Alien Isolation (Audiobook) by Keith R.A. Decandido - A Complete Package Of Great Story, Characters, And Narration!

Alien Isolation (Audiobook) by Keith R.A. Decandido

In preparation for a day trip to Kansas City, Missouri, to attend Planet Comicon, I downloaded Alien: Isolation to accompany me on the drive. I found this a great choice for an audiobook for both content and narration. Keith is one of my favorite authors, mostly for his work in the Star Trek sandbox, and particularly for his portrayal of Klingons in his work. Knowing the quality of his work in the Trek universe, I was not surprised to find the same level of quality in this story from the Alien franchise. Overall, I found Alien: Isolation a refreshing diversion from the monotony of cross-country driving.

This story is based on the video game of the same title as the book. (I've never played the video game, nor did I know anything about it before I looked it up.) This is the tale of Amanda Ripley, daughter of Warrant Officer Ellen Ripley of the ill-fated cargo ship, Nostromo. Apparently, Ripley revealed she had a daughter back on Earth during the Aliens film in a scene that was cut from the original movie. This story fleshes out Amanda's plight using flashback scenes to give us some insight into the principal character, and the main story of Amanda's struggle to learn Ellen's fate and her struggle to survive encounters with the xenomorphs.

Keith's story is fast-paced and was well balanced between the flashbacks and the principal story. The descriptions of the settings were easy to visualize, and the characters were excellently developed and read as believable living people. The narration by Sarah Mollo-Christensen was also outstanding and further brought the action and characters to life.

Ellen Ripley departed on the Nostromo after promising her young daughter, Amanda, she would return in time for her eleventh birthday. As Amanda awaited her mother's return, she only finds deep disappointment when she is informed Ellen will not return because the Nostromo was mysteriously destroyed en route returning to Earth, and that her mother's fate is not known.

Amanda, who is being raised by her alcoholic stepfather, has a rough life. Her ambition is to attend school, learn all she can, and learn of her mother's fate. After following several false leads, she finally receives word that the Nostromo's flight recorder has been recovered and is on a deep-space station.

When arriving at the station, her ship and crew find themselves in a desperate fight for survival against the very creatures that ravaged the Nostromo's crew. Amanda must use all her knowledge and wits to escape death and find out if she will ever see her mother again.

Amanda Ripley is not Ellen Ripley, at least not right away. She is smart and learns fast. Her intention was to become a certified engineer. While she did become an engineer of sorts, the certification eluded her for many reasons. Chief among those was her stepfather who, while capable, had a lot of problems with alcohol, and by extension, holding a job. So instead of being able to pursue her ambition, she had to work to support herself and her often unemployed stepdad to survive and avoid being taken into the system.

Those of us who have followed Ellen's exploits through the Alien franchise admire her as a tough, yet compassionate, and heroic character. Amanda has these same traits as she goes about the business of seeking hope her mother somehow survived the Nostromo disaster. Aboard the space station, there are dangers everywhere. Yes, there is the monster, but at the same time there are numerous system failures she must keep repairing, and, she has to deal with the personnel issues as the crew also breaks down and enters an ‘everyone-for-themselves’ survival mode. In the end, Amanda is every bit the hero as her mother.

As always, there seems to be another enemy to fight who never shows its face. Readers/listeners probably will not be surprised at the reveal who the hidden enemy is.

My favorite point of plot for Isolation is how well Amanda's character is fleshed out to become someone a reader can care about. Without this aspect in the story, this tale wouldn't have been extraordinary. I felt so bad for this brilliant little girl and absolutely wanted her to be successful in achieving her goals. It was sad that at every turn; she was thwarted and forced to serve in a menial role so far below her intellect. It is my hope that Keith may tell more of this tale outside of the novelization of the video game. He just knows how to spin a great yarn, and I know his treatment would be a satisfying story. 

The obvious main theme of Isolation is a look at someone who survives against insurmountable odds. But my takeaway from this story goes a little deeper than Amanda versus the monster. It is more how Keith endows her with a strength of character that allows her to survive.

