This was one of the best alien books I've read. Written by Scott sigler it's a fascinating take on the alien franchise. I've only read one previous book by the author, "ancestor" which I enjoyed but found to be a bit heavy on the swearing. Here the swearing is over the top again but otherwise it's a great book. The author specifically requests that people don't spoil the plot something I try not to do anyway. So what I'll say is this. The story is a heroic fantasy take on the alien universe. Think Robert e. Howard, David gemmell or George r r martin. The story is excellent and the characters well thought out and drawn. The aliens are well used in the context and the explanation for their presence is good although I did have an inkling before it was revealed. Overall a great fantasy book and a great alien book.

If you want to see how Spartans would deal with Xenomorphs look no further. In a land of isolated medieval castles, messages and supplies must be carried back and forth by courageous and skilled runners. And every night the demons come out. Black-shelled, with acid blood and tooth-tongues, to meet one is almost a certain death sentence. That is, until a group of runners find a potential new weapon to use in the fight against this hellish threat. I loved the setting for this one and it makes a nice contrast to the usual sci-fi background of the Alien books. When your only weapons against this perfect killer of an organism are spears and crossbows instead of flamethrowers and pulse rifles it raises the stakes. The main group, Ahiliyah, Brandun, and Creen are all distinct enough and with great character development that they all stand out from each other. I find this can be an issue with other Alien stories as usually the Colonial Marines blend together into nameless cannon-fodder with only 1 or 2 exceptions. This can be read completely stand-alone from any of the other books in the franchise and while you don't need to know anything else about the setting, those die-hard fans will enjoy a few familiar twists and turns.

Aliens Phalanx is a story with such an interesting premise that is used to explore themes of masculinity. This makes for one of the most unique stories within the Aliens universe. We begin our story on the planet of Ataegina, that’s completely isolated from the wider interstellar community. This means that despite being set within the 26th century, after Alien Resurrection and even Alien Sea of Sorrows, the people of Ataegina, are reliant on a medieval level of technology and culture. Humanity is split up into ‘Holds’ that act as disguised, underground, fortresses built into old castles and ruins. The surface of Ataegina is the hunting grounds of the demons. These are, of course, Xenomorphs. Because the ever-dangerous aliens have control of the surface the holds are isolated even further. Each hold relies on a combination of light signals observed by a lookout, and teams of ‘runners’ to carry trading supplies back and forth between holds. It’s not uncommon for these runners to be captured or killed by the roaming demons while their traveling between holds. Making running one of the most important, but also dangerous, jobs available. This setting, one of a medieval society struggling to cope with the dangers of the xenomorphs, is an amazing premise! One I’m jealous that I didn’t think of first. The story sees us following one of these runners. Ahilyah Copper from Lemeth Hold, and her two teammates, Creen, and Brandun. These young characters struggle with finding their place within their society. Lyah is nineteen years old, with both Creen and Brandun, being younger than her at sixteen and fifteen respectively. I did enjoy the themes of the youth growing up to question the laws, rules, and traditions that their elders follow without question. It was also very engaging to see Lyah struggle against the outdated and sexist laws of Lemeth hold. This theme of gender and sexism follows both Creen and Brandun despite both being men themselves. Creen is smart, fiercely so, but in a society that values men for their strength and aggression, he is often the subject of bullying from the other boys and men of lemeth. Brandun, despite only being fifteen, is one of the largest and strongest people within his hold. This gets him a lot of respect and attention from the leaders and warriors, all of whom are of course men. While he certainly enjoys this praise and attention he struggles as violence makes him uncomfortable. This causes an inner conflict for Brandun as those he looks up to only value him for his innate ability for violence. This is very well written by Sigler as it shows the effects of toxic masculinity on not just women but men too. He does this in a way that doesn’t villainise or demonise men but instead shows how the dangers of unchecked toxic masculinity harms boys, and men as much as it does girls, and women. This book is a fantastic example of why feminism needs the voices of men as much as it needs the voices of women. In an age of ‘Alpha male’ influencers such as Andrew Tate, we need stories like this one to counter them. My biggest problem with Aliens Phalanx is that despite its amazing premise it fails to add anything new to the series. I’ve been struggling with how to put this feeling into words. I didn’t learn anything new about the wider Aliens lore. This is the flaw of having a world that is so isolated and removed from the wider universe. Nothing will be, or even can be, affected by the world of Ataegina. To give you an example of what I mean let me go through the TitanBooks Alien novels and give an example of what each one adds to the wider lore. ‘Out of the Shadows’ adds to Ellen Ripley’s story as well as setting up ‘Sea of Sorrows’. ‘Sea of Sorrows’ lets us meet the descendants of Ellen and Amanda Ripley as well as establishing that Way-Yu re-establishes itself after megacorperations were outlawed in 2349. ‘River of Pain’ acts as a prequel to Aliens and goes into the history of the Hadley’s Hope colony. ‘The Cold Forge’ expands on the connection between the ‘black goo’ pathogen from Prometheus and the Xenomorph XX121. ‘Prototype’ adds to the personal story of series regular Zula Hendricks. ‘Into Charybdis’ expands on the interstellar governments and the tension between them. ‘Colony War’, ‘Inferno’s Fall’, and ‘Enemy of my Enemy’ all tie into the Frontier War that’s a major historical point in the timeline. Meanwhile, Phalanx doesn’t add anything to this wider universe or narrative. I know this won’t be a major factor for a lot of, if not, most, readers. As a fan of the wider story and universe of Alien this is a priority for me and those like me. For this reason, I wanted to mention it. Overall, Aliens Phalanx is a great story. It offers a setting and world that’s different to anything that has come before it in this series. For this alone Scott Sigler should be congratulated. It uses this unique premise to tell a story that focuses on the struggles caused by toxic masculinity. My only real flaw with this novel is how it fails to add anything new to the wider Alien series. However, this won’t be an issue for most readers. As such I have to say that Scott Sigler has delivered an amazing, albeit, contained new chapter to the Alien universe. I’ve gone back and forth between giving Phalanx 4 or 5 stars. I’m settling on 4 stars just because this is my review, and I can’t see myself returning to this novel like I can some others. This is purely because of how isolated the story is compared to others. Read more of my reviews at MothGaming(dot)co.uk