Science Fiction

Alien: Into Charybdis

Alien: Into Charybdis

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  • Create Date：2021-05-05 10:52:15
  • Update Date：2025-09-13
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  • Author：Alex White
  • ISBN：1789095530
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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

Benedict ，

So， as with other Alien books and stories， if you're not into horror （including some trauma）， this isn't going to be your thing。That said， I continue to be impressed with Alex White's writing。This story's conflict and setting seem to be between two human groups: some American contractors setting up a colony and its IT infrastructure， and an Iranian group that's purchased an old Weyland-Yutani site to set up new quantum-entangled communications structure。 As distrust bubbles up and over， Colonial So， as with other Alien books and stories， if you're not into horror （including some trauma）， this isn't going to be your thing。That said， I continue to be impressed with Alex White's writing。This story's conflict and setting seem to be between two human groups: some American contractors setting up a colony and its IT infrastructure， and an Iranian group that's purchased an old Weyland-Yutani site to set up new quantum-entangled communications structure。 As distrust bubbles up and over， Colonial Marines become involved， and of course， there turn out to be historical connections to the Aliens through the Weyland-Yutani background。 It's a great set of layers to the Alienverse， showing how political， corporate， and military power centers blur and bleed in this future dystopia。 White does a great job as an author of providing layered and complex motivations within the factions。This book is both a direct and indirect sequel to "The Cold Forge，" and gives the ultimate fate of Dr Blue Marsalis's research on genetic manipulation 。。。 which results in some very satisfying shifts in tensions between the groups in this book， and individuals finding themselves on surprising sides of various lines drawn in the sand。Like "The Cold Forge" before it， this is a welcome and fresh addition to the Alienverse， and you wind up decently invested in the characters as you root for them along the way。 。。。more

Florin Calciu ，

I swear this is one of the worst books I ever read。 I just cannot understand what is happening， why they are arguing， i cannot imagine the setting like the physical environment。 Total disappointment。

Jonah ，

Alex White knocked it out of the fucking park with this novel。 Between The Cold Forge and this， they're really telling the best stories in this universe since the original film Alex White knocked it out of the fucking park with this novel。 Between The Cold Forge and this， they're really telling the best stories in this universe since the original film 。。。more

Jedidiah ，

This is now the third Alien tie-in book I've read in the last year; honestly I'm just as surprised as anyone else。 I'm admittedly not a huge fan of the extended mythology， but it's an effective way to set up a deep space SF/horror story - you already presumably know what the alien is and what its motives and capabilities are - and dive right in to the action。 And Alex White writes some great action， they even reminded me of Matthew Reilly more than once。 Having read Cold Forge I also appreciated This is now the third Alien tie-in book I've read in the last year; honestly I'm just as surprised as anyone else。 I'm admittedly not a huge fan of the extended mythology， but it's an effective way to set up a deep space SF/horror story - you already presumably know what the alien is and what its motives and capabilities are - and dive right in to the action。 And Alex White writes some great action， they even reminded me of Matthew Reilly more than once。 Having read Cold Forge I also appreciated the connection to that book。 Overall this is just a fun read。 If authors like White and Scott Sigler keep writing Alien books I'll keep reading them。 。。。more

Paul ，

Can someone please introduce Ridley Scott to Alex White？ （If they've haven't crossed paths already）。 I feel these are the Alien stories missing from the big screen。 Both Cold Forge and this new release are pure Alien through and through。 Every character feels well fleshed out， the plot escalates at a logical pace and without hurry。 The writing is economical when it needs to be and devilishly detailed at the same。 Fantastic work。 If anyone can recommend similar books （Alien or not） please hit me Can someone please introduce Ridley Scott to Alex White？ （If they've haven't crossed paths already）。 I feel these are the Alien stories missing from the big screen。 Both Cold Forge and this new release are pure Alien through and through。 Every character feels well fleshed out， the plot escalates at a logical pace and without hurry。 The writing is economical when it needs to be and devilishly detailed at the same。 Fantastic work。 If anyone can recommend similar books （Alien or not） please hit me up！ 。。。more

