Inspector Hobbes and the Blood
(Unhuman #1)
by Wilkie Martin (2013)

Andy Caplet, a reporter, is reluctantly immersed in Inspector Hobbes’s investigations. Allergic to danger and exercise, Andy is thrown into grave confusion as he discovers not everyone is human.

Sold as humorous  crime fiction, this doesn’t fir easily into any genre. It’s not funny, although there are some absurd characters and moments.  It’s not much of a crime story as everything is wrapped up and explained in the last chapter. And despite the ghoulish horror cover and intent, it’s not very intense.

It is well written and I read, expecting more revelations and insight into the almost-human world of Inspector Hobbes.

So while and interesting read, nothing lead me to continuing the series.

Aliens: The Female War
(Aliens #3)
by Steve Perry (1993)

Lieutenant Ellen Ripley awoke from her long journey in space with a hole in her memory and an overwhelming drive to survive. When she meets Wilks and Billie, two battered veterans in the war against the aliens, she realizes she’s found two comrades in arms – and she’s ready to take up the fight.

The final in this series doesn’t surprise. Once the premise of the plot is set early on, it doesn’t deviate. The gang go to some planet, get an Alien Queen and return her to earth. She is then supposed to attract all the drones to her, making it easier to use a nuclear bomb to eradicate the infestation. Everything goes as plan. An there is an additional plot show-horned in to make even more comparisons to the second movie.

But bad, but feels like a rushed job, or contractual obligation.

Aliens: Nightmare Asylum
(Aliens #2)
by Steve Perry (1993)

Wilks, Billie, and Bueller were the last survivors of a devastating assault on the aliens’ home planet. But once their retum to the solar system made them refugees once more, fleeing Earth and its alien infestation in a desperate attempt to stay alive. Now, in an otherwise unmanned military transport, they hurtle through space.

Definitely a better story. The multiple plots have been stripped out and it’s down to a fight between Colonel Spears and the hero trio. Spears is a one dimensional villain with inexcusable bad habits and a knack to survival. It would have been a joke of a story if not for the inventive plot turns that keep everyone alive until the end.

Then it’s up to the Alien Queen to determine the winners…

Aliens: Earth Hive
(Aliens  #1)
by Steve Perry (1992)

Wilks was a space marine, Billie was the only survivor of a far-flung colony outpost. Thrown together in the last hellish night of an alien invasion, Billie and Wilks helped each other get out alive.

Thirteen years later Wilks is in prison and Billie lives in a mental institution. The government want Wilks to lead an expedition to the aliens’ home planet to bring back a live alien.

The first of a series of novels covering the film franchise. It’s hard not to see Billie and Wilks as substitutes for Newt and Hudson. At first it’s easy to follow, but as the characters and plot threads pile up, things become complicated .

Sometimes it’s just not clear what is going on. Fortunately things simplify at the end and there is focus on the main characters. There are certainly exciting sequences, but better editing would have made this a better story. And it’s just a setup for the story and the 11 novels to follow.

Splashdown
(Dane Maddock Origins #3)
by David Wood (Goodreads Author)

In 1961 space capsule Liberty Bell 7 crashes into the Atlantic Ocean and sinks in what was called an accident. But was it?

Navy SEALs Dane Maddock and “Bones” Bonebrake are called upon to find the Liberty Bell 7 and recover its secret cargo. They find themselves caught up in a conspiracy from the Cold War era, and only they stand in the way of a powerful man bent on vengeance.

Another short (40k words) and fast action/adventure/thriller with it’s roots in an actual incident. It’s all very gung-ho and improbable. But that’s the nature of the genre and yet again David Wood deliver.