X-Men: The Return (X-Men (Marvel Paperback)) (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: master mold, golden behemoth, optic blast, The Return, Chris Roberson, Vox Septimus (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Feared and mistrusted by the very people they have sworn to protect, the X-Men are a band of mutant heroes dedicated to defending humanity from those who would use their powers to harm and destroy. The X-Men are often Earth's last defense against villains and mad-men...and the future's only hope.

An alien race calling themselves the Kh'thon descend upon the planet, announcing that they are the former occupants and rightful owners of Earth. The evidence they present is startling: Their ships are manned by Homo sapiens, supposedly descendants of human beings who served the Kh'thon on Earth countless millennia ago. And their will is enforced by the Exemplar, humans augmented with a dizzying array of powers, each the match of any one of the X-Men. The Kh'thon claim that they are responsible for the creation of the x-gene, devised so that they could breed whatever traits or abilities they required of their servants. And now they've returned to take back what they believe is rightfully theirs: the planet Earth, and everyone living on it.

It is up to Wolverine, Kitty Pryde, Nightcrawler, and the rest of the X-Men -- working in conjunction with Scott Summers, currently a member of X-Force -- to find a way to repel the Kh'thon before humans and mutants alike are enslaved by alien masters....

About the Author

Chris Roberson is the author of many original and media tie-in novels. This is his first Star Trek publication.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Star (April 24, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416510753
• ISBN-13: 978-1416510758
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #509,188 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best of the X-men Novels, May 21, 2007

By	David Keith "FurNTats" (Washington, IN) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Yay! Finally an awesome X-men novel. This one is the best of the recent X-men novels. Chris Roberson does a great job in writing an X-men story that will entertain both old fans and new comers. I'm glad that Marvel is getting better writers on these books and am looking forward to reading Matt Hughes take on Wolverine.

2.0 out of 5 stars Decent story; Terrible writing, November 9, 2009

By	J. R. Caraway (USA,LA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This book is rather sad really. I'm not refering to the actual story or anything but the poor quality in which it is written. Nearly every page has a mistake, not just typos either, but just poor grammar and bad style. I should mention that I am a member of a writer's group, and had I written this and showed it to my group they would have riped it to pieces. I feel the only way it got published was because it had the "X-Men" title and characters.

The author, Chris Roberson, has an "Author's Note" in the back of the book where he tells us that he has "researched" this book for 25 years (meaning he's read every X-Men and X-Men related comic since 1982), but personally I don't think he captured the characters as well as he could have.
Logan loses his temper, always flashing his claws, and even smokes cigars, but his dialogue fell uncharacteristic most of the time--this could be because I'm use to the early '90s Wolverine, this version didn't feel like the Logan I had known then. Cyclops/Scott Summers, however, did seem very true to character, as did Kitty Pryde.

Roberson also reuses a lot of speaker tags and even repeats the same information a lot. Characters are always "scowling", or saying things "ruefully", sticking their hands in their pockets, or just doing random pointless things (Early in the book Logan puts a cigar in his mouth, but then on the next page he puts a toothpick in his mouth....where the hell did the cigar go?)
Roberson also uses the "?!" punctuation in some dialogue. This may work in comics, but in fiction books it is typically frowned upon and a sign of bad writing. (You use one mark and convey the way that the line is spoken by narrative writing, and this is a narrative fiction book so...) As an example characters, when shocked or surprised, might say "What!?" In proper use this could be rendered as-- "What?" he exclaimed in surprise."--
When describing the "aliens" at the first encounter, the author has Kitty describe the alies as not being bug things, monsters,....or insect creatures-- "bug thing" and "insect creatures" are basically the same thing! Come up with something a little more creative; this book is full of bland descriptions and recycled vocabulary.

However, if you aren't the type of person to notice these sorts of mistakes, or if you don't mind the lacking character quality (though some of you may have a different opinion in this regard), this book is quick to read, full of action, and for the most part I guess it was a fun little read. However, you might be just as well off reading X-Men fan fiction posted on the net, the grammar and writing style is probably of the same quality.



If you're an aspiring writer, though, I would recommend this book as a "What Not To Do" example for reading. If this book did not carry the X-Men title and was an all original science-fiction title, it probably would have never been published--at least not without some heavy editing!

4.0 out of 5 stars A good book, June 6, 2007

By	Gambit0084 - See all my reviews

The original rulers of Earth land on the planet and attempt to take it over. These people have the same powers as the X-men, and they can manipulate their servents DNA, allowing them to possess whatever ability their masters think they need.
These original inhabitants of Earth claim that they developed the X-Gene and that they can use it more effectively than the mutants of Earth, but of course, the X-Men and the other mutants of Earth were able to overpower their invaders by using their genious, as well as brute force. This book read just like any other X-Men novel or comic book, and it was just as typical as any other novel or comic book. It was a good read, and I would recommend it to anyone who has enjoyed the comics.