Christopher ，

What a genuine pleasure to find that the sequel to Alien: The Cold Forge， a book I thoroughly enjoyed， is an even better journey into the Alien universe。 While you don't need to have read Cold Forge to follow this one， it will give a ton of depth to the experience， especially in relation to two characters in particular。White seems to have settled fully into the Alien universe and as a result， they're able to hit the ground running。 We're delivered numerous characters in this book， many of them r What a genuine pleasure to find that the sequel to Alien: The Cold Forge， a book I thoroughly enjoyed， is an even better journey into the Alien universe。 While you don't need to have read Cold Forge to follow this one， it will give a ton of depth to the experience， especially in relation to two characters in particular。White seems to have settled fully into the Alien universe and as a result， they're able to hit the ground running。 We're delivered numerous characters in this book， many of them right at the start， but White deftly keeps things moving by doling out quick slashes of characterization that help us understand each individual without getting bogged down in tons of tedious description or backstory。 Anyone familiar with the Alien universe knows that "。。。 and then things go to hell" is a common theme， but during our stay on LV-991， things go to hell more than once， right from the get-go。I found the conflict between the Iranian team at the site and the American team that arrives to set up environmental system to be both compelling and realistic， and I enjoyed the opportunity to see things from multiple points of view on the Iranian team。 As always， politics and corporate greed play a major role in this story， and they're on display early and often on both sides。 Also like much in the Alien universe， Charybdis itself is not exactly what it seems on the surface （so to speak） -- but few in the colony know that at first。Misunderstandings lead to charges of espionage， which lead to an encounter with a strange type of xenomorph， which leads to a hostage situation， which leads to the colonial marines getting involved。 That's when White introduces an antagonist who's both more compelling and quite possibly more terrible than the one in Cold Forge， which is saying something。 I liked Colonel Duncan a lot， which is to say that I found her thoroughly loathsome in the best and most compelling way。From here， the book kicks into high gear， everything really starts to deteriorate， and White zooms the focus in a bit on a relatively small cast。 It's a gripping ride and I burned through the second half of the book very quickly。 This being an Alien story， you can count on the fact that many of the characters won't be making it to the end， but with a few exceptions， it's not easy to determine who's going to survive and who's not。 The climax is suitably terrible， gory， and crazy - and the denouement largely satisfying。I did have one or two niggling complaints。 A fairly major character disappears "off-screen" and is never heard from again， which I found a touch jarring。 I also found an early plot point difficult to understand and kept waiting for a third set of players to get involved with the Americans and the Iranians， before finally realizing very late into my reading just who had been piloting a particular ship。 That one might be on me - I probably should've been able to figure it out earlier - but I found it unclear and it led to some confusion during the middle part of the book。None of these complaints come even close to knocking a star off， though。 I had a blast reading Alien: Into Charybdis and I hope White continues to work in the Alien universe moving forward （though I also am looking forward to their upcoming original work）。 。。。more

Derek Smyk ，

Actually more of a 3。5。 I liked most of this one a lot， but there were a handful of things that just didn't work for me， so I didn't enjoy it quite as much as Cold Forge。 Actually more of a 3。5。 I liked most of this one a lot， but there were a handful of things that just didn't work for me， so I didn't enjoy it quite as much as Cold Forge。 。。。more

