benevolent library ghost

I have spent quite some time scouring through Reddit for recommendations on Alien books. The vast majority of the answers mentioned The Cold Forge as one of the best novels, and I must say that I agree.

The book follows physically handicapped scientist Blue Marsalis as she is researching a way to weaponize the Xenomorphs for good old Weyland-Yutani. When company auditor Dorian Sudler is sent to assess the station's progress, he discovers there is a saboteur on board. What follows is not just the cliché "all systems are failing and we also have to deal with Aliens hunting us", but an action-packed and thrilling story in with many characters acting in self-interest and following secret agenda's.

What makes the story strong is that it isn't purely fixated on action with Xenomorphs - though the action scenes are of good quality. The book has protagonists and side characters that are actually memorable. They are not merely the stale victims of an alien infestation, but people with interesting character arcs. Also, all characters could be deemed morally grey: there isn't a good or bad side (though I was rooting for the physically handicapped scientist more than the deranged businessman). As well as their perspectives, the book offers interludes from the perspectives of a few side characters to tell their parts of the stories when the main characters aren't near them.

I was also very intrigued by the author's take on the 'black goo', or as they call it: plagiarus praepotens (Latin for powerful mimic/kidnapper). Instead of the facehugger planting an embryo inside the host, this book assumes that it pukes black goo, which travels to the stomach to merge with human DNA. This theory doesn't fully match the lore from the movies, I think, but I did like this new perspective and the possibilities it presented for the protagonist.

Another fun thing that was new to me: the physically handicapped protagonist is able to take control over a synthetic's body with some very epic gadgets. She can still feel sensations in her own body, but whilst in Marcus' body can feel what he feels, see what he sees and even profit from his strength and speed. It's also described how she can feel her own body deteriorating and likes it better in Marcus' body. I'm not sure how much I can read into this, but when she (SPOILER) gets a new synthetic body to take over at the end of the novel, she makes it known that she would rather have a male android body. I don't know if the writer did this to highlight that she is used to inhabiting a male body, or that she would rather be a man. Either way, the concept of taking over robot bodies was very cool to me.

I think this book was very well written. Unlike other Alien novels, the action scenes are not better than the dialogue or parts where the reader is offered a back story, making this a very enjoyable read from start to finish. Despite the 'plot twists' being quite obvious sometimes (see the title of this post), it never got boring.

Final comment: the Xenomorphs are referred to as 'bugs' and are held in 'kennels'; terms that don't fit this species. I agree with the people on reddit that it takes away the mystery of the species and it doesn't do justice to their unique nature.

This book kind of wrecked me and I need to vent to someone about it, so blogging it is. I am going to be spoiling this entire book, so just beware of that before you read any further.

This is a story about grief.

I used to think there was such a thing as emptiness, that there were places in the world one could go and be alone. This, I think, is still true, but the error in my reasoning was to assume that alone was somewhere you could go, rather than somewhere you had to be left. (page 4)

Miri's wife, Leah, has come back from a deep sea research trip. It was supposed to last 3 weeks, but it has been 6 months before Miri gets a call to collect her.

In that period, Miri had already started mourning Leah. Since she could not get any information on her whereabouts, she had figured she had already died.

Then she reappears and Miri is happy to see her wife again, but she quickly figures out something is wrong. Or rather, Leah came back 'wrong'. This is not the version of the wife she knows. She is mentally changed from the traumatic experiences she went through on the ocean floor. But her body also starts to change into some kind of sea creature or liquid. It is as if the sea has made a claim on her body and it is trying to return there.

Miri tries to get Leah back, but has to come to terms with the fact that the wife she knows is not the same person that's in front of her. Throughout the book, you witness Miri going through stages of grief. You read her experiences of trying to come to terms with what happened. She also reminices about the time before Leah went away, desperately trying to hold on to this version as if it will make her come back.

