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After meaning to for years, I finally got round to picking up the novelizations of the Alien films (well, the first three at least, I haven't bought Alien Resurrection yet, but I plan to).

I've never read a movie novelization before. I'm about three quarters of the way through Alien and it's quite interesting to see what's different between the book and the big screen. I'm particularly enjoying all the extra little bits and pieces in the novel that aren't in the film, including a few scenes I knew had been deleted from the movie during production as well as some other stuff I'd never even heard of before. The Xenomorph's ever so slightly different too — both the Facehugger and the adult have eyes — presumably based on an earlier design.

From a critical standpoint, I really like Alan Dean Foster's writing style too. Even though it's a book based on a film everyone's already seen, he writes with intelligence and depth. He isn't afraid to use more obscure language and long, complex sentences. The only disappointment I have is that there isn't more backstory for the crew, as I'd hoped there might be.

I'm looking forward to moving on to Aliens and Alien3, and even Alien Resurrection when I get it. Has anyone else read any of the books based on the films?

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