Julian ，

Fantastic fun， absolutely loved it

Peter Andersson ，

Great book - and I can't help thinking that ”if only this had been the script to the movie Alien 3！”For you to be able to place that comment in context， here's my take on the entire six movie series。The first two movies ”Alien” and ”Aliens” were great。 The third sucked and threw what should have been kept and built on from number two out the window。 ”Resurrection” started out okey but then hit franchise rock bottom from where the puppy eyed hybrid albino alien entered the big screen。 In ”Covenan Great book - and I can't help thinking that ”if only this had been the script to the movie Alien 3！”For you to be able to place that comment in context， here's my take on the entire six movie series。The first two movies ”Alien” and ”Aliens” were great。 The third sucked and threw what should have been kept and built on from number two out the window。 ”Resurrection” started out okey but then hit franchise rock bottom from where the puppy eyed hybrid albino alien entered the big screen。 In ”Covenant” not a single person acted logically for five minutes on the alien planet and the entire casting for the movie was horribly wrong， except for Michael Fassbender as an android。 And finally ”Covenant” was such a mess that not even a returning Fassbender could save it， mostly so bad that one started to root for the xenos before it was over。"Into Charybdis" also has an alien to root for， but for entirely different reasons。 。。。more

The Musing Bibliophile ，

The beginning of this book dragged （ugh）， but， once the blood started flowing and bodies started piling up， it was an exciting read。

Heather ，

Alex White’s Alien: Into Charybdis is sort of a follow-on to his Alien: The Cold Forge。 You probably don’t need to read that one first， and you’ll spend the first half or more of this book wondering why I say you should， but it does become relevant and I think I would have been a bit confused had I not read that book first。 I’m a huge fan of the Alien franchise， and I think Alex White’s books stand up very well to the other material out there。Cheyenne （Shy） Hunt is a contractor–her and her team Alex White’s Alien: Into Charybdis is sort of a follow-on to his Alien: The Cold Forge。 You probably don’t need to read that one first， and you’ll spend the first half or more of this book wondering why I say you should， but it does become relevant and I think I would have been a bit confused had I not read that book first。 I’m a huge fan of the Alien franchise， and I think Alex White’s books stand up very well to the other material out there。Cheyenne （Shy） Hunt is a contractor–her and her team handle contracts for installation and maintenance of colony infrastructure （yes， even in space you need HVAC maintenance！）。 They take a job on a planet that’s literally called “Hasanova Data Solutions” that is run by the Iranians。 A couple of people on the contractor crew are not entirely happy about this， but they need the money badly。 The actual colony is， so far， a big island with a stable lava tube in the middle。 This feature， called Charybdis， is a whirlpool of water and toxic gases， and anything that goes over the safety railings isn’t coming back。 A local named Kamran Afghanzadeh is tasked with making sure the contractors stick to what they’re supposed to do and don’t go poking around。 Of course Shy and Noah stumble across something they shouldn’t see， and suddenly they’re virtually prisoners。 Then the Iranians come across a certain xenomorph， and Noah decides it’s time to send a distress call。I love that the main characters are blue-collar workers in space。 It’s creative and interesting， and brings some unusual skills and knowledge to the table。 The Iranians and the Americans are pretty prickly for a while， and some of it starts out seeming like stereotypical bigotry， but when push comes to shove， all the characters have depth and nuance。There are a couple of unexplained mysteries that got dropped in that never paid off; I was a bit disappointed by that， but it’s really my only complaint。 We do， however， get to find out what happened to Dr。 Blue Marsalis after the end of Alien: The Cold Forge， which is great。 She was such an excellent character。The colony is unusual in its makeup， size， and unique challenges， and the author makes wonderful use of these things when everything goes to hell。 It’s also interesting to see what sorts of tricks their would-be rescuers have up their sleeves now that the military knows a lot more about the xenomorphs。 It has enabled some interesting advances in technology and some new ways of dealing with the aliens。I think if you enjoy the Alien franchise， you’ll love this book。 It hits all of the sweet spots for character interplay， horror， science fiction， and combat against the deadliest creatures the universe has seen。Content warning for blood & gore， dismemberment， spiders， a little bigotry， child harm， and child death。Original review posted on my blog: https://www。errantdreams。com/2021/04/。。。 。。。more

