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stephen_arvidson's review against another edition
1.0
“He’s probably one of those people who thinks Elvis is really dead” — Mulder on Sheriff Spencer (pg. 70)
Fear, a novelization of an early Season Two episode of The X-Files unimaginatively titled “Blood,” follows Agent Mulder as he assists local authorities in investigating a series of spree killings in Franklin, Pennsylvania. All of the deceased suspects, who suffered from intense phobias, were seemingly compelled to murder after receiving subliminal messages from electronic devices, violent messages directing them to kill.
WHAT I LIKED: The premise is intriguing, yes, and the story cynically critiques America's growing dependence on technology and the ever-present anxieties assailing the otherwise banal American experience. There's a fascinating idea at work here, of a shadowy government performing unscrupulous experiments on an unsuspecting populace. Sinister tests administered through controlled chemical spraying that's taking place right under our noses, just beyond our perception, and the sense of denial by guileless Americans that anything is wrong, that their government couldn't possibly be capable of wrongdoing. One thing the book does particularly well is depicting Ed Funsch's torment, his debilitating hemophobia (fear of blood) exacerbated by his exposure to illegal pesticides. This guy, a recently laid-off postal employee, is a veritable incarnate of the "going postal" phenomenon that exploded in the midst of the Reagan revolution. But that’s the only thing the book does right...
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE: Because this adaptation is geared toward middle-grade readers, author Les Martin takes exceptional (and unfounded) liberties, mincing several key plots and shortchanging character dialogue. For instance, the author amends Mrs. McRoberts’ paralyzing fear of rape (virgivitiphobia) to...uh, fear of being ripped off by grimy car mechanics (I don't think they have a phobia term for that!), thus using a contrived, half-baked fear as her mitigating factor to kill. Seriously? ... I mean, sure, I know I'm getting my wallet squeezed every time I take my car to the auto body, but I’m not buying this lame precursor to murder, even with the adrenaline-inducing chemical compound thrown into the mix. Surely no adolescent readers would buy into that, right? Martin creates a gaping plot hole where none exist and asks readers to suspend their belief to the point of absurdity. And for what? To adhere to our Western way of keeping things politically correct?
What’s more, there's quite a bit of awkward dialogue that the author must've included, character exchanges not found in the broadcast episode. One markedly bad line occurs when Byers (of the Lone Gunmen) refers to Mulder as “Fox, old boy” (p.52). Good lord! I refuse to believe even an early draft of this script would've featured the ultra-reserved Byers speaking to Mulder in such uncharacteristic fashion. If that’s not bad enough, there are several gross character contradictions that are impossible to overlook. For example, Sheriff Spencer expresses his relief and gratitude at the FBI for answering his request for assistance on this baffling case (this is evident in the televised episode), but then Spencer later says to Agent Mulder, “You do your job. I’ll do mine. We’ll see who comes up with the killer first” (p.31). This petulant exchange between law enforcement officers certainly lacks any sense of believability. Even more baffling to me is that Mulder, an Oxford-educated psychologist and first-rate behavioral profiler, would ask Sheriff Spencer what ‘suicide by cop’ means, which he does on page 13. Anybody who’s seen at least a couple episodes of Law & Order would understand that term without the force-fed definition. Last, but certainly not least, the author commits flagrant X-Files sacrilege by modifying one of Mulder’s funniest witticisms. In the broadcast episode, when the Lone Gunmen playfully scorn Mulder for not reading their August issue of TLG, he quips, “Sorry, boys, it arrived the same day as my subscription to Celebrity Skin”—one of many subtle hints at Mulder’s predilection for erotica. However, on page 55, Martin replaces the provocative magazine title with Popular Science in yet another shoddy effort to keep the story kid-friendly.
Fear cleverly broaches the idea that living in constant anxiety and paranoia is detrimental to one's health, and as much as I liked the story there were too many egregious alterations in translating the episode to book...far too many to make Fear a worthwhile read.
Fear, a novelization of an early Season Two episode of The X-Files unimaginatively titled “Blood,” follows Agent Mulder as he assists local authorities in investigating a series of spree killings in Franklin, Pennsylvania. All of the deceased suspects, who suffered from intense phobias, were seemingly compelled to murder after receiving subliminal messages from electronic devices, violent messages directing them to kill.
