Book #37: “Alien” by Alan Dean Foster

 

Alien

Alan Dean Foster 

 Released: January 1st, 1979

My 7th book for 2024 was Alan Dean Foster’s “Alien”.  Most people may be familiar with the film for which this novelization is based on.  The scene where the Alien bursts from Kane’s chest is well remembered, and etched forever in cinematic history.

The book reads considerably well.  Alan Dean Foster is a well-respected sci-fi novelist, and has written numerous novelizations as well as his own original stories.

“Alien” is the story of the commercial tug ship Nostromo.  They are en route back to Earth when a mysterious distress signal awakens the crew out of hyper sleep to investigate.  What they find is much more than they bargained for, leading to a deadly encounter with an alien life-form.

The biggest difference between the book and the movie is how much time it takes getting to particular events.  I know with books, there is more narration and extended information and character descriptions.  Most movies have to write it into dialogue.  In the book, the first 2/3’s deal with finding the derelict ship, and the crew’s efforts to save Kane.  In the movie, this process is sped up quite a bit.  The movie grants more screen time to the final encounter on the ship.  Where in the book, the entire segment occurs rather quickly.

There are some odd interesting facts

Here is what I learned:

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• Mother is the Mind Bank computer on the starship Nostromo.
• Ripley is the Warrant Officer.
• Dallas is the Captain.
• Kane is the Executive Officer.
• Lambert is the Navigator.
• Parker is the Chief Engineer.
• Brett is an Engineering Technician.
• Everyone but Ash is a professional dreamer.
• Ash is the Science Officer.
• Jones is the yellow tomcat aboard the ship.
• The Nostromo has a yellow alert light that flashes when the humans are brought out of hypersleep to handle a non-mission related event.
• The bridge of the Nostromo is small because it is designed strictly for work.  Considering the crew spends months in hypersleep, it makes sense.
• Sol refers to Earth’s Sun.
• The Nostromo is towing crude oil through space back to Earth.
• Petroleum has been completely drained from the Earth.
• All machines run on fusion and solar power.
• Earth has an outer space traffic control network.
• More distant starships can contact them via the out system relay systems.
• The Nostromo’s registration number is 180246.
• The Nostromo has been rerouted to the Zeta II Reticuli system for a distress call.
• Corridor C carries a foul odor.
• The distress signal is an acoustic beacon signal repeating at intervals of 12 seconds.  It is not of human origin.
• Section B2 of company policy directs in-transit officers to render aid  and assistance to any distress call, whether human or otherwise.
• The planet has a gravity of 0.86.
• Parker and Brett like to drink beer as they work.
• Parker and Brett prefer the leadership of Kane to Dallas.
• Nostromo protocol requires a 24-hour period for decontamination.
• The Nostromo is equipped with an autodoc for medical emergencies.
• The Facehugger has yellow blood.
• The blood can eat through solid metal.
• Most on the equipment on the Nostromo runs on snap-on replacement parts.
• The infirmary is the tightest compartment on the Nostromo.  It is doubled-walled.
• The crew does not wear deodorant.
• Jones likes to use the air vents to move about the ship.
• Ripley’s ID Number is W5645022460H

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Overall, a very good read.  If you love the movie “Alien”, or sci-fi in general, this is a must-read novel.  Foster’s adaption of the movie is riveting and fast-paced.  You won’t be let down.  

If you’re not into sci-fi, at least check out the movie for historical cinema.

Recommended.

On to Book #38: “The Midnight Library” by Matt Haig.