#x files perihelion spoilers

[television-overload]

Final thoughts on X-Files: Perihelion: [potential spoilers below, I'll try to keep it minimal]

(analysis below the cut)

The first half. I wasn't the biggest fan. I liked a few Mulder/Scully moments, of course, it was interesting to see what they were up to. But it all felt a little watered down. Like corporate fanfiction, a little colder and sanitized, emotionally. I think it comes down to having not enough time or space to properly flesh out the characters, and ultimately relies on the reader's preexisting understanding of specific details from seasons 1-11, as well as who these characters are, both individually and together. Having them basically planning to coparent and be roommates? That was a bit of a stretch. Suspension of disbelief getting tested pretty hard.

The side characters. I get it, they had to be introduced and given their time, but I found it difficult to get through. I don't know if it was too much time spent on them, too much detail, or what, but I found myself skimming through their bits at a certain point. Something just felt off there. There was a whole storyline that ultimately ended up being a red herring, and I sort of see it's purpose, but also I think it could have been cut back. It continued Chris Carter's weird pregnancy/violence pattern though, so make of that what you will. I just think it was a bit excessive. The first 2 incidents would have been enough.

Skinner. This is one area I think we didn't explore enough. More on that later.

Also, in my head, Scully moves back into the Unremarkable House, I'm rejecting this reality, even if it does make logistical sense to live in D.C. since... you know... that's where they work. But I have grown immensely attached to that house, so I will keep being unrealistic in my own personal headcanon.

The second half, once the mess of different perspectives and plot lines starts to converge, it got easier for me to read. As much as I hate CSM, his brief appearance drew me in, and I think they did that in a creative way. But that also wasn't explored nearly enough. Same with Mulder's dreams, and everything Vane (smoke guy) told Scully. Again, more on that later.

Another thing I expected to see come back: That slimy company Mulder got offered a job at. I guess it was just to demonstrate his unwillingness to compromise his character in the name of providing for his family, which I guess is fair.

Another warning for [spoilers] here, because I need to talk about this too:

I just didn't vibe with the overarching story of people developing superpowers and mutations from alien DNA and viruses. Much less it happening to Scully. Wait yeah, hold on. I'm adding that to the pile of things to talk about at the end. I just found it weird, which yeah, this is the show where vampires are pizza delivery men and a dude can squeeze through pipes in your building, but this for some reason was pushing too far, to me. It was hard to tell what we were supposed to make of these mutated people. I think what it comes down to is the sheer volume of loose ends, which is what I'm working toward here. Maybe it would be better if it were a less visible mutation. I get what they were going for, with the mutations getting out of hand, especially in a world that barely blinks when UFO's are confirmed to be real. But part of the allure of X-Files was them being the sole witnesses to a lot of this stuff. They were the only ones in the know with the willingness to fight back. I liked the idea of using gene editing to develop a virus that could reverse the damage, but again, I'd have liked it better if the mutations weren't so X-Men/Marvel Inhumans. It for some reason made me cringe 😂

Before we get to the loose ends and my thoughts on the final few chapters, I just wanna have a chuckle at the other cringe moments for me. Maybe it's just me being unused to reading things set in the modern day, but there were SO. many. pop culture references haha. It was maybe excessive, but correct me if I'm wrong. Mulder's new informant, especially, felt to me like a self-insert character in a teenager's first ever fanfiction 😅. I hate to say it, but that's how it came across. So much detail that read as "She's not like other girls/informants 😎." And then noting that Mulder actually kind of liked her 😂 it's giving 2014 One Direction Y/N fanfiction. Then there's all the nicknames for shadowy Syndicate stuff. I think the only way the original show got away with goofball stuff like "Cancer Man" and "Cigarette Smoking Man" was because it was established in a way that made you really fear the character, and that's a testament to William B. Davis' performance, too. Trying to repeat something like that that shouldn't have worked in the first place is tough. Feels like a bit of a reach. "The Inheritors," "The Executive," and also Scully and her friend coming up with code names for suspects or projects. Ehhhhh, just didn't come across naturally to me. It's hard to describe, but I've been thinking about this kind of thing in regard to fanfiction lately. How sometimes a determination to emulate the source material through callbacks or overly specific references can take me out of it, remind me I'm reading a derivative work instead of something that builds on it. These thoughts are only half baked in my own head, so I won't try to elaborate on them here.

