X-Men Mutant Empire 3: Salvation (No 3) [Paperback]

Christopher Golden (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1997 | Series: X-Men

Facing the loss of half their comrades with Magneto's latest successes in his creation of the Mutant Empire, the remaining X-Men are forced to team up with the U.S. government in an effort to reprogram the Sentinels. Original.

Product Details

• Paperback: 278 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (May 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572972475
• ISBN-13: 978-1572972476
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #396,227 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

CHRISTOPHER GOLDEN is the award-winning, bestselling author of such novels as The Myth Hunters, Wildwood Road, The Boys Are Back in Town, The Ferryman, Strangewood, Of Saints and Shadows, and (with Tim Lebbon) The Map of Moments. He has also written books for teens and young adults, including Poison Ink, Soulless, and the thriller series Body of Evidence, honored by the New York Public Library and chosen as one of YALSA's Best Books for Young Readers. Upcoming teen novels include a new series of hardcover YA fantasy novels co-authored with Tim Lebbon and entitled The Secret Journeys of Jack London.

A lifelong fan of the "team-up," Golden frequently collaborates with other writers on books, comics, and scripts. In addition to his recent work with Tim Lebbon, he co-wrote the lavishly illustrated novel Baltimore, or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire with Mike Mignola. With Thomas E. Sniegoski, he is the co-author of the book series OutCast and The Menagerie, as well as comic book miniseries such as Talent, currently in development as a feature film. With Amber Benson, Golden co-created the online animated series Ghosts of Albion and co-wrote the book series of the same name.
As an editor, he has worked on the short story anthologies The New Dead and British Invasion, among others, and has also written and co-written comic books, video games, screenplays, the online animated series Ghosts of Albion (with Amber Benson) and a network television pilot.

The author is also known for his many media tie-in works, including novels, comics, and video games, in the worlds of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Hellboy, Angel, and X-Men, among others.

Golden was born and raised in Massachusetts, where he still lives with his family. His original novels have been published in more than fourteen languages in countries around the world. Please visit him at www.christophergolden.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent! The best of all 3 books!, January 5, 1999

By 

Steven J. Olson (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: X-Men Mutant Empire 3: Salvation (No 3) (Paperback)

Golden brings out the characters personality and emotion in this great book. We get to see in depth what everyone is going through. This added to nonstop action is makes for one great read. If you like the X-Men then you'll love this book too.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A solid conclusion, if lacking a few things, July 6, 2001

By 

MTJones (San Jose, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: X-Men Mutant Empire 3: Salvation (No 3) (Paperback)

(If you'd like to know where I'm coming from, I explained my familiarity with the X-Men in my review of Siege, the first installment in this series.)

Ah. This is the novel I've been waiting for in the Mutant Empire series - the climax. Christopher Golden has been masterfully building suspense in one of the most powerful series I've ever read, detailing the X-Men's almost hopeless endeavor to prevent Magneto from taking control of New York City forever.

Just why is it hopeless? This is classic X-Men, where the team is so far overmatched that you want to cry. Not only do they have to face Magneto, who can give the team a run for its money by himself, but they also have to contend with his Acolytes, a city full of mutants, and then the Sentinels. Plus, the American government is tight-lipped about its plans, offering only a seven-hour window to solve the crisis.

The novel begins with one half of the X-Men captured, and the other half going into New York. That half splits once more, with three people trying to disable the Sentinels, while the other half rescues the X-Men.

There's relatively little time and advancement of the team that tries to disable the Sentinels. They basically traipse around New York, trying to identify the Alpha Sentinel to reprogram it (and why is it called the Alpha Sentinel if it has an Omega symbol on its back?).

The other team, however, has more than its share of the action. Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Rogue try to sneak into the Empire State Building to free the X-Men - and meet up with the Juggernaut. In a bizarre twist of events, the Juggernaut joins up with them, helping to even up a still one-sided fight. But Golden knows his X-Men history, and he does an excellent job of explaining Juggernaut's psychology and motivations so that long-time X-Men fans won't be offended by what may seem like an implausible move.

