Note: This post was originally published on Audible.com.
Ever since the blockbuster sci-fi horror Alien was released in 1979, the science fiction franchise has captivated fans and offered a sprawling perspective on humanity's future, the nature of creation and survival, and big questions about both capitalism and artificial intelligence.
Director Ridley Scott's groundbreaking story has since crossed many mediums, with seven feature films in the original series (plus two crossover additions, Alien vs. Predator and Alien vs. Predator: Requiem) in addition to a number of short films, video games, stage plays, books, and the upcoming 2025 FX television series, Alien: Earth. Whether you're looking for audiobooks that explore the plots and main characters of the film series or listens that go beyond what you've seen on the big screen, you've come to the right place. Check out these out-of-this-world audiobooks set in the Alien universe.
Oh, and remember—in space, no one can hear you scream.
The official novelization of Alien, written by bestselling sci-fi author Alan Dean Foster and first published alongside the film’s release in 1979, is brought to vivid, eerie life in this audiobook with fantastic narration by Peter Guinness, an actor fans may recognize as inmate Gregor from Alien 3. When the crew of the Nostromo star freighter answer a distress call from a strange planet called LV-426 and find a seemingly abandoned alien ship, they get a lot more than they bargained for. With rich details and new perspectives, this is a thrilling take on the story that started it all.
When Ellen Ripley describes the events aboard the Nostromo, she's frustrated to find her superiors at the Weyland-Yutani Corporation don't (or perhaps won't) believe her—and they've even begun to terraform and colonize the planet where the catastrophically dangerous creature was found. She joins a group of Marines traveling to LV-426 to see the fate of the colony for herself, and to destroy any aliens before they can reap further destruction. The audiobook is narrated by William Hope, who played Lieutenant Gorman in the Aliens film.
The horrors continue in Alien 3, when the escape ship carrying the survivors of the previous film catches fire and crash-lands on a penal colony planet filled with violent prisoners. A familiar creature starts killing everyone on the planet except for our steely survivor, Ellen Ripley. But the reason she's being spared might be worse than anything she's encountered so far. Narrator Peter Guinness, who also appeared in the film, delivers another spectacular performance,
Fun fact: The Alien 3 movie that hit the big screen wasn't the only direction the franchise could have taken. An alternate script by acclaimed sci-fi writer William Gibson, written in 1987, ultimately wasn't used for the film series. But in this Audible Original drama narrated by a star-studded full cast—including Michael Biehn and Lance Henriksen, two legendary actors reprising their roles as Hicks and Bishop, respectively—this alternate story finally gets its due. Ripley, Hicks, Newt, and Bishop may have narrowly survived the events of Aliens, but when an alarm sounds aboard their escape ship, they realize they haven't completely escaped danger altogether.
It's 200 years after the events of Alien 3—so why is Ellen Ripley still alive, even though she remembers dying in a blaze of glory? Oh, it's only because she's been cloned for a military experiment, along with the alien creature that had made a home in her torso. Can she stop the scientists from toying with an alien race that could spell the end of humanity forever? William Hope returns again to narrate this gripping sci-fi tale.
Check out the novelization of Alien: Covenant, the eighth movie in the franchise and prequel to the original Alien film with insight into the Weyland-Yutani Corporation. Written by bestselling sci-fi author Alan Dean Foster and captivatingly narrated by voice actor Tom Taylorson (Mass Effect Andromeda), this listen follows the crew of the ship Covenant as they travel to a distant planet expecting to find paradise, but where something much more sinister is in store.
In this prequel to the prequel, Alien: Covenant Origins is not a novelization of a film but rather an expansive story that provides even more backstory about the Weyland-Yutani Corporation and its hopes for the Covenant mission. As it turns out, not everyone is in agreement about the colony ship; in fact, some will do anything to stop it.
The Alien universe couldn’t be contained to just movies and books. Its expanded universe also includes video games, like the survival horror Alien: Isolation. Set 15 years after Alien, this novelization of the game’s storyline follows Ripley's daughter, Amanda, as she joins a mission to retrieve the recorder from the spaceship Nostromo in an effort to find out what happened to her mother. But her search leads Amanda to uncover a much bigger and more dangerous conspiracy. Narrated by award-winning voice actor Sarah Mollo-Christensen, it's easily one of the scariest Alien audiobooks out there.
Speaking of scary—Alien: Out of the Shadows is an Audible Original sci-fi audio drama, the first in a trilogy set in the Alien universe, and it’s downright terrifying. Set between the first and second films, the story follows engineer Chris Hooper as he leads a group of miners to planet LV-178, which contains the hardest material ever discovered by man. But beneath the mines is a hidden nest of Xenomorphs, lying in wait for prey like Hooper and his team. There's only one person who might be able to save the day, and if you don't already know it's Ellen Ripley, then you haven't been paying enough attention. You won't be able to hit pause on the dynamic full-cast narration by voice actors Rutger Hauer (yes, the very same Rutger Hauer of Blade Runner fame), Corey Johnson, Matthew Lewis, Kathryn Drysdale, and more.
Roughly 300 years after the events of Alien: Out of the Shadows, a group of mercenaries returns to the abandoned mining excavation on LV-178, where Xenomorphs still lie dormant. Alan Decker isn't quite sure why he was sent along. He soon discovers his company seeks a living Xenomorph they can study and weaponize, and Decker, a descendent of Ellen Ripley, is an unwilling participant in a centuries-long feud with the Xenomorphs. The cast of narrators, directed by Dirk Maggs, includes actors John Chancer, Stockard Channing, Walles Hamonde, Laurel Lefkow, and more.
In this third installment of Audible’s exceptional audio dramas, we get a glimpse into the colonization efforts on LV-426, now called Acheron, where two humans give birth to the first child of the colony, a girl called Rebecca. (Or, more familiarly to Aliens aficionados, Newt.) As military and scientific leaders clash, a seemingly abandoned spaceship gives the colonists an opportunity to achieve their own goals—until they realize what's really on board. It's another full-cast, exquisitely produced thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
For a story that takes place outside of the franchise's usual colonized planets and military battles, listen in to Alien: The Cold Forge, a story set at a remote research station exploring how to weaponize Xenomorphs. When Dorian Sudler is sent to audit the station, he realizes someone onboard is trying to sabotage their work. With suspenseful narration by voice actor Michael Braun, it's a different kind of Alien story that still houses all the thrills and chills you'd come to expect.
This audiobook narrated by a full cast of talented voice actors takes place shortly after the events of Alien 3, following artificial person Bishop, who is surprised to be awakened after asking to be permanently shut down. It turns out the human who created him, Michael Bishop, no longer works for the Weyland-Yutani Corporation, but he's still desperate to acquire the information the synthetic knows about Xenomorphs. For what purpose? And can Bishop prevent Michael from getting what he wants?