Okay, now loose ends. There are. A lot... So much so, that they HAVE to be planning a second book. Or something, right? (🤡🤡🤡 season 12 where they get some basic, less interesting exposition out of the way via book release and then pick up there???)

In no particular order:

Scully's electrical super powers

Telling Mulder William might still be alive

Telling Mulder that William is possibly actually his son

Telling Mulder that this new baby is probably also his child and wasn't a science baby

TELLING MULDER SHE MIGHT MAYBE BE SORTA IMMORTAL KINDA?? TELOMERES???

Whatever the heck is going on with Skinner. Ya can't just leave him in a coma forever.

Alien DNA virus spreading throughout the earth / coming up with a reversal to get things back to normal (Skinner and Scully included, they haven't even really mentioned that)

Dr. Jones (Scully's friend) agreeing to help them save the world, at great personal risk to herself

That one lady can channel the dead. Yeah, I feel like we should dwell on that a little longer. Neither of them really fully accepted that was what had happened

Robin Vane and aforementioned lady relocating their little retreat full of mutants, under increased supervision by the Inheritors

Yeah. The Inheritors. No way they just leave that how it is. And Vane killed that guy and said "The Syndicate sends its regards" when here he's been taking out lingering members of the syndicate for years. What's up with that?

WILLIAM. I will say it again. WILLIAM.

So yeah, as you can see, this is clearly half of a whole story. I'll be intrigued to see if they continue this. I did like the second half a lot better than the first. Mulder and Scully looking forward to parenthood was cute, especially when they finally started talking things over. Talking about William. Acknowledging the loss they had suffered. Finding out the sex of their baby 🥹

I've read fanfictions that had Mulder and Scully feeling more in character than they did here, but it wasn't by any means *bad*. Again, might be a limitation of the medium, here. This isn't an MSR fanfic, it's a real book. There has to be a story and other elements than the two people we all came here for. It was still a worthwhile read, I think. If only to see what future Chris Carter has approved for his characters, and written by a genuine OG fan and member of this community of fans. How crazy is it to write a book and get emails from the creator of this series after having spent so much time in the 90s writing fanfiction for it?? I'm sure it was a dream come true for the author. I'd say it's what every fanfic author dreams of, but I think for some of us, it would be mortifying 😂 (though I've often thought it would be fun to be a writer on NCIS, because that show's writer room needs some help these days. I CAN FIX IT, CBS, CALL ME) ((I have no television writing experience))

I've gone on long enough. There's probably more I forgot to mention, but these are my thoughts, while it's fresh in my mind.

Now back to my regularly scheduled fanfic programming 🏃‍♀️‍➡️

[limnsaber]

NEW TOWNHOUSE??

[juniper-is-rising-the-dead]

So a new X Files book is coming out at the end of July. Can everyone please get angry again at Chris Carter with me??

[numinousmysteries]

Ok so I finished Perihelion and…..[here be spoilers]

I liked it!

Some of it is silly (yes, Mulder’s new informant does answer to an actual bat signal; there are lots of alien DNA mentions; and apparently the goal of the new syndicate is to basically make X-Men) but you can tell the author really loves the show and, most importantly, respects the characters.

The plot is fun with some exciting turns and red herrings and there are enough loose ends that there could absolutely (and SHOULD absolutely) be a sequel or even a series. If Mulder and Scully live on in book form with Claudia Gray holding the keys to canon, I’m cool with it.

