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Rating: -
The X-files: Ruins is a fun, quick read that any fan of the show should find entertaining. It is well written by Kevin J. Anderson who also wrote the bestselling `Ground Zero' prior to Ruins. His style has a nice flow to it and he is able to transfer Dana Scully and Fox Mulder to text in a near perfect fashion. So if you're worried about this book because of its writing do not threat, because unlike most tie-in authors Anderson seems to have a real grip on his quality and what pleases viewers of the show.
The plot centers on (of course) FBI special agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully who handle strange and mysterious cases known as "The X-files." Scully is the skeptical one who tries to rationalize the abnormal occurrences in the files while UFO-phile Mulder seems to believe in just about every paranormal concept imagined (due to his sister being abducted by aliens when he was young.), but I'm sure if you're reading this book you're already familiar with one of TV's most iconic pairings.
At the beginning of this adventure there seems to be little to do between Mulder and Scully other than to exchange idle chit-chat. That is until they discover that the daughter of a famous archeologist has gone missing while excavating a new site in Central America, but due to unknown circumstances they have had no contact with her in well over a week. Needless the say the old man is greatly concerned and summons to help of Agents Mulder and Scully to follow him to Central America to find his daughter. Along the way of course we discover the region is full of leftover beliefs from the long forgotten days, drug lords rage war across the region over each other's operations, and rebellion is brewing as determined rebels take artifacts from their ancestor's temples in order to fund their operation. Just another day in a chaotic world, but it only gets better once our agents get down there and discover in the hot, humid forests that human sacrifices are still practiced in this region and rumors of large feather-headed serpents slinking through the forests come up. Could this be the ancient God's returning for revenge? The pair will have to discover the truth when the venture to the previously un-excevated ruins of the lost city of Xitaclan; a place known for strange disappearances.
Mulder (as usual) brings aliens into the picture believing them to be the "Gods" worshipped by the ancient Central American civilizations (Mayan, Inca, Aztec, etc.) were in fact aliens. This also leads him to believe extra terrestrials are behind the disappearance of the archeologists and all the strange occurrences around the Xitaclan temple.
Scully doesn't have long to debate Mulder's irrational explanation for they are soon thrown into the middle of just about every Central American conflict and they even manage to get the US military involved. It becomes a fight against time as Mulder tries to discover the secrets of Xitaclan, and the whereabouts of the missing girl while Scully tries to comprehend the situation and why anyone in their right mind would still practice such barbaric rituals as self-mutilation and human sacrifice.
Ruins is an exciting read and really plots itself well even with its limited page count and is one of the best book tie-ins I've ever seen for a movie/TV series. The writing is quick and exciting while still managing to be descriptive enough to give the reader a clear visualization of what it is they're processing. When characters talk the dialogue comes as if directly from the show. Mulder's sly comments are funny, and his interactions with Scully retain their charm in this novel.
If you're an X-Phile or just a casual fan of the series you should enjoy Ruins as a quick adventure with TV's favorite FBI agents. Trust me, if you have a quiet afternoon, are away from the TV, but you still want your dose of X-Files, or just sci-fi/fantasy adventure, lean back and open a copy of Ruins and read the day away.
Rating: -
Love, love, love this book! Kevin Anderson has the characters of Mulder and Scully spot on. The story is gripping and adventurous and is the best in the series. Definitely a must read for the X-files fan craving more Mulder/Scully stories.
Rating: -
This book was not well thought out. Muldar's jokes are made without regard to the urgency of the situation. If you and your partner were standing alone at night in a spooky ghost city and armed soldiers appeared out of nowhere, would you crack a joke? If the U.S. military needed to blow up a pyramid would they attack it with a mortar? Would that even be enough? The firefight scene lacked realism. If you were the head of a small unit in a firefight against a much larger force and some FBI woman started lecturing you while your men died, would order her to her tent and stand guard outside?
Rating: -
I enjoyed this book very much. It was a way for me to rip myself from the reruns and visit the series from a new perspective. Yes, Rubicon says "uh" too much, and even though this pre-dates the movie it is a little similar..well, very similar, but it was a new adventure, and that was all that really mattered. It is interesting how Anderson used existing specualtions about the Mayan civilization, but twisted them into Mulder and Scully's universe. I am happy he didn't take too many liberties. That is what online fanfiction is for. I am/was an avid shipper and this story had enough shipperific moments to satisfy me. I wish I could see Gillian and David act it out. That would be awesome.
Rating: -
This is the type of adaptation that gives adaptations a bad name.
The assignment of writing an "X-Files" book is a very difficult one. Anderson probably wasn't allowed to have any kind of meaningful character development, nothing can happen that has any sort of permanent effect on any of the regular X-Files characters, and you're introducing characters that every single reader has undoubtedly formed some preconceived notions about.
Given these limitations, perhaps all you can do is churn out some by-the-book prose and play it safe. That's what Anderson has done here.
The story itself is more like the X-Files movie, in that it takes place over a longer period of time than any given episode of the tv show, and has more plot twists and turns. It deals with a trip to central america, and the main dangers are drug smugglers and the possible existence of a strange dragon-like beast that appears in ancient Mayan mythology.
I would have liked to have seen the author take greater advantage of the particualr strengths that the book format allows. More flair in the writing would have been appreciated, but this is also a chance to do whatever can be imagined; there are no restrictions of budget or location or time. Instead, this is just an extended version of the formulaic plot that the tv show has established. There's a case to solve, and Mulder and Scully set out to solve it.
Before you shell out 22 bucks for this book (I have the hardcover edition), I would suggest trying some fan fiction published on the internet. You'll find a wide range of writing there, of course, but the best of that lot is better than what you'll find here.
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