Customer Reviews

The Mutant Files

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What a great anthology of short stories! Lisanne Norman's "Paint Box" reminds me of early Stephen King, and Tanya Huff's "Sugar and Spice an Everything nice" is truly a gruesome little tale! Fiona Patton, Karen Haber, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, David Bischoff and Kristine Kethryn Rusch are a few of the other notable writers who have exceptional stories here. Good Stuff!

I was impressed by about a third of the stories in this book. The rest ranged from mediocre to mildly interesting. My favorite was "Truth", one of the most interesting treatments of telepathy that I have ever read. One disappointing factor was the numerous glaring typographical errors that jarred my reading experience. Not a bad collection but the few outstanding stories made the others pale by comparison.

Except where noted, I think the stories herein are well worth reading.

Berliner, Janet: "Interview with a Mutant" begins with the narrator noting a wire story about 'the world's first hand and forearm transplant', saying the patient got such weird vibes afterwards that he petitioned to have the hand amputated. She'd like to refer him to the *real* first, whom the world doesn't know about.

Bilgrey, Marc: The narrator's empathy means that Doug often makes "Lucky Guesses" about what people will say through reading their feelings; at least, that's what he called them as a child, when they were erratic. But over the years, his power has steadily increased, with his accuracy - and the difficulty of concealing his ability.

Bischoff, David: "Mutant Mother from Hell: A 'Fizz Smith' Story" I dislike this one; the style reminds me of the "Scott Free" dream-sequence (drawn from Kirby's "Fourth World" titles for DC comics) in Gaiman's _Preludes and Nocturnes_; here we don't even have the redeeming feature of being used as the setting of a nightmare within a better story.

de Lint, Charles: "Freak", written for this collection, also appears in de Lint's _Tapping the Dream Tree_, but de Lint fans may prefer West's "Truth"; the narrator's learning-disabled, and expresses himself clumsily and crudely.

duBois, Brendan: "In the Dark Valley" is told in a braided style, one thread following Claire's desperate attempt to escape by car during a winter storm, the other her arrival with her new husband 9 months before. Having family was wonderful, in this close-knit valley - but her dreams were strange, the town lacks records - even obituaries. Shades of Innsmouth?

Foster, Alan Dean: Bull Threerivers can smell electricity, which helped him diagnose electrical problems in cars - until he started milking slot machines. Unfortunately, various Native American casinos' security personnel noticed him. Now several tribes have decreed "The Killing of Bad Bull", seeing in him a threat he doesn't fully appreciate even when running for his life...

Haber, Karen: Even "Behind His Gates of Gold", Prosper Mephisto doesn't really abandon his elaborate defenses, retaining his mask even before fellow super-rich members of the Diamond Club - much to the disappointment of Hugh Carter, seeking to reestablish his reporting career. While not drawn as stupid, Hugh doesn't use his brain: even after his fall to obscurity his cover should've been blown...

Hoffman, Nina Kiriki: "Sensitives" Art, the narrator, is sensitive to anything with a high enough copper content: once in his mouth, such an object "remembers" where it's been. He covers himself by claiming he picks up pennies for luck; his mother and uncle between them have taught him not to seek "penny visions" when anyone's watching, but nobody's perfect.

Huff, Tanya: "Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice", despite the title, is unrelated to Huff's "What Little Girls are Made Of" from _Magic in Ithkar 3_. Danielle, the narrator, is far from sugary-sweet, despite being (apparently) 4 years old. Her parents made the mistake of accepting help with their infertility from the Director of Research at the Benjamin Avob Basic Biology of Aging Center. Danielle, despite her appearance and Dr. Thorton's rough handling, has the mind of the bright 15-year-old that she truly is, and she *really* wants payback.

Masson, Sophie: After his son Henry's failed suicide attempt over a girl earlier in this year 1712, William Featherstone took him to his late wife's family home in Wales, concealing his hurt over Henry's foolishness in thinking he doesn't understand love. Featherstone didn't believe the family legend of descent from one of the sealmen of "The Great Deep"...until by chance a wounded selkie came ashore before his eyes.

Norman, Lisanne: The art students are banned from trespassing during their week's stay on the estate; is it to prevent meetings with Cassandra, who isn't allowed to meet strangers? When Anne gives Cassandra a "Paint Box", she learns that while Cassandra can't draw, other things happen. How can Anne unravel the mystery when Cassandra's brother hovers over her?