The MSR feels authentic and is definitely present although a bit of a slow burn. Yes, they start off sleeping in separate bedrooms but I honestly thought a lot of how Gray portrayed their communication issues felt true and not like a CC-esque ploy to create conflict for conflict’s sake.

Most importantly, they end in a good place! We get some promising evidence that William IS actually their son and is out there somewhere (see, we need another book!) and baby #2 is theirs and healthy and maybe not totally human but who is? (Read the book, it’s all good, I promise!)

Also, Skinner lives! And Scully is immortal and can control electricity. Scully also makes a friend!

[bakedbakermom]

Here is my spoiler-heavy review of/bitch session about Perihelion. I, uh, didn't like it much. I can see the hard work and the love that Claudia Gray has for this series and these characters, and I appreciate it. But. It didn't work for me.

I went into this completely blind. As in, I didn't even read the am*zon blurb or the inside flap to see what it was about. I saw "new official X-Files book" and blacked out and then I had it in my hands. It's part casefile, part mytharc, picking up shortly after the events of My Struggle 4, and clearly meant to be a launching pad for continuing the show as a series of novels.

The casefile is about a killer targeting pregnant women, and Mulder and Scully get called in to investigate because of electrical disturbances in the vicinity of the murder. The mytharc is about the group that moves in to fill the power vacuum left behind by the destruction of the Syndicate (a group calling themselves the Inheritors) and the genetic fallout from the Syndicate's experiments that has resulted in people developing, um, superpowers. Like legit X-Men-style superpowers. And these X-Men aren't happy about it.

Okay let's talk about the casefile bit first. Look. I am sick to fucking death of this show's treatment of women and fertility. If I had known that was going to be the focus of part of this book, I don't know that I would have read it. There are some fairly graphic descriptions of one of the crime scenes early in the book that really turned my stomach, not in a "this is a fun scary story" kind of way but in a "this violence hits far too close to home and I am experiencing the starts of a panic attack" kind of way, so be mindful of that. There are also some scenes from the killer's POV as he stalks his victims - including, of course, Scully 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄 - that are so enraging and pathetic I could barely get through them.

And then - TWIST - it turns out he doesn't have electricity powers.... SCULLY DOES. Yeah. Straight up superhero "shoot somebody with a bolt of lightning like DPO" powers. I. I don't.... I can't talk about that part right now or I'll stab myself in the face but...

Look. I love that we got a vehicle for Scully to address her trauma, get some agency, and kick some ass. She needed that. We all needed that. I do like that she completely handed this guy's ass to him when he showed up at the door expecting to face a scared pregnant lady and instead got taken down by Scully FBI in about oh 3 seconds like the pathetic misogynistic sack of shit he is. But FUCK please stop making Scully the target of a fucking serial killer. Stop.

And the book never does give a satisfactory explanation for why the electrical disturbances around each murder could have originated with Scully. Yes, she was near the scene of each crime. Yes, for SOME of them she was in an emotionally charged state. But y'all she was fucking ASLEEP during one of them. And there were many times she was emotionally charged and nothing happened. I don't mind when XF is vague about this shit, that's kind of what they do, but it could at least make sense. I thought maybe it would turn out not to be her but her baby, sensing the danger and acting out to protect or warn the others, but no... Scully just happened to be upset and nearby each time this guy hacked a pregnant woman and her unborn baby to pieces? That is a level of coincidence I just can't get behind. No. (It could still turn out to be the baby, though. I am not convinced.)

Also, unfortunately, Scully handing this guy his own ass on a silver platter was kind of a disappointing ending to that storyline. Satisfying for Scully as a character does not equal satisfying to the reader as a story, sorry.

Okay. Now. The Mytharc.

