The project remains one of the most fascinating 'What if?' scenarios in 'Alien' history, but time has unfortunately moved on. Weaver seemed genuinely excited about the chance to do another direct sequel to 'Aliens' but the project was eventually put on the back-burner while Ridley Scott proceeded with his own prequels.

A few years back, some concept art began trickling out, giving fans a sense of what could have been if Hicks and Ripley had been re-united onscreen. Please don't remind us of the 'Alien 5' idea that wound up never happening! If you recall, Blomkamp ('District 9') wanted to essentially reboot the franchise, ignoring the beginning of David Fincher's 'Alien 3' - wherein Hicks and Newt are already dead on arrival when Ripley crash-lands on the prison planet Fiorina 161. And there was an 'Alien' that I really wanted to do with Neill Blomkamp and we didn't get to do that, but, you know, that ship has sailed.' This is a very good start.'There are all kinds of younger actors taking this kind of role. I recommend Alien Covenant: Origins if, like me, you've never read a novel from the storied franchise before and need a place to begin. It is a solid book with good writing by an author that knows his stuff. It is like a light weight Dan Brown novel with its twists, turns, feints and reveals. I give Alien Covenant: Origins three-and-a-half stars. Most important, some of the crew are given depth and character beyond what the motion picture accommodates. We are introduced to the Earthsavers who have an interesting place in the story and certainly provide for serious questions and discussions. We also see why and how the Covenant mission came to be.

The reader becomes familiar with the Weyland-Yutani corporation and its mammoth size, riches and influence. I think it was smart and interesting to spin an original tale among the other storied elements of the Alien franchise with Alien Covenant: Origins. This economy of characters works well to create a smart, short, and fast moving story. The novel mentions all of the crew of Covenant, but focuses on the adventures of, and is seen through the eyes of one crew member.

It is a quick-paced thriller that wastes no time or words presenting an Earth-based, non-alien threat posed to the eponymous colonist ship before it leaves Earth orbit. Alien Covenant: Origins is an original story in the Aliens story line.

Aliens covenant origins