Title: Alien: Uncivil War
Author: Brendan Deneen
Publisher: Titan Books, 20th Century Studios
Release Date: Paperback only, July 30, 2024 (Global Release)
Price: US / CA $17.99 (USD), UK / Int. £9.99
Boss Rush Network was provided an advanced copy of the novel from Titan Books for the purpose of this review. To see our reviews of other Alien novels and coverage of content within the franchise’s narrative universe, click here.
The following review contains mild spoilers.
The events of the canonical timeline for the Alien franchise have expanded greatly since 1979; from the Dark Horse Comics stories to the expanded universe from Titan Books. Even video games such as Alien: Isolation have added immensely to the richness and lore of this beloved sci-fi / horror franchise. Despite the many storytelling avenues, few writers have explored the era of Alien Resurrection and beyond.
It’s understandable, of course. The fourth Alien film met with major criticism and disappointment from fans and critics alike. Most creatives have steered clear since then, opting instead to focus on the Colonial Marines or some variant of Ripley, Hicks, Bishop, or Newt.
As such, it’s an exciting prospect that Brendan Deneen, the newest addition to the talented group of Alien expanded universe writers, has chosen this exact era to tell his story. Alien: Uncivil War, which releases July 30, takes place in the months that follow the fateful crash of USM Auriga, the medical research vessel that contained Ripley 8 and the Xenomorph infestation from Alien Resurrection.
Plot Synopsis
The year is 2381. Earth is dying, and the world is reeling from the shocking crash of the USM Auriga. Highly decorated marine Chris Temple desperately seeks a safe refuge and a new life for his family, marshaling his two daughters and their synthetic nanny through the corridors of the damaged transport ship VX-72383. Chris wants a better life for his children (Jane 11, Emma 8), a chance to start over after the death of his wife.
Alicia, the family’s artificial person, has been so good for the girls and has provided a sense of safety despite the tumultuous past few years, but none of that matters now; danger lurks around every corner of the dying spacecraft, and Chris must get his family safely to the lifeboats.
What follows is a crash landing on the unusual mining colony Omega Seven Tango (referred to by locals as the OST) on planet LV-1313. The seemingly peaceful town offers everything Chris has longed to give his girls, a good life reminiscent of twentieth century Earth. If only the OST weren’t hiding dark secrets beneath its alluring veneer.
Weyland-Yutani cultists, United Systems Marines, terraforming colonists–Alien: Uncivil War has a lot to offer fans of the franchise with both the familiar and the new.
Creative Narrative from a Fascinating Era
The most intriguing aspect of Alien: Uncivil War for me was the notion of Weyland-Yutani cultists. So much of the franchise content has focused on the evil corporation, its goals of domination and subjugation; but in this era, the mighty company is no more. (Established long before Alien: Uncivil War.) For those that don’t know, Wey-Yu suffers a great collapse in the early twenty-fourth century, and in its ruin is bought out by Walmart. Yes, you read that correctly. The American superstore company buys out the evil corporation (that’s a level of meta that’s just so rich).
During this era, devout followers of the Weyland-Yutani founders (Peter Weyland and Cullen Yutani) rise from the company’s ashes. These “cultists” believe that the corporation will one day rise again and they work tirelessly to restore Wey-Yu to its rightful place and to return it to the purity of intent they believe it founded upon.
I found this aspect of the novel compelling, particularly the backstory details we get on Peter Weyland and Cullen Yutani. One of the major characters of the novel, a We-Yu cultist, read obsessively about the founders as a young adult. She explains:
“…the corporation had perverted the true beliefs of Peter Weyland and Cullen Yutani. The company, in its insatiable growth and greed, had stripped the soul from the original creators’ intentions, had replaced the fruit of an organic and important idea with a brittle husk that couldn’t sustain or nourish a society” (Alien: Uncivil War 234).
For readers like me who may find this aspect of the novel compelling, they might feel some disappointment that Deneen doesn’t lean more heavily into this. While he gives readers a lot of context and backstory, the lore doesn’t seem to affect the behaviors of the We-Yu cultists in the present. Their behavior mostly mirrors the standard Weyland-Yutani MO, lacking any distinctive ethic or ways of being. For a topic with as much potential as this one, it largely fails to deliver on the curiosity piqued by its promise. I wish Deneen would have developed this aspect of the story further because the idea is very compelling.
Regardless, the belief of inherent moral rightness for We-Yu cultists sets up a rich tension with the United Systems Military and retired colonel Chris Temple.
This is best explained by the same female character mentioned earlier, who is a We-Yu cultist:
“Weyland and Yutani believed in the power of the human spirit to overcome any obstacle. They believed that technology, while helpful as a tool, was nothing without the purity of thought and meaning and emotion behind it. Technology did not enable the user–the user enabled the technology. The human mind, and all its various dependents, was the single most important element in the entire universe. When used in the correct manner, it could move mountains, thread stars, change entire planets” (Alien: Uncivil War 250).