Hunter ，

Like George R。 R。 Martin， Alex White gave absolutely 0 f%#£s about killing off characters。 I thought that was pretty ballsy how he did it， & as soon as the first character was shot through the eye， I said “damn， this book is gunna get wild。”， which it 999% did。Pretty awesome book！ A new idea in the Alien universe that definitely had me pretty Interested as soon as Marsalis entered the script！ This book was incredibly violent， gory， detailed， but also （& maybe it’s just me） incredibly confusing。 Like George R。 R。 Martin， Alex White gave absolutely 0 f%#£s about killing off characters。 I thought that was pretty ballsy how he did it， & as soon as the first character was shot through the eye， I said “damn， this book is gunna get wild。”， which it 999% did。Pretty awesome book！ A new idea in the Alien universe that definitely had me pretty Interested as soon as Marsalis entered the script！ This book was incredibly violent， gory， detailed， but also （& maybe it’s just me） incredibly confusing。 I found it very difficult to get a feel for the actual scenery & layout of Charybdis。 Despite the detailed drawing in the beginning of the book， I still constantly found myself referring to the picture to try to get a better idea in my head about where things were happening & what the locale looked like。 Having a somewhat challenging time understanding what I’m reading is a no-no for me when I read， however this book was pretty damn intriguing from start to finish so I had no idea continuing reading， hence why it still deserves a 5 star rating。 Last thing I’ll say is there’s SO many unanswered questions that I sincerely need to know。 I kinda feel how I felt after I watched Prometheus （all time favorite movie）。 。。。more

Freda L Drake ，

Far better than his former book！I wasn't impressed with the former book， but this one is stellar。 The things that I found an attractive with the former book have all been solved in this one。 In this one there is character development。 In this one there is a well-modulated pacing， and characters you can root for。 Hopefully this is an indication that future books will be every bit as stellar as this one！ Far better than his former book！I wasn't impressed with the former book， but this one is stellar。 The things that I found an attractive with the former book have all been solved in this one。 In this one there is character development。 In this one there is a well-modulated pacing， and characters you can root for。 Hopefully this is an indication that future books will be every bit as stellar as this one！ 。。。more

Jas ，

This book would make a better movie than the slop we've been getting。The book was tense， intriguing and action packed。I recommend reading The Cold Forge by the same author before reading this book for a better experience。 This book would make a better movie than the slop we've been getting。The book was tense， intriguing and action packed。I recommend reading The Cold Forge by the same author before reading this book for a better experience。 。。。more

Jordan Steinhoff ，

Not quite a 4 and no half marks so， a 3 star but it's better than that。I'm generally not keen on licensed fiction but this is Alien。 So I gave this a shot and was very pleasantly surprised。There's some defined shifts where the POVs and important characters change and it is not at all a simple bug hunt like Aliens or innocent slaughter like Alien。 This is a really enjoyable story about aliens， espionage， secret missions and yes， a bit of a bug hunt。Quite a few surprises moving things along。 Some Not quite a 4 and no half marks so， a 3 star but it's better than that。I'm generally not keen on licensed fiction but this is Alien。 So I gave this a shot and was very pleasantly surprised。There's some defined shifts where the POVs and important characters change and it is not at all a simple bug hunt like Aliens or innocent slaughter like Alien。 This is a really enjoyable story about aliens， espionage， secret missions and yes， a bit of a bug hunt。Quite a few surprises moving things along。 Some simply for the sake of the shock but others genuinely help the story。Great pacing。 Very good dialog and descriptions。 Very much the feel of the Alien verse。If you like the source materials， give this a shot。 。。。more

Shannon Poole ，

Wow。 All I can say is wow 👏 this book was absolutely fantastic from start to finish and I couldn't get enough of it。 So many things that happened made me set the book down and really think about what just happened in that moment。 Alex White had me captivated by his writing and knowledge of the alien universe through every page。 Overall I really enjoyed the subtle references to other alien material which was very well done and found myself slowing down with my reading because I didn't want this t Wow。 All I can say is wow 👏 this book was absolutely fantastic from start to finish and I couldn't get enough of it。 So many things that happened made me set the book down and really think about what just happened in that moment。 Alex White had me captivated by his writing and knowledge of the alien universe through every page。 Overall I really enjoyed the subtle references to other alien material which was very well done and found myself slowing down with my reading because I didn't want this to end。 。。。more

