Horror

Alien: Into Charybdis

Alien: Into Charybdis

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  • Create Date：2022-04-09 09:52:07
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Alex White
  • ISBN：1789095271
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Summary

The critically acclaimed author of Alien: The Cold Forge takes readers to a rogue colony where terror lurks in the tunnels of an abandoned Weyland-Yutani complex。

"Shy" Hunt and the tech team from McAllen Integrations thought they'd have an easy job - set up environmental systems for the brand new Hasanova Data Solutions colony， built on the abandoned ruins of a complex known as 'Charybdis'。 There are just two problems: the colony belongs to the Iranian state， so diplomacy is strained at best， and the complex is located above a series of hidden caves that contain deadly secrets。 When a bizarre ship lands on a nearby island， one of the workers is attacked by a taloned creature， and trust evaporates between the Iranians and Americans。 The McAllen Integrations crew are imprisoned， accused as spies， but manage to send out a distress signal。。。 to the Colonial Marines。

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Reviews

Sharon ，

3。5 stars。 Exciting but…just a bit off for me？ Perhaps there was no central character to tell the full/complete story。

C。 ，

Without putting too fine a point on it， the characters are insufferable， the story is boring， and the main alien is represented in the most ridiculous manner possible。 The cover looks nice。

Caitlyn ，

I don't know， it was okay。 Maybe I just need to let the story settle。。 I don't know， it was okay。 Maybe I just need to let the story settle。。 。。。more

Gavin Wask ，

I'm on the fence with this Alien story， lots of positives， a wide range of characters， military， civilian and scientists， never knowing who is going to survive and who is going to die horribly， also， who is going to kill them - aliens， black goo or other humans， a true Alien Bug Hunt and the return of a character on a mission of redemption but in a very different form。But it is also probably about two hours to long and some of the characters need a bit more back story， and the whole Iranian/Amer I'm on the fence with this Alien story， lots of positives， a wide range of characters， military， civilian and scientists， never knowing who is going to survive and who is going to die horribly， also， who is going to kill them - aliens， black goo or other humans， a true Alien Bug Hunt and the return of a character on a mission of redemption but in a very different form。But it is also probably about two hours to long and some of the characters need a bit more back story， and the whole Iranian/American conflict and racism is too current day for what I have always felt is a world away from the one we live in。I'm going to enjoy it because it is in the Alien universe and it kept me guessing but also was too linked to our world for me to truly love it。 。。。more

RA ，

Finally， some kind of escape。

Jeff ，

The author builds an incredible scenario for a preposterous story。 The setting and background is amazing。 The characters are also amazing。 They are defined very well， even better than the terrific setting。 My problem with this particular story is that it pushes a little too far into the industrial-military conspiracy trope。 On one level， I see where the author is going， it is not much different from the original Alien story。 But this just pushed me far beyond the realm of reasonable disbelief。 I The author builds an incredible scenario for a preposterous story。 The setting and background is amazing。 The characters are also amazing。 They are defined very well， even better than the terrific setting。 My problem with this particular story is that it pushes a little too far into the industrial-military conspiracy trope。 On one level， I see where the author is going， it is not much different from the original Alien story。 But this just pushed me far beyond the realm of reasonable disbelief。 I enjoyed the story， but I did not enjoy the underlying motivations。 To me， I think the continuing story of a human-'alien' being would have been more compelling。 That said， the story and the storyline was compelling。 I don't care to follow the next step。 。。。more

Fitzowich ，

There’s no such thing as a Doctorate from Eton - it’s not a third level institution of learning。 There’s several faux pas howlers on one of the protagonists educational and ethnic background。 That’s the negatives of this book out of the way， spoiler free I hope。 Having read Alex White’s previous Alien iteration The Cold Forge and marvelling at how well he executed it I was really looking forward to this one。 It subverts expectations superbly， creates a nightmare scenario， both physically and psy There’s no such thing as a Doctorate from Eton - it’s not a third level institution of learning。 There’s several faux pas howlers on one of the protagonists educational and ethnic background。 That’s the negatives of this book out of the way， spoiler free I hope。 Having read Alex White’s previous Alien iteration The Cold Forge and marvelling at how well he executed it I was really looking forward to this one。 It subverts expectations superbly， creates a nightmare scenario， both physically and psychologically and in USMC Duncan he’s created one of the most compelling， interesting， characters in the entirety of the franchise。 The book was very good up until he introduced her and her cadre。 It elevated from there to be hands down one of the best space thrillers/horrors out there and a perfect and completely different companion piece to The Cold Forge。 I think Alex White is writing a third。 I hope so。 。。。more

