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Alien Resurrection is a 1997 novelization of the film of the same name, written by A. C. Crispin and Kathleen O'Malley[1] and published by Warner Aspect on November 27, 1997.

As well as standard print editions, the novel was released in audiobook format in 2015, read by actor William Hope and published by Audible Studios.

Publisher's Summary[]

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 film[]

Many of the additions found in the Special Edition of Alien Resurrection are also in the novelization, including the alternate opening, Ripley 8 breaking Dr. Sprague's arm and Christie and Distephano discussing their weapons. However, not all of the changes from the extended cut of the film are included in the novel — for instance, the story ends with the Betty still in orbit around Earth, omitting the scene where the ship sets down outside a ruined Paris. Other notable differences include:

  • The person who kills the insect in the command module during the opening sequence is Distephano, as opposed to an unnamed character in the Special Edition of the film.[2]
  • The Ripley clone is not quite as perfect as in the film; she has vestigial dorsal spines on her back, which have to be surgically removed by Dr. Wren before she gains consciousness.[3] She also has hair when she is formed, whereas in the film she is entirely bald during her development.[4]
  • Gediman wears a high-tech visor during the surgery to remove the Chestburster from Ripley 8, allowing him to zoom in and study what he is doing in minute detail.[5] He carries out the operation using remotely operated robotic armatures;[6] this concept was originally planned for the film, but dropped due to budget constraints. The Chestburster is connected to Ripley 8 by six umbilical chords, not just one.[7]
  • Portions of the novel are written from the perspectives of Ripley 8,[8] the Cloned Queen,[9] the Lead Alien[10] (referred to in the novel simply as "the Warrior") and even the Newborn,[11] providing inner monologues detailing their thoughts and points of view. These sections make it clear both Ripley 8 and the Cloned Xenomorphs share Ellen Ripley's memories.
  • In the early stages of her development after being released from her incubator tank, Ripley 8 sheds her skin at least once, like a Xenomorph.[12]
  • While she is in captivity, a mosquito bites Ripley 8 but is killed by her acidic blood.[13] This scene was planned for the film, but dropped due to special effects limitations.
  • An added scene shows Purvis before he is kidnapped by the crew of the Betty, boarding a transport on Luna that is due to take him to a new job on the planet Xarem.[14]
  • The scene where Ripley 8 attacks Wren plays out slightly differently in the novel. During their struggle, Wren actually manages to escape from Ripley's grip, but before he can crawl away she catches him and continues to suffocate him between her thighs.[15] It is Distephano who then bursts in and confronts her, not Calabrese as in the film (although he is also present); when Distephano threatens her with his Shockrifle, Ripley 8 relents and releases Wren, and only after this does the soldier shock her.[16]
  • The picture memory recall test Ripley 8 undertakes is conducted by Dr. Matt Kinloch, not Dr. Williamson as in the film.[17] 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.[18]
  • The scene in which Purvis and the other colonists are impregnated is extended to show the reactions of the USM scientists — most of them are disgusted and sickened by what they see, while Wren is stoic and Gediman is in awe.[19]
  • The novel reveals that the crew of the Betty were mercenaries before Vriess was paralyzed on a planet called Kawlang.[20]
  • Gediman recalls the events of Alien and Aliens when talking to Ripley 8 in the mess hall, and explains that exhaustive attempts were made to locate the Xenomorph homeworld after her death on Fiorina 161, but with no success.[21] He also mentions LV-426 is now uninhabitable after the explosion seen in Aliens (even though the novelization of that film made it clear the detonation of an Atmosphere Processing Plant creates no fallout).[22]
  • The novel reveals that Purvis suffers from a low thyroid count, and that this adversely effects the development of the Chestburster within him.[23] This explains why the embryo within him takes so much longer to emerge than the rest of the kidnapped hosts, something that is left unclear in the film.
  • When Wren and the soldiers catch Call leaving Ripley 8's cell they electrocute her with their Shockrifles, knocking her unconscious.[24] In the film they merely restrain her.
  • The man who is killed with the nitrogen 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.[25]
