Alien: The Cold Forge is a brand new Alien story by author Alex White, and one whose synopsis promises a tale covering familiar ground: xenomorph experimentation. Now, I’m a big fan of the Alien franchise and have many, many thoughts on the films and novels I’ve read to date. Some I like, some not so much, but all seem to work on one level or another, despite plentiful misgivings about other aspects. To say I was both eager and apprehensive about another original Alien novel would be a fair description, though as I delved into White’s creation I discovered that sometimes well-worn ideas can be given a fresh breath of life.
With the failure of the Hadley’s Hope, Weyland-Yutani has suffered a devastating defeat—the loss of the Aliens. Yet there’s a reason the company rose to the top, and they have a redundancy already in place.
Remote station RB-323 abruptly becomes their greatest hope for weaponizing the Xenomorph, but there’s a spy aboard—someone who doesn’t necessarily act in the company’s best interests. If discovered, this person may have no choice but to destroy RB-323… and everyone on board.
That is, if the Xenomorphs don’t do the job first.
Dorian Sudler is an auditor for Weyland-Yutani, a man that gets the job done and saves the company millions in the process. Now he is being sent to a top-secret research station, the Cold Forge, to tackle the black hole where all the funding seems to go. However, the Cold Forge is not your usual space station, and its projects not your typical run of the mill affairs, for it hides a secret in its xenomorph captives. As Sudler discovers this hidden project he becomes somewhat obsessed with these aliens, though as always, things don’t go to plan.
As we follow Sudler and the station’s inhabitants, particularly the head of the xenomorph project, Dr Blue Marsalis, we discover that not all is running smoothly. From Marsalis’ fixation on finding a cure for her crippling condition – one that is slowly shutting down her body bit by bit – through the xenomorphs, to the other project behaving somewhat irregularly, the Cold Forge quickly becomes a dangerous place to be.
There are some very interesting things to process in Alien: The Cold Forge. Not only do you have the typical xenomorph experiments go awry plot, but there are lots of little elements that build around this. Take Blue Marsalis, for instance, the driving force behind the xenomorph research. She is doing this almost entirely for her own gains, and while these appear superficially similar to ones seen in other novels and stories, they are much deeper and more interesting. Instead, she’s trying to find a cure to her crippling, and ultimately fatal, illness. There are some interesting things done while working towards this goal, and it actually manages to tie some elements introduced in the Prometheus/Covenant films very well, perhaps even more so than those films managed. You also have her ability to ‘pilot’ an android, meaning she can be as mobile as the rest of the characters while still having her own agenda and goals.
Sudler is the ‘typical’ company guy here, though he makes very little effort to come across as a nice guy. He’s there for a job and will manipulate all in his path if it suits his mission. He’s a ruthless and vile individual, but he brings much to the story. While hated from more or less the minute go, he is also complex enough to make him a compulsive character to read, and it leaves you questioning just what he plans on doing from situation to situation.
And, of course, how can I forget the xenomorphs? Despite being the reason for the novel, they aren’t necessarily the focus, merely the driving factor behind all the events that occur. And it works to give the story more gravitas, not to simply throw them at the characters and rely only on their popularity to carry the story along to its conclusion.
It’s very easy to look at the synopsis and brief overview for Alien: The Cold Forge and instantly think it’s going to go along the same lines as other similar Alien stories – and you’d be right. What you wouldn’t expect is just how White manages to take this idea and work it into one of the best – if not the best – Alien novels I’ve read. With only one published novel to his name before Alien: The Cold Forge, White shows a natural flair and a deft hand at storyline, character, and plot, never letting one get away from the other, and treating each as a vital component to the overall whole.
Alien: The Cold Forge is quite a read, though one that has a glaring omission to its otherwise solid plot: where, exactly, did the Alien eggs come from? It’s a question that hangs over the story from start to finish, with no answer ever suggested, never mind given. However, it’s one that is forgivable considering that everything else here ticks all the right boxes.
Very impressive and highly recommended – a must-read for Alien fans.
Publisher: Titan Books
Author: Alex White
April 2018, 416 Pages
Paperback, ISBN: 9781785651939
Review copy received from the publisher
© 2018 Mark Chitty | @chitman13
