Predator: Forever Midnight by John Shirley

Predator: Forever Midnight
by John Shirley
2006, DH Press

Space Marines visiting an alien colony get attacked by Predators, who have been using the planet as their hunting ground for centuries.  In addition to a race of alien telepaths who were stranded there, there is a culture of descendants of Brits kidnapped in 1804.

Some good work with the alien ecosystem.  The planet Midnight is locked in perpetual day, with a hard canopy of trees on top, rain forest like tangle of greenery in the middle, and tunnels leading to underground rivers below.  Same with the creatures: grubs with acidic digestive systems used as weapons, creatures who stun their prey with humming, flying piranhas, etc.

The Predators, or Hish,  themselves get some elaboration.  They are sequential hermaphrodites, changing sex back and forth from male to female.  They have a "kill gland" that causes agrressive behavior and berserker rages.  Much of Hish culture derives from channeling this aggression.  Their culture is centered around hunting and combat, of course, and they enslave other alien races for their advanced technology.

Some good action, and would have made better source material than the last couple of Predator movies.  The text dips into juvenile one-liners at times, but I did just read a tie-in novel for a Schwarzenegger film after all.

Paperback from AbeBooks, currently at outrageous prices.