The past subplots, namely those involving Henry Gyrich/Val Cooper and Professor Xavier, slowly fade out as Salvation brings in its own subplots. This novel helps to develop Trish Tilby more, as she questions her ethics and principles. As she reports the story directly from New York City, she begins to question the morality of her actions as the X-Men are chained up. She eventually helps them escape, but not without a price.

As a minor quibble, I find that there are several scientifically implausible points in Salvation. I know, I know: it's all fiction, so there's no real science here. But still. First, I hate the idea of "disabling" mutant powers. You should no more be able to do that than to "disable" someone's motor skills with a special collar. Second, Professor Xavier fools the Sentinels by making them think that Valerie Cooper is a mutant - HOW is this possible at all? The Sentinels are robots, and can't be fooled by a simple illusion like that. And it's not even that necessary to have Valerie there, really. So these two points are momentary irritations in an otherwise excellent novel.

Some fans may complain that Mutant Empire, while doing a great job of building suspense, has had little in the way of action so far. Well, no more. Christopher Golden rewards us with nearly half a novel of the biggest brawl ever, as the X-Men and Juggernaut team up to take on the new mutant population in New York City. Of course, the odds are still daunting, but Golden brings in some extra help that make it a fairer fight.

The action was great, but what made Salvation rewarding, in my opinion, was the change in the characters. It's not a change that we'll see in the comics, since this is written "out of continuity" (although Golden makes references to specific events and suggests that this took place just before the Fatal Attractions crossover). But some of the characters have evolved by the end of the novel - Senator Kelly has begun to turn, Trish Tilby's faith in mutants has been reinforced, Major Ivan Skolnick (created exclusively for this series) realizes that there's only one way to fight for equality. Even the Juggernaut's hatred for the X-Men has lessened.

Unfortunately, that leaves the X-Men struggling for growth. To be honest, there wasn't much of it. Xavier's opinions didn't change. The Acolytes still side with Magneto, and the X-Men agree with the latter. But Magneto comes to a startling revelation that impressed me greatly, although Golden sort of backpedals over that catharsis in the epilogue. So he leaves open the possibility of future conflict, but he does so by leaving the X-Men right where they started. It's not at all a problem for me, but I understand that some people want that, so I want to point out that this series won't give that to you.

But for all the other X-Men fans, invest some time to find the series and to read it. I enjoyed it thoroughly.

PS. I couldn't find a proper place to insert these quibbles, so I'll tack them on here. First, where is Colossus? He should have been with the X-Men if this is before Fatal Attractions (and it really can't be after, considering the references to X-Factor in Genosha, which occurred just prior to that crossover). And why didn't the Juggernaut help the X-Men to fight Magneto? I think Golden was trying to avoid the question of what Magneto's power could do to either character (especially Juggernaut - is his mystical armor vulnerable to magnetism?), but it seemed too transparent.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The conclusion...., March 26, 2003

By 

"zoolerscom" (Gretna, NE United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: X-Men Mutant Empire 3: Salvation (No 3) (Paperback)

The final conclusion to a very good trilogy. This book can be quite brutal, and to be honest, it is refreshing to see someone take risks with the characters they are writing about. This book will be great for all X-Men fans, as it has non-stop action, character dilemma, and numerous guest-appearances by Marauders, Tusk, Blob, Toad, Pyro, etc. Not to mention Juggernaut teams up with the X-Men, and he is written FAR better than his other book we'll get to much later. A good read for all! Here's the score:
1) X-Men: Mutant Empire (series)
2) Daredevil: Predator's Smile
3) Hulk: What Savage Beast
4) Fantastic Four: To Free Atlantis
5) Ultimate Spider-Man
6) Spider-Man: Carnage in New York