A cheesy pseudo-sequel to James Cameron's Aliens film has cameos from the main cast in the opening scenes but then focuses on Paul Reiser's Carter Burke character, showing us what might have happened if he didn't die on LV-426.

Well, he sets into motion the events of Alien³ then peels off into corporate exile and thirty-five boring years of managing a remote asteroid mining colony. Even though he is a nearly broken man, he still has ambition and a scheme to retrieve and exploit a new alien egg.

The book does a real good job of capturing the character and voice of Burke -- I could hear Reiser delivering all his lines in my head -- but this hypothetical tale never quite makes him charming enough to redeem him or even offset a portion of the evil that he does and the havoc that his plans wreak. It never quite hits the balance between madcap humor and horror thriller that it is aiming for. And the story sort of ends on a cliffhanger, showing the creative team must be hoping for another go-round in the future, but leaving a reader frustrated if it never comes about. ( )

Fantastic! Great use of the character. Includes double crosses! The office workers building a blockade and using a paper cutter as a weapon was a treat. ( )