Brian Wood, Tristan Jones ‘Aliens: Defiance #1’ Review

Written by: Matt Molgaard        

Nailing an Alien book isn’t exactly easy. The blueprint was rolled out long ago, and a number of writers have since attempted to give those blueprints a compelling makeover. When all is said and done, however, most Alien stories feel like other Alien stories with different characters. Sadly, Aliens: Defiance doesn’t do much to break the mold.

Don’t misinterpret that statement. I never told you Defiance isn’t a quality book, I just told you it’s very similar to countless other Alien books. The truth is, I enjoyed this book quite a bit. It moves quickly, the aliens making their presence known within just a few pages. Brian Wood has talent, and Tristan Jones has a very unique artistic style. Both Wood and Jones are well-suited to handle a story like this.

Colonial Marine Private First Class Zula Hendricks and a crew of backup synthetics attempt to board and investigate a derelict hauler in the middle of nowhere. It’s a mission that goes wrong immediately, as Hendricks and company discover a swarm of menacing aliens, intent on tearing any encountered individual – human or not – to shreds.

This new series is off to a respectable start. The only question I’ve got is where can Wood take this, and can he set his story apart from other recent Alien releases? We’ll soon see.

Pre-order it here.

Rating: 3/5