The X-Files: Skin (Mass Market Paperback)

by Ben Mezrich (Author) "Two hours after midnight, sirens tore through the cinder-block walls, shattering the momentary calm..." (more)
Key Phrases: temporary graft, harvested skin, skin bank, Emile Paladin, Perry Stanton, John Doe (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Skin has an authentic X-Files feel to it--the right mixture of scientific plausibility and mystical overtones to keep both Scully and Mulder interested and on the trail. Skin taken from an unknown body found at the site of a road accident is grafted over the burns suffered by a mild-mannered professor who then goes berserk, killing a nurse. Mulder and Scully try to trace the source of the skin graft and uncover links with a biotech company called Fibrol International, whose deceased CEO, Emile Paladin, was in charge of a MASH unit in a village in Thailand during the Vietnam War. Traveling to the remote village, Mulder is intrigued to learn about a local cult that worships a mythical monster, the Gin-Korng-Pew, or Skin Eater. Meanwhile, Scully follows more prosaic leads in search of Paladin's reclusive brother.

Mezrich's descriptions of medical procedures feel authentic, and he keeps the story moving along at a good pace, with several dangerous moments for both Mulder and Scully and a significant body count among the witnesses. The mixture of FBI investigation, horror, and the occult, with overtones of paranoia about the activities of the military, should appeal to X-Files fans, while others may enjoy it as an entertaining adventure. --Liz Sourbut, Amazon.co.uk --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly
When a mild-mannered history professor goes on a bloody rampage after receiving a skin graft mistakenly harvested from the wrong cadaver, the violent episode draws FBI Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully into another eerie X-Files investigation. Though the cadaver, a John Doe found at the scene of a multiple-car pileup, has mysteriously vanished from the morgue, traces of red powder from the accident site lead the agents to Fibrol, a biotech company founded by former MASH surgeon Emile Paladin, who specialized in treating napalm burn victims. Records indicate that Paladin died in a hiking accident in the mountains of Thailand 15 years ago, but word that Paladin's brother, Andrew, is still alive in Thailand sends Scully and Mulder across the Pacific to learn more. There they discover that Paladin was obsessed with creating the perfect synthetic skinAand that his research coincided with the apparent reappearance of a horrific monster of local legend, Gin-Korng-Pew: the Skin Eater. Their penetration into the heart of the mystery uncovers a fiendish secret that will surprise no one. Though the story has plenty of the X-Files' usual matter-of-fact gore, there's little here to cause genuine shivers. Mezrich (Reaper) tells the tale largely from Mulder's point-of-view, but he and other characters are little more than animated clich?sAevidence that one needs more than a series of bizarre events to make a convincing X-file.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: HarperEntertainment; First edition (May 3, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061056448
• ISBN-13: 978-0061056444
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #206,276 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Science Fiction Novel, April 1, 2004

By	Jeremy (Lakewood, CA USA) - See all my reviews

In the Novel The X-Files Skin By Ben Mezrich Mulder and Scully are trying to find the person behind the disease thats on the skin and that gets people with superhuman strength and then dies later on. In the beginning of the book these two med. students are getting skin of a donor that is already dead for a professer that burned his skin in a water heater accendent that a bunch of steam went on his thigh. so after the opperation the doctor said he's find and everything went wrong from there. Agent Fox Mulder and Dana Scully got on the scene and ask workers and police what happened to the body of the professer where did it go and so on then they see a bloodbath in the Hosptial room where Perry Stanton was at and not no more only to find a nurse on the ground dead. As the Agents are investigating this strange case the Bureau is keeping everytthing hidden from Mulder and Scully. soon on Mulder and Scully are in Thailand searching for an abandoned MASH unit were nalpalm victims were treated for there injuryies even if some of the victims were nursed back to health and may not see there famlies. Scully goes on a hunt to find a experimental medical technology while Mulder stakes are even more higher than scully's while they try to find the Thai Monster known has the Skinn Eater. Ben Mezrich did a real good job in creating this novel because it even says on the back of the novel he's a X-Files Fan for many years and that he used to draw cartoons for a living but in the book he did good explaining every detail that Mulder and Scully went through, how everything that happened from begining to end. I my self really liked this novel its one of the best Science Fiction novels I read and i like the X-Files on tv because im really into top secert stuff like when Mulder searches for aliens and he thinks theres life out there so I think who ever likes the X-Files or Science Fiction Novels you should read this book

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars This X-File did not get my skin tingling., September 3, 2002

By	Chadwick H. Saxelid "Bookworm" (Concord, CA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Perhaps it was the proximity to the similarly themed Antibodies (the old contaminated man on the run plot again, so soon?), or maybe it was the unnecessary use of profanity (which calls attention to itself in a bad way, is the author that desperate to keep the book out of the YA section?), but this franchise novel (apparently the series last) did not come to life for me. There was little atmosphere to the proceedings and plot twists and clues seemed contrived (rather than increasing the suspense they seem to happen just to keep the plot moving forward and, contrary to X-Files logic, FBI agents cannot barge in on Police investigations and make them their own just satiate curiosity - they have to be assigned - and they just can't fly all over the globe tracking down clues on a whim - there is paperwork to be filled and expenses to be approved). For the record, a skin graft goes wrong when the wrong doner is used, causing a formerly meek college professor to go on a killing spree. This novel maintains interest, but it lacks the feel of the show and is hampered by its shopworn premise. If this is the best that the hired writers could come up with it is not surprising why the spin-off novels never caught on.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Bad medicine, July 30, 2002

By	Scott A. Henderson (Westchester, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

It takes only a rudimentary knowledge of medicine (heck, even if you watch "ER" a few times), to pick apart the erroneous medical scenes and dialogue in this book. I know, I know. This wasn't meant to be a textbook, but a little research would have gone a long way in making this book more enjoyable to read. For my wife and I, who are big fans of the show, it was very frustrating.

As far as this being a good "x-files" book? "Whirlwind", "Antibodies", and "Goblins" were far better.