The Complete Aliens Omnibus: Volume Three

Aliens Omnibus #3

by Sandy Schofield, Stephani Danelle Perry

ROGUE
by Sandy Schofield

Welcome to the former penal colony of Charon, where a labyrinth of underground tunnels offer shelter to an Alien hive. Professor Ernst Kleist rules—a paranoid tyrant whose speciality is making humans disappear. Captain Joyce Palmer is bound for Charon. Only she and a few hand-picked Marines can stop Kleist in his tracks. Only they can stop the professor’s most insane creation—the Rogue.

THE LABYRINTH
by S.D. Perry

On the space station  Innominata  the infamous Dr Paul Church has built a maze of tunnels. Church is hiding the results of his latest experiments. His to bring human and Alien together as one being. Colonel Dr Tony Crespi has one ambition—to work with Church. But one by one the men on  Innominata  have been dying in the attempt to meld Alien and man. When Crespi finds his way to the heart of the labyrinth he discovers a chamber of horrors—will he ever be able to find a way out?

Genres: Science Fiction, Horror, Aliens, Fiction

608 pages, Mass Market Paperback

Published December 27, 2016

About the author

Kristine Kathryn Rusch and Dean Wesley Smith use the common pseudonym “Sandy Schofield” for a part of their collaborative works.

Reviews

[ν1ятυα · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is one of the first volumes in the omnibus series that had me so disgusted that I had to stop for a moment because I felt like I was going to throw up.
Compared to volume two, volume three was *leagues* better. Now, while I mean better, I don't mean that it wasn't cheesy; there was still a distinct level of cheese factor throughout the two books that had me rolling my eyes now and then. But where I feel volume three succeeded where volume two failed was that it brought back that level of fear and disgust that the xenomorphs were previously missing. They're horrible, highly intuitive creatures that cannot be controlled, no matter how hard scientists and corrupt companies try.
Not just that, but the human villains in this volume felt less cheesy as well. Again, there was still a level of cheese that had me rolling my eyes, but compared to volume two? These guys had some genuinely sinister moments that, as I said at the beginning, actually had me stop reading at some point because I was disturbed and disgusted.
That being said, I'm giving this volume 3.75/4 stars. So far, I think this was the best (and grossest) volume that I've read out of the series so far. But also, I think I'm gonna give the series a bit of a break for now because I'm starting to have nightmares about xenomorphs and crazed scientists again...

[Juan Carlos · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed both novels. I only struggled with a few chapters on Labyrinth that could have been completely omitted. They are easy reads that did a good job at having me sucked into the world. Labyrinth does add more to the lore of how the aliens behave and think, but there were moments where I'm picturing a scene play out and all of the sudden I had to change my picture for it to match what was going on. This happened a couple times. It's just frustrating to be taken out of the story to check if you misread something.

[Tylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was miles better than Volume Two haha

[Shadowdenizen · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars, rounded up. Not the best of the Aliens novels, but certainly readable, and definitely better than the last volume!

[Marc · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alien Rogue
This was one of the best! After Alien Harvest I wasn’t too sure where the series would go but I wasn’t disappointed.

Finally the characters were written out as not complete idiots. The marines and civilians in the story had conversations about strategy, rather than just running into a room and hoping for the best. There wasn’t one character that bothered me in the entire novel which can be rare.

I liked how the science base was already established and by the time the main character Joyce arrives, the doctor and his experiments are already underway. The cloned bodies was the heads detached and still linked up to the human body was really interesting and unique.

I did notice some similar things between this book and the Alien Resurrection movie although I feel this book did the material better. The doctor in the book, Kliest, reminded me of the doctors in that movie and the doctor from Day of the Dead.

I also felt that the author(s) finally went into depth with tunnels and hives, something I felt was glossed over from the previous novels.

I did think it was odd that there were two or three times the author(s) randomly mentioned the color and density of pubic hairs haha.

Overall, I thought this was a great edition, so far, in the Alien novels.

