Please make more of these! These are excellent!

Would you listen to Alien: River of Pain again? Why?

Yes. The story was very compelling - I loved how it detailed the events that occurred offscreen in the beginning of Aliens and detailed exactly what had happened at LV-426. It played like a movie in my head (especially with all of the effects) and like a good movie, I usually like to rewatch (in this case, relisten). I really think the Aliens franchise lends itself very well to the audio drama format, due all the tension, terror, and suspense the stories bring. Like Out of the Shadows, I will probably listen to this several more times. I really am hoping for more Alien audio dramas as I am a huge fan of both the Alien franchise and of audio dramas in general.

What did you like best about this story?

That it detailed the events of LV-426 very consistently with the events in Aliens, yet still had a few surprises in store for me. The suspense, tension, and terror usually associated with an Aliens story were very much present and well done. The presence of both very likable and despicable characters made the story experience good as well.

Which character – as performed by the narrators – was your favorite?

Demian Brackett. I'm a fan of Colin Salmon's work and his character was the most likable in the story.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Enthusiastic yes! But I had to restrain myself. Instead of finishing off a nice, tasty dessert too quickly, I wanted to savor it. So over the last five drives to and from work, I listened to the story. I certainly looked forward to those drives more than usual the last few days!

Any additional comments?

Great production, great casting (In addition to Salmon, Alexander Siddig was excellent in his role.) Hoping for more!

55 people found this helpful

Ehhh...

Out of the Shadows, the first of this trilogy, was much better. It's cool to get a picture of what happened to Hadley's Hope prior to the the arrival of Ripley and the Marines, but dear god, this thing takes a while to get going. You'll be about half way through the story before the Aliens show up and probably about 75% done before things really start to get going. Not that there's anything wrong with telling a slower story in the Aliens EU, but when those long periods of tension building lack any real tension and are filled with characters as deep as rain puddle, the whole thing gets a little tedious. Also, the dialogue for Newt and the other kids is f***ing UNBEARABLE!

I know that I'm being harsh on this, but I'm genuinely glad it exists. Problems aside, it's an enjoyable listen and I'll take most any excuse to hop back LV-426 or any other world of the Aliens EU. And I think that's the key takeaway here. This definitely is a die-hards only type of affair. I can't recommend this story I honestly can't imagine anyone without a vested interest in this franchise sticking with it too the end.

Please don't stop telling Alien stories! Just tell better ones! :)

9 people found this helpful

Into the Frey, again.

I am a huge Lovecraft fan, and as such was exposed to the Alien franchise much later in life (2012ish). Because of my feelings for this series I was very concerned about things like continuity, accurate characterization, and proper voice acting. I am a remarkably brutal purist when it comes to canon and I really was concerned about how these audio dramas would live up to my expectation. So mostly, I avoided them.

Then they announced the release of River of Pain, and put the other drama on a "Daily Deal". I figured its under $5 and a moderate length so it isn't too much investment.

I'm glad I made that choice.

The voice of Ripley is very close, and fairly consistent with the original casting. The rest of the cast is also superb and I could never say enough good things about Marc Warren, who is highly underrated.

If you are a fan, these are incredible, if you are someone just looking for a fast paced quick listen, these are incredible. If you generally hate everything, these are still freaking amazing.

I had high expectations, I never expected my expectations to be met. Not only were they met, they were shattered.

Listen to both these dramas now, and thank yourself later.

50 people found this helpful

Another masterpiece, and future of audio books.

if you dont know, this book and Alien: Out of The Shadows, are full production stories. Complete with music, sound effects, and wonderful voice actors.

It's like listening to a movie! Out of the Shadows was a bit better, but both are must buys. You will not regret it!

16 people found this helpful

A good prequel to Aliens

To those who want to know. This takes place before the events of Aliens movie. I listened to the Audio drama before this one Aliens out of the shadow. Those who have listened to it will find mentions of the audio drama.
Although by novel wise this is from book number three. I believe this fit right perfectly with the timeline. Those who know the Alien franchise know that the Aliens were never the main villain but rather Wayland Yutani. It shows those who follow their orders can cause serious consequences. The characters buildup is nice but I don't really get how the first third of the chapters fit but it was nice but I believe they just took too long to build the characters. However, if you want xenomorphs in your story then you'll find in the remaining half of the movie.
All in all it's still a Alien audio drama and the way they can build up tension is through slow buildup. I recommend this. Good job Audible and I hope to listen to the third drama you may produce.

20 people found this helpful

Return to the Origins

First, I need to explain the 4 stars. I was hoping for an ending with more twists. Other than that I really enjoyed the characters and the way that some of the situations were handled. The acting was engaging and kept you informed as to locations and what was happening.

12 people found this helpful

Great story

Everything is great, but man, the girl who plays Newt is awful. Her performance is so over-acted it's distracting.

3 people found this helpful

not as good as the other alien stories

This story didn't really feel fully developed. The child characters were annoying and didn't really seem to serve much purpose.

3 people found this helpful

Entertaining entry, flawed performance

The story was entertaining enough, if not a little too predictable. Overall, the experience was hindered by occasionally clunky performances from the voice actors. Robotic dialogue plagued the audiobook, unnatural throughout. Worth a listen if you're a fan of the series, but don't expect anything approaching realism.

3 people found this helpful

Disappointing

the first book in the series was really good. As soon as I finished it, I downloaded this one. I was disappointed. the voice actors in it were poor, in the story itself was just lacking.now I'm very torn if I want to continue the series or not, and chance getting a book that I disliked as much as I did this one. I was also very disappointed in myself, as the kids acting was so poor in it, I found myself hoping that they get killed by the aliens, just so I wouldn't have to listen to them anymore, after watching a alien drip from someone's chest, children would be a little more frightened, and a little more urgent about getting out of that situation, it just seems as though they were concentrating on trying to act younger than they actually were instead.

3 people found this helpful