Alien Uncivil War Review

Written by Brendan Deneen
Published by Titan Books, London, 2024
ISBN: 9781803366951

Alien Uncivil War is a novel that excels in mystery and the slow reveal of information. Author Brendan Deneen has a natural talent for creating an intriguing conspiracy. I found myself wanting to read on, constantly saying ‘just one more chapter’, so that I could find out more. Impressively he does this without relying too much on the titular alien. All of this comes together in this impressive story.

Uncivil War is set just after the events of the film ‘Alien Resurrection’. This is interesting as very few stories set within this universe choose to explore this era. This is most likely due to the poor reception of the film. Still, that means it’s an era with a lot of potential and I’m happy to see Uncivil War take advantage of that. 

I will give a little background to this era for anyone unaware of the wider lore and history. Since Alien 3 the United Americas and the Three World Empire governments have joined into the United Systems. One of the first things this new government did was take control of the unchecked power amassed by private corporations. Megacorporations such as Weyland-Yutani have been outlawed following years of them routinely overstepping. As is often the case, when you cut off the head of a hydra, more grow back. This is the case with Way-Yu. Since its shutdown, the ideals of the corporation and its founder, Peter Wayland, have taken on an almost religious status. Life on Earth isn’t easy as it’s massively overpopulated meaning that both space and resources are stretched thin. The USM is managing to maintain control. When the Auriga station crashes into Earth during the end of Alien Resurrection, the USM begin to struggle to maintain that control.

"War will always find a man like you, his sergeant had said to him, when Chris had finally found the courage to quit the military in the days after the USM Auriga smashed into the Earth." 

- Extract from 'Uncivil War' by Brendan Deneen

This is where we start the story of Uncivil War. Retired USM soldier Chris Temple lives in San Francisco, Earth. It’s just him, Alicia, who’s an android, and Chris’ two young daughters. Right from the start of chapter one, Alicia interested me since she’s an auton. These were synthetics built by other synthetics. Historically they were part of an uprising known as ‘the recall’ that saw autons rebel against humans. Since this conflict concluded autons, and androids in general, have become increasingly rare. This makes Alicia an instantly interesting and important character.

Since the Auriga crash the situation on Earth has become increasingly desperate. Things come to a head for Chris and his family after a break-in to their home damages Alicia. Chris uses most of his remaining funds to book a voyage off Earth to start a new life for his family. The ship that Chris books passage on includes a research facility.  They’re researching the remains of the Xenomorph XX121 specimen recovered from the Auriga wreckage. Of course, this gets loose, and chaos ensues. Chris and his two daughters manage to make it to an escape pod and crash land on LV-1213. Sadly, Alicia selflessly sacrifices her place onboard the escape pod to protect the family from a pursuing Xenomorph. It’s unclear if she survives this encounter or not, but her chances don’t look great. This all happens within the first two chapters. 

The real story begins from here. LV-1213 hosts the United Systems colony of Omega Seven Tango, better known as the OST. This is an idyllic colony. While the surface of LV-1213 is ravaged by storms much of the time, most of the colony is protected by a dome. Within this dome the temperature is kept comfortable, each worker has a roomy house, fresh fruit, vegetables, and even meat are all grown right there. The local restaurant and bar even brews its own moonshine, while tobacco is grown with the other crops. Dogs are kept as pets while horses are raised for work and leisure by the local farmer. Even the sky is heavenly, as the dome is covered with projectors that allow the perfect sunny weather with just a few clouds to be displayed each day. Life within the OST is good, but Chris can’t help but feel like something’s off about it all. It may just be paranoia from his days within the military, but the feeling persists. 

"Dawn broke across the sky in a brilliant display of colours. Chris and his daughters walked down the street, small, intermittent trees covering them periodically in shadow as they travelled. "I can't get over this," Chris said, looking around. "It's incredible.""

- Extract from 'Uncivil War' by Brendan Deneen

It’s this mystery that keeps you hooked while reading this book. Brendan Deneen knows how to keep his readers interested, with little bits of information being delivered each chapter. I thought I knew what direction things were heading but then I was proven wrong. When the dirty secret of the OST was revealed, I was truly impressed at how much it made sense. With a cheeky smile on my face, I mentally kicked myself as all the clues I’d missed fell into place. What was most impressive was that all the false leads and red herrings that had led me to one conclusion still worked. They were just recontextualised now.

While the conspiracy is the main draw to this novel that doesn’t mean that the characters are lacking. Chris is a retired soldier that struggles to manage the two conflicting parts of his personality. On one hand you have the highly skilled and decorated soldier, constantly aware, alert, and on guard for any threats. On the other you have the father that is trying to step-up as the only parent his daughters have left. One is a strong leader than demands control and discipline while the other is a soft and vulnerable person trying to show love and compassion to those around him. Then we have the Lexa, one of the people in charge within the OST. She’s a warm and charming lady that Chris instantly feels a connection with. But the strange, too good to be true, feeling of the colony never really allows you to fully trust her, even if you want to. These are joined by plenty of other characters, that even with the briefest of time in the story, all feel real with plenty of depth.

The mystery, enjoyable characters, and great use of an underappreciated era within the Alien universe all come together to create one of the best Alien novels.  My only real complaint would be that the action feels lacking. It’s not the focus of ‘Uncivil War’ though so that doesn’t harm the story in any way. Brendan Deneen should be proud of himself for creating such an impressive entry into this universe!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