The shadowy Inheritors kinda suck. They're rich douchebags in ivory towers pulling strings to keep themselves in luxury. If the Syndicate was the generation that pulled themselves up by their bootstraps or whatever, the Inheritors are the trust fund baby generation who are just... there. They don't actually do very much in this story, but I suppose that could change if they try to carry TXF on as a series of novels. So far they seem focused on finding the X-Men that the Syndicate created by accident so they can have a standing army of mutants to do their bidding and keep them on top.

Two such individuals are Vane, who can turn into smoke and travel like Nightcrawler (and yes that's a comparison that's made in the text, which is NOT helping the X-Men allegations) and Craddock, who can channel the dead. (Cherish Craddock is my angel baby and I love her and will hear nothing bad about her. She has superpowers that could destabilize the very structure of society as we know it, and just... uses them to run a wellness cult because it's easy and fun and she doesn't have to work in an office. Honestly, same, love that for you.) They are secretly working against the Inheritors to turn the X-Men to THEIR side instead. There's a fucking secret underground training facility and everything.

There's also a new boss at the FBI who - gasp - has questionable motivations. And a new informant in pop culture tees who - gasp - has questionable motivations. Par for the course I guess, but if you're as sick of the constant rehashing of the mytharc tropes as I am, you're gonna be rolling your eyes. The mytharc just needs to die, okay. It is too broken. Turning The X-Files into The X-Men isn't going to fix it. Casefiles forever from here on out, okay?

Scully has a nice little sidequest where she asks a friend at work to help her figure out the whole "uh there's an alien virus spreading through the population that's causing various degrees of weird mutations including literal fucking superpowers and maybe we should, like, NOT let it do that" but nothing comes of that in this book.

So overall it was kind of a weak casefile, and a mytharc that felt like a lot of set-up for a payoff that may never come, and a ridiculous pivot into superhero territory that I am just not here for. Mulder and Scully are well-written and definitely them, which I appreciated, though given where canon left off with them it's not exactly fun to hang out in their lives/heads. There was one incredibly sweet scene toward the very end where they go to a sonogram together, and that's one of perhaps 3 scenes that I am snatching up like a thieving squirrel at the birdfeeder and taking back to my treehole nest to build my headcanons around.

Also.

There were a few things that absolutely infuriated me.

So the same friend of Scully's doing the genetic thing is also helping her work out the origins of her current pregnancy, and in doing so reveals some information/hope regarding William, which Vane also confirms, and SCULLY DOESN'T TELL MULDER THIS. They do so much work on their shared grief in this book, healing and communicating and reuniting, and she DOESN'T TELL HIM THAT THIS BABY IS HIS AND MAYBE WILLIAM WAS TOO AND THE WOUND THAT RIPPED THEM APART MAYBE WASN'T EVERYTHING THEY THOUGHT IT WAS??? He deserves that information and it pisses me the fuck off that she didn't share it; William is his trauma too, and keeping that from him is just so fucking mean and feels so out of character. They end the story hiding shit from each other and WHY do we still have this as a plot device Jesus Fucking Christ.

I am also so beyond angry that CSM came back for a visit via Craddock's channeling to help Mulder. Either he did that because he's genuinely had a change of heart now that he can see things from "the other side" (oh fuck you, gag me, vomit, do NOT try to redemption-arc this man to me, not ever), OR he's using Craddock to try and continue manipulating and controlling M&S even in death and FUCK YOU NO. I don't even care which one it is. I don't want to know. That man needs to never grace my screen (or page) ever again. Can we just leave his rotting, burnt out husk on the roadside and never deal with him as a character ever again??? CAN WE MOVE ON FROM THAT FUCKWAD PLEASE.

One more thing: there was a bit where Scully is ruminating on the trauma she's endured and there's a kind of throwaway line about Mulder having suffered too, though not as deeply. Dude had part of his BRAIN stolen. He was abducted and tortured. His entire life was a rollercoaster of trauma as he ripped himself apart to uncover the truth about Samantha, only to find out that his father was part of it and also not his father and oh btw every bad thing that ever happened to him and everyone he loved was that guy's fault. DUDE WAS LEGIT DEAD AND BURIED FOR MOOOOOOONNNNTHS. I am not saying what he and Scully endured are equivalent, but this dismissal left a bad taste in my mouth.