F。 ，

White continues the story from "The Cold Forge"。 It is darker than many other Aliens books， but White writes like he enjoys taking "Alien" into new depths。 White continues the story from "The Cold Forge"。 It is darker than many other Aliens books， but White writes like he enjoys taking "Alien" into new depths。 。。。more

Clara ，

I may be bias but this is the best god damn Alien story ever written。 It needs to have a film or digital series made of it because it would be EPIC on so many levels。

Trevor ，

Phenomenal read that kept me on the edge of my seat throughout。 Although this story may not quite fit into what some call the canonical Alien world， it fits in nicely with the later films （like Prometheus） and even brings some new things into the universe。 Another *newish* addition to the Alien universe was what Alex White could uniquely bring to the table （being not your typical Cis-white male sci-fi writer）。 White was able to throw out some of the old tropes that sci-fi sometimes relies on to Phenomenal read that kept me on the edge of my seat throughout。 Although this story may not quite fit into what some call the canonical Alien world， it fits in nicely with the later films （like Prometheus） and even brings some new things into the universe。 Another *newish* addition to the Alien universe was what Alex White could uniquely bring to the table （being not your typical Cis-white male sci-fi writer）。 White was able to throw out some of the old tropes that sci-fi sometimes relies on to make characters “feel real” （I。e weak female characters， etc。）， made the read feel refreshing in a way。 This book got me excited about reading again and really made me want to get deeper into other SciFi stories and worlds。 。。。more

Andrew ，

Such an absolute delight to read。 This was my second read and it still holds up amazingly well。My favourite book I read in 2021。

George ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I went into this book excited。 I'd never read an alien book that was this thick and it was new。 I'm not going to lie， it was really slow in the beginning and I was really starting to not enjoy it。 However， that quickly changed and we were into the meat of the action。 White has a way of writing that keeps you engrossed。 I had planned on reading more than one book at a time， but that never happened as I found myself trying to find out what was going to happen next。 I wasn't so into the idea of Mar I went into this book excited。 I'd never read an alien book that was this thick and it was new。 I'm not going to lie， it was really slow in the beginning and I was really starting to not enjoy it。 However， that quickly changed and we were into the meat of the action。 White has a way of writing that keeps you engrossed。 I had planned on reading more than one book at a time， but that never happened as I found myself trying to find out what was going to happen next。 I wasn't so into the idea of Marsalis the Xenomorph at first， but the idea and the character really did grow on me。 An great read in general although the start was a bit dry。 。。。more

Kaylee ，

I’m still not sure who the main character really was。 Still a fun read

Chris Berko ，

About a quarter of the way in I didn't really like the way things were headed。 It seemed sort of corny and not congruent with other Alien stuff。 But Prometheus was referenced a few times in the beginning so I went back and re-watched that movie and Alien Covenant back to back。 I liked Prometheus when I saw it in the theaters but had mainly forgotten what had happened and after watching that especially I had a new perspective on Into Charybdis。 Things made much more sense and it now seemed like a About a quarter of the way in I didn't really like the way things were headed。 It seemed sort of corny and not congruent with other Alien stuff。 But Prometheus was referenced a few times in the beginning so I went back and re-watched that movie and Alien Covenant back to back。 I liked Prometheus when I saw it in the theaters but had mainly forgotten what had happened and after watching that especially I had a new perspective on Into Charybdis。 Things made much more sense and it now seemed like an organic continuation of the story。 I ended up liking Into Charybdis as much as Cold Forge by the same author and hope there's a third book in the series。 。。。more

