Last year during San Diego Comic Con, we connected with renowned and award-winning author, Jonathan Maberry. He gave us a sneak peek into his upcoming projects, including this one book that we might be interested in… The X-Files: Trust No One. We have to admit that he didn’t slip us too much information back then, but he obviously piqued our interest and we were certainly curious.
We interviewed him earlier in the year, and we discussed a lot of the details of the production process for this book and the upcoming ones - IDW Publishing and Maberry are working on a second and third volume already. The number of writers interested in delivering a story for this collection proved to be quite overwhelming and after reading this first one, we couldn’t be happier.
For more, click after the jump.
Overall, TXF:TNO is a very solid collection of stories that reminded me of those published in the ‘90s, even though these are definitely shorter works. Every author proved to be a knowledgeable fan of the show and some of them are familiar faces associated to previous publications in the novel and comics formats. The excitement to take a stab at these stories floods the pages with adventures and thrills worthy of praise, and with the exception of just a few scarce instances, I considered that everyone delivered a very veritable version of Mulder and Scully and captivating stories to capture our imaginations. There really is room for all the sides of The X-Files fandom.
The stories are placed in different places during their partnership, including a few instances when they reach out to the world within the show but outside of the cocoon of Mulder and Scully. The events are set during the series and even after IWTB, but don't expect them to deliver blatant clues about the upcoming revival. Maybe this could be something for the upcoming releases. Nevertheless, these are stories that live and breathe on their own. Most of the narrations work perfectly fine at this length, but at times I found myself wishing they were longer; some of these universes are filled with curious elements I would have loved to hear more about.
Now for the specifics, here’s a brief review of each of the stories that are part of this first collection:
- “Catatonia” by Tim Lebbon: This is a very haunting and solid story, comfortably resting in old fashioned conspiracy theories. One of my favorites, and a great way to open the book.
- “The Beast of Little Hill” by Peter Clines: The tone of this story is almost cute and endearing, in an E.T. kind of way, even.
- “Oversight” by Aaron Rosenberg: This was a great Skinner character piece. I often think we should have gotten more opportunities to have him on his lonesome, and this was one great example. Also one of my favorites.
- “Dusk” by Paul Crilley: This is, for my personal tastes, the best one of the book. It reminded me a lot of later episodes of the show like “Patience”, but it also has a great mix of pop culture, humor, and intrigue. I’ve read it four times now and I crack up every time.
- “Loving the Alien” by Stefan Petrucha: If “Oversight” was Skinner’s character piece, this one is Scully’s. A story full of religious overtones, a good exploration in point of view, and with elements that reminded me of “Bad Blood”.
- “Non Gratum Anus Rodentum” by Brian Keene: Also a great point of view exploration for Skinner, and a very “believable” trip into his backstory. It is a classic MOTW that I could totally imagine being subtlety embodied by Pileggi.
- “Back in El Paso” by Keith R.A. DeCandido: This one surprised me, to be honest. Without giving too much away, the case has ties to Duane Barry, with a new character that’s so easy to hate, and a story that will manipulate your stance. Despite being a great angsty story, it left me wanting a bit more closure, so that a few seeds planted had come full circle.
- “Paranormal Quest” by Ray Garton: A good thrill and an unexpected love story, unfortunately not between our favorite agents, but it has great moments between them. The end was very satisfying for me though it might seem a bit unfair for some.
- “King of the Watery deep” by Timothy Deal: If this were an episode, it had one scary teaser. Placed in Saudi Arabia, at times it’s a feminist’s nightmare. I would describe it as an Evil Aquaman with a good twist. While I enjoyed it, this one bothered me a bit because of their characterizations.
- “Sewers” by Gini Koch: Arthur Dales visits us in the ‘90s with a very twisted freakshow story that I associated to “Humbug” at first, but don’t expect any dark humor here. The actual darkness here is the theme and the way that the events in this story develop. While the characterizations are spot on, this one could have been an episode in Millennium or perhaps in The X-Files, had the show been on today. Oh, wait... what do you know?
- “Clair de Lune” by W.D. Gagliani and David Benton: While most of the stories are short, this one felt like the shortest one, not only in length but also in development. It reminded me of “Alpha”, but the truth is that we don’t get enough information to feel satisfied. While the characterizations are good and the topic and setting were really interesting, story-wise, it’s the weakest of the bunch. It’s one thing to leave an open ending, but for me, this one fell short.
- “It’s All in the Eyes” by Heather Graham: A romantic story when not expected; intriguing, creepy, and a solid X-File. For me, it translated to screen so vividly that I would have loved for it to be part of the series.
- “The House on Hickory Hill” by Max Allan Collins: This is another one that could have totally been an episode of the show, and we’re used to getting this quality from Collins. The mystery and dark themes that surround the story have just the right amount of angst that you feel for all the characters even in such short pages.
- “Time and Tide” by Gayle Lynds and John C. Sheldon: This one felt like one of those Season 1 episodes, and not in a good way, mainly because it lacked for me that soul grabbing quality that makes you feel empathy for the characters. While the X-File is good enough, the resolution of the story was skewed and too convenient for my taste.
- “Statues” by Kevin J. Anderson: This is a pretty scary story for a claustrophobic, and luckily, I am one. The attention to detail is really great and it made me imagine the elements and setting of the story very easily and vividly. Anderson has a great grip on characterization for Mulder and Scully and it pays off.
I can’t wait for the next volumes. If you haven’t picked up a copy yet, IDW Publishing has made the book available in most formats, even Audio Book. EBook to come soon. We definitely recommend it as a must have in any X-Phile collection.
Many thanks to Justin Eisinger at IDW Publishing and of course to Jonathan Maberry.