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Alien: River of Pain

An Audible Original Drama

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Alien: River of Pain

By: Christopher Golden, Dirk Maggs
Narrated by: Anna Friel, Philip Glenister, Colin Salmon, Alexander Siddig, Marc Warren, Michelle Ryan, William Hope
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About this listen

Ellen Ripley finally returns to Earth, only to discover that LV-426 — where the crew of the Nostromo first came into contact with the deadly xenomorphs — has been renamed Acheron.

Protected by Colonial Marines, the colonists seek to terraform the storm-swept planet against all the odds. But in the face of brutal living conditions and the daily struggles of a new world, there is humanity and hope. Anne and Russell Jorden — two colonists who are seeking a fortune that eluded them on Earth — are expecting their firstborn child.

The birth of Rebecca Jorden, known to her family as Newt, is a cause for celebration. But as the colony grows and expands, so, too, do the political struggles between a small detachment of Colonial Marines and the Weyland-Yutani scientists posted on Acheron. Willing to overlook their orders in order to serve the Company's interests, these scientists have another far more sinister agenda — to covertly capture a living Alien.

The wildcatters discover a vast, decaying spaceship. The horseshoe-shaped vessel is of particular interest to Weyland-Yutani and may be the answer to their dreams. But what Anne and Russell find onboard proves to be the stuff not of dreams but of nightmares.

This terrifying, cinematic, multicast dramatization — directed by the multiaward-winning Dirk Maggs, best known for his adaptations of Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere for the BBC — is the sequel to Audible Original's Alien: Out of the Shadows (nominated for Best Audio Drama at the 2017 Audies).

Starring Golden Globe-nominated Anna Friel (Pushing Daisies, Limitless), Alexander Siddig (Star Trek: Deep Space 9, Game of Thrones), Michelle Ryan (Bionic Woman, Doctor Who), Colin Salmon (Alien vs Predator, Arrow, James Bond), Marc Warren (Mad Dogs, Saving Private Ryan, Hustle) and Philip Glenister (Outcast, Life on Mars), with special guest star William Hope returning as Lt. Gorman from James Cameron's Aliens.

©2017 20th Century Fox (P)2017 Audible, Ltd.
Fantasy First Contact Science Fiction

Critic Reviews

"Filled with tension and stellar voice performances, River Of Pain is edge of your seat good." ( Buzzfeed)
"Frightening." ( Yahoo Movies)
"Dirk Maggs continues to create masterful audio drama that only gets better.... Maggs coaxes fantastic performances from his cast to convey the characters' dread while also creating a good balance of sound effects. Listeners will remain on high alert about what may be around the next corner." ( AudioFile)
"Superbly detailed sound-design and remarkable sonic effects... a truly unique listening experience." ( HeyUGuys)
"Terrifying." ( NME)
"The cast is an outstanding smorgasbord of familiar genre talent." ( Starburst)
"No expense has been spared on this blockbuster Aliens sequel." ( Loaded)
All stars
Most relevant  
There needs to be more of these, great listening good story and performance........ Dramatisation is the best way to fully appreciate and experience the Alien saga



Awesome series

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A superb voice cast accompanied with sound effects that chill the spine make this a treat to listen to.

A horrific and yet enthralling rendition.

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Perfectly voice acted. No dull moments. Colin Salmon and Laurel Lefkow as Brackett and Ripley, respectively, are a treat to listen. Like the others say, it’s a movie in your ears.

My best Audible experience.

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This was an awesome story and may be only for the lovers of the Alien franchise. This tells what happened between Alien (1) and Aliens (2). Listeners may need to know the basics on what happened in those two classic movies to appreciate this. Acting was great (except one minor child character) who I couldn't stand his voice acting. Give it a try, you won't regret it.

The superb story between Alien & Aliens

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i really really enjoyed this, love the aliens franchise and was talking to a mate about how the story preceding the marines and ripley rolling up in aliens would be a good one to tell. ... he pointed me in this direction and im glad he did.

was great

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Except for the children acting. Get proffesional voice actors who VA children in cartoons and games pls.
The voice acting of the kids were atrocious.
Kinda important and hard to ignore cuz this is about NEWT.
Please UPDATE it, replace the children actors with better ones.
put Patch/Update notes in the description.

THIS IS AMAZING!!!

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This was one of the best books I have listened too. A little drawn out in places, but an excellent listen.

Really really good

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I have had the opportunity to listen to a number of Dirk Maggs productions in of sci-fi franchise and he never stops surprising me with the quality of his work. This is yet another superb production and immersive experience for all Alien story lovers.

Fantastic listening and very entertaining

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I realy enjoyed the way it was told, kept me ingaged for the whole story.

realy well done

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This has been the best story I have listened to on Audible so far, very well done with sound effects and voice acting, it was just like I had watched a movie in my head.
I loved how this particular story filled in the gap between Alien and Aliens with also a hint of Prometheus in there as well.
I really wish that more audio books were created and read in such a way, it really brings you into the story and being an Alien fan, I was easily able to add the visuals through memory and imagination.

Loved the story and the theme!

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