John R。 Dailey Jr。 ，

A BAD MOTOR SCOOTER IT IS。。Hello， this is a great story。 Very well written and entertaining to read。 A really good ending， as well。 Thanks。

Brandon Sapp ，

Leagues better than anything in the franchise since 1986's Aliens。 This is a must read sci fi horror。 Leagues better than anything in the franchise since 1986's Aliens。 This is a must read sci fi horror。 。。。more

Chris The Lizard from Planet X ，

Alien: Into Charybdis by Alex White is an original story set in the Alien Film universe。 It's not spooky season but I could not resist jumping right in and reading this new release。 Alien: Into Charybdis did not disappoint。 It captures the essence of the Alien franchise where we see that humans are just as much monsters as the xenomorphs。 One note， Alien: Into Charybdis can be read as a stand alone novel， but I recommend reading Alien: The Cold Forge first。 I was pleasantly surprised to see char Alien: Into Charybdis by Alex White is an original story set in the Alien Film universe。 It's not spooky season but I could not resist jumping right in and reading this new release。 Alien: Into Charybdis did not disappoint。 It captures the essence of the Alien franchise where we see that humans are just as much monsters as the xenomorphs。 One note， Alien: Into Charybdis can be read as a stand alone novel， but I recommend reading Alien: The Cold Forge first。 I was pleasantly surprised to see characters from that novel make a reappearance， and have their story continued。Alien: Into Charybdis follows an American tech group as they land on a new Iranian State colony built over abandoned ruins。 Their job is to set up the environmental solutions for the colonists。 What should be an easy job quickly dissolves into anarchy as strained relations snap when workers begin to be attacked by strange taloned creatures。 The story and world building is pretty solid and we get a mix of espionage， corporate greed， evil colonial marines， and no shortage of bad decisions。 Alex White has brought in some new and unique elements to the creatures。 The Aliens in this book seem to be smarter and deadlier than ever！ Like any Alien novel worth its weight in acid blood， we get plenty of tense action， betrayal， evil scientists， naive civilians， and gore galore。 We are introduced to a whole new cast of intriguing and dynamic characters。 But I am really here for the xenomorph。 The alien is where I think this story really shines。 There is one in particular that is completely unique。 There are some real nail biting moments。 The alien action is inventive， gritty， graphic， and pulse pounding throughout。 I actually found myself rooting for the Aliens！Overall， If you are a fan of the Alien franchise， like monsters in space， chaos， strained diplomacy， dark science fiction horror， and taut action give this book a try。 。。。more

MacWithBooksonMountains Marcus ，

Altogether no bad as far as Alien spin-offs go。 On a side note ， I find it kind of unlikely that Iran would be one of the major opponents in a 22 century space colonization efforts to America。

Swray03 ，

Meh。 Not my cup of tea。 Also seemed a tad racist which was weird for being set in the future。

Michael Davis ，

A fun， brutal romp。 Couldn't put it down A fun， brutal romp。 Couldn't put it down 。。。more

