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The X-Files: Origins #1
Agent of Chaos
How did Fox Mulder become a believer? How did Dana Scully become a skeptic? The X-Files Origins has the answers.
The X-Files Origins: Agent of Chaos explores the teen years of Fox Mulder, the beloved character depicted in the cult-favorite TV show The X-Files. His story is set in the spring of 1979, when serial murder, the occult, and government conspiracy were highlighted in the news.
The book will follow Mulder as he experiences life-changing events that set him on the path to becoming an FBI agent.
The X-Files Origins: Agent of Chaos explores the teen years of Fox Mulder, the beloved character depicted in the cult-favorite TV show The X-Files. His story is set in the spring of 1979, when serial murder, the occult, and government conspiracy were highlighted in the news.
The book will follow Mulder as he experiences life-changing events that set him on the path to becoming an FBI agent.
311 pages, Paperback
First published January 3, 2017
89 people are currently reading
4250 people want to read
About the author
Kami Garcia
112 books17.4k followersKami Garcia is a #1 New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling author. She is the coauthor of the BEAUTIFUL CREATURES series, which has been published in 51 countries and 37 languages, with over 10 million copies in print. In 2013, Beautiful Creatures released as a feature film from Warner Brothers. Kami is a cofounder of the YALLFEST kid lit book festival and the author of five solo novels, including her Bram Stoker Award-nominated novels Unbreakable and Unmarked (THE LEGION series) and The X-Files Origins: Agent of Chaos. Kami’s first graphic novel Teen Titans: Raven, with artist Gabriel Picolo, is the first book in her TEEN TITANS series for DC Comics and the adult series JOKER/HARLEY: CRIMINAL SANITY, from DC Black Label.
Find Kami online at kamigarcia.com, on Facebook @KamiGarciaYA, and on Twitter and Instagram @KamiGarcia.
Find Kami online at kamigarcia.com, on Facebook @KamiGarciaYA, and on Twitter and Instagram @KamiGarcia.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 492 reviews
February 6, 2017
5 FULL STARS BABY!❤
I loved this book so much. I felt like the author captured a young, Fox Mulder, to a T! I could actually see the older Fox talking in every sentence. =)
This follows the story of a young Mulder of seventeen. He's living with his father after the disappearance of his sister, Samantha. His parents had issues and they wanted Mulder to go to a different school for his senior year and then off to college.
Mulder has a goofy friend named Gimble that plays D & D and I just loved him. He also has a best friend named Phoebe who comes down to stay with him for a bit.
Mulder's dad is never around, he's always off working government stuff out of town and what not.
Mulder gets all caught up in some disappearances of children. They seem to have disappeared the same way his sister did several years ago. He's obsessed with helping to find them and he brings his friends along for the ride.
Gimble's dad used to work for the military until things . . . now he won't leave the house and he's obsessed with aliens and a book called "Stormbringer." He seems to be really crazy, BUT, he's not and I really liked him!
Phoebe is super smart so it's easy for her to help Mulder who has the photographic memory (I wish I had one of those) and Gimble is a great help too. They get caught up in some major stuff.
Mulder is on the heels of a killer or killers. He's being stalked by some peeps in a black car, one of which we know from the shows. He is going crazy over trying to find out who took his sister. And he made a decision about what he wants to do with his life.
I'm not saying any more because I don't want to spoil it. <-- I say this a lot in my reviews but I have to because that's what I do. Lol Also, there are a lot more things going on in the book that I didn't even hint at so read it and love it!
Anyway, I think anyone that loves the X-Files will enjoy this book even though it's young adult. It's super awesome and I look forward to reading about Scully.
MY BLOG: Melissa Martin's Reading List
I loved this book so much. I felt like the author captured a young, Fox Mulder, to a T! I could actually see the older Fox talking in every sentence. =)
This follows the story of a young Mulder of seventeen. He's living with his father after the disappearance of his sister, Samantha. His parents had issues and they wanted Mulder to go to a different school for his senior year and then off to college.
Mulder has a goofy friend named Gimble that plays D & D and I just loved him. He also has a best friend named Phoebe who comes down to stay with him for a bit.
Mulder's dad is never around, he's always off working government stuff out of town and what not.
Mulder gets all caught up in some disappearances of children. They seem to have disