Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Thousands of incredible audiobooks and podcasts to take wherever you go.
Immerse yourself in a world of storytelling with the Plus Catalogue - unlimited listening to thousands of select audiobooks, podcasts and Audible Originals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Alien: River of Pain

By: Christopher Golden, Dirk Maggs
Narrated by: Anna Friel, Philip Glenister, Colin Salmon, Alexander Siddig, Marc Warren, Michelle Ryan, William Hope
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Buy Now for £15.99

Buy Now for £15.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Summary

Ellen Ripley finally returns to Earth, only to discover that LV-426 — where the crew of the Nostromo first came into contact with the deadly xenomorphs — has been renamed Acheron.

Protected by Colonial Marines, the colonists seek to terraform the storm-swept planet against all the odds. But in the face of brutal living conditions and the daily struggles of a new world, there is humanity and hope. Anne and Russell Jorden — two colonists who are seeking a fortune that eluded them on Earth — are expecting their firstborn child.

The birth of Rebecca Jorden, known to her family as Newt, is a cause for celebration. But as the colony grows and expands, so, too, do the political struggles between a small detachment of Colonial Marines and the Weyland-Yutani scientists posted on Acheron. Willing to overlook their orders in order to serve the Company's interests, these scientists have another far more sinister agenda — to covertly capture a living Alien.

The wildcatters discover a vast, decaying spaceship. The horseshoe-shaped vessel is of particular interest to Weyland-Yutani and may be the answer to their dreams. But what Anne and Russell find onboard proves to be the stuff not of dreams but of nightmares.

This terrifying, cinematic, multicast dramatization — directed by the multiaward-winning Dirk Maggs, best known for his adaptations of Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere for the BBC — is the sequel to Audible Original's Alien: Out of the Shadows (nominated for Best Audio Drama at the 2017 Audies).

Starring Golden Globe-nominated Anna Friel (Pushing Daisies, Limitless), Alexander Siddig (Star Trek: Deep Space 9, Game of Thrones), Michelle Ryan (Bionic Woman, Doctor Who), Colin Salmon (Alien vs Predator, Arrow, James Bond), Marc Warren (Mad Dogs, Saving Private Ryan, Hustle) and Philip Glenister (Outcast, Life on Mars), with special guest star William Hope returning as Lt. Gorman from James Cameron's Aliens.

©2017 20th Century Fox (P)2017 Audible, Ltd.
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2
activate_samplebutton_t1

Listeners also enjoyed...

Alien: Out of the Shadows cover art
Jeff Wayne's The War of The Worlds: The Musical Drama cover art
Cthonia's Reckoning cover art
Predator: Incursion cover art
Epic cover art
Jurassic Park cover art
Six of Crows cover art
Alien Instinct cover art
Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan cover art
The Land: Founding: A LitRPG Saga cover art
Star Wars: Ahsoka cover art
The Silver Eyes: Five Nights at Freddy’s (Original Trilogy Book 1) cover art
Star Wars: Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader cover art
From a Certain Point of View (Star Wars) cover art
Battlefield Earth cover art
Gateway cover art

Critic reviews

"Filled with tension and stellar voice performances, River Of Pain is edge of your seat good." ( Buzzfeed)
"Frightening." ( Yahoo Movies)
"Dirk Maggs continues to create masterful audio drama that only gets better.... Maggs coaxes fantastic performances from his cast to convey the characters' dread while also creating a good balance of sound effects. Listeners will remain on high alert about what may be around the next corner." ( AudioFile)
"Superbly detailed sound-design and remarkable sonic effects... a truly unique listening experience." ( HeyUGuys)
"Terrifying." ( NME)
"The cast is an outstanding smorgasbord of familiar genre talent." ( Starburst)
"No expense has been spared on this blockbuster Aliens sequel." ( Loaded)

What listeners say about Alien: River of Pain

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    3,931
  • 4 Stars
    1,549
  • 3 Stars
    455
  • 2 Stars
    98
  • 1 Stars
    39
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    4,175
  • 4 Stars
    1,042
  • 3 Stars
    270
  • 2 Stars
    63
  • 1 Stars
    17
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    3,374
  • 4 Stars
    1,351
  • 3 Stars
    623
  • 2 Stars
    140
  • 1 Stars
    62

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Sheer quality, 5 stars!