I want to explain her in a way that would make you love her, but the problem with this is that loving is something we all do alone and through different sets of eyes. (page 51)

The reader also gets to read from Leah's perspective, though it is quite vague at first. As the book progresses and Leah's condition worsens, you get to put the pieces of the puzzle together until finally figuring out why she now is the way she is. But by then, it is too late.

What makes it even more heartbreaking is realizing that Miri is mourning the loss of her beloved whilst she is still alive. She is mourning her death whilst still taking care of her. This, I believe, is a beautiful representation of what many people caring for terminally ill partners go through.

The thing about losing someone isnt' the loss but the absence of afterwards. The endlessness of that. (page 223)

In the end, Miri has to physically let Leah go. She brings her to the sea and holds her until there is nothing to hold anymore. Imagine loving someone so selflessly, that you're willing to let them go.

Problem is, I read, that ultimately you're really the one who has to kill them. Or not them but the idea of them - you have to make a choice to let it end. (page 191)

Julia Armfield is a wonderfully skilled author. The concept of queer love mixed with a horror story is wonderfully done. I also love how she is able to find the right words to explain something in a way that makes you feel like you understand life better. I actually feel like this book has changed me and giving me a new perspective on love. I don't usually say this, but this might be a new favourite.

Side note: the way the research crew is treated reminded me of the 'crew expendable' part of Alien

Another fun thing I noticed: the parts of the book are named after the levels or 'zones' of the ocean. The deeper you 'dive' into the story, the darker it gets.

Sisters Isla, Irene and Agnes live in a world where climate change has gotten absolutely out of hand: the world is underwater and people are forced to build up or find other ways of living. Their father was a famed architect, having designed a number of buildings in their city to cope with the rising water levels. He didn't do a really good job with parenting, though. His daughters have not been in contact with him - or with each other, for that matter - for 4 years when he dies. With his death, they are forced to come together again. But their fragile bond is quickly shattered when their father continues turning them against each other, even in his death.

The book is considered a reimagining of King Lear and is even referred to as such in the book itself ("King Lear and his dyke daughters"). This story is different in the first place because all three daughters are queer. Isla is in the process of divorcing her wife. Irene's non-binary partner loves her despite her thorny personality. Agnes is overcoming her fear of commitment and falling in love for the first time with a girl who gives her stability in an unstable world

Even though the sisters are very different, they have a few things in common. All three daughters dislike their father. All three daughters dislike each other in a way. The interesting part, in my opinion, is comparing the way they view themselves and each other. Because as Armfield said herself, the protagonists of this book are very unlovable but still deserving of love.

I think the key to a lot of our issues, Irene wanted to say, is that we just don't like each other very much. (page 159)

To her sisters, Isla comes across as controlling and stuck in her role as therapist. Meanwhile, she feels she is the only one who is trying to deal with the situation of their father's death.

Irene is often seen as ill-tempered and defensive, and there is some truth to that. However, she feels that her sisters’ view of her has been frozen in the past, and that they haven’t made an effort to see how she has grown or changed over the years.

Being a decade younger and born to a different mother, Agnes has always stood somewhat apart from her sisters. They assume she was favored by their father - especially after he leaves her his mansion, but nothing could be further from the truth.

Each sister believes she is the only one confronting their father's death and each believes the others are avoiding it. It takes a long time for them to realize that they are actually in the same boat.

At what point, she wanted to say, do we stop being the direct product of our parents? At what point does it start being our fault? (page 163)

Armfield's writing is absolutely beautiful. She is very descriptive and I love myself a psychological horror story. Throughout the entire book, you sense that there is more than meets the eye. The finale is sudden and explosive and I had to reread it to fully grasp what was going on. You knew it was coming, but it was still shocking.

I would have liked some more depth to this cult behavior. I felt like I knew as much about it at the start of the book as at the end. This is a very good book nonetheless and I feel like it would make a beautiful movie. Maybe with the same blue/green filter as the first Twilight movie.