to survive the chaos.

Back of the book:

“Machiko Noguchi accepted the assignment of supervising the ranching colony on Ryushi as a challenge. Little did she know that not only would she have run the colony, she'd have to defend it with her life!

First the carcass of a spider like alien is discovered. Then a rancher's family is massacred. Finally a creature unlike any ever seen before is brought to the colony medical center, near death. It soon becomes clear that not one but two strains of alien life have landed near the settlement of Prosperity Wells. One kind -- beetle black with shells hard as steel -- have been spawned as the prey in a deadly hunt. The other kind -- upright like humans but infinitely stronger and just as smart -- are the Predators. Between them are the human colonists, unarmed and vulnerable. With the entire colony at risk, Machiko Noguchi must choose between death and survival -- and may find her greatest ally in a Predator ready to kill her…”

Link to wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aliens_vs._Predator_(novel_series)

What I learned from this book:

• Varying styles to accentuate PoV: Most of the story’s Point of View jumps back and forth between the human colonists and the Predators. In order to help differentiate the two, the authors have used different styles of narration for each species. Where the humans are more technical in their descriptions and dialogue, the Predators are more primal, using sensory details. I found this technique most interesting.
• Multiple PoV angles: There is a lot going on in this book. In order to keep track of all that is happening, the story often jumps location between multiples characters, even in the middle of chapters. The authors managed to do this in a way that is not confusing to the reader, which I thought was well done. I am curious to know if this is the result of having more than one author work on the same book.
• Knowing the Source Material: I have seen all the movies, so I went into this book knowing what usually transpires when these alien species are involved. So when certain events happen (not saying which cause I don’t want to ruin it for those of you who want to read it), I was worried that knowing where this was going to go would ruin the story for me. Well, I am please to say that I was still surprised! The authors have managed to take the source material, and still entertain the audience regardless of anyone’s expectations. In fact, the way the authors used the current Alien/Predator lore, it just added to the tension.

For those interested in reading more books from Steven and Stephani Daniel Perry, please check out the following websites:

• Steve Perry: http://www.soulofacarp.com/sperry/
• Stephani Perry: http://www.amazon.com/S.D.-Perry/e/B003ZOHTJ8

For those interested in learning more about the Aliens versus Predator franchise, you can check out this extensive user mader wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_vs._Predator. There you will find details about other books, movies, games and so on.

In closing, I would like to thank everyone for the encouragement and for following my blog. And thank you to my wife Linda for the support.

Until next time!

Cheers,

Patrick Osborne