WHAT I LIKED: The premise is intriguing, yes, and the story cynically critiques America's growing dependence on technology and the ever-present anxieties assailing the otherwise banal American experience. There's a fascinating idea at work here, of a shadowy government performing unscrupulous experiments on an unsuspecting populace. Sinister tests administered through controlled chemical spraying that's taking place right under our noses, just beyond our perception, and the sense of denial by guileless Americans that anything is wrong, that their government couldn't possibly be capable of wrongdoing. One thing the book does particularly well is depicting Ed Funsch's torment, his debilitating hemophobia (fear of blood) exacerbated by his exposure to illegal pesticides. This guy, a recently laid-off postal employee, is a veritable incarnate of the "going postal" phenomenon that exploded in the midst of the Reagan revolution. But that’s the only thing the book does right...
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE: Because this adaptation is geared toward middle-grade readers, author Les Martin takes exceptional (and unfounded) liberties, mincing several key plots and shortchanging character dialogue. For instance, the author amends Mrs. McRoberts’ paralyzing fear of rape (virgivitiphobia) to...uh, fear of being ripped off by grimy car mechanics (I don't think they have a phobia term for that!), thus using a contrived, half-baked fear as her mitigating factor to kill. Seriously? ... I mean, sure, I know I'm getting my wallet squeezed every time I take my car to the auto body, but I’m not buying this lame precursor to murder, even with the adrenaline-inducing chemical compound thrown into the mix. Surely no adolescent readers would buy into that, right? Martin creates a gaping plot hole where none exist and asks readers to suspend their belief to the point of absurdity. And for what? To adhere to our Western way of keeping things politically correct?
What’s more, there's quite a bit of awkward dialogue that the author must've included, character exchanges not found in the broadcast episode. One markedly bad line occurs when Byers (of the Lone Gunmen) refers to Mulder as “Fox, old boy” (p.52). Good lord! I refuse to believe even an early draft of this script would've featured the ultra-reserved Byers speaking to Mulder in such uncharacteristic fashion. If that’s not bad enough, there are several gross character contradictions that are impossible to overlook. For example, Sheriff Spencer expresses his relief and gratitude at the FBI for answering his request for assistance on this baffling case (this is evident in the televised episode), but then Spencer later says to Agent Mulder, “You do your job. I’ll do mine. We’ll see who comes up with the killer first” (p.31). This petulant exchange between law enforcement officers certainly lacks any sense of believability. Even more baffling to me is that Mulder, an Oxford-educated psychologist and first-rate behavioral profiler, would ask Sheriff Spencer what ‘suicide by cop’ means, which he does on page 13. Anybody who’s seen at least a couple episodes of Law & Order would understand that term without the force-fed definition. Last, but certainly not least, the author commits flagrant X-Files sacrilege by modifying one of Mulder’s funniest witticisms. In the broadcast episode, when the Lone Gunmen playfully scorn Mulder for not reading their August issue of TLG, he quips, “Sorry, boys, it arrived the same day as my subscription to Celebrity Skin”—one of many subtle hints at Mulder’s predilection for erotica. However, on page 55, Martin replaces the provocative magazine title with Popular Science in yet another shoddy effort to keep the story kid-friendly.
Fear cleverly broaches the idea that living in constant anxiety and paranoia is detrimental to one's health, and as much as I liked the story there were too many egregious alterations in translating the episode to book...far too many to make Fear a worthwhile read.
wyrmbergmalcolm's review against another edition
3.0
This books is a literal write-up of the third episode of season 2: Blood. It was easy to read and told the story accurately. I would say this is a 'bare bones' write-up in that there is little to no embellishment upon what was shown on screen. There may be a bit more clarity regarding what a character is thinking at any particular moment, but nothing that couldn't be inferred. The only advantages to reading the book rather than just watching the show is that the dialogue is easily readable and not muffled by mumbling actors and it can be read on and off anywhere. At barely over 100 pages it can even be read in the time taken to watch it.
wondawilson's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.25
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