JT ，

Ran into the same issues I had with cold forge， a little too much focus on human issues and not enough on aliens。 Also I felt like a lot of mysteries were left unsolved。 Worth a listen if you love the franchise， skip it if you're not an alien fanatic。 Ran into the same issues I had with cold forge， a little too much focus on human issues and not enough on aliens。 Also I felt like a lot of mysteries were left unsolved。 Worth a listen if you love the franchise， skip it if you're not an alien fanatic。 。。。more

David Thomas ，

Not as good as Cold Forge， with even less interesting protagonists。 Alex White writes fantastic "villains"， but very boring or just plain irritating heroes。 The worst part of this book is the return of the most annoying part of Cold Forge。 In each book so far， despite the villain's awfulness， I've ended up sympathizing with them more than the generally annoying heroes， because they are so much better written and so much less irritating。 There are neat little ties to Prometheus and Covenant here， Not as good as Cold Forge， with even less interesting protagonists。 Alex White writes fantastic "villains"， but very boring or just plain irritating heroes。 The worst part of this book is the return of the most annoying part of Cold Forge。 In each book so far， despite the villain's awfulness， I've ended up sympathizing with them more than the generally annoying heroes， because they are so much better written and so much less irritating。 There are neat little ties to Prometheus and Covenant here， but overall the Xenos are underused， and never particularly interesting or scary。 Despite this， I'll still read Alex White's next Alien book to see who the next enjoyable villain is。 Maybe the next book could be all villains？ 。。。more

Mr Chuck ，

Hated it。I had this as an audiobook and I think if I had read it maybe it would be a 2/3 stars story because the narration was so bad it just made me hate the story。I was completely lost at the start and didn't care about any of the characters and then after 30% of the book a xeno turned up。 Maybe it was the narration but the description was so bad and they seemed to use the same ways to detail scenes again and again。Also， I HATE the nickname for the Xenomorphs was X-Rays， makes no sense and jus Hated it。I had this as an audiobook and I think if I had read it maybe it would be a 2/3 stars story because the narration was so bad it just made me hate the story。I was completely lost at the start and didn't care about any of the characters and then after 30% of the book a xeno turned up。 Maybe it was the narration but the description was so bad and they seemed to use the same ways to detail scenes again and again。Also， I HATE the nickname for the Xenomorphs was X-Rays， makes no sense and just made me instantly turn off the book。 。。。more

K De ，

Alex White's novel "Alien: Into Charybdis" is a continuation of the previous novel "The Cold Forge" with the main character making a pivotal appearance in the new novel。 It is hard edged and gritty novel that is just as filled with nihilism of a human civilization that has been consumed by corporate capitalism/government controlling human lives。 There are characters which seem to be more sympathetic but are sacrificed to the reality of war for profit。This is a well written novel and White's writ Alex White's novel "Alien: Into Charybdis" is a continuation of the previous novel "The Cold Forge" with the main character making a pivotal appearance in the new novel。 It is hard edged and gritty novel that is just as filled with nihilism of a human civilization that has been consumed by corporate capitalism/government controlling human lives。 There are characters which seem to be more sympathetic but are sacrificed to the reality of war for profit。This is a well written novel and White's writing is fast paced and has a lot of interesting contrast between a Islamist space faring "nation/coalition" versus Christian "nation/coalition"。 The setting is one a unique planet in which the facility is for a supposed massive data storage but is also a hidden bioweapons facility。 The combat sequences are well done。 Scenes and how humans are ground up are memorable。For fans of the Alien-verse and well written horror/intrigue/combat genre。 。。。more

Nabil Abdulla ，

Had some nice moments but overall a standard affair 。 The least exciting book in all the Alien Novels I’ve read so far 。 Nothing new to the lore and definitely skippable unless you are a huge fan of anything Alien 。 3 Stars tops 。

Max Zappia ，

Spoiler Alert*I feel like it is poor form to kill of you ‘main character’ in the first half。

Ottovonn ，

RIP Marsalis

R Coulbeck ，

There is very little I can add that other reviews haven't said already， it's an excellent book pure and simple。 It adds to what The Cold Forge already started and honestly I think it is even better。 While it's entirely possible to read this book without reading The Cold Forge， I would highly recommend reading that one first。 It lends context to several parts of this book and makes you feel connected。 If I said anything else it would be spoilers。All I can say is if you enjoy the Alien universe， t There is very little I can add that other reviews haven't said already， it's an excellent book pure and simple。 It adds to what The Cold Forge already started and honestly I think it is even better。 While it's entirely possible to read this book without reading The Cold Forge， I would highly recommend reading that one first。 It lends context to several parts of this book and makes you feel connected。 If I said anything else it would be spoilers。All I can say is if you enjoy the Alien universe， this book is a great addition to it。 And if you've already read Alex White's first book， you're in for another treat。 。。。more

Jeremiah Peplow ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 All in all… a good book。 I enjoyed it。 What I had a problem with was the fact they had a human that turned into an xenomorph。 It is definitely a new concept， but I had troubles with that aspect。

Alexander Peterhans ，

"Dark flesh pulls back， revealing a mouth of jagged obsidian teeth— a child’s drawing of a nightmare。"What do you want from an Alien novel？ You want xenomorphs， of course， and you want the human world， which consists of huge， impersonal corporations riding roughshod over their employees （maybe even some called Weyland-Yutani and Seegson）， you want huge industrial complexes on other planets， structures that are so huge and self-regulating， it's scary how tiny and insignificant human lives turn ou "Dark flesh pulls back， revealing a mouth of jagged obsidian teeth— a child’s drawing of a nightmare。"What do you want from an Alien novel？ You want xenomorphs， of course， and you want the human world， which consists of huge， impersonal corporations riding roughshod over their employees （maybe even some called Weyland-Yutani and Seegson）， you want huge industrial complexes on other planets， structures that are so huge and self-regulating， it's scary how tiny and insignificant human lives turn out to be。 And you want synths， of course。 And perhaps some Colonial Marines。Into Charybdis has them all。 In the first twenty or so pages we're in a huge datacenter placed on a stormy planet， and we have an industrial accident。 That's the stuff！"At almost two weeks into the job， a message arrives in Shy’s inbox that’s enough to scare the shit out of her。 It’s an undeliverable item， sent from her own email address to “adsfasdef@ mcallenint。com。” DON’T TRUST NOT SAFE DON’T TRUST NOT SAFE DON’T TRUST NOT SAFE DON’T TRUST"Worldbuilding is very important in an Alien novel， but we also need characters， so when people start dying， we actually feel it。 And the characters work - some are really likeable， some less so - as you'd expect from a piece of Alien media。 And people do die in this novel。 It is quite Game of Thrones-y in its determination to regularly bump off main characters。 I despise cruelty， even in art， but it's essential to an Alien novel。 The author has to be mean; that is the world of the xenomorph。I'm not a huge fan of Colonial Marines， but they do play a good part in the book， I have to admit。 And the black goo from Prometheus returns - if you're like me， that will give you pause， but it's handled pretty well， actually being scary for once。If I have one complaint about the book， it is that the natural water maelstrom the facility is built around （the titular Charybdis） doesn't play that much of a role in the climax。 It feels like a wasted story element。"The little maw slides out between the monster’s jaws。 Mucosal strands wet his lips。 When he locks his mouth shut and shakes his head， the animal strikes him like a snake。 It’s like taking a stun baton to the face。 Pain whites out half of Kamran’s upper lip and sets his gums tingling 。 Its teeth scrape off of his。 When salty， coppery blood mixes with foul alien saliva， Kamran throws up directly in its face。"The writing is detailed in its worldbuilding， but reads smoothly。 The harsh planet conditions are regularly mentioned， not just something that is mentioned at the start and then forgotten about。 The xenomorphs are described quite poetically which is an interesting approach， and quite a good idea - we all know what they look like。 There is plenty gore， and here the descriptions are grounded， and as disgusting as you'd expect。An excellent addition to the Alien universe。（Thanks to Titan Books for providing me with a review copy through Edelweiss） 。。。more

