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Alien: Out of the Shadows

By: Tim Lebbon, Dirk Maggs
Narrated by: Rutger Hauer, Corey Johnson, Matthew Lewis, Kathryn Drysdale, Andrea Deck, Mac McDonald
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  • Summary

  • As a child, Chris Hooper dreamed of monsters. But in deep space, he found only darkness and isolation. Then, on planet LV178, he and his fellow miners discovered a storm-scoured, sand-blasted hell - and trimonite, the hardest material known to man.

    When a shuttle crashes into the mining ship Marion, the miners learn that there was more than trimonite deep in the caverns. There was evil, hibernating and waiting for suitable prey. Hoop and his associates uncover a nest of Xenomorphs, and hell takes on a new meaning. Quickly they discover that their only hope lies with the unlikeliest of saviors....

    ....Ellen Ripley, the last human survivor of the salvage ship Nostromo.

    As an Audio Show - free for members - when you add Alien: Out of the Shadows to your library, you'll get all 10 episodes, each with a runtime of about 30 minutes.
    ©2016 Audible, Ltd. (P)2016 20th Century Fox
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Dramatizations First Contact
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Episodes
  • Episode 1

    Episode 1
    Dec 7 2018

    Unconscious, unaware, Ripley is the last human survivor of the Nostromo, her shuttle lost in deep space. Meanwhile, the crew aboard the mining ship Marion, faces a catastrophic collision with one of its own dropships and has to contend with the alien infestation on board.

    Marooned in a decaying orbit above the planetoid LV-178, the crew struggle to tackle the threat at hand, when an unexpected visitor makes her presence known.
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    29 mins
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  • Episode 2

    Episode 2
    Dec 7 2018

    Ripley’s shuttle has docked with the Marion. She arrives traumatised, only to find her rescuers under attack by a familiar foe. To make matters worse, it seems that Ash, an android she’d thought killed aboard the Nostromo, has uploaded his AI routines into her shuttle’s computer.

    Outside, the ship’s orbit is decaying faster than expected. The crew has just days to escape before they burn up in LV-178’s atmosphere.
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    27 mins
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  • Episode 3

    Episode 3
    Dec 7 2018

    Ripley and the crew aboard the Marion are running out of options to escape certain death. Their orbit is decaying rapidly. With only a few days to decide, they settle on a plan. If they can deal with the alien infestation on board the Samson, their remaining undamaged dropship, they may be able to return to LV-178’s mining installation and retrieve the vital fuel they need to escape on Ripley’s shuttle.
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    32 mins
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Editorial review


By Alanna McAuliffe, Audible Editor

ALIEN:OUT OF THE SHADOWS IS A DEEP SPACE SENSORIAL THRILL RIDE

There was a running joke in my household growing up that I was somehow alien. It wasn’t just that I was a quirky child with eyes the size of dinner plates and a mildly conical head, but the fact that I was born precisely as the opening credits of The X-Files blared from the delivery room’s television. It was almost endearing at the time—the extraterrestrials of my youth were cute and cuddly and charming, ranging from Spielberg’s wrinkly, homeward-bound E.T. to the goggle-eyed, triangular faces of the grays plastered on mylar party balloons. But as I grew older, my brother introduced me to an entirely new kind of unearthly life-form when he queued up Ridley Scott’s Alien. Gone were the friendly interstellar critters I’d known—these towering beasties, with their metallic, razor-sharp teeth, eerily coated in frothy saliva, barbed tails, and killer instincts most certainly did not come in peace.

I’d always wondered how I’d fare against such a foe—Would I be headstrong and determined like heroine Ellen Ripley, or would I be doomed from the start like poor Kane? I got my answer when I popped in my earbuds and pressed play on Alien: Out of the Shadows, an audio drama with as much bite as a Xeno’s acidic blood.

When you consider how much suspense, how much horror, is built in 1979’s Alien when the title monster only clocks about four minutes of screen time, it should come as no surprise that the world lends effortlessly to audio. It’s not seeing the stalking Xenomorphs that makes them terrifying—it’s knowing they’re lurking in the shadows, unseen and waiting to strike. Their ominous sounds are vivid—drool spattering down from the rafters above, insectoid skittering through the ship’s air ducts, that unmistakable hiss as a smaller, inner mouth unfurls. And in Out of the Shadows, audio maven Dirk Maggs wields them to a visceral sensorial effect. Paired with a dynamic score and an atmospheric sound design that places listeners firmly in the far reaches of the galaxy, this listen is the very definition of immersive.

Equally impressive throughout this listening experience are the human performances. The full cast—which includes the late acting legend Rutger Hauer, Harry Potter’s Matthew Lewis, and Alien: Isolation’s Andrea Deck—is tremendous. While the performers originating new characters are markedly skilled in their ability to get you invested in their fate nearly immediately, it’s the pair of actors voicing those more familiar that create a deep sense of cohesion in the larger Alienverse. Hauer portrays Ash, the double-crossing synth responsible for the mayhem that erupted aboard the Nostromo, with the same staccato disconnect that Ian Holm initially brought to the character. Like Holm, he conveys a deep understanding of Ash’s motivations and relentless commitment to his directive. Laurel Lefkow, who voices Ellen Ripley, delivers an absolute knockout performance. Taking on a role famously originated by Sigourney Weaver, Lefkow offers a nearly indistinguishable performance, her low tone, dry delivery, and moments of bright brashness mirroring her on-screen counterpart.

Over the years, I’ve come to understand that, despite any resemblance in behavior or physicality, I am in fact just your everyday, run-of-the-mill human being. But the more I think on it after revisiting Out of the Shadows, the more I feel my lack of interstellar ties is something I should be grateful for. After all, I’ve heard what’s out there—and it’s better off left alone.

Continue reading Alanna's review >

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What listeners say about Alien: Out of the Shadows

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Alien Cont’

The creators gave us a life experience. Excellent content and scenarios in pods.
Enjoy the flight.

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wow

I really like this audio book. nice content. excellent narration in this content. Fantastic story

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Outstanding Production !!

Performances were so good, sound effects so realistic, casting so perfect that it was like a movie with no video. Hope there are more like this production.👏👏

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Profile Image for Diego Castaño

One of the best Audible experiences I had

This is crazy GOOD. Like, really really good. The acting, the sound design, the story, everything is tied together like a classic Alien story. Loved it. Thank you Audible for bring this to life.

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Profile Image for Angelus

Phenomenal Addition to the Aliens Universe

I just finished listening to this audio adaption of Tim Lebbon's book and it was absolutely phenomenal. This is definitely an addition that's worthy enough to be canon in the Aliens Universe. The story, voice acting, and tension are everything that one could hope for and expect from such a great story. I especially liked the way it filled plot holes between the first two movies. Kudos to everyone involved in the making of this masterpiece. I can't say enough good things about it. I recommend it not only if you're an Aliens fan, but for anyone who's into sci-fi.

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great v/o and sound, story is ok

wasn't bad. sound design was great and the actors were too but I really feel like they should have left Ripley out of it. I feel like it would have been better as its own story.

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Good Interest ing Sci-fi

Enjoyed the podcast. interesting and fast moving. The characters are a little wooden so the dramatization could have done more realistic pauses thinking reflective momen5s of silence as is natural for people in real life who don't have a script. JHR

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Awesome

Loved it! And loved that the actress playing Ripley sounds just like Sigourney! Great podcast!

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good

I think the story was good I really like this I really love it thanks

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Profile Image for Edward, Stearns

great book

I love this book it was great and what made it even better was that they had a full cast that brought out everything in the book this was a wonderful book

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