Title: Giger’s Alien
Authors: H.R. Giger
Genre: Coffee table book / autobiographical
Publisher: Titan Books
Release Date: September 2026 (First published in the UK, 1979 by Big O Publishing)
Price: US $50.00 / Canada $66.00 / UK £39.99

Originally published by Big O Publishing in the UK in 1979, Giger’s Alien is a production diary and autobiographical account of H.R. Giger’s experience designing the Xenomorph and set pieces for the 1979 horror classic Alien, directly by Sir Ridley Scott. The book is in coffee table format, with large pages and images that accompany diary entries from Giger during his time on (and off) set. While originally published in 1979, Titan Books republished the book under their own label in November of 1989; As the Alien franchise continues to celebrate major anniversaries and acclaimed success, Titan Books is once again making Giger’s Alien available to fans and readers with the September 2026 reprint.

Whether you’re a lifelong fan of the franchise or a new convert to the Xenomorph universe, Giger’s Alien provides a deep-dive look at where it all began, offering insights into the artistic struggle to achieve the unique vision of Giger, Scott, and O’Bannon. The book also includes the original foreword by Timothy Leary, which is a fantastic essay on the nature of art and culture.

Highlights

Giger’s Alien is a treasure trove of information that even the most die-hard fans may not know. While I won’t spoil all the book’s secrets, I’ll highlight a few things below that captured my attention while reading for this review.

• Detailed early designs of the Facehuggers and eggs (Ovomorphs): the original Facehugger design was significantly larger and reminded me of a (smaller) Trilobite from Prometheus. Perhaps Ridley Scott took some inspiration from this.

• Despite his nearly godlike status in the artistic community now, in those early days, Giger didn’t have the influence one would expect over set design. In fact, he was kept on ice for much of the early portion of the set development, causing him great frustration. Later, he would have to work hard to make up for lost time when he was brought back in to run set and creature design.

• The iconic derelict spaceship didn’t always look the way fans know it today. In fact, the original design of the wrecked derelict spaceship was deemed “too organic and bone-like,” and Scott feared it could be mistaken for a part of the landscape. Giger was asked to redesign portions of it to include more technology.

• Mild tension occurred between Giger and O’Bannon over the design of the derelict spaceship; in fact, Giger felt constant tension with Scott and others in charge of the film, and felt frustrated that his designs were often not followed as originally proposed.

• Originally, O’Bannon wanted only six eggs in the silo. Imagine how differently that scene would be viewed today if he had gotten his wish and perhaps how that would have impacted the lore around Xenomorph biology. Would James Cameron have gone with the Xenomorph Queen in Aliens or built off of the egg morphing idea?

• During the set design process, Giger noted that the eggs were supposed to be eighty centimeters tall. The top (flaps) of the Ovomorph were made from clay-filled condoms and looked much more vaginal, before the pattern was changed to double, forming the crosshatch look.

• Both the Facehugger and adult Xenomorph (Big Chap) were supposed to be translucent from top to bottom, but due to resource constraints, Giger let that vision go.

• Big Chap’s tail was two meters in length, which is noteworthy as the design changed significantly over the many Alien films; in fact the tail length in the AVP films and in Alien: Romulus is substantially longer.

• Each day before filming, Big Chap had to be completely repainted because the slime used dissolved the paint.

Final Score

Giger’s Alien is the perfect companion to an all-time horror classic. For those that truly love the original Alien films and can’t get enough of the lore and history behind it, this book is a must-have addition to any collection. I found myself wondering how different the franchise I love would be if Giger, Scott, or even O’Bannon had gotten their way during the many on-set disputes. This book gives fascinating insight behind the scenes and includes a rich collection of on-set photographs, proposal artwork, and more. If you or someone you know is a fan of Alien, this book would make an ideal gift.

Boss Rush Network is proud to give Giger’s Alien a full five-star rating.

Tell us what you think! Will you be reading Giger’s Alien? Share your reactions in the comments below or join the conversation on Boss Rush Network’s Discord, Facebook, and Twitter.

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.