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Kurogosane
5.0 out of 5 stars What should have been Alien 3
Reviewed in the United States on June 2, 2019
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I am being honest here. I was really surprised when I saw this available on Alien Day. I had just finished reading the Alien 3 Comic Book from William Gibson and I must say that this is what should have been Alien 3. I really like this story better than the version they made. Although I must say the comic book felt rushed and this if you've been listening to the other alien audible drama is half of the normal drama series since this did not have a novelization and instead the closest you can find is the comic books now. Its about 2hrs and 16min, so less than the normal 5hr Alien Audible Drama's. For those that have watched the movies, this place after the events of "Aliens" and does not take the route where a fire incurs and the pods are ejected. Instead they talk about a time where there is a treaty amount the earth colony and free people and the Solaco enters their territory. What happens after the free people come in is what takes place.
Spoiler Alert: if you ever wondered about the original Alien having a Human Skull behind the dome, well you'll be glad to know this is where we will hear one or if you've read the comics then where you'll see one.
I am glad that hicks and Bishop are reprieved by the original Aliens movie actors and it really felt nostalgic listening to them. They played a phenomenal role and really felt part of the movie. I will say even though I like this story better than Alien 3 movie, I still don't think it is the greatest although at this point this is better than even Alien Resurrection . But Audible Managed to make a bad story into a great Audio drama.

I would definitely recommend this to be listened. Its a great audio drama and if you have a chance then listen to the other Alien Audio Drama Out there.
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Everett P. Mcleod
4.0 out of 5 stars The original Alien 3 script, as a comic
Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2019
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I was very excited for this, having been a huge fan of the Alien franchise since I saw Ripley fight an Alien Queen on the Sulaco in the movie Aliens. And maybe you were like me, disappointed in the direction of the movie Alien 3, so maybe you looked into the comics for additional stories. I've watched every single movie, including all the AvP movies, Prometheus and Covenant. I still found that none of them have ever come close to the original two movies (though covenant was a good effort). I instead found myself collecting every Darkhorse Alien comic I could get my hands on and still believe they contain some of the best stories to come out for this franchise. Before Alien 3, Darkhorse released a series of comics that would continue the stories of Ripley, Hicks and Newt but could never become canon after Alien 3 was released.

So what is this exactly? It's an unused screen play for Alien 3, which was later scrapped for the one we know today. The story is much different and there's a lot less Ripley and a lot more Bishop, Hicks is there too but in a smaller role. We learn of a competing group of nations called the CPP as well as expanding the ideas of Weyland-Yutanis goals from the previous films. We learn about how even dead and lifeless Alien DNA can adapt and survive when introduced to life forms, I won't spoil it but it resulted in a pretty cool scene. I felt like some of the ideas and themes in this script were later taken and used for Alien: Resurrection and Prometheus as there is Alien cloning and evolutions of how the Xenomorph is born.

I really liked the art and the concept was good but I could see why this script was scrapped. Writing out Ripley to me was a mistake since she was the central figure in all of the movies. The alien concepts here were great in my opinion and did something different from the previous 2 movies but felt closer to the theme of the original Alien. There are no Marines, just a group of people on a space station caught in the line of fire between Weyland-Yutani's and the CPP's race for a biological weapon and the Xenomorph. Of course there are still themes of conspiracy but Ripley doesn't have her epic moment where she sacrifices herself but we get some closure on Newt and Bishop which is good.

I still hold the original Alien comics from the 80s in high regards and my bias sides with those. I loved that this was created though and can't thank Dark horse enough for giving us a bit of a What If? moment where we can see just how different Alien 3 could have been. It's also a beautiful hard cover that feels nice in your hands with excellent print quality. There's also a excerpt from the writer of the script as well as some concept art in the back of the book.

Also I've been having issues with Amazon lately, they shipped the book with bent edges on the hardcover and some very light scarring on the cover as well. I didn't find it a huge deal but for some reason a lot of books I've been getting have been coming in with less than stellar quality.