This ideology sounds fresh and free from the dark corporate greed central to the Weyland-Yutani that fans of the franchise are most familiar with. These founders are dedicated to the best that humanity can offer, the best that can be accomplished when working collaboratively in humanistic unity. While the characters of Alien: Uncivil War don’t quite live up to this billing, this lore is a fantastic basis for conflict.
Even as the Wey-Yu cultists believe themselves to be on the right side of history, so too does the United Systems Military and Chris Temple. Mega-corporations were outlawed in 2349, disbanded and their assets taken over by the USM. Young soldiers were “recruited and told this was their chance to better a world that corporations had nearly destroyed by greed and self-serving desire for power. [The soldiers] believed it then and [they] believed it now” (Alien: Uncivil War 105).
Protagonist Christ Temple embodies this altruism and purity of belief; indeed he strives to be a force of good in the universe, taking pride in his service to humanity, and even avoiding killing whenever possible.
A Return to the Foundations of the Franchise
In his author’s note at the end of the novel, Brendan Deneen notes that since the original film, Alien has always consisted of “three essential elements that have allowed this franchise to grow into multiple movies, comic books, video games, and… novels. These elements are: the Corporation, the Monster, the Android” (374).
This trio served as a model for Deneen in the writing of Alien: Uncivil War. Indeed, the story takes care to develop all three sources of tension thoroughly. I love and appreciate Deneen’s understanding of what has made Alien great; and through conversations with him, know firsthand just how big a fan of the franchise he is.
However, this balancing act between the Corporation, the Monster, and the Android may not work for all readers of Alien: Uncivil War. For fans of the franchise hoping for a Xenomorph-driven plot, the novel may come as a disappointment. The Perfect Organism occupies very few pages of the 372-page book, and at times feels like an afterthought.
It’s pretty clear Deneen made an intentional choice in focusing on the human-driven storylines, as supported by his author’s note. It can be challenging to develop multiple sources of conflict well, particularly when limited to a novel of this size; focusing on the inter-human conflicts and the wonder of human-synthetic interactions, necessitates less time spent on the Xenomorph. In a story like this one, I found it somewhat problematic that as the novel (rightly) took time to develop these other stories, the creatures were seemingly content to wait their turn to attack the totally vulnerable groups of people. This behavior felt counter to the perfect killing machines of unmatched hostility found elsewhere in the franchise.
With that criticism offered, I will counter by noting that the protagonist Chris Temple is wonderfully developed and feels far more fleshed out than the lead characters of many other in-universe novels. I would absolutely enjoy seeing future stories featuring the USM veteran.
About the Author
Brendan Deneen is a best-selling author of the award-winning coming-of-age novel Ninth Circle. He’s also written critically acclaimed horror novels The Chrysalis and Morbius: Blood Ties. Deneen’s “nerd-cred” runs deep with entries into Marvel and Disney tie-in novels as well.
But Alien fans will most appreciate Deneen’s passion for this franchise. In a conversation on X, he shared with me how he grew up loving the first two films and was very upset about Alien 3 because he loved Newt, Hicks, and Bishop so much.
During the pandemic, Deneen began writing a bunch of fan fiction for a few of his favorite franchises including Alpha Flight, Matt Wagner’s Grendel, and of course, Alien. Like many authors who are fans of the franchise, Deneen wrote his own outline for what he would have done with Alien 3; and at the time he was already writing novels for Titan Books. Having recently discovered that Dark Horse Comics had a graphic novel of an early Alien 3 screenplay, he decided to ask his editor if they would do an Alien 3 fan-fiction novel, and he sent over his synopsis.
Unfortunately for Deneen, Titan Books quickly shot down the idea. Years passed, and to his great surprise, his editor reached out with the news that Titan Books loved his idea and would like him to craft an original story with original characters to be published as part of the Alien expanded universe. As a lifelong fan of the franchise, Deneen jumped at the idea, and the rest is history.
Deneen’s attention to detail certainly reflects his deep love for all things Alien, and his story adds to the lore at a part of the timeline that is lacking attention.
Final Score
While there is a lot to love about Alien: Uncivil War, the novel’s shortcomings made a significant impact. The pacing and plot-focus decisions left me feeling impatient at times or simply removed from the flow and tension of the story.
Ultimately, the lack of the Xenomorph for significant portions of the novel made Alien: Uncivil War less enjoyable than I had hoped. At times, I wished Deneen would quicken the pacing of the novel, both in the movement of the plot and in the intimate conversations that at times felt overwritten and left little room for mystery and reader engagement. That could be a style preference though and others may enjoy the level of care and thoroughness that Deneen gives to character motivations and exchanges.
Regardless, I hope Titan Books allows more stories to be told from this era of the Alien timeline, and I would enjoy another entry from Brendan Deneen.
Boss Rush Network gives Alien: Uncivil War a three-star rating.
Tell us what you think! Will you be reading Alien: Uncivil? Share your reactions in the comments below or join the conversation on Boss Rush Network’s Discord and Facebook.
Featured Image: Titan Books
David Lasby is the Editor-in-Chief for Boss Rush Network. His favorite video games are The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, and the Aliens franchise. You can find him on Twitter to talk all things Nintendo, sci-fi / fantasy, and creative writing.
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