  • In the book, no lifeboats escape the Auriga.[26] In the film, at least one escape pod gets away safely with several soldiers and Dr. Williamson aboard.
  • The Xenomorph that Vriess encounters in the stores actually breaks through the ceiling to get to him, leering at him before he opens fire.[27]
  • Whereas Johner in the film seems almost unfazed by the Xenomorph outbreak, in the novel he is terrified of the creatures, often shaking uncontrollably with fear.[28] However, he still displays much of the bravado he does in the movie.
  • When asked how many remain, Wren tells the survivors that his team originally bred twenty Xenomorphs, whereas in the film he suggests there are only twelve left (something he could not possibly know with any certainty at that point).[29] It is also explained that the Cloned Xenomorphs are able to breed and grow faster than regular Xenomorphs owing to the unintentional genetic crossing that occurred during their creation.[30]
  • 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.[31] In the film, they find only the bodies of the civilians that were brought aboard.
  • Before the swim through the flooded galley, the survivors send Ripley 8 on ahead to check the route is clear. Only after she returns do the others dive under.[32]
  • The survivors are unable to tear through the membrane that the Xenomorphs stretch over the water in the elevator shaft; Call begins cutting through it with her dagger, but even so the others are unable to pull it apart. Ripely 8 saves them when she catches up and rips the membrane with her superior strength.[33] They are trapped for so long that Distephano loses consciousness, and after they drag him out of the water Call has to resuscitate him.[34]
  • After Call plugs into with the Auriga, Father adopts her voice for the remainder of the story.[35]
  • Several Xenomorph Drones are also present in the Queen's chamber, swimming in a large pool of human blood and offal that the Queen is suspended in.[36]
  • It is explained that the Queen does not wish to give live birth to the Newborn, but rather it is a pure mutation of the cloning process.[38]
  • It is explained that the Newborn is merely an infant, and will double or even triple in size within as little as a day.[39] This growth is so rapid it happens even as Ripley 8 watches it. It is also a far more agile creature, able to climb along walls like other Xenomorphs, and possesses a tail.[40]
  • 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.[39] This also happens in the comic adaptation of the film.
  • The Newborn actively consumes Gediman's brain. After he is killed, a Chestburster erupts from his corpse.[41]
  • Ripley 8 also shares a psychic link with the Newborn and very nearly chooses to side with it, before memories of her daughter and Newt cause her to shake off her Xenomorph impulses once and for all and escape.[42] As she flees the Hive, she nervously hums "You Are My Lucky Star" (the song 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. Earth itself is said to be largely uninhabited.[43] It is revealed that the only remainign inhabitants are the poor and disenfranchised, as the majority of humans have moved out into space and the colonies. Instead of Africa, the Auriga crashes into the Australian outback.[43]
  • Like the Auriga, the Betty also has a computer that talks to the crew. With Elgyn and Hillard dead, Call has to plug in to prepare the ship for its escape, and after this the ship adopts her voice.[44]
  • The Betty's escape from the Auriga is cut even more fine than in the movie, and the ship does not get out of the docking bay until the Auriga is already entering Earth's atmosphere.[45]
  • After escaping the Auriga, Distephano considers joining the ship's crew permanently.[46]
  • The Newborn eats Distephano's brain, like Gediman, instead of tearing his head apart as in the film. After doing so, it looks at Call and laughs.[47]
  • When Ripley 8 confronts the Newborn in the Betty's hold, it uses Call as a human shield. Call begs Ripley to pick up Distephano's rifle and shoot through her to kill the creature, but she cannot bring herself to do it.[48]
  • Just before it is killed, the Newborn's soft human-like tongue turns into a Xenomorph inner jaw as Ripley 8 watches.[49]
  • As with the Queen, Ripley 8 shares in the Newborn's pain through their mental connection, screaming in agony as it sucked out through the viewport, to the point where she begins bleeding from her ears.[50] As the Betty is already in Earth's atmosphere at this point, the Newborn is ejected into the stratosphere, not space.[51]

Audiobook[]

Alien Resurrection audiobook

Alien Resurrection audiobook.

