Publisher’s Summary:
As a child, Chris Hooper dreamed of monsters. But in deep space, he found only darkness and isolation. Then, on planet LV178, he and his fellow miners discovered a storm-scoured, sand-blasted hell – and trimonite, the hardest material known to man.
When a shuttle crashes into the mining ship Marion, the miners learn that there was more than trimonite deep in the caverns. There was evil, hibernating and waiting for suitable prey. Hoop and his associates uncover a nest of Xenomorphs, and hell takes on a new meaning. Quickly they discover that their only hope lies with the unlikeliest of saviors….
Ellen Ripley, the last human survivor of the salvage ship Nostromo.
Author: Tim Lebbon, Dirk Maggs (Director)
Narrators: Rutger Hauer, Corey Johnson, Matthew Lewis, Kathryn Drysdale, Laurel Lefkow, Andrea Deck, Mac McDonald
Running Time:4 hours 31 minutes
Publisher: Audible Studios
Audio Release Date: 26/04/2016
Genre: Science Fiction
My Rating of ‘Alien: Out of the Shadows’: 5 out of 5
Main Review:
The cover art for Alien: Out of the Shadows is stunning, in my opinion. What’s not to like about the leering skull of a xenomorph? On the other side of the awesome spectrum; the publisher’s summary/blurb doesn’t really do anything for me. Kind of falls a little flat for my liking.
Fortunately, the audio drama does not fall flat. From the very first sentence, the listener is treated to an all-star cast and a wonderful array of sound effects ranging from the creaking of star-ships to the all-too familiar screech of the aliens.
The performance itself was top notch. Genuinely not a complaint to be found. At times I genuinely had to remind myself that Ripley wasn’t voiced by Sigourney Weaver, but by Laurel Lefkow. She does an excellent job and her voice makes it feel like a genuine continuation of the films due to how similar she sounds. I also loved Kathryn Drysdale as Dr Sneddon. Something about her voice just pushed all the right buttons for me.
The storyline, as you can well imagine, is nothing new. It’s your basic Alien franchise storyline with a few little added bits. This is in no way a negative, however, as the fact that it is an audio drama rather than an on-screen adaption makes it feel brand-spanking new.
The pacing is wonderful, very fast and full of suspense. The acting is far superior to what I expected and you genuinely get attached to the characters. Their ups become your ups, their downs become your downs.
The ending was done very well and leaves the reader/listener eager for more. I don’t think the next in the series ‘Alien: Sea of Sorrows’ is available in audio format, so if you wanted to follow on you are going to have to crack out the kindle or purchase a hard copy.
As many have said when reviewing this; the only negative is that it was so short. But, it felt like it crammed a lot of story into so short an amount of time. Well worth the 5 out of 5 rating and highly recommended.
Swords & Spectres 
Agree about the great cover, can’t beat a Xenomorph.
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Awesome cover for what sounds like a great audiobook. I only ever listen to chicklit or general fiction but I can imagine how the voiced narration can add to the experience with the genre.
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The sounds do so much for it as well. I was half-dozing at one point, just getting ready to turn it off as an alien screeched and woke me up good and proper 😂
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