Alien Resurrection Author(s) Ann Crispin Publisher Aspect Books Release date December 1997 Media type Paperback Pages 276 Preceded by Alien3
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Alien Resurrection is a 1997 novelisation of the film of the same name, written by Ann Crispin and based on Joss Whedon's original screenplay.

Publisher's SummaryEdit

At the farthest reaches of the solar system, aboard orbiting space station Auriga, the unthinkable has happened.

Ripley awakes. Her last memory is of her fiery death on the prison colony Fiorina 361. And yet she is alive.

Her questions grow as she notices her body stronger and fiercer than she ever remembers. And she confronts the most terrifying threat of all-that she's not alone in her salvation from death's grasp.

The screaming never stops...

Differences from the FilmEdit

As with the earlier novelizations in the series, Alien Resurrection follows the plot of the extended Special Edition of the film, and includes the alternate opening^[1] and much of the extra lines of dialogue, several of which refer to events from Aliens and Alien³.

• Some portions of the novel are written from the perspectives of Ripley 8, the Genetic Queen and the Lead Alien (referred to in the novel simply as "the Warrior"), providing inner monologues detailing their thoughts and points of view. These make it clear both Ripley 8 and the Genetic Xenomorphs share Ellen Ripley's memories.
• The person who kills the insect in the command module during the opening sequence is Vincent Distephano, as opposed to an unnamed character in the film.^[1]
• The Ripley clone is not quite as perfect as in the film; she has Xenomorph dorsal tubes on her back, although these are removed by Dr. Wren as she matures.^[2]
• The surgery to remove the Chestburster from Ripley 8 is done with remotely operated robot arms, not by hand as in the movie.^[3] The Chestburster is connected to Ripley 8 by six umbilical chords, not one as in the movie.^[4]
• In the early stages of her development after being released from her incubator tank, Ripley 8 sheds he skin at least once, like a Xenomorph.^[5]
• While she is in captivity, a mosquito bites Ripley 8 but is killed by her acidic blood.^[6]
• The picture test Ripley 8 sits is conducted by Dr. Matt Kinloch, not Dr. Carlyn Williamson as in the film.^[7] During the test, Ripley 8 is shown a picture of a cat that reminds her of Jones.
• Distephano is in the command module again when the Betty arrives, and is the person who talks to Elgyn over the radio while on approach.^[8]
• We find out that the crew of the Betty were mercenaries before Vriess was paralyzed on a planet called Kawlang.^[9]
• Gediman recalls the events of Alien and Aliens when talking to Ripley 8 in the mess hall, and also explains that exhaustive attempts were made to locate the Xenomorph homeworld after her death on Fiorina 161, but with no success.^[10] He also mentions LV-426 is now uninhabitable after the explosion seen in Aliens, even though the novelization of that film made it clear there was no fallout from the explosion.^[11]
• When Wren and the soldiers catch Call leaving Ripley 8's cell they shock her with their Shockrifles, knocking her unconscious, unlike in the film where they merely restrain her.^[12]
• The black man who is killed with the freeze jets in the Xenomorph holding cell is revealed to be Dr. Brian Clauss, one of the scientists on Wren's team. Before he enters the cell, he discovers several soldiers lying unconscious on the floor in the area, apparently stung and paralyzed by the Xenomorphs in the same way as Gorman and Burke in the novelization of Aliens.^[13]
• In the book, no lifeboats escape the Auriga, whereas in the film the first escape pod gets away safely with several soldiers aboard.^[14]
• Whereas Johner in the film seems almost unfazed by the Xenomorph outbreak, in the novel he is terrified of the Aliens, often shaking uncontrollably with fear.^[15] However, he still displays much of the bravado he does in the movie.
• It is explained that the Genetic Xenomorphs are able to breed and grow faster than regular Xenomorphs owing to the genetic crossing.^[16] Wren tells the survivors that they originally bred twenty Xenomorphs, whereas in the film he suggest there are only twelve when asked how many remain.^[17]
• Before finding Purvis, the survivors discover one of the labs has been turned into a small Hive and the bodies of several of the scientists, including Dr. Sprague and Dr. Williamson, are cocooned there, having been killed by Chestbursters.^[18] In the film, they find only the bodies of the civilians they had brought aboard.
• Several Xenomorph Drones are also present in the Queen's chamber, swimming in a large pool of human blood and internal organs that the Queen is suspended in.^[19]
• The novel mentions Amanda Ripley-McClaren, revealing that she was delivered at home in the presence of Ellen Ripley's husband.^[20]
• It is explained that the Queen does not want to give live birth, but rather it is a pure mutation of the cloning process.^[20] As she howls during the process, Ripley 8 screams with her, sharing her pain through a psychic link. In the film, Ripley 8 remains silent.
• It is explained that the Newborn is merely an infant, and will double or even triple in size within as little as a day.^[21] It is also a far more agile creature, able to climb along walls like other Xenomorphs. It also possesses a tail.^[22] Instead of simply swiping off the front of the Queen's head, the Newborn decapitates her completely, before tearing apart and partially eating her entire body.^[23]
• A Chestburster erupts from Dr. Gediman's corpse shortly after he is killed by the Newborn.^[24]
• Ripley 8 also shares a psychic link with the Newborn, and very nearly chooses to side with it, before memories of Amanda and Newt cause her to shake off her Xenomorph impulses once and for all and escape.^[25] As she flees, she nervously hums "You Are My Lucky Star" (the song Ellen Ripley sings before blowing the Alien out of the airlock in Alien).
• In the novel, two-thirds of Earth is encased in a giant orbiting space station that forms a partial shell around the planet, which itself is largely uninhabited.^[26] Instead of Africa, the Auriga crashes into the Australian outback.
• Once aboard the Betty, Distephano considers joining the ship's crew permanently.^[27]
• The Newborn eats Distephano's brain, like Gediman, instead of tearing his head apart in the film. After doing so, it looks at Call and laughs.^[28]
• Just before it is killed, the Newborn's soft human-like tongue turns into a Xenomorph inner jaw as Ripley 8 watches.^[29] As with the Queen, Ripley 8 screams in pain along with the Newborn as it sucked out into space, sharing its agony through their mental connection, to the point where she begins bleeding from her ears.^[30]
• Despite largely following the extended Special Edition, the novel ends as the theatrical version of the movie, with the Betty still in orbit above the Earth and Ripley 8 and Call looking down at the surface.^[31]

