X-Files Archives Volume 1: Whirlwind & Ruins

The X-Files #2&4

by Charles L. Grant, Kevin J. Anderson, Sam Shearon

The truth can not be contained! But these two-book collections make it easier than ever to dive headfirst into the intrigue and mystery of The X-Files! In Whirlwind, serial killers come in all shapes and sizes, but this one is particularly puzzling.There's no pattern to the mutilated bodies that have been showing up in Albuquerque: both sexes, all races, ages, ethnic groups. There is no evidence of rape or ritual. Only one thing connects the victims. They were the victims of a natural disaster. One of the most unnatural natural disasters imaginable, leading to a most painful, most certain, and most hideous death.... In Ruins, Mulder and Scully fly to the Yucatan jungle to investigate a missing team of archaelogists. Their exploration leads to a strange electronic signal coming from beneath ancient ruins - a signal aimed upward, at the stars...

276 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 2015

About the author

Charles Lewis Grant was a novelist and short story writer specializing in what he called "dark fantasy" and "quiet horror." He also wrote under the pseudonyms of Geoffrey Marsh, Lionel Fenn, Simon Lake, Felicia Andrews, and Deborah Lewis.

Grant won a World Fantasy Award for his novella collection Nightmare Seasons, a Nebula Award in 1976 for his short story "A Crowd of Shadows", and another Nebula Award in 1978 for his novella "A Glow of Candles, a Unicorn's Eye," the latter telling of an actor's dilemma in a post-literate future. Grant also edited the award winning Shadows anthology, running eleven volumes from 1978-1991. Contributors include Stephen King, Ramsey Campbell, R.A. Lafferty, Avram Davidson, and Steve Rasnic and Melanie Tem. Grant was a former Executive Secretary and Eastern Regional Director of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and president of the Horror Writers Association.

Reviews

[Syn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love anything that has to do with the X-Files. It's been a few years now since I had rewatched the series and it was an absolute delight to be immersed again in the world of Mulder and Scully. I need more X-Files books in my life!

The two stories in this book were weird and well written and I flew through this book in a dreamy haze of all the strangeness that the X-Files encapsulates. I would highly recommend this book if you are a fan.

[Blanca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whirlwind was fun, not super engaging but fun.
Ruins is one giant American cliché after another that dragged for too long.

[Kate Murfin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first novel, Whirlwind, didn’t feel like an xfiles novel at all. And by the end I was feeling a little bored. The second novel, Ruins, definitely had more of that xfiles charm to it, but I found it dragged on and didn’t feel as complete as an episode of the show would have.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whirlwind 2.5

Ruins 3.5

[Josie]

This didn't have the same feel as the show. I found the pacing slow rather than tone setting, which is effortless in the show. I was excited about these books but I won't be continuing with them.