James Big Cat ，

This one is kinda hard for me to rank， I love the Alien franchise and there's plenty to like with Charybdis but a few things dragged it down。 The story starts strong with the politics， setting， and situations but was hamstrung by bad villains， a special Alien， and felt like an average action movie。 If you were to leave out these two （major） plot points I feel like this would have been a more traditional horror Aliens story。Alien into Charybdis is a follow-up to the excellent Cold Forge， taking p This one is kinda hard for me to rank， I love the Alien franchise and there's plenty to like with Charybdis but a few things dragged it down。 The story starts strong with the politics， setting， and situations but was hamstrung by bad villains， a special Alien， and felt like an average action movie。 If you were to leave out these two （major） plot points I feel like this would have been a more traditional horror Aliens story。Alien into Charybdis is a follow-up to the excellent Cold Forge， taking place on a planet run by the Iranian government who hires some desperate American contractors to do some work。 Political tensions between the two are （still） unstable and both sides think the other is up to something， a strange ship lands on the planet， someone gets infected， then the colonial marines show up and this is where I started to lose interest。In the first quarter or so of the book we get lots of interesting backstory and dynamics with the colonists and the ship's crew but when it came to the marines I cringed。 The author did a great job in the first book making an unlikeable antagonist， but this time they （the colonial marines） were so over the top and cliche down to the bright-eyed and bushy-tailed new recruit it was almost funny。 Basically， they're your run of the mill jerk off marines with more guns than brains， except the captain she was like a hardass western religious sheriff from yesteryear。 Because they're out in the middle of nowhere they can do whatever they want because they ain't afraid of nothing。 But I will admit the action scenes involving them （and not their dialog） were exciting。Then there was the unique alien。。。felt like jumping the shark and I wasn't a fan。 It just felt wrong。 。。。more

Will Wilson ，

For anyone interested in reading this book I highly recommend reading “Alien : The Cold Forge” first。 The author does say this is not necessary but I think to really appreciate this book and to understand why I rated it a four instead of a three Cold Forge needs to have been read。 This one overall is a great story 。 Alex is able to take tropes that seem old and worn out to subvert the direction you think the story is going。 There were a few times in this where I thought I was predicting the way For anyone interested in reading this book I highly recommend reading “Alien : The Cold Forge” first。 The author does say this is not necessary but I think to really appreciate this book and to understand why I rated it a four instead of a three Cold Forge needs to have been read。 This one overall is a great story 。 Alex is able to take tropes that seem old and worn out to subvert the direction you think the story is going。 There were a few times in this where I thought I was predicting the way he was taking the story and he would up and surprise me and take it in a completely different direction。 One of the better “Alien” Tie-in novels I’ve read in a long time I look forward to more of his work。 。。。more

Nick ，

This was almost like two separate books， the first part was some vaguely menacing tale of software engineers in space colonisation then when the alien story kicked off it was Cold forge part two。The disjointed plotlines aside this was great reading when it got going， the cold forge story being continued was a surprise to me despite the author as i thought that story was pretty much done and forgotten。 The way they used the prometheus plots alongside the alien one worked much better here i though This was almost like two separate books， the first part was some vaguely menacing tale of software engineers in space colonisation then when the alien story kicked off it was Cold forge part two。The disjointed plotlines aside this was great reading when it got going， the cold forge story being continued was a surprise to me despite the author as i thought that story was pretty much done and forgotten。 The way they used the prometheus plots alongside the alien one worked much better here i thought and although it sort of fizzled at the end it still leaves things slightly open for more。 。。。more

David Jarreau ，

Alex White writes the best Alien books。 Once the action started it never let up。

Jesse Martinez-Kratz ，

This is as good as the series gets。 Amazing characters that will simply die before their time and before you want them to， a crazy plot that connects the movies， TTRPG and other novels， and frankly the best antagonist in an Alien book in years。 If you like Alien， and you’ve read Cold Forge， pick this up， it’s awesome。

Marc ，

From the author of the cold forge comes another great dive into the world of Alien and all the lovely things that encompass that。I’d more give this a 3。75/5 stars as I found myself eye rolling at a few parts， but that’s to be expected in almost every book。The author makes up with that with some really cool characters， a wonderful （underused） location and some great action sequences。 If the alien novels stay moving forward with this type of thought process， we should be in good hands！

Marcus ，

4。5/5The Alien franchise often seems creatively spent， to me。 But this is a thoughtfully crafted and fresh work。 I will definitely seek out The Cold Forge soon based on how great this one was。