Andrew Johnson ，

While it's not quite as good as "The Cold Forge，" it's still in the top-tier of these tie-in novels， a worthy "Aliens" to that book's "Alien。" Once again， White understands the essentials of a good story， particularly one set in this universe:1 - Characters matter more than action。2 - The company is the villain。3 - The military is the villain。4 - These two institutions are deeply connected。Some of the weaker Alien novels have attempted to subvert some of these tropes， becoming more like propagan While it's not quite as good as "The Cold Forge，" it's still in the top-tier of these tie-in novels， a worthy "Aliens" to that book's "Alien。" Once again， White understands the essentials of a good story， particularly one set in this universe:1 - Characters matter more than action。2 - The company is the villain。3 - The military is the villain。4 - These two institutions are deeply connected。Some of the weaker Alien novels have attempted to subvert some of these tropes， becoming more like propaganda in the process。 White knows how to add nuance without betraying these core principles of the series; they understand that while there may be individual soldiers or corporate pencil-pushers who are heroic， or who strive to live up to particular ideals， their efforts matter little in the grand scheme of empire， and the odds of them surviving any attempt at mutiny are slim-to-none。 My only major quibble is that I found it difficult to track the geography of the setting and make sense of where characters were in relation to each other。 There's a map of the facility included at the start of the book， but it didn't help much。 A few of the plot developments here are， for lack of a better word， deeply silly。 And yet， I found myself still mostly on board， because this film franchise as a whole has at times gone to some very silly places。 The most ridiculous development -- and the one that I can see inspiring a certain degree of controversy among die-hard fans -- involves a character from "The Cold Forge，" and it feels in keeping with the spirit of the character。 White at least is attempting to do something new and ambitious。 I applaud the effort， and I hope to see this story ultimately become a trilogy。 。。。more

Kyle J。 Durrant ，

This is a difficult review to write。 As a story， this book was incredible。 What it all means in regards to the canon/lore of the Alien Franchise I'm not quite so fond of。 I will start with the story itself， as that is the main thing I want to review。 It is a powerful sci-fi tale， with engaging characters and a plot that keeps the twists coming whilst forming a strong， coherent story。 Compared to White's previous entry into the Alien Universe， characters are more likeable （and those that aren't a This is a difficult review to write。 As a story， this book was incredible。 What it all means in regards to the canon/lore of the Alien Franchise I'm not quite so fond of。 I will start with the story itself， as that is the main thing I want to review。 It is a powerful sci-fi tale， with engaging characters and a plot that keeps the twists coming whilst forming a strong， coherent story。 Compared to White's previous entry into the Alien Universe， characters are more likeable （and those that aren't are definitely interesting - I'd rather have interesting but spiteful characters than likeable but bland ones）。 There is good diversity to the characters， that I feel was explored sensitively。 The story is all centred around a data repository （I believe is the right term） on a planetoid owned by an Iranian corporation。 There is， though， shady stuff going on that proves Weyland-Yutani aren't the only despicable conglomerates of this universe - they're all corrupt at the core。 Some American contractors are thrown into the mix to add to the tension， as the corporation don't want them uncovering anything untoward。 Things soon escalate， of course， and get even worse when the USCM （Colonial Marines） get involved。 The plot does a great job of being a socio-political commentary whilst also involving Xenomorph-XX121 to devastating effect。 It was a truly tense tale， confronting the reader with questions on morality and unchecked power。 It was a constant mystery whether a character was going to make it out of a situation， and although the situations remained chaotic there were enough moments of respite to allow losses and setbacks to sink in。 Overall， a story I very much enjoyed。 However， it would have been stronger if it wasn't tied so strongly to the Alien Franchise。 Whilst it does a better job of sticking to what came before than Alien: Covenant did， certain decisions regarding the Accelerant/Pathogen and its connection to the Xenomorph just did not work for me。 Whilst the ideas explored were fun and interesting， they just did not seem consistent with what has been established elsewhere in the franchise。 I found myself wishing it was a different McGuffin being used for those elements of the story， and again I feel that these elements would have worked better in a standalone story set in a different universe。 At points， the story also seemed to contradict lore elements established in White's previous Alien entry。 These lore criticisms， though， are certainly affected by my own preferences and headcanons。 For example， I refuse to believe that Xenomorph-XX121 produces the Pathogen itself， as the effects of the "goo" differ immensely from what the "seed" of a Facehugger creates in a host。 I will accept that they are somewhat related; not that they are the same thing。 Sorry， Alex White。 I do think this is a good book， though， and if you are not a freak for consistent lore like I am， then you will likely enjoy this book as an effective， thought-provoking sci-fi romp with a familiar， pre-established setting。 As an entry into the Alien franchise， I would mark this as 3/5 stars owing to its decisions regarding canon/continuity/lore; as a sci-fi novel， it's probably a 4/5。 As such， my final verdict is 3。5 stars， but it has been bumped up to four stars for the purpose of this review。 。。。more