This review is so incredibly negative and I'm sorry for that. There were parts of it I had fun with. If this wasn't an XF story but instead an original universe, I might have liked it. But if this is where XF is heading... I think I'm out. Every fan has a breaking point and Scully growing lightning powers to fight Nightcrawler in a secret underground supermutant training facility is mine. I get where you're taking this train, Claudia Gray, and I respect your effort, but this is my stop.

[dollsome-does-tumblr]

some more thoughts on the x-files: perihelion novel by claudia gray, which i zoomed through ravenously! tl;dr -- if you are searching for msr healing after the terrible s11 finale, you should read this and bask in its profoundly healing glow. you're welcome!

spoilers--

so, i had nooooo idea this existed until reddit told me the day before yesterday, and then my hoopla app actually had it, so i could get it INSTANTLY! it was like a dream come true!! the stars aligned for me! i honestly might read it again now.

i really love how this takes all the awfulness of the truly awful s11 finale and says, "okay, let's dive in and grapple with what this emotional reality would really be like. let's frickin' process." scully's pregnant in her 50s! their son is dead and apparently wasn't their son at all, instead the product of medical rape! you can so tell that this is written with the wisdom and insight of a woman writer's perspective, in a way that most of this show struggled profoundly with even in the 2010s (and it was so extra glaring and painful in the 2010s). it really dives into the repeated loss of bodily autonomy that scully experienced throughout the show, and how she grapples with that as she moves into this surreal experience of being pregnant again. it's just such an achingly astute portrayal of scully and how she tries to bury things and be sensible and keep moving forward and how at a certain point that's not tenable anymore. it felt like getting to be with her again in the best way. she also gets a female friend (ilu, dr. karen jones)!!!! which i adore!!!

i can see the hokey side of the whole 'scully now has powers that control electricity!' plot twist, but i have to say, as someone who feels sooooo ragey over everything scully went through, there's something so cathartic on a metaphorical level of scully's repressed feelings literally exploding the world around her. yeah! ⚡

you can tell this is written by someone who's a deep fan of the show and is intimately familiar with it (fanfic writing skills, what what! i distantly remember this author's fic from the days of yore!!) and especially with everything mulder and scully have gone through emotionally, which is so rewarding to read. i think the canon of the show itself kinda forgot some stuff, or didn't find it worth diving into, so it's so great to get that more fandom-oriented perspective that's really aware of the significance of the events of canon and how they would pile up on each other and create such a lasting impact. also, thank u for making mulder and scully kiss some more. long game! <3

both mulder's and scully's voices are absolutely perfect, both in conversation and narration, and their chemistry shines off the page. it really feels like being with them again. i don't have quite as much to say about mulder, since this is first & foremost scully's time to shine to me, but i think it captures his humor and disillusionment and general perspective so well, and the way he grapples with his sense of purpose. and there are just some really delightful mulder zingers in here, which are essential to my well-being.

domestic mulder and scully who are sort of a couple again but sort of keeping their distance is just such a delicious state to get to hang out in, and seeing them start to work through their trauma and get closer is so sublime!!! i just felt so fond of them, and i love how this captures both their fun, affectionate banter and their more serious, painful issues. this story really digs into their full relationship history in such a deep and thoughtful way. it's all there! they finally have sex in a motel shower! nature is healing!!! i can't believe i can buy this at a bookstore and hold it in my hands!!

i also love how this keeps in the style of the show with the extremely earnest philosophical voiceover-style monologuing from mulder and scully. it's truly just an essential part of the show's style and i love that it's here too.