There is no quit in Amanda. She is going to persevere no matter what she is told or what obstacles are put in her way. It would have been so easy for her to just accept being told Ellen was dead and move on from there. She might have, but it was that tiny seed of doubt that drove her on to do whatever she had to do to uncover the truth. I admire her for this, and it is what kept me listening as I made my way home from Kansas City.

Alien: Isolation is a great audiobook and I highly recommend it to those who are fans of the franchise and are looking for more story. It moves at a great pace. There just isn't a dull moment or what one might think of as fluff. Everything is relevant to the story. The characters, along with Amanda, are great and help the listener/reader understand the principal character better. Even though the story is complete in itself, it still left me wanting more and it is my hope there will be more in the near future, especially if Keith DeCandido is tapped to be the author.

Novel Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Narration Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Keith R.A. DeCandido was born and raised in New York City to a family of librarians, which pretty much explains everything. He has written more than 50 novels, as well as short stories, nonfiction, eBooks, comic books, and blog entries, many of them in various media universes, among them Star Trek, Alien, Supernatural, World of Warcraft, StarCraft, Marvel Comics, Cars, Farscape, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Stargate, Serenity, Resident Evil, Kung Fu Panda, Doctor Who, Sleepy Hollow, Leverage, Orphan Black, and more. Among his many works of original fiction are the fantasy police procedural series of novels and short stories that started with Dragon Precinct, as well as a series of urban fantasy short stories set in Key West, Florida, many of which are in Ragnarok & Roll: Tales of Cassie Zukav, Weirdness Magnet, fiction about cops in a city filled with super heroes, and an urban fantasy series about a nice Jewish boy from the Bronx who hunts monsters, starting with the novel A Furnace Sealed. Keith is also an editor (having supervised several book lines and put together dozens of anthologies), musician (percussionist for the Don't Quit Your Day Job Players, the Boogie Knights, and others), pop culture commentator (he writes for both Tor.com and his own Patreon at patreon.com/krad) and a third-degree black belt in Kenshikai karate (he both trains and teaches). He still lives in New York City with various humans and animals.

Sarah Mollo-Christensen (Narrator): Sarah grew up riding horses outside Boston, and went to Dartmouth College, where she graduated magna cum laude with a BA in History. 

After a few years working in other industries, such as documentary production, book publishing, and law, she threw caution and financial responsibility to the winds, and decided to apprentice herself to a dog trainer and attend the Atlantic Acting School's two-year Conservatory. 

In the years since, Sarah has acted in New York and at wonderful regional theaters, including The Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C., where she spent a year in residence as an acting fellow.

When she's not in a theater or an audio booth, Sarah can be found resolving the behavior issues of New York City's dogs (and their owners).

Star Trek: I.K.S. Gorkon: Honor Bound By Keith R.A. DeCandido - Defending Honor Klingon Style

Star Trek: I.K.S. Gorkon: Honor Bound by Keith R.A. DeCandido

This is the second of three books in the I.K.S. Gorkon series of novels, and it is an action packed continuation immediately following the first of the series, A Good Day To Die.

Captain Klag of the Gorkon follows orders to find world's that the Klingon Empire can annex for resources to help rebuild after the war with the Dominion from the Gamma Quadrant. Chancellor Martok has sent a fleet to the Beta Quadrant to seek planets that are rich in the resources needed, and to conquer any populations that might be there. Klag found San-Tarah, a planet that is ideal in what it has to offer the rebuilding effort, however, it is also populated by a race of canine-like beings that fight as fiercely as any Klingon. While it should have been an easy matter for the crew of the Gorkon to follow through with the taking of San-Tarah, the situation is complicated by a series of anomalies that prevent the Klingons from using anything more than their hand-to-hand weapons for the fight, their advanced technology is useless. The odds are even as the Klingon landing party finds that the Children of San-Tarah, who have no technology other than their own, are amazing warriors in their own right.

