I’m a fan of prequels, though I understand some may not share my feelings; I really enjoyed episodes 1-3 of Star Wars, not as much as the original trilogy but I enjoyed them nonetheless. Prequels are a way to involve new characters that for various reasons couldn’t be in the already told stories, or to involve characters that might have been killed off. They’re also used to further a story, or give back-story without contradicting what we already know. And as the poet and philosopher George Santayana once said: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
That being said I was intrigued to get Aliens: Steel Egg by John Shirley, a prequel to the first Alien movie; Aliens: Steel Egg’s premise is that the Weyland-Yutani company (aka the company mentioned in the Aliens saga) knew something about the species from the first flick. Aliens: Steel Egg tells about humanity’s first meeting with the skeletal xenomorphs (aka the face huggers which implant the aliens in their hosts).
We know from the first film Alien that Ripley and the crew of the Nostromo weren’t the first to encounter the face huggers and their alien spawn. The reason Weyland-Yutani company know about the aliens is because someone battled them, and survived to tell the tale.
What we have in Aliens: Steel Egg is the crew of The Hornblower being sent to explore a large metallic deposit on Iepetus (one of Saturn’s moons). What the crew discovers is the ore deposit isn’t ore at all, but instead a derelict egg-shaped alien vessel, with our friends the face huggers inside. The crew thinks that the ship might contain metal usable for Earth and force their way on board. They split up into three teams to explore it and we learn the aliens have already awoken; we then learn the details of the first battle.
I wanted to enjoy this book as I’m a fan of the Aliens saga, but the lack of both character development and back-story hampered my enjoyment. Most of the development is in the first chapter and unfortunately it just wasn’t enough for me. Now don’t get me wrong, there are some good moments; I just was expected more and my expectations weren’t met. If you want to read this book, I'd recommend borrowing from a friend who has it, or checking out your local library.
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