How does the Alien: Covenant ‘prequel’ novel fill in bits of the story?
And does it work?
This article comes fromDen of Geek UK.
This novel would be his first original tale for the franchise and was said to be a prequel toCovenant.
UnfortunatelyAlien: Covenant Originsis not that story.
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Fair warning: despite the title, no actual Xenomorphs appear in this story.
Maybe the biggest surprise and disappointment ofOriginsis that it isnt a horror or sci-fi at all.
His brief visions are the only mention of the title beasts in the book.
Those expecting any shattering insights will be disappointed.
Yutani is presented as a stoic, intelligent businessman who is ably supported by his daughter Jenny.
The problem is nothing terribly exciting happens with the character.
Its quite silly, but also a lot of fun.
If nothing else, its intriguing to have anAlienstory where Weyland-Yutani arent shown as villains.
Theyre just a corporation protecting themselves and their employees from harm, and their tactics are quite even-handed.
This brings us to the Earthsavers, and what a bunch of chancers they are.
Turns out preparing a colony ship is hard work.
London, in particular, is in bad shape.
Its covered in thick fog are some areas toxic.
Its easy to see why the events ofOriginsarent mentioned in the film.
Theyre just not terribly compelling.
Imagine reading aStar Warsprequel novel detailing Lukes time on Uncle Owens farm a few weeks beforeA New Hope.
That, combined with the absence of the famous monster, makes it hard to recommend.
For fans of Fosters work or hardcore franchise completionists only.
Alien: Covenant Originsis available now from Titan Books.
