Lovers

The North-West passage #2

by Torch

A former colleague of Mulder's asks for help with a serial killer. Mulder and Scully arrive in San Francisco to find that they aren't the only ones to take a special interest in this case.

Mulder/Krycek

Chapters:4

130,000 words

Art by Jo B.

Online Fiction - Complete

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Juushika · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a favor to a former college, Mulder goes to San Francisco in search of a serial killer, only to discover that the killer's motives may be connected to the Syndicate--and that Krycek is already on the case. Lovers is a stronger showing than its predecessor, still flawed but more than adequately absorbing. It dumps Krycek's point of view, a necessary but almost regrettable change; where Ghosts belonged to Krycek, this is Mulder's story--and Mulder is an underwhelming protagonist with indistinct characterization. A strong plot and cast of original characters grounds the text and Scully ties it back to the source material, but still something seems lacking. As a romance it veers towards belabored and melodramatic, but there's something captivating at the core of this relationship: less a push and pull between Mulder and Krycek, the conflict in Lovers is within Mulder himself; and while Mulder fails to be remarkable, his attempts to navigate conflicting desires can be. Lovers has objective flaws, but it was just what I wanted to read at just this time; I can't recommend it, but wouldn't discourage the interested reader.