Technical Books
During the making of the Alien films, there is usually taken a lot of pictures, drawn diagrams, storyboards, technical readouts, scripts and so on. Sometimes all of this material is gathered and put into a book. This is one of the many ways a movie earns money (actually, it's the primary way).

These are the books that we Alien Fans pray too, because they help clarify some of the things we are trying to figure out. Sometimes they even go into so much detail that we drool over what we're reading (like the TechMan). I don't have a whole lot of these books, but I have some, and I'm trying to figure out what else is out there, so if you have a book you think should be in this category, please e-mail me with the details.

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Colonial Marines Technical Manual by Lee Brimmicombe-Wood Released in June 1996 by HarperPrism, however a trade paperback edition was published in 1995 by BOXTREE Ltd. Set at $17.00 "Check it out! We've got tactical smart missiles, phased plasma cannon, pulse rifles, RPGs; we've got nukes, we've got knives, sharp sticks...!" "The United States Colonial Marines. Ultimate troubleshooters equipped with state-of-the-art firepower, capable of power projection across the vast expanse of deep space. They can sharpshoot a man at a thousand meters or obliterate an entire world from the safety of orbit. They reckon they are unbeatable. But on a dirtball colony planet known only as LV-426 the unthinkable happened. The Marines lost." "The Technical Manual is the official guide to the equipment and organization of the United States Colonial Marine Corps. Packed with never-before-published diagrams, technical schematics and plans, the manual takes a detailed look at the guns, vehicles and ships of the USCMC, and the men and women who use them." MY OPINION: This is so incredibly detailed that I have never seen anything like it! To quote a review a saw once (quoted loosely from memory): "This is more than I ever wanted to know about any equipment, and this is fictional". I really love this book and I use it really much, especially for roleplaying and for the equipment section on this site.

Giger's Alien by H.R. Giger Giger's Alien was released the first time in November 1989 by Titan Books. "Alien has caused an unprecedented response. No small part of this is due to H.R. Giger whose designs for the film are the backbone of the story. Giger's Alien provides a complete record of the months and months of painstaking work that resulted in two hours of terrifying celluloid. Sketches, original paintings, photographs of scenery and the Alien under construction and scenes from the film are linked by Giger's detailed diary of his thoughts and actions at the time.

H.R. Giger's Film Design by Ridley Scott The gothic art by Swiss artist H.R. Giger who worked on ALIEN,ALIENS,Alien3, and "Species" can now be seen in this hard-cover book, with an introduction by Ridley Scott, the director of ALIEN!!!

HR Giger ARh+ by HR Giger Released in 1993 by Taschen. (ISBN 3-8228-9642-x) This is an artbook with HR Giger's different artworks, it has a small section on ALIEN. Don't buy it for the Alien section since it isn't more than two or three pages long. You should rather buy "Giger's Alien".

The Alien Trilogy Boxed Set by 20th Century Fox Released in 1993 (I think) by Foxvideo. Only 10.000 copies exist (I own one :) When 20th Century Fox released the boxed set with the special edition films, they also released a small booklet to go with the films. Basically, all it does is write a little about what happened during the recording of the films (not much though) and what the storyline of the films is, why they where released again, and what scenes where put back in.

The Book of Alien by Paul Scanlon & Michael Gross The Book of Alien was released April 1993 by Titan Books and is set at £9.99. (ISBN 1 85286 483 4) "In 1979, a movie was released that was to capture the imagination of the world and become a science fiction classic... Alien. This exciting book takes you right behind the scenes of Alien and talks to the key people involved, including H.R. Giger and director Ridley Scott. It shows every stage through designs and sketches, models and costumes, that went into such a unique vision of the future, and graphically demonstrates just why the movie won an oscar for its visual effects." In Giger's Alien you'll find detailed descriptions of all the stuff Giger helped work on. BUT, if you're looking for more info on how the Nostromo was built. What phases it went through, How the interior was perceived, how the Chestburster became what it is and so on, then this is DEFINITELY the book you want. It is stuffed with drawings and information. I only wish there was a book like this for the other movies too...

The Aliens Adventure Game by Leading Edge Games Released in 1991 (I think) by Leading Edge. (ISBN 0-945571-97-6) This is the official roleplaying game, made on the license from Fox. It has a rather large section on the Aliens, which unfortunately doesn't fit in with the movies the way it should do. I won't criticize it for its ideas, because I think they're actually rather original. Among other things, it involves the Aliens being able to "recharge" via electrical energy and being more or less like a battery. The book is okay if you can look through the fingers with the fact that it doesn't go along the same line as the movies and that it's basically only concerned about colonial marines versus Aliens. I most give it the praise, that it has the most violent combat system that I have EVER seen, I love that part... But the lack of actual ROLEplaying destroys it's ideas. It is really nothing more than the aliens universe wrapped around Leading Edges rule system. But if you're a hardcore fan, you might want to have a look at it anyway. Mostly because it's DAMN hard to get a hold of. I even think Leading Edge has gone bankrupt or just closed down.

Fangoria's Best Horror Films by Anthony Timpone Released in 1994 by Crescent Books. (ISBN 0-517-10013-4) This book is basically a walk through some of the most popular horror films through the times. The reason I have it on this page, is because it has two chapters that deal with the Alien films. The first chapter is a story synopsis and subjective opinion on the first two films, going into detail with a couple of the main plots and other stuff. It's written quite well, and it has some nice points that are worth reading. The other chapter is an in depth description of how the FX masters of ALIEN3 did their work. It has a lot of detail that I haven't seen any where before, and some nice shots to go with that. All in all, this is a very nice source for information on the making of ALIEN3. The other section is well written too, but it's not worth buying the book for. Speaking of buying the book, I don't think you'll have any luck trying to trace it since it's out of print, but I'll try to find it on www.amazon.com and post a link here.

Aliens Special Effects: Based on the entire ALIEN TRILOGY from Twenty Century Fox by Don Shay and Bill Norton Released in April 1997 by Titan Books London. (ISBN 1-85286-695-0). Price is at £12.99, and it's 143 pages. Read the review by Neil Jeffries of the Empire Magazine Discover how the amazing special effects in Alien, Aliens and Alien3 were achieved in this inside, indepth, look behind the scenes. All the secrets of the visually stunning and innovative blockbuster films are contained in this first, exciting, collaboration between Titan Books and respected Special Effects Magazine, Cinefex. Discover the very different approaches to the creative process of directors Ridley Scott, James Cameron and David Fincher, and follow the changes in available technology over the period in which the three films were made; from filming a tall man in an ALIEN costume to the complexities of computer-generated imagery; from studio-bound production to location shots. And enjoy the entertaining inventiveness of the special effects teams, whether they're using seafood to simulate internal organs, or borrowing a laser display to create space light! (Picture and text contributet by Stephan Reus)