Maybe my expectations were a bit too high, but it was an enjoyable read and in my opinion, every Alien fan should own this book.
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Bobby SprinklesTop Contributor: Batman
2.0 out of 5 stars Misses the Mark
Reviewed in the United States on August 11, 2019
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The preface of this book states that this is an early draft of William Gibson's alien 3 screenplay. And you can tell that it's an early draft. The story feels unrefined and unfocused; it feels more like a brainstorming session rather than a fluid story with a beginning, middle, and end. There doesn't seem to be a clear protagonist. Instead, it feels like a group of supporting characters with no story arcs and with no real goal other than to just not die from the xenomorphs. The plot feels like it doesn't know what to do with itself. It often misses key target screenplay beats and plot points, making the whole narrative choppy, unstable, and at some points kind of confusing. It also doesn't help that this story is over saturated with dialogue about mundane space corporation jargon that doesn't really help move the story forward.
I'm sad because I LOVE the Alien franchise. But honestly, this isn't really that good.
Having said that, there are some good things about this book. The Aliens have very little "screen time" in this story, but when you do see them, it's intense and gloriously brutal. And the artwork is supurb as well.
Overall it was an underwhelming experience, especially since it's supposed to be happening right after James Cameron's Aliens movie which is way better than this.
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Hexanova
2.0 out of 5 stars I can see why producers passed on this
Reviewed in the United States on October 18, 2019
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One of the problems with the movie version of Alien 3 is that they killed off Newt, Hicks, and Bishop. The problem with this Gibson's version of Alien 3 is he forgot that the start of the series is Ripley, and put most of the focus on Bishop, and including Hicks/Newt as tertiary characters. Ripley is literally unconscious the entire store. So Gibson swung the pendulum to the other side and completely left out the most important character.

Additionally, the overall story is more focused on two socio-political groups in space, and barely focuses on the alien itself. So...no Ripley, barely any xenomorph, space politics. Yeah....there's a reason producers received this script from Gibson and tossed it on the shelf.
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Jennifer Chase-Smith
1.0 out of 5 stars Makes alien 3 the film look like a masterpiece
Reviewed in the United States on August 7, 2019
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I had high Hope's this story would have given newt, hicks, and bishop the spotlight. All it did was introduce lame new characters that were hard to keep track of. Ripley has one scene...ridiculous.
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Top reviews from other countries

MR M TAYLOR
1.0 out of 5 stars Totally understand why this didn't become Alien 3.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 21, 2019
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Most of the reviews here seem to be for the audio book. I purchased the graphic novel. People may have been largely disappointed with the treatment of Hicks and Newt in the Alien 3 movie but Newt and Ripley may as well have been killed-off for all the impact they have in this story. It reads as bad fan fiction with clumsy themes and paper-thin characters. Worth reading if only to get a sense of how much worse Alien 3 could have been. Stick to the assembly cut and forget this.
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Steven Louden
4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 26, 2019
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Really fascinating insight into what Alien 3 could have been. It's true that Ripley is mostly absent from this story but considering the brief Gibson got for this story, it's not surprising. Loved the ideas and was good fun, would love to see some of these ideas crop up in future movies. Is it better than the Alien 3 we got...yes and no. Alien 3 despite being very disliked... Its not a terrible film and it has some strong, very well done scenes. This book has some fantastic scenes but it suffers from lack of Ripley.
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E Griffin
4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting sidenote to the wider franchise
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 16, 2019
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Hicks, Newt, Ripley and Bishop are rescued after the events of Aliens; however, a xenomorph has also survived. Gibson’s unused – and very respectful of the series -screenplay is given a sprightly rendering as a graphic novel. An interesting sidenote to the wider franchise, and a fun SF/horror adventure in its own right.
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Mr Jampot
5.0 out of 5 stars Alien Fan must have
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 12, 2020
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I love the assembly cut of Alien 3, I think if Fincher went back an touched up that version of his film it would be truly amazing. However in another world this film would have been made and it would have rocked too. This collection is fantastic and is a must have!
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Michael Charlton
5.0 out of 5 stars If only the film had been this good
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 23, 2020
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Don't get me wrong, I love the film (assembly cut), but this story - whilst not perfect - had so much potential. Go and read it, now.
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