Klag takes notice of this and after performing five contests, which the San-Tarah wing the majority of, has to keep a promise that no Klingons will ever step foot on their planet again. Klag’s commander, General Talak, takes exception to this and tells Klag that he and several other ships are on their way to San-Tarah, and that Klag and the Gorkon will participate in the conquering of the planet. Talak tells Klag that he has no right to make such arrangements on the Empire’s behalf, but he also has an axe to grind with Klag that involves the dishonor of Talak’s kinsman, so Talak will use the situation to take his revenge. Add to that, Klag’s own brother, Dorrek will also take advantage to right wrongs that he feels Klag has done.

Honor Bound begins with Klag calling on his fellow members of the Order of the Bat’leth to help him uphold his own personal honor as well as the honor of the Empire. While some come to his aid, a battle ensues both in space and on the planet that reaches epic proportions that finds many on both sides losing their lives. Many ships are damaged. And there is glory for all who come out on top, but is honor served?

Once again, honor is being tested on various fronts in this story. As the commanding officer of a ship, Klag is well within his bounds to make promises and enforce them, his sense of honor will not allow him to follow the orders of Talak, who will appear to follow Martok’s orders, but he uses this to cover his vendetta against Klag. It is a matter of orders versus what is right, and Klag will always err on the side of what is right and just because he holds his honor above all else.

This story is one of battles being fought on many different fronts. Klingons fighting against Klingons, Klingons defending the promises made to the San-Tarah, Klingons fighting alongside the San-Tarah, and then there is the battle in space between ships holding crews numbering in the thousands. There are also the personal battles that all of the Klingons fight within themselves as they take up arms against their fellow warriors based on orders received, and not knowing the real reasons behind the fight. This is a fast paced and multifaceted story that is exciting to its core and never lets up until the very end, where there is an interesting twist.

As I have stated before, Keith DeCandido knows Klingons and how to write their stories and present them as believable, colorful, and exciting to read. This is a real page-turner and I did not want to stop reading once I started. On several occasions, Keith fills in the blanks by giving just enough backstory on various characters adding to the understanding of the motivations behind individual actions and attitudes. His descriptions of the places in the story are well done so that the reader can visualize what the arena of action might look like.

I guess what I am trying to say is that if you want to read about Klingons in action, and about Klingon honor, then Honor Bound is what you are looking for, however I do recommend reading the first book in the series to better understand how this conflict came to be.

Well, there it is…

Qaplah!

Star Trek: I.K.S. Gorkon: A Good Day To Die - Glorious And Worthy Of Song!

Star Trek: I.K.S. Gorkon: A Good Day To Die By Keith R.A. DeCandido

In this first of three books in the I.K.S. Gorkon series, the major powers of the Alpha Quadrant are experiencing a shortage of resources to rebuild the depleted fleets following the war with the Dominion. There is an uneasy peace in the quadrant and the Klingon Empire is ready to take advantage of the lull to go in search of materials in the Beta Quadrant. Chancellor Martok and General Talak dispatch the fleet to search out worlds rich in resources. If the worlds are inhabited, the fleet is to conquer the beings on the planet and make them subjects of the Empire.

The Gorkon approaches a planet that has no indications of technological development and and is rich in the raw materials that the Empire is in need of. Looks like pretty easy pickings until a landing party is faced with a warrior race that is every bit as fierce as the Klingons. On top of that, some unnatural phenomenon is interfering with the operation of the Gorkon’s weapons and communications.

Captain Klag is an honorable Klingon and truly admires the San-Tarah as a warrior race. At the same time, the San-Tarah feel the same about the Klingons. A deal is made that will either bring the San-Tarah into the Empire as jeghpu’wI (a term that means more than slaves and less than citizens), or the Gorkon will leave and the San-Tarah will never be conquered by the Empire.

Once again, Keith DeCandido give us a look into the internal workings of the Klingon Empire. This story takes a closer look at a Klingon ceremony that bestows on of the highest honors a warrior can receive, as well as some of the workings of how rivalries develop and escalate to further the cause of revenge. Some are all too willing to set aside their honor, and the honor of the Empire to advance their own causes.