Steven Lomas ，

It isn't as good as 'Cold Forge'， the start is shaky and the Iran/US subplot is shoe horned in。 Having said that it is rip roaring fun that gets more believable and interesting as it goes。 It certainly fits in to the Alien universe better than Prometheus or Covenant。 It isn't as good as 'Cold Forge'， the start is shaky and the Iran/US subplot is shoe horned in。 Having said that it is rip roaring fun that gets more believable and interesting as it goes。 It certainly fits in to the Alien universe better than Prometheus or Covenant。 。。。more

Chuck ，

The first half was phenomenal。 Could have been a 4 star for me but for the absurdity of "Marsalis" the goodguy alien with a text-to-speach talkbox which I can only imagine in a Stephen Hawking voice。 To be fair the book states Marsalis has a slightly feminine computer voice。 But seriously？ This nearly ruins the book despite the great setup in the first half and all the tight action that follows。 The author does a very good job of always framing Marsalis as a scary and somewhat unpredictable thi The first half was phenomenal。 Could have been a 4 star for me but for the absurdity of "Marsalis" the goodguy alien with a text-to-speach talkbox which I can only imagine in a Stephen Hawking voice。 To be fair the book states Marsalis has a slightly feminine computer voice。 But seriously？ This nearly ruins the book despite the great setup in the first half and all the tight action that follows。 The author does a very good job of always framing Marsalis as a scary and somewhat unpredictable thing but I think the idea is just too stupid to save。 I gather that Marsalis's origins are from a previous novel but I'm not sure anything can justify it because it reeks of the "Black Goo" mystery and something-something-engineers？ from the newer movies。 It's so deflating if you stop reading long enough to think， so I pushed past it at warp speed to the story's end。 As I started this review I had 3 stars for it。Main characters die horrific deaths， xenomorphs do their thing， and gee-golly wouldn't you know it those pesky colonial marines are the true badguys--that part grinds on me also， though its thematically not out of place for the franchise， if a little tired and definitely uninspired with the super heavy-handed Captain Duncan， America's future space Hitler。 I'm a little undecided on how nuanced the other characters are--all of the most likeable/developed ones get killed。 I'm not against killing off main characters but please do not leave us with the two least interesting people on the planet and their Microsoft Cortana alien buddy。 Just， no。Over all though I cannot help but feel this franchise as a whole is fucked despite the strong positives of this book。 The mysterious black goo and what little batshit crazy lore 20th Century Fox is pushing from the new movies is just so out of place that this novel is all the better for having a bare minimum of it。 The black goo is just too stupid， too random and too plot-serving to take seriously。 In one of the movies， single air-borne spores of the stuff can infect people through ear canals and nasal cavities， yet in this novel it appears to be inert unless it has skin contact， and even then only at the author's discretion， since our protagonists slog through a cave of the stuff in gun fights and survive。 And of course the black goo can make monstrous grub things of acid blood explode nearly instantly from people but how any of that translates into the xenomorphs from the classic films beats me。I need to stop here before I take away another star。 It was a fast， mildly fun read though。 。。。more

Adonis ，

They really did too much for me in this book。 Maybe I’ve read too many of these side novels， but this one didn’t work for me。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Alien: Into Charybdis

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Alien: Into Charybdis&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Alien: Into Charybdis&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0