In 2015, Audible Studios produced an unabridged audiobook of A. C. Crispin and Kathleen O'Malley's novelization, read by actor William Hope (who played Lieutenant Gorman in Aliens). The audiobook runs for 9 hours and 54 minutes and was released on December 10, 2015, alongside similar audiobooks of Alien, Aliens (also read by Hope) and Alien3.

Trivia[]

  • Alien Resurrection is the only film novelization from the Alien series not to be written by Alan Dean Foster. Foster was initially asked to write the book, but the author turned it down after his negative experience with the novelization of Alien3, which (much like the film it was based on) suffered from studio interference.[52]
  • The novelization is one of the few Alien franchise stories in which events are depicted from the perspective of the Xenomorphs. Other examples include the comic Do Aliens Dream?, the novels Alien: Sea of Sorrows and Alien: Prototype and, perhaps most notably, the short story Dangerous Prey.
  • Although the novel gives sole credit to A. C. Crispin on the cover, the first edition additionally credited Kathleen O'Malley as co-author on the title page. Despite O'Malley's involvement being confirmed on Crispin's own website,[1] her credit was later removed from the Titan Books reissue.

Goofs[]

See: Alien Resurrection goofs#Novelization

Editions[]

Gallery[]

See Also[]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 "A.C. Crispin - BOOKS & PROJECTS > PUBLISHED WORKS". Retrieved on 2019-07-116.
  2. A. C. Crispin, Kathleen O'Malley. Alien Resurrection, p. 5 (2015), Titan Books.
  3. A. C. Crispin, Kathleen O'Malley. Alien Resurrection, p. 39 (2015), Titan Books.
  4. A. C. Crispin, Kathleen O'Malley. Alien Resurrection, p. 19 (2015), Titan Books.
  5. A. C. Crispin, Kathleen O'Malley. Alien Resurrection, p. 20 (2015), Titan Books.
  6. A. C. Crispin, Kathleen O'Malley. Alien Resurrection, p. 22 (2015), Titan Books.
  7. A. C. Crispin, Kathleen O'Malley. Alien Resurrection, p. 24 (2015), Titan Books.
  8. A. C. Crispin, Kathleen O'Malley. Alien Resurrection, p. 26 (2015), Titan Books.
  9. A. C. Crispin, Kathleen O'Malley. Alien Resurrection, p. 54 (2015), Titan Books.
  10. A. C. Crispin, Kathleen O'Malley. Alien Resurrection, p. 108 (2015), Titan Books.
  11. A. C. Crispin, Kathleen O'Malley. Alien Resurrection, p. 270 (2015), Titan Books.
  12. A. C. Crispin, Kathleen O'Malley. Alien Resurrection, p. 33 (2015), Titan Books.
  13. A. C. Crispin, Kathleen O'Malley. Alien Resurrection, p. 34 (2015), Titan Books.
  14. A. C. Crispin, Kathleen O'Malley. Alien Resurrection, p. 36 (2015), Titan Books.
  15. A. C. Crispin, Kathleen O'Malley. Alien Resurrection, p. 42 (2015), Titan Books.
  16. A. C. Crispin, Kathleen O'Malley. Alien Resurrection, p. 43 (2015), Titan Books.
  17. A. C. Crispin, Kathleen O'Malley. Alien Resurrection, p. 45 (2015), Titan Books.
  18. A. C. Crispin, Kathleen O'Malley. Alien Resurrection, p. 62 (2015), Titan Books.
