sallytwibbles's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this very much! The ending was rushed and a little too tidy for me. I felt interesting characters were introduced but not developed. Some of the character's motivations seemed a bit thin ("I will be the greatest," for example) but, hey, this is an Alien novel and not meant to be taken too seriously ;)
Would have also like to learn a bit more about Larry and his enemies but what is in the book is excellent and might be perfect because it did leave me wanting more.
Spoiler
One idea that was really intriguing was that there were indications that Earth had been visited by extraterrestrials before. But the "indications" were mentioned only once and in passing and as if these visitations were simply fact. The author could have had a little fun with this idea but instead ignored it--missed opportunity, in my opinion.Would have also like to learn a bit more about Larry and his enemies but what is in the book is excellent and might be perfect because it did leave me wanting more.
verkisto's review
2.0
So, Steel Egg isn't as bad as the two Diane Carey novels that preceded it, but it's not a whole heck of a lot better, either. There's a foreword to the book where Shirley writes about telling a story the precedes the first Alien movie, about giving a reason why Weyland-Yutani knew to set up its ships to be ready to respond to distress calls in the hopes of finding the xenomorphs. What follows is a novel that, for the first half, is just a retelling of Alien in a different environment, and for the second half is just a wacked-out space adventure that doesn't have a whole lot to say about it, other than the fact that we encounter an alien who calls itself Larry.
Larry the alien.
No, this isn't a satire or a parody.
I had higher hopes for this book, since Shirley is considered a legend in science fiction circles, but I was surprised to find that his style is tell-y, his characters were a bit cliched, and he approaches the story with the subtlety of a dozen xenomorphs chasing down its prey in a dark ship corridor. It's not outright bad, but it's not really worthy of recommending, either. I have two more of these books to go to finish out the first two attempts at telling new Aliens stories, and I think I'll be glad to be finished. I don't expect them to be literature, but I expect more than what I've read.
Larry the alien.
No, this isn't a satire or a parody.
I had higher hopes for this book, since Shirley is considered a legend in science fiction circles, but I was surprised to find that his style is tell-y, his characters were a bit cliched, and he approaches the story with the subtlety of a dozen xenomorphs chasing down its prey in a dark ship corridor. It's not outright bad, but it's not really worthy of recommending, either. I have two more of these books to go to finish out the first two attempts at telling new Aliens stories, and I think I'll be glad to be finished. I don't expect them to be literature, but I expect more than what I've read.
brodels's review
3.0
A good, quick read. If you're a fan of the movies and have some time to kill I would suggest reading this. I'm impatiently waiting for some Prometheus footage and while I was in Borders this book caught my eye. It's an interesting take on what might have happened pre-Nostromo incident. The love parts could have been taken out, I have no idea why they were even needed, and the part with "Larry" was kinda weird, but all in all I give it 3 stars.
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