(and scully writing diary entries and then tearing them up into tiny pieces and putting them in the incinerator!!! girl!!!! <3)

even if i'm obviously here for the shippy stuff first & foremost, i enjoyed the plot stuff. i like how this has a misogynistic serial killer plot, and it winds up that the guy doing it is just sort of small and horrible and easily defeated -- that felt so validating after having recently watched just, like, so many episodes about gross men killing women. the new mytharc is also fun enough that i would absolutely enjoy a multi-book series of mulder and scully dealing with it!

absolutely love the suggestions that mulder IS william's dad and that william is not dead. (and skinner's not dead either!) take that, s11 finale!!!!!! your evils are not insurmountable!

i wasn't familiar with the word "perihelion" so when it's revealed what its relevance is, i was sooooo in my feelings. now that's what i call emotional payoff!

oh my gosh they've got a baby girl on the way. 🥹🥹🥹 and now i really want to meet herrrrrrrrr. pls let this become the series it's so clearly setting up. 🙏

p.s. absolutely loved that we got a "SCULLAAAAY!" or two. it had to happen. <3

this book rules!

[b0oker18]

Some thoughts on Claudia Grays ‘The X files: Perihelion’

**Spoilers ahead**

First off I need to say that I am a certified, card carrying disliker of The X Files Revival, so some of my thoughts on this book may have some negative bias. Canon for me either ends at season 8 or IWTB (depending on the day lol) so I'm just here for the ride and I'm not going to take anything in this novel or in future novels too seriously!

Secondly, I am not a writer. Some of my thoughts may be incoherent and I apologize for that up front, but I feel the need to write down my thoughts so they do not constantly overwhelm my brain….

Hope you enjoy!! 

Likes: 

Claudia Gray overall does a good job with writing Mulder and Scully, you can tell she loved these characters as much as we do. It was easy for me to hear their voices in my head while reading.

I thought the novel flowed quite nicely. Oftentimes it went from a chapter mostly about the casefile, then to MSR, then to a chapter about the new villain (Brighteyes or Robin Vane), etc. It kept me wanting more, mostly for the MSR but a little for the casefile as well.

I really liked some of the MSR in this novel. Gray did the absolute best job she could do given the shit show she inherited from CC. I tip my cap to her!

My favorite MSR scene in particular was at the end of the book in chapter 39. To keep it brief Mulder and scully talk about WIlliam as THEIR SON once again, and how even though he may not be theirs via natural conception, he is still THEIR SON…. See CC it really isn't that hard is it? The Convo is played as Scully apologizing to Mulder for not wanting to talk about William, but in reality it's an apology to Mulder AND herself for her treatment of William. I mean this is a convo that they should have had years ago, but better late than never I suppose…. I’ll say again Cladia Grey was giving a bag of shit but she made some decent stew out of it.

I actually liked Robin Vane as a “Baddie” although I don't think he is a bad guy. He's morally gray and I will get to take in some of my predictions.

I kinda liked how CSM came back. It's different and unexpected, but I’d rather we no longer hear from him ever again.

Dislikes:

X men plot line, I hate it…. I don't really have anything else to say on this.

Scully's electrical powers. Thats gonna be a no for me dawg

The inheritors, their evil plot for world domination makes no sense. I mean do they even want world domination? I found it all so confusing… So they know that this alien virus is making people into literal X Men yet their plan is, “Hey, they are just going to bend to our will and… make us money or something”... maybe I'm missing something, but this plot felt intentionally vague in order to set up future novels. We will see I guess. 

I really hated the “explanation” for Scully's pregnancy. Why does everything need to be Spooky Science ™ …. I guess I wanted this pregnancy to be Mulder and Scully's proof of a higher power, something that can not be explained by science. That to me is FAR more interesting than spooky science ™ ….

I don't want this to sound like a nitpick but I guess it kinda is. I don't like Mulder and Scully living in a townhouse. I like the unremarkable house, it suits them way better. Oh well���

Why for the love of God are they sleeping in separate beds, they do everything a couple is supposed to do yet they can't share a bed? I mean I guess this was done to create a little bit of tension to keep the reader turning the pages, and it worked on me but still, I think at this point we should drop the relationship drama and move on to something else.