This is a totally compelling and completely engrossing sci fi horror drama, it's nail biting, I've read the novel a few times and that was brilliant but this is the next level, if your a fan of Aliens you will be able to picture the setting, the tension builds and builds, until the inevitable final, the performances are wonderful, excellent casting choices, I recommend to all, you won't be disappointed!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Good not great, Ripley again brings it down.

While it's enjoyable enough this prequel to Aliens wastes a lot of time retelling the first 20mins of the movie, even though it doesn't mesh with the books plot at all, and the story adds multiple little potholes to Aliens, while glossing over some of the stuff worth examination (such as how multiple people got implanted after the initial incident with the Jordans).
Would have preferred it as a stand alone rather than a prequel, but the decent voice acting and audio adaptation were worth the listen.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Another great story

Brilliant as ever. Cast perfect as if you were there. looking forward to the next.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The horror at Acheron

You only have to Google LV-426 and lots of info relating to the moon comes up. Those who are fans of the Alien franchise will know that LV-426 is where the crew of the Nostromo visited in Ridley Scott's 1979 masterpiece. Cue that famous John Hurt scene and the Alien was born.

James Cameron revisited LV-426 in 1986, giving us a colony already overrun by Xenomorphs. One of my favourite characters in that movie is sole colony survivor Rebecca Jorden, also called Newt (played by Carrie Henn). Through the eyes of Ellen Ripley and her companions, a group of colonial marines, we see the devastation. Thanks to a Directors Cut, fans explored a small portion of Hadley's Hope prior to the Alien attack. What we never got to witness was the true horror of the event.

Thanks to Alien: River of Pain, the story of Hadley's Hope is finally revealed, featuring a great cast and atmospheric sound design. Adapted from the novel of the same name by author Christopher Golden, we get to accompany Newt and her family as they try to survive against the invading Xenomorphs. Its an intense but thoroughly enjoyable experience. I'm a huge fan so really appreciated the nods to Aliens and Alien. Anna Friel, Marc Warren, Matt Keith Rauch and Marie Doherty shine as Anne Jorden, husband Russ, son Tim, and daughter Newt.

The icing on the cake? Laurel Lefkow's performance as Ellen Ripley.

"My mommy always said there were no monsters - no real ones - but there are."

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Hollywood material.

Like I've said about the previous audiobooks, I'm speechless.
loved every bit of it!
I really wish they'd make a movie after these books.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Not to bad.

This audiobook is good, no where near as good as ‘out of the shadows’ the first instalment in this series. The is more of just a general back story for the build up to aliens the film & the first is a brilliant stand alone horror/thriller, which kind of fits in between alien the movie & aliens as well but doesn’t have to have to lead up to anything. This was still worth getting but I will listen to ‘out of the shadows’ several times over & love it every time, I’ll probably only listen to this one more time.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant

Another great Alien drama from the Alien universe. I really hope in the future they adapt these to the big screen. The franchise needs a reboot..

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

loving these!

Not as amazing or as creepy as Out of Shadows but still great and it was very interesting to hear this interpretation of what happened to Newt and her family before Ripley found her. I listened to this in two days it was that good and I can't wait to listen to Sea of Sorrows next.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Very satisfactory experience.

This audio performance fills in the gap that legitimately exists between the first and second films in the franchise.

The voice acting was great, particularly from the two adult protagonists. It is perhaps cruel to say, but unfortunately the children’s voice acting was not quite up to the same standard. However, this is only a minor quibble.

I do not believe this built and carried the tension as astutely as Out of the Shadows, although I did feel peril for the colonists - mainly. The main characters were perhaps not placed under sufficient threat, although the tale is fully told by the end. By the same token, the ending was not particularly surprising. I still found it satisfactory.

I am a fan of the franchise so I was probably always going to enjoy this unless the ball had been dropped spectacularly. However, overall this was a very enjoyable listen.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

2nd original in and I’m hooked

I love how these originals have been acted out and I love the storylines links to the Nostromo, Ripley, Newt and where the story takes the listener, they have had me totally enthralled

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!