Nye, Jody Lynn: Thanks to the Anti-Mutant Act of 2166, Demetrios with his heat-sensitive vision, Stu with his enhanced sense of smell, and the gang who *aren't* fakes from the circus are being deported off-planet. This "Rite of Passage" serves a double purpose of removing mutants from overcrowded Earth and providing expendable guinea pigs for Calderon Hop Drive ships.

Pack, Janet: Duncan's ability to manipulate storms led him into meteorology, but his unorthodox forecasting methods have left him vulnerable to professional - or rather, unprofessional - attack by a penny-pinching acquisitions creep. And in response to Duncan's frustration, storms swirl about Kansas City, piling on more stress with "Fire and Rain"...

Patton, Fiona: Everybody around Blind Duck Island is "Family", with odd abilities - and they all make heroic efforts to see that their kids are born there, despite the high rate of birth defects and lack of technology. They've dealt with investigative reporters before - but George Prescott's descended from one of their own.

Rusch, Kristine Kathryn: "Trust" is Carter's gift with all animals, especially dogs: they seek him out when in need. His talent's a side effect of genetic alteration in this near-future; he daren't have meaningful relationships for fear of betraying his parents - and condemning himself to second-class citizenship. The latest of his rescues, however, is a mystery in her own right.

West, Michelle: When young Callie's telepathy told her more of the "Truth" - or is it? - than she could bear about her family and friends, ran away from home. She's now under the wing of the mysterious Scrape, a fellow homeless person whose talent for silence makes him bearable to her, though he tells her home truths she resists hearing. Reminds me strongly of de Lint, including some light taps on the conscience regarding homeless people.

More than human or less than human? That is the question...

This anthology presents a fascinating group of tales which range from mild horror, to fantasy, to true science fiction. Whether it is the individuals ability to know your every thought, influence the outcome of events, or sense things beyond the range of normal human perceptions--it is their differences that make them candidates for "The Mutant Files."

Sixteen Stories include: Alan Dean Foster's "The Killing of Bad Bull" about an Indian who can 'smell' electronic devices and procedes to use it for financial gain; Sophie Mason's "The Great Deep" which tells a tale of sealmen that live in the Irish Sea off the coast of Wales; and Karen Haber's "Behind His Gates of Gold" telling of a mutant future in Brazil where anti-mutant legislation has not been passed asit has in most of the rest of the world--and of Prospero Mephisto, and enigmatic estate owner and leading socialite with secrets to hide.

There is not a bad tale in the group, and I highly recommend this anthology.

As noted by the editors in their introduction, this book is not a story about the X-Men. Instead this sixteen-story collection contains tales about regular people with uncommon extra abilities usually in normal settings. Poor choice in title aside, each contribution is well written and remain inside the basic theme. Though the story lines are all entertaining, the key to THE MUTANT FILES is its characters, who amazingly seem like real people though the tales are short and the powers are uncommon. Superb anthology worth reading by the X-Men crowd and especially by those science fiction-horror fans who relish well written tales about normal people with an unusual power usually occurring in a common milieu. This is extraordinary entertainment.

Harriet Klausner

Unlike other themed anthologies, this book is faithful in its publication of stories related to mutant powers. My favorites included;
Freak by Charles de Lint - power of telepathy, well written, nice surprise ending
Sugar and Spice by Tanya Huff - immortal child w. power to read thoughts as well as direct them. Perfect horror SF story. May turn you on to read more shorts by this author.
Killing of Bad Bull by Alan Dean Foster - fun light hearted story of guy able to pick winning slot machines.
In the Dark Valley by Brendan DuBois - Fantastic story of immortality and discovery.
Sensitives by Nina Hoffman - Wonderful story about loneliness and being able to read the experiences of prior owners of pennies.

Unimpressive stories in the anthology include; Great Deep by Sophie Masson, Paint Box by Lisanne Norman, Interview with a Mutant by Janet Berliner, and Family by Fiona Patton.

Unlike other anthologies in which the editors draw on decades of previously published stories to cull the finest, the editors for this book appeared to have chosen new stories solicited for this book. The merit of course is that you won't be paying for stories easily found in other collections over the years. The negative side is that included are the small number of stories mentioned above that are less than admirable.

Overall, the great stories in this collection make this book very much worth the purchase.

For those of you who like the X-Men this book has lots of short stories that will make you think about mankinds direction. With human clones about to be a reality (in the news today);it makes you think about how we treat one another. I especially liked the sci fi themed stories. Without repeating all the other reviewers comments I have to say this one is worth the money