Some predictions:

Mulder and Scully will form an uneasy alliance with Robin Vane and Cherish Craddock. This will drive a bit of a wedge between Mulder and Scully, but like everything they will see it through.

The X Men plot line will be resolved at the end of the next novel.

Mulder and Scully's child will be named Rebecca. I don't remember where I read this but apparently Cludia Gray used to write XF fanfic and she wrote a piece in which Mulder and Scullys child was named Rebecca (Pretty name btw.. I like it.)

The child will NOT have supernatural powers (Im probably wrong on this one)

William AND Gibson will show up at some point and help save the day. William will become, at least in part, part of Mulder and Scullys lives. 

Skinner will play a pivotal role in the next novel, but he will die at some point… When the stakes are this high someones gotta die. Sorry Skin man… 

Final Thoughts:

I've read a few reviews on various websites about this novel and to be honest they are done much better than what I have written down, but I felt compelled to write down my unedited thoughts so I can move on with my life XD.

Overall, I came in expecting I would stop reading a few chapters in but I didn't! I read the whole thing in about 5 sittings. Claudia Gray did the best she could with what she had and I have to give her props! I think this novel is pretty fun! A solid 7/10…  Like I said in the beginning, I don't see this or any other future novel as “canon” so I'm just here for the ride, and I think it's going to be an interesting one!

[pjstafford]

The X-Files: Perihelion (A Book Review)

The X-Files: Perihelion is a book scheduled for release in July 2024. It is written by Claudia Gray with Chris Carter's approval. It is published by Hyperion Avenue. I want to thank the author and publisher for an advanced digital copy of the book for review.

In writing this review, my assumption is that the readers will be fans of the X-Files who have watched through season 11. The book picks up fairly shortly after season 11 ends. THERE ARE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW! I usually try to write spoiler-free reviews but felt that, in this case, I could not review the book fully without some spoilers. I think it is important to note upfront that the book does set itself up for future books - as a new series of books.

Will fans like this book? It depends on what the potential readers' engagement and perspective is on the series. In that case, it makes sense for me to disclose that information about myself. I engage with some X-Files content daily. I am a fan of the revival seasons. I hated the cliffhanger in season 10 but loved the majority of season 11 including the ending (although I understand why some fans did not).

The book opens with Scully pregnant, Skinner in a coma, and Mulder and Scully suspended from the FBI pending an investigation. The two agents are living together to co-parent, but their relationship status is undefined and there is some new distance emotionally due to the trauma they suffered at the end of season 11. Scully has returned to medicine and Mulder is considering his next career move. What I enjoyed about this feature of the book is that the closing of the X-Files did not seem to be a disaster for either agent. What I would change about the finale of season 11 is that too much time was spent with Kersch on shutting down the X-Files. To both agents' surprise, they are called back to duty on a temporary "let's see how it goes" basis to work on one case.

The case is that pregnant women are being murdered. The unexplained paranormal aspect is that strange electrical surges are happening at the scene of each murder. This was an excellent way to get the agents reinvested in The X-Files. It hits them in their feels and the reader is drawn in as well. This case is actually wrapped up long before the book's end. In the meantime, the agents have been assigned a second case and the first case is really a clue to the second case. I won't give away too many spoilers here except to say that the second case sets up future books. It takes existing mythology and twists it with a new substitute syndicate and new characters helping the agents. I found this portion of the book to be mostly very well written. I enjoyed it up until the point where I realized it was setting up for an ongoing series. This is the area where I think readers will have to decide where they are with their engagement with The X-Files. If you are a fan who really just wants the agents to continue to solve cases and protect the world from ongoing global conspiracies and you love the thought of seeing them solve cases together, you will enjoy the book and likely the series immensely. I was there at one point. In fact, at the end of season 10, I wrote my own longer fan fic which was based on what I envisioned a new series could look like. I simply am not there any longer. I would like to see this amazing story of these agents have the outstanding ending (whether happy or not) that they deserve as iconic characters. I would like to see an ending comparable to their journey instead of beginning another journey with a whole new mythology arc. This is not to criticize the writer or fans who want more stories, but, in the end, I was disappointed by this approach.

