Customer Reviews

Ruins (The X-Files)

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Of the three X-Files series books I've read(GOBLINS, GROUND ZERO and RUINS), RUINS is most definitely the best. It is unlike the others for the simple fact that it is actually relevant to the show. For once, the reader can actually picture Mulder and Scully in the adventure, relating to each other in believable fashion. Anderson most definitely redeems himself with RUINS. It's well written, well researched and beautifully vivid. Kevin Anderson paints a rich tapestry of lush jungle, exotic natives and white-knuckle action. The few instances in the book that aren't congruent are quickly forgotten by the fast-paced storyline and overall flow. This book could easily be made into a made-for-TV movie or even on a larger scale. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I would love to see more of the same caliber from Anderson!

This is definitely my favorite X-file novel. It simply seemed the most adventuresome of the books. It has more of a sci-fi slant with the alien artifacts and any "shipper" has to appreciate the moment when Mulder thinks he should "thank" Scully. As a whole I enjoyed this book and think it's quite in keeping with the series.

Okay so I just finished reading X-Files: Ruins and the book was really good up until the end.

The premise was very intriguing, a team of archelogists go missing down in the Yucatan Penninsula and Scully and Mulder are dispatched to find out what happened to them and bring them back alive if possible. The dialogue was spot on for Scully and Mulder through most of the book, but Dr. Rubicon left a lot to be desired. For someone who is an expert in archeology, he sure used the word "uhhh" an awful lot. I know most of us use this word as filler in our daily lives while we search our minds for the right words we want to say and it works in the movies but in a book it just looks stupid.

Towards the end of the book, like the last 30-40 pages Mulder and Scully start spouting stupid catch phrases from the 90's over and over again. Also I don't remember Mulder talking out loud to himself so much in the show, why couldn't he have just internal monologues instead of talking outloud when no one was there?

Finally when he is sitting at his desk when the case is all said and done he's fiddling with a statue of a feathered snake. Yet we never find out how he got this, he never buys it, never finds it, no one gives it to him, it's just magically there at the end of the book. So much for continuity.

All in all, the book wasn't bad, it kept me interested but the ending seemed too rushed to me. 3 Stars is the best I can give this.

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.

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.

I found this book set in the ruins of South America to be excellent. Having seen some minor ruins myself in Mexico, the author reanimated my memories of those. I also found the action scenes to be easy to follow. This can be difficult when describing locations of characters in an action scene. Excellent book with quite a twist in the plot in true X files fashion.

The novel the Ruins by Kevin J. Anderson is an excellent book because it is an ancient place, it was an exploration of an ancient Maya city, and it had different cultures. An american archaeologist team made up of Cassandra Rubicon and fellow students from the University of California--Sandiego. They were going to excavate the Ancient Maya Ruins of Xitaclan in Yucatan Mexico. These ruins conststed of temples made by the Mayans as they worshipped many gods--one which was a feathered serpent. Pyramids were also constructed with many tunnels and chambers filled with artifacts. After a few days of excavating the team comes up missing thats when Cassandra Rubicons father Vladmir Rubicon is an old archaeologist who contacts the FBI. FBI Agents Fox Mulder and Diana Scully were asigned to go across the border and to investigate the disappearence of American citizens. Upon arriving in Mexico they had to secure a team of local Indian guides that would take the Americans to the site. A long drive and a 4 day walk through the jungle brought them to the mysterious ruins. Were the students abducted by aliens? Did they fall under the ancient Mayan curses? Or were the locals to blame for the disapperances? You're gotta read this book to discover the mystery as well as learn of the Maya culture...

This is decent. Not good, not bad, but decent. It features Mulder and Scully going against some weird force that's apparently setting off miniature nuclear explosions in a position to destroy those who have advanced the technology of nuclear weaponry. Kind of ironic, huh?

Mulder and Scully's dialogue stays pretty well within the boundaries of their characters as laid out by the series. I could see this being an X-Files episode.

But like I said before, this is merely decent. The prose isn't breathtaking. There are no incredibly deep philosophical moments. No new ground was really exposed with the characters, but that's an impossibility with a series-based novel. The bottom line is that this is just vanilla. Get it if your a hardcore X-files fan, but otherwise? Fahgeddaboutit. There are much more interesting science fiction books, like Cosm and Mysterium.

I was shocked to see all the praise here that has been heaped on this book. I couldn't believe how poorly written it was. It reminded me of something that would turn up in a college-level creative writing course... before being slashed to death by the professor's Red Pen o' Doom & Dismissal. The characters of Mulder and Scully are cardboard cutouts of the M&S we know and love on TV. In this book Mulder only opens his mouth to fire off lame wisecracks and Scully is boring and bland. Don't even get me started on the rest of the characters. The only reason I even bothered to finish the book was to confirm it didn't get any better. I've read X-Files fanfic on the Internet that surpasses this book in every way (plot, characterization, dialog, and writing). This book is complete brain candy... but it doesn't even taste good. Disappointing. (No, I don't write fanfic, in case you're wondering.)

Okay, let's call this novel what it is...an effort to cash in on a popular television show by hiring out a popular sci-fi writer to produce a quick and dirty imitation of the real thing. And that's exactly what you'll get. Anderson has come up with a decent-enough idea embedded in a cliché-riddled story with halfhearted dialogue and characters only loosely resembling anything from X-files canon. At the end of the day, you're left with a semi-satisfying romp through the jungle with the feeling that this novel should have been listed in the "young adult" section of the local bookstore. All in all, Anderson delivers exactly what he was commissioned to do and kudos to him for that. After all, he's produced a ton of novels based on popular TV shows, none of which are all that good but each of them doing just enough to give you a slight taste of the original. Personally, I prefer some of the fan fiction available all over the internet, which is free and only a quick google search away. Nothing smart or sophisticated here.