Plantilla:Infobox Book Alien: Inferno's Fall is a 2022 novel written by Philippa Ballantine, based on a story by Clara Carija and Ballantine, and was published by Titan Books. Starring recurring protagonist Zula Hendricks, the novel is set on Shānmén, a mining colony run by the Union of Progressive Peoples which comes under attack by an Engineer starship that unleashes various Xenomorph-like mutations upon that planet. The novel also contains an exclusive tie-in game scenario based on the Alien: RPG titled Evac. It was released on August 9, 2022 with original cover art provided by Alex Ronald.
As well as standard print editions, the novel was released in audiobook format, read by Julienne Irons and published by Blackstone Audio.
Publisher's Summary[]
A gargantuan, horseshoe-shaped ship appears over the mining planet Shānmén, unleashing a black rain of death that creates Xenomorph-like monsters worse than the darkest of nightmares.
As war breaks out among the colonies, a huge ship appears over the UPP mining planet Shānmén, unleashing a black rain of death that yields hideous transformations. Rescue is too far away, and the colonists’ only hope appears in the form of the vessel Righteous Fury. It carries the Jackals—an elite mix of former Colonial Marines and Royal Marines. Led by Zula Hendricks, the Jackals seek to rescue the few survivors from the depths of the planet, but have they arrived in time?
BONUS MATERIAL: Exclusive to this book, a new RPG scenario from Free League, publishers of the award-winning Alien role-playing game.
Plot[]
In 2186[1] on the Union of Progressive Peoples mining planet Shānmén, Toru McClintock-Riley and other members of her family work as indentured laborers for the Jùtóu Combine mining corporation at the Svarog Mine, overseen by supervisor Petro Kozak. Together, Toru and her family have formed "The Knot", a family-operated company, to better survive and support one another.
During a maintenance repair on a misfiring shotcrete robot in Shaft One, Toru is thrown to a lower level, where she encounters alien architecture. Recognizing the find as an opportunity for her family to escape their corporate debt to the Combine, Toru and the Knot agree to sell the information to a criminal organization known as The Brotherhood. Knot miner Nathan Bennetts-Riley is selected for the job. Upon reaching the city of New Luhansk, Nathan is able to make contact with the Brotherhood, but before a deal is able to be completed, an alien vessel appears in the sky. It releases a pathogenic payload on the city and, in the ensuing chaos, Nathan attempts to return to the Svarog Mine, but fails to reach the facility before the gate closes, dying in the process.
Meanwhile, aboard the Righteous Fury, Zula Hendricks and her synthetic daughter Mae study the recent pattern of Border Bombings. Zula has been placed in charge of the Jackals, an elite military group formed by generals of the UPP, United Americas and Three World Empire, with the sole purpose of destroying Plantilla:Xenos. Other experienced team members include Captain Olivia Shipp and Major Ronny Yoo. While Mae is bonding with the crew, the Jackals are notified of the alien vessel at Shānmén.
A collection of miners, Combine security personnel, the Knot and Petro take refuge in the Svarog mine itself, detonating the entrances to prevent the xenomorph-like mutations from attacking. However, they were unable to activate a distress signal, forcing Knot member Pinar Osman-Riley to ascend via a small shaft. While Pinar is able to deploy a long-range antenna to establish comms, she is shortly killed by a flying mutant. Toru seals this shaft way, and returns to her family to communicate with a newly arrived Righteous Fury.
Zula and Mae confirm from orbit that the alien vessel is still above the planet's surface, and Zula orders it shot down before sending a detachment to rescue the Svarog mine survivors. Lieutenant Roza Ganser takes a UD-24 Heavy Dropship down to the mine with Mae stowed away aboard in a combat synthetic. Petro and the Combine security personnel are the first to leave the mine after a tense stand off with Toru and the miners, and try to reach Ganser's drop ship for rescue. However, the newly created xenomorphic lifeforms rush both Petro's group and the UD-24 Dropship, overwhelming and killing them all. Bianca Ting-Riley, another member of the Knot, sacrifices herself to buy the miners time, while Toru again collapses the entrance. Toru and her synthetic Carter direct the remaining survivors to the alien discovery underground, hoping to find another exit on the other side.
Mae awakes aboard the Righteous Fury, understanding that Ganser's dropship was lost. She has an argument with the ship's AI EWA, but is ultimately able to inform Zula of the loss. Zula places Mae on the next dropship down for rescue, with Sergeant Masako Littlefield. During deployment, however, Mae discovers that EWA has prevented her from establishing a link back to the Righteous Fury, leaving her without a back-up if she is destroyed. Meanwhile, in the alien ruins beneath the mine, the group of survivors is assaulted by borrowing xenomorph-like creatures. Only Carter, Toru, Lena Waipapa-Riley, Bái Yún Lee and the archeologists Shaun Hewitt and Uros Antonijevic survive, and reach deeper into the ruins.
Upon discovering a chamber with access to the surface if detonated correctly, Toru begins to plant charges while Antonijevic and Hewitt find metallic ampules containing a black goo. This draws the attention of an Engineer, who rips Hewitt in half. Toru detonates the charges, splashing the Engineer with the black goo and trapping it with a second Engineer. Concurrently, Mae and the Jackals set up defenses at the drop ship's landing zone, when they are assaulted by a wave of xenomorphs, including the large Thrashers. Using a combination of heavy firepower, flamethrowers and SunSpot "Good Boy"s, the Jackals are able to hold the line, while Mae discovers a weak point on the new xenomorphic creatures.
After being temporarily separated from Lena and Bái Yún, Toru is able to evade the recently mutated Engineers and reunite with her remaining family. While Toru company are then able to reach Mae and the Jackals, Antonijevic becomes infected by the black goo covering his clothing during liftoff. Toru sacrifices herself to eject the mutant from the ship. Lena, Bái Yún and Carter are able to be reunited with other family on Pylos station. Zula, Mae and Shipp debrief with the military generals that sponsor the Jackals, informing them that the Border Bombings are being conducted by synthetic pilots under human direction. The Jackals are ordered to determine who is behind the Border Bombings.
Audiobook[]
Blackstone Audio produced an unabridged audiobook of Alien: Inferno's Fall, read by Julienne Irons. The audiobook runs for 10 hours 14 minutes and was released on July 26, 2022.
References[]
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Plantilla:Navbox Novels
- ↑ Plantilla:BBW dates the events of Alien: Inferno's Fall, in which the EVI–87 Plasma Rifle makes an appearance, to 2186.