Alien Covenant - Origins

Alien Covenant - Origins is a prequel to the latest Alien story, describing the journey of getting the colony ship launched on it's ill-fated journey, bridging the gap between Prometheus and Alien Covenant.

Written by Alan Dean Foster - the author who has been writing about Aliens since the very beginning - it's the only Alien novel I know of that doesn't directly feature the black shiny creatures. That doesn't make the story any less engaging though and it does mean we get a much more original story instead of following the formula most of the Alien films do.

We join the story as the Covenant is close to it's departure date, however not everyone on Earth seem to be happy with the idea that humanity is spreading into deeper space, fearing what may lurk in the dark of deep space. A series of violent events that seem directed to prevented Covenant's launch force security chief Daniel Lopé to track down the cuplrits before it's too late.

This book has a perfect place in the Alien Series, it finally provides some insight into the elusive Weyland-Yutani corporation that is indirectly responsible for the whole Alien encounter and ties up the void between Prometheus and Covenant. In a way it almosts forgives the drab plot of Prometheus and helps to see it in a different light somehow. As mentioned its unlike other Alien books, and all the better for that - not only do we get a nicely paced thriller but we also get to find out a little more about the Earth at the turn of the 22nd Century.

Foster shows his unrestrained flair writing an original story rather than constrained with novelisation (see the authors long running Pip and Flinx series for other examples of the authors talent). The pace is steady and the characters (especially Lopé and his assistant Harrison) are interesting and dynamic. The story itself keeps the reader gripped, although most way through the novel I kept thinking would have liked to have learned a little more about the "prophet" but the ending explains why this doesn't happen.

I've long been a fan of the Alien series and I'm glad we are finally getting new content (despite the lackluster recent films). Alien Covenant - Origins fits perfectly in this universe and I sincerely hope Foster continues to provide us with new Alien material.