Reviews

Devil's Advocate by Jonathan Maberry

dembury's review against another edition

3.0

I really, REALLY want to have liked this more! As a huge X-Files fan, I've been looking forwards to read the two "Origins" novel as soon as I heard about them.
But this just felt a little uninspired and had too many "look, we're referencing the SHOW and future MULDER" moments. The plot was very basic to me. And I saw the "twist" from a mile away- I mean, it was practically spelled out to the reader, and I felt like I was watching a vaguely cheesy horror flick unfold.
(Also, that Epilogue Part 3? I was WAITING for that person at the end to show up!! I KNEW SAID PERSON WOULD BE THERE!!)

I DID enjoy Mayberry's writing style here, and thought he did a good job of creating a vivid atmosphere. Just because of his style, I'd be willing to read more by him.
I don't know if the authors of these "Origins" stories were prompted by the shows creators in any way to follow a certain narrative, but something is telling me there were guidelines to this book. It was as if Mayberry was given a plot and told to flesh it out how he saw fit.

It was a good read. Nothing spectacular, and not quite what I'd hoped it would be. I'll be reading Kami Garcia's Fox Mulder story next, and I'm hoping for a little more OOMPH with that one.

agentnk_'s review against another edition

5.0

was thrilled to learn about the Young Adult novels about Scully and Mulder. Considering that we have been following them since the early 1990s, it is intriguing to consider the idea that they were the complete antithesis of who they became as adults.

rainbowbookworm's review against another edition

3.0

I struggled though most of this book which was disappointing because I LOVE Dana Scully. I found this metaphysical aspect of her life difficult to swallow and hard to reconcile with my beloved skeptic. However, Maberry manages to tie it all together during the resolution and epilogue. This does not redeem it enough to earn it a better rating.

chandara's review

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

ikaros's review

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

ria_bee_3c's review against another edition

2.0

Disappointing. Young Scully is very different from the TV show character and although there are nods to her past that is mentioned in the X-files, it does not match the story. None of the characters matched their TV show personality,  there were traces of traits but they were like all new characters.  The plot itself felt a little repetitive and again, out of character. With trying to wrap up the end in a similar way to Mulder's it felt Ike a reach for young scully to come to her career decision based on the events in the book.

posies23's review

4.0

An interesting prequel to the X-files series. This one follows Dana Scully's adventures in high school as she begins to have visions that lead her to investigate a series of teen deaths. Of course, nothing is as it seems. The book is very well written, although it's hard at times to reconcile what we know of Dana's character from the TV show. Still, it's entertaining and suspenseful. Worth reading for fans of horror fiction and, of course, The X-files.

ajeinsig's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

tolkiensacademia's review

emotional informative medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

like I could ever be objective when it comes to the x files and/or Dana Scully <3

avafritsch's review against another edition

Just not my thing. It was an audiobook and it did not catch my attention.