As to the answers to the burning questions left from season 11. What I really enjoyed is that Scully and Mulder find themselves coming together while processing their grief for William/ Jackson who they both believe is dead and was never Mulder's son. They did this very much in character. Scully is also looking for answers as to why she is pregnant at an advanced age and to the health of the child still in her womb. However, there are still no answers. Scully gets a hint William is alive. Mulder gets a possible scenario of how he could still be the father, but in the end, the fact of biological or not matters less than the parental love of a child which gives them the right to grief. There is no hint the current baby is anything but healthy and yet there is a plotline related to Scully's alien DNA that doesn't rule out the child might have powers. Yet the hope that the two agents could raise a child together, which is what I liked about the season 11 ending, continues. The timespan covered in the book is not long so Scully is still pregnant at the end of the book.

There are two additional minor criticisms I have about the book which I am including here at the end for feedback on future books in the series.

I liked the way the book ended. It is the way I think most fans would want it to end. However, it was only at the end, with so many of the plot mysteries left unresolved, that I realized the book was intended to be a fuller series. It felt sudden and abrupt. What I think was needed is more of a summary of what was resolved and more of a "launch" into the next book.

Because so much of the mythology of The X-Files revival was about a virus and the new mythology includes an alien DNA mythology, I was initially concerned because no mention of the COVID virus and lockdown was discussed. Then, of course, I realized that Scully was pregnant in 2018. However, there are pop culture references to more modern times. Of course, Mulder would be a fan of Strange New Worlds - which came out in 2022. If that seems a little picky on my part, it is just that the COVID lockdown was a pretty big deal and the plotline of the novel is about a global virus. I encourage the author to clearly set the year in which the novels take place going forward and, if the series will extend past 2020, then some careful thought will have to go into how to handle this. The X-Files has always been set in the real world. It will be a challenge for the author to think about how to address the lockdown from a non-alien virus while writing books about the global contagion of an alien virus.

Thank you again for the opportunity to review.

[limnsaber]

Scully becoming the proof of everything she doesn’t believe is so funnayy

[numinousmysteries]

Early Perihelion thoughts below! No explicit spoilers but keeping it below the cut in case you want to go in totally fresh.

Ok I’m a little ways into Perihelion now and I’m liking it! Gray gets M&S (which makes sense since she was a fic writer) and I’m actually intrigued by the story.

No spoilers but there’s a bit of summarizing MSIV/William arc and I’m just cracking up thinking about how insane any of this would sound to someone who picked up this book knowing nothing about the x files.

It’s definitely a book for people who know the show. Glad they went that route instead of trying to make it accessible to a new audience which at this point would make no sense.

There are definitely some Carter-esque things going on that make me roll my eyes but I have faith! Lots of book still to go.

[limnsaber]

Scully’s first instinct has always been denial. Not in a close minded way, but in a ‘that can’t be true.’ Leading to, of course, ‘what if it is?’ Of course this is how she handles her grief with William. Of course of course of course of course

Granted I am only partway through the book, but it makes sense to me. My initial impression of her decision was that she was pushing her way through pain by denial. And that is so Scully. ‘I’m fine’ Scully. ‘I need something to put my back up against’ Scully. ‘I was afraid to believe’ Scully. She just needed her time.

NEW TOWNHOUSE??

[limnsaber]

“She was mine and not mine, known and not known.” WHAT THE FUCKKKKK

NEW TOWNHOUSE??