The ''Alien''

literary Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to ...

franchise Franchise may refer to: Business and law * Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees * Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...

consists of multiple

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

s and

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...

based on the eponymous

film franchise A film series or movie series (also referred to as a film franchise or movie franchise) is a collection of related films in succession that share the same fictional universe, or are marketed as a series. This article explains what film series are ...

, which began in 1979 with the release of ''

Alien Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, intelligent extrater ...

''. In the 20th century, all ''Alien''-related novels published were adaptations of pre-existing material. From 1979 up to 1997,

Warner Books Grand Central Publishing is a book publishing imprint of Hachette Book Group, originally established in 1970 as Warner Books when Warner Communications acquired the Paperback Library. When Time Warner sold their book publishing business to Hachett ...

published

novelization A novelization (or novelisation) is a derivative novel that adapts the story of a work created for another medium, such as a film, TV series, stage play, comic book or video game. Film novelizations were particularly popular before the advent of ...

s of the first four films in the year of release; 1979, 1986, 1992, and 1997, respectively. The first three novelizations were written by

Alan Dean Foster Alan Dean Foster (born November 18, 1946) is an American writer of fantasy and science fiction. He has written several book series, more than 20 standalone novels, and many novelizations of film scripts. Career ''Star Wars'' Foster was the ghos ...

. Throughout the 1990s,

Bantam Books Bantam Books is an American publishing house owned entirely by parent company Random House, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House; it is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group. It was formed in 1945 by Walter B. Pitkin, Jr., Sidney B. ...

published nine novelizations of ''Alien'' comic books published by

Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops known ...

. After going on a hiatus, the franchise returned in book form in 2005.

DH Press Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops known ...

—Dark Horse Comics' novel publishing

imprint Imprint or imprinting may refer to: Entertainment * ''Imprint'' (TV series), Canadian television series * "Imprint" (''Masters of Horror''), episode of TV show ''Masters of Horror'' * ''Imprint'' (film), a 2007 independent drama/thriller film ...

—published six original novels from 2005 to 2008. This marked the first time in the franchise where novels were original stories, rather than adaptations. DH Press' series took place after the events of the fourth film; ''

Alien Resurrection ''Alien Resurrection'' is a 1997 American science fiction horror film, directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, written by Joss Whedon, and starring Sigourney Weaver and Winona Ryder. It is the fourth installment of the ''Alien'' franchise, and was f ...

'' (1997), despite the fact that it was based on the second film. Following the release of ''Aliens: No Exit'' in 2008, the novel series once more went into hiatus. In 2014, after six years,

Titan Books Titan Publishing Group is the publishing division of Titan Entertainment Group, which was established in 1981. The books division has two main areas of publishing: film and television tie-ins and cinema reference books; and graphic novels and co ...

started publication of ''Alien'' novels once more, starting with '' Alien: Out of the Shadows'', written by

Tim Lebbon Tim Lebbon (born 28 July 1969, London) is a British horror and dark fantasy writer. Life Lebbon was born in London. He lived in Devon until he was eight and then in Newport until the age of 26. He now lives in Goytre, Monmouthshire with his ...

. ''Out of the Shadows'' was the first in a trilogy of books, and is

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

to the events of the film series. In 2016, ''Alien: Invasion'' was published, which is the second book in Lebbon's ''The Rage Wars'' trilogy; a

crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Albums and songs * ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album) * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album) * ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album) * ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...

between the ''Alien'', ''

Predator Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...

'', and ''

Alien vs. Predator ''Alien vs. Predator'' (also known as ''Aliens versus Predator'' and ''AVP'') is a science-fiction action horror media franchise created by comic book writers Randy Stradley and Chris Warner. The series is a crossover between, and part of, th ...

'' franchises. The following year, Foster would write both a novelization and prequel to '' Alien: Covenant'' (2017). The success of the novels led to the publication of further stories, including a novelization of the video game '' Alien: Isolation'' (2014).

Film novelizations

First novel series (1992–1998)

Second novel series (2005–2008)

Third novel series (2014–present)

Collections

* ''The Complete Aliens Omnibus: Volume 1'' – collects ''Earth Hive'', ''Nightmare Asylum'' and ''The Female War'' (Titan Books, January 2016, ) * ''The Complete Aliens Omnibus: Volume 2'' – collects ''Genocide'' and ''Alien Harvest'' (Titan Books, June 2016, ) * ''The Complete Aliens Omnibus: Volume 3'' – collects ''Rogue'' and ''Labyrinth'' (Titan Books, December 2016, ) * ''The Complete Aliens Omnibus: Volume 4'' – collects ''Music of the Spears'' and ''Berserker'' (Titan Books, June 2017, ) * ''The Complete Aliens Omnibus: Volume 5'' – collects ''Original Sin'' and ''DNA War'' (Titan Books, December 2017, ) * ''The Complete Aliens Omnibus: Volume 6'' – collects ''Cauldron'' and ''Steel Egg'' (Titan Books, June 2018, ) * ''The Complete Aliens Omnibus: Volume 7'' – collects ''Criminal Enterprise'' and ''No Exit'' (Titan Books, December 2018, ) * ''Aliens: Bug Hunt'' (

, April 18, 2017, )

Notes

References

External links

Dark Horse catalogue
{{Alien (franchise) DH Press Lists of novels Novels based on films Alien (franchise) novels Novels about extraterrestrial life Novels based on comics Novels set on fictional planets

Novels A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself ...

Book series introduced in 1979