Michael Hicks ，

Upon finishing Alien: The Cold Forge back in 2018， my most pressing concern was when Alex White's next Alien book would be released。 Well， that time has finally come with Into Charybdis hitting shelves earlier this week， and I couldn't be happier。 While markedly different than The Cold Forge， Into Charybdis is， in nearly all respects， bigger， better， and bolder。 Moving from the space station-based setting of the previous book， White moves the action planet-side， to a sparsely populated atoll in Upon finishing Alien: The Cold Forge back in 2018， my most pressing concern was when Alex White's next Alien book would be released。 Well， that time has finally come with Into Charybdis hitting shelves earlier this week， and I couldn't be happier。 While markedly different than The Cold Forge， Into Charybdis is， in nearly all respects， bigger， better， and bolder。 Moving from the space station-based setting of the previous book， White moves the action planet-side， to a sparsely populated atoll in the middle of a highly violate， churning， and very stormy sea。 A group of Iranian colonists are attempting to bring a data hub online and have contracted a group of Americans to help with the install。 Unfortunately， when things go sideways the Americans are taken hostage， but are able to send out a distress call to the United States Colonial Marine Corps。 White does an excellent job presenting an interstellar riff on the Iran hostage crisis， and this concept could have been neat enough sci-fi fodder on its own。 But， putting this highly volatile situation into the politics of the Alien universe makes for a real home-run， giving us various layers of intrigue with the usual Weyland-Yutani shenanigans and the conflicts between United Americas and the Independent Core System Colonies， a group of secessionists of which Iran is a member。And then there's the Colonial Marines themselves， as led by Captain Kylie Duncan， a hard-edge officer with a penchant for violence。 Most often， the Colonial Marines are presented as front-line heroes， but White gives us a very different spin on these soldiers and their end-goals as they enter what is deemed by United Americas to be an enemy state。 Whatever 80s-era romanticism James Cameron's Aliens and subsequent media tie-ins might have imbued the Colonial Marines with， White swiftly removes as they are positioned into becoming an invading and occupying force more familiar to 21st Century readers， particularly those who have grown up under the shadow of a perpetual forever war in the Middle East following 9/11。 In 1961， Present Dwight D。 Eisenhower warned us of the threat the military-industrial complex presents to democracy， and the in-universe alliance between the US military and Weyland-Yutani is a welcome reminder of this threat （not to mention a number of real-life examples， including the militarization of police forces all across America）。 Unlike The Cold Forge， White sets up a few characters in Charybdis that are actually pretty damn sympathetic。 The sexism graphics designer Shy faces in her job， which is threatened by a disgruntled creep， is all too recognizable， and Iranian researcher Dr。 Afghanzadeh is caught between conflicting loyalties as he tries to do the right thing but also can't afford to be fired should he disobey his employer's orders。 Given the various factions competing for survival on this violent atoll， Into Charybdis has a large cast of characters by necessity -- but， since this is an Alien book， don't count on all of them making it off-world alive！ White does a fantastic job delivering multiple brutal -- and incredibly shocking -- deaths that hit super-hard thanks to their focus on character work。 Once the action kicks in， this sucker gets intense fast。 Alien: Into Charybdis is a remarkably fast read that belies it's 560 pages。 Packed full of memorable action sequences and more than its fair share of conflict， this sucker just moves and moves and moves。 What makes it all the more remarkable， though， is its thoughtful commentary on patriotism versus nationalism， particularly given the highly jingoistic Colonial Marines， which is pretty much the last thing I would have expected in an Alien book。 It's a wonderful， and wholly welcome， bit of subversion and I will damn well take it！ I dug the hell out of the commentary and political philosophies presented here， and the way White used these perspectives to shift this story into some unique places - and set up some intriguing angles for where subsequent Alien books， either by them or by the other authors playing in this universe， could possibly go。 However， I find myself in a familiar position upon finishing this book as I was with The Cold Forge: I'm already eager and impatient for White's next Alien book！ 。。。more

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