EditionsEdit

• ISBN 0-446-60229-9; First printing: [December] [1997], Aspect Books, paperback, 276 pages

TriviaEdit

• Alien Resurrection is the only film novelization from the Alien series not to be written by Alan Dean Foster.

ReferencesEdit

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Ann Crispin (1997). Alien Resurrection novelization. Warner Books, Inc., 3. 
2. ↑ Ann Crispin (1997). Alien Resurrection novelization. Warner Books, Inc., 30. 
3. ↑ Ann Crispin (1997). Alien Resurrection novelization. Warner Books, Inc., 16. 
4. ↑ Ann Crispin (1997). Alien Resurrection novelization. Warner Books, Inc., 18. 
5. ↑ Ann Crispin (1997). Alien Resurrection novelization. Warner Books, Inc., 26. 
6. ↑ Ann Crispin (1997). Alien Resurrection novelization. Warner Books, Inc., 27. 
7. ↑ Ann Crispin (1997). Alien Resurrection novelization. Warner Books, Inc., 36. 
8. ↑ Ann Crispin (1997). Alien Resurrection novelization. Warner Books, Inc., 52. 
9. ↑ Ann Crispin (1997). Alien Resurrection novelization. Warner Books, Inc., 88. 
10. ↑ Ann Crispin (1997). Alien Resurrection novelization. Warner Books, Inc., 89. 
11. ↑ Alan Dean Foster (1986). Aliens novelization. Warner Books, Inc., 172. 
12. ↑ Ann Crispin (1997). Alien Resurrection novelization. Warner Books, Inc., 101. 
13. ↑ Ann Crispin (1997). Alien Resurrection novelization. Warner Books, Inc., 117. 
14. ↑ Ann Crispin (1997). Alien Resurrection novelization. Warner Books, Inc., 125. 
15. ↑ Ann Crispin (1997). Alien Resurrection novelization. Warner Books, Inc., 135. 
16. ↑ Ann Crispin (1997). Alien Resurrection novelization. Warner Books, Inc., 143. 
17. ↑ Ann Crispin (1997). Alien Resurrection novelization. Warner Books, Inc., 139. 
18. ↑ Ann Crispin (1997). Alien Resurrection novelization. Warner Books, Inc., 148. 
19. ↑ Ann Crispin (1997). Alien Resurrection novelization. Warner Books, Inc., 211. 
20. ↑ ^{20.0 20.1} Ann Crispin (1997). Alien Resurrection novelization. Warner Books, Inc., 216. 
21. ↑ Ann Crispin (1997). Alien Resurrection novelization. Warner Books, Inc., 119. 
22. ↑ Ann Crispin (1997). Alien Resurrection novelization. Warner Books, Inc., 258. 
23. ↑ Ann Crispin (1997). Alien Resurrection novelization. Warner Books, Inc., 220. 
24. ↑ Ann Crispin (1997). Alien Resurrection novelization. Warner Books, Inc., 228. 
25. ↑ Ann Crispin (1997). Alien Resurrection novelization. Warner Books, Inc., 232. 
26. ↑ Ann Crispin (1997). Alien Resurrection novelization. Warner Books, Inc., 234. 
27. ↑ Ann Crispin (1997). Alien Resurrection novelization. Warner Books, Inc., 250. 
28. ↑ Ann Crispin (1997). Alien Resurrection novelization. Warner Books, Inc., 256. 
29. ↑ Ann Crispin (1997). Alien Resurrection novelization. Warner Books, Inc., 264. 
30. ↑ Ann Crispin (1997). Alien Resurrection novelization. Warner Books, Inc., 270. 
31. ↑ Ann Crispin (1997). Alien Resurrection novelization. Warner Books, Inc., 276.