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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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Publisher's Summary

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.

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)

What listeners say about Alien: River of Pain

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A movie in your ears!

Taking place on the same timeline as Aliens (James Cameron’s sequel), fans can now find out what exactly happened to the inhabitants of Hadley’s Hope.
Brilliant story aside, the difference here from the vas majority of audio books is the vast cast of actors, the Sfax and ambient sounds that contribute to an awesome story. No longer are you condemned to a single voice reading pages of your favorite book, but rather you are treated to a litany of sound extravaganza!
Welcome to what audiobooks should be!

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7 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great fun

well acted and lots of fun. hope they make more of these audio dramas! 😀

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5 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

loved it

great book with great tie-ins to the movie Aliens
action packed and great character development

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

The superb story between Alien & Aliens

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.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Excellent Prequel

Author has done a good job in meshing with the original movies
I'm starting to become a bit of a fan as i have downloaded a few of the Alien series now.
If you have seen the movies (and lets face it most of us have) There are enough sound effects and character in the actors voices to actually in-vision in your head what is happening.- If you haven't seen the movies - I would suggest what them first then listen to these audio books and it will make way more sense.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Fills in the gaps..but...

Taking generous influence from the dark horse comic 'newts tale' this story tells what happened to the colonists and focuses on a few key relationships to add some emotional buy-in since u already know that every body is going to cop it. It's hard to make a story feel like there's actual stakes involved when u already know the outcome.
What worked for Out of the Shadows' was that it was relatively uncharted territory, we didn't know how/where it would all fit in until the end. With River of Pain' ur just waiting for it all to end. That maybe the downside with tying in so closely to such a we'll known and loved film.
The huge huge highlight is the performances...absolutely amazing. Full cast, great sounds and effects, the production is fantastic. It's a must listen for fans but not entirely fresh or essential to any of it. Just gap filling and a little bit of backstory to how it all went down before Ripley and Co. arrives.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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A Classic Thematically Dramatically Dark Alien Adventure

This short audiobook performance pits you against the Aliens we all know and fear. It's filled with the misery, despair and corporate greed of the films. The voice acting and sound work is top notch.

5/5 listen.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Great story and acting

Great audio drama, very enjoyable and great variety of voice cast also. I hope more audio dramas in the Alien world come out in the future.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

A good back story

Enjoyed the backstory of the aliens movie. Wished it could of been longer. Interesting characters that varied and interesting.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • JR
  • 02-07-2023

Neat little story backfill in Alien canon

Solid performances, SFX, story, and directing create an entertaining and sometimes horrifying prequel for Aliens. Good action/survival horror that plays to the strengths of its source material.

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