  19. A. C. Crispin, Kathleen O'Malley. Alien Resurrection, p. 92 (2015), Titan Books.
  20. A. C. Crispin, Kathleen O'Malley. Alien Resurrection, p. 103 (2015), Titan Books.
  21. A. C. Crispin, Kathleen O'Malley. Alien Resurrection, p. 105 (2015), Titan Books.
  22. Alan Dean Foster. Aliens, p. 228 (2014), Titan Books.
  23. A. C. Crispin, Kathleen O'Malley. Alien Resurrection, p. 107 (2015), Titan Books.
  24. A. C. Crispin, Kathleen O'Malley. Alien Resurrection, p. 118 (2015), Titan Books.
  25. A. C. Crispin, Kathleen O'Malley. Alien Resurrection, p. 136 (2015), Titan Books.
  26. A. C. Crispin, Kathleen O'Malley. Alien Resurrection, p. 141 (2015), Titan Books.
  27. A. C. Crispin, Kathleen O'Malley. Alien Resurrection, p. 148 (2015), Titan Books.
  28. A. C. Crispin, Kathleen O'Malley. Alien Resurrection, p. 155 (2015), Titan Books.
  29. A. C. Crispin, Kathleen O'Malley. Alien Resurrection, p. 160 (2015), Titan Books.
  30. A. C. Crispin, Kathleen O'Malley. Alien Resurrection, p. 165 (2015), Titan Books.
  31. A. C. Crispin, Kathleen O'Malley. Alien Resurrection, p. 170 (2015), Titan Books.
  32. A. C. Crispin, Kathleen O'Malley. Alien Resurrection, p. 186 (2015), Titan Books.
  33. A. C. Crispin, Kathleen O'Malley. Alien Resurrection, p. 191 (2015), Titan Books.
  34. A. C. Crispin, Kathleen O'Malley. Alien Resurrection, p. 193 (2015), Titan Books.
  35. A. C. Crispin, Kathleen O'Malley. Alien Resurrection, p. 226 (2015), Titan Books.
  36. A. C. Crispin, Kathleen O'Malley. Alien Resurrection, p. 242 (2015), Titan Books.
  37. A. C. Crispin, Kathleen O'Malley. Alien Resurrection, p. 247 (2015), Titan Books.
  38. A. C. Crispin, Kathleen O'Malley. Alien Resurrection, p. 249 (2015), Titan Books.
  39. 39.0 39.1 A. C. Crispin, Kathleen O'Malley. Alien Resurrection, p. 251 (2015), Titan Books.
  40. A. C. Crispin, Kathleen O'Malley. Alien Resurrection, p. 294 (2015), Titan Books.
  41. A. C. Crispin, Kathleen O'Malley. Alien Resurrection, p. 260 (2015), Titan Books.
  42. A. C. Crispin, Kathleen O'Malley. Alien Resurrection, p. 263 (2015), Titan Books.
  43. 43.0 43.1 A. C. Crispin, Kathleen O'Malley. Alien Resurrection, p. 267 (2015), Titan Books.
  44. A. C. Crispin, Kathleen O'Malley. Alien Resurrection, p. 269 (2015), Titan Books.
  45. A. C. Crispin, Kathleen O'Malley. Alien Resurrection, p. 281 (2015), Titan Books.
  46. A. C. Crispin, Kathleen O'Malley. Alien Resurrection, p. 285 (2015), Titan Books.
  47. A. C. Crispin, Kathleen O'Malley. Alien Resurrection, p. 291 (2015), Titan Books.
  48. A. C. Crispin, Kathleen O'Malley. Alien Resurrection, p. 295 (2015), Titan Books.
  49. A. C. Crispin, Kathleen O'Malley. Alien Resurrection, p. 301 (2015), Titan Books.
  50. A. C. Crispin, Kathleen O'Malley. Alien Resurrection, p. 307 (2015), Titan Books.
  51. A. C. Crispin, Kathleen O'Malley. Alien Resurrection, p. 304 (2015), Titan Books.
  52. Alan Dean Foster. "Planet Error", Empire Magazine, April 2008, Pg 100

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