Labyrinth
I might say this could be the worst so far, or at least tied with Alien Harvest.

The plot not hugely new but the author could have worked out more like in Rogue with the doctor doing messed up testing and combing the alien and human dna. The two characters of Crespi and McGuinness have got to be up there with the worst in regards to how they act and overall development, not to mention some of the stupidest.

Doctor Church was an interesting character and his backstory was one of the best things about the book, also Crespis. Other than that this was pretty hard to get through.

I do like the fact the book concentrated on just three characters instead of multiples but by designing McGuinness and Crespi the way the author did, I felt myself bored with them.

Maybe if they concentrated more on Church as the main character and reading the book from his view, I would’ve enjoyed it more. Oh and for a book called Labyrinth, there sure wasn’t any story around it until the very end and even then, very little in the way of description.

[Gareth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read but very similar stories

I enjoyed this book however it seemed to me that the two stories were very, very similar. Surely the editor would have picked different ones to give the book more impact?

The first story is very good and has the standard alien formula of a bug outbreak, however this was caused by a mad scientist who had created the "rogue"; a male alien the size if the queen. A king.

The second story the mad scientist manages to create a telepathic link to the aliens and a colonel and lieutenant (don't authors realise the lower ranks are the most " badass"?) get drawn into his experiments, this one is slightly different as there's no outbreak so to speak.

Overall it wasn't a bad read, would have liked a bit more suspense in book two however, i couldn't write any where near that level so I can't complain.

Gave it three stars because the stories were similar, if they were in separate books it would have been more as they are good.

[Terry Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Mad Scientist trope fits nicely in the Aliens universe and both of these novels use it to great effect. Kleist from Rogue and Church from Labyrinth are the spiritual heirs of Frankenstein, but are both deeply amoral and even sadistic in a way that is quite shocking. The Alien franchise seems to play in this interesting space between Science Fiction and Horror. In-depth discussions of the aliens’ life cycle, morphology, DNA, etc…are demonstrably within the realm of Science Fiction; the descriptions of the aliens’ hunting, feeding, breeding, etc…are clearly within the purview of the Horror genre. This tension works well in the Alien Universe; however, what’s interesting about these two novels is that most of the horror comes from the humans instead of the aliens. The aliens are essential, but not central, to both the terror and horror of these texts. To be clear, both of these novels are worth reading and solid additions to this series. Additionally, Church’s back story is a true testament to just how terrifying the aliens can be--it is truly the stuff of nightmares. Going forward, I am curious as to how the pathologizing of the aliens as a species will affect the series. Does having a sense of the biology of the xenomorphs diminish their mystery and terribleness?

[Israha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zatím nejlepší díl série. Rozhodně nejhorrorovější, nasycený tou nezaměnitelnou atmosférou temných interiérů kosmických základen, kde se v koutech skrývá ozubená hrůza, a kde z člověka, který do nich zabloudí, zbyde jen kaluž krve a ozvěna křiku, nesoucí se chodbami. Společným tématem jsou tentokrát šílení vědci, a jednoznačně lépe vyznívá jejich souboj pro toho z novely Labyrint. Ta je vynikající, neodolatelně temná a děsivá, napsaná s citem pro profilaci postav i vykreslení nechutných detailů, a navíc plná docela umně podaných a nepředvídatelných zvratů. Druhá novela, Zrůda, je o něco méně svojská, do děje se přidávají i obligátní koloniální mariňáci a je to o něco více akční, ale i zde tentokrát hraje před kosením armád vetřelců prim stísněná paranoidní atmosféra a aura té správné "gigerovské" bizarnosti. Jedno z nejlepších knižních nahlédnutí do Alien univerza.

[Jordan Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 2 stories here are both similar in scope and length, but
“Rogue” and “The Labyrinth” are both markedly better than either of the 2 stories from vol. 2.

Personally I found Perry’s “The Labyrinth” to be the stronger of the 2 in this collection. She has a grasp of what makes an Aliens story work and doesn’t bog down the plot with pointless exposition. Yes, there was plenty of cliche throughout, but that’s what makes this franchise fun.
I was also a huge fan of the twist ending.

[Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been twenty-five years since I read an Alien book, but I recall them as always being fast-paced, full of action and high on suspense, so it was gratifying to see that this omnibus did not disappoint.

Both stories are engaging and definite page Turner's and like all the other stories in this series would make spectacular films if adapted.

If you have read previous Alien books or just want a pulse-pounding Alien read, this is one to buy.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Both books in this volume were pretty good.
Only real gripe was the second book where one of the main characters seemed to have personality changes scene to scene. One page he's all against the Doctor, then he's with him and against the woman, then he switches to being with her and against doctor again. I understand what the author was going for, but in a compressed space of time it feels silly.

[Melinda Kiss · Rating 5 out of 5]

The thing is, I did like both stories. The first story (Rogue) was nice because it can also be used for an RPG oneshot. With 6, mad scientist, and huge alien, I really rooted for the Queen in this one.
The second one was more personal, smaller case. Again, mad scientist vibe, but I can sympathetise with Dr. Church. The horrors here are more also on a psychological level, which makes this story stand out for me.

[Bryan Thomas Schmidt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two solid, action packed series entries marred only by their similarity in theme: scientists trying to use aliens as weapons and humans a pawns and the weaker ending of the second book. Still fun reads.

[Chloe Macphail · Rating 4 out of 5]

i really like the first story. was disappointed by the second one. was just too similar to the first which made it seem boring and repetative. it would of been better being two seperate books. was hoping the second would be a continuation of the first.

[Mattisamo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mind Wrenching

These stories in Omnibus Three twist ones mind back and forth and keeps you guessing. I read the stories and saw the way the plots were going only to be pulled in another direction and shocking surprises.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rogue is a fantastic story which again really captures the Aliens feel. Labyrinth is ok, has some interesting elements but feels a bit of a lesse rehash of other stories. The illness among aliens is interesting though.

[Lana Crotty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rogue was a good story and none of the characters made stupid choices, which is refreshing.
I loved the battle with the Rogue and the Queen, that would have been awesome to see that play out on the big screen.

[John R. Dailey Jr. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A BUG TALE IT IS..

Hello, these stories were just O.K. in my opinion. The stories just were and not much else. I guess it's hard to come up with new ideas all the time. Thanks.

[Jas · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was enjoyable but I gave it 3 stars because the stories are very similar.
Either story would make a better Alien movie than Prometheus/ Covenant.

[Matthew Schiller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jam packed alien action fun. Never have a bad time reading these books and they even sometimes add a bit more than you thought they would.

[Kev Crean · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me, this book series is like a written soap opera. Having said that, I quiet enjoyed these two outings. Anyone that enjoys the Aliens universe should check this book out.

[Neal F Rosenberg III · Rating 5 out of 5]

Epitome of the Aliens series

This is the proto typical Aliens omnibus.
The dark Aliens set against humanity working against itself in a horror setting
Chefs kiss

[Elise Doolittle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book contains two stories; I only read the first one: Rogue. It was dark, but it was also good.

[Casey Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't think, just read it!

[Terry and dog · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good stories. I give Rogue a 4 and Labyrinth a 3.5

[Terry Acres · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not a great read realy disappointing jumps around a lot make no sense in some parts.
A waste of money just like the second book in this series

[Xroldx · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pulp in space but an enjoyable read. The first story was the better.

[J. Bone · Rating 2 out of 5]

I only read the second book - LABYRINTH. The writing and story were mediocre with a mildly interesting breakdown of Alien anatomy and intelligence.

[The Smoog · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rogue was a decent enough book in a rather pulpy way, enjoyable and fun. Labyrinth started off with a much deeper story which I was thoroughly enjoying until around two thirds of the way through when everything just turned silly. Can’t really recommend that one to be honest.

[JBMcgraw · Rating 3 out of 5]

Worth reading if you are a fan of the Alien franchise, but it is poorly edited. The weak editing hurt the story.