As I have mentioned in previous reviews of this author’s works, chief among Keith’s many strengths is his ability to bring characters alive and make them seem like real people. Although A Good Day To Die is obviously a work of fiction, it seems real as one reads mainly owing to the vivid character development. One major example of this is the main character, Klag. We know from the TNG second season episode “A Matter Of Honor” that he was first officer of the Pagh. After serving aboard that ship for ten years under Captain Kargan, we learn that Kargan became well known thanks mostly to actions of Klag. Later during the War against the Dominion, the Pagh crashes killing everyone aboard except for Klag, who lost an arm in the crash. Armed with only a mek’leth, Klag defeats seven Jem’Hadar soldiers. While he probably could have gained by telling the truth of how he was the power behind the legend that Kargan was becoming, Klag never really talks about Kargan, seeing no need to dishonor his former captain after he died.

In this story, Klag agrees to face five challenges with the San-Tarah. Whichever side wind the majority of the challenges will determine whether the Klingons get the resources of the planet, which are of no interest to the San-Tarah, or whether the Klingons leave the planet alone honoring a fellow warrior race. When he is questioned about whether he is sincere in his promise to leave, he explains to the leader of the San-Tarah that a Klingon’s word is his bond and Klag will not break his word, even though he most likely has sufficient personnel on board the Gorkon to hold the San-Tarah at bay until the rest of the fleet arrives.

I have always found the Klingons to be a fascinating people, but this book has heightened my knowledge and piqued my interest in the fictional race far beyond what I know from the television series. Keith writes Klingons with the passion of a warrior and it is obvious that he wants to get it right, which he does in spades.  I give my highest recommendations to those with similar interests as mine, such a reader will find a well written and compelling story.

Well, there it is…

Qaplah!

Star Trek: Klingon Empire: A Burning House By Keith R.A. DeCandido - Insights into Klingon Society

Star Trek: Klingon Empire: A Burning House by Keith R. A. DeCandido (2008)

Of all of the factions that have been created over the years for the Star Trek universe, my favorites are the Klingons. I enjoy their spirit and their sense of honor. One thing that has been missing for me is knowing what goes on beyond what is presented in the television series and films. I have always wondered about what goes on in the lives of the common Klingon everyday lives as they interact with one another. After all, a planet where everyone is more concerned with being a warrior than with producing goods and services to support the masses wouldn’t stand very long. Thanks to the imagination and masterful storytelling of Keith DeCandido, at least some of my wondering has been addressed in A Burning House.

There are several story threads in this story that stretch from the highest levels of Klingon government to the most common and downtrodden people on the Klingon Homeworld, Quo’nos.

The I.K.S. Gorkon returns from battle with a degree of battle damage that requires it to put in for repairs at Praxis Station on orbit of Quo’nos. With the amount of time it will take for the repairs, much of the crew are afforded shore leave to take care of personal and professional business and to visit family. Captain Klag, commander of the Gorkon reports to his headquarters to present an account of his ship’s actions along with several other ship commanders, one being his brother who has been previously discommondated from the House of M’Raq. It is determined that Gorrik, Klag’s brother, has behaved in a dishonorable manner and his ship is to be taken from him. This action begins a complicated series of events in an effort to exact revenge by Gorrik against his brother whom he believes is the root of his dishonor.

The Gorkon’s medical officer, B’Oraq attends a Klingon medical conference which, to her, is nothing more than a farce and she is shunned when she tries to bring what she has learned from attending Federation medical training to the Empire in an effort to improve practices within the Klingon medical community.

Other officers and crew head for home to renew familial ties or to look back at their roots, and one finds that the adage, “you can’t go home again” is very true.

Further, if all of the above isn’t enough, Keith details the exploits of Gorrik in his quest for revenge against Klag. There are plenty of plot twists and turns that not only involve new characters, but also reintroduce characters that we are familiar with through the television series.

All in all, it is just a good read all the way around.

Among the many things I enjoyed about this book was how the author masterfully develops characters. Even the minor characters come alive as they interact with the main characters and by making them come alive, the story comes alive and thus making the story completely believable and compelling. This story is one that a reader can become immersed in and not be surprised when being drawn back to it making it a read page-turner.

If there is a problem, it is in that I have not read the stories that come prior to A Burning House, those being the three novels in the I.K.S. Gorkon series; an oversight I plan on correcting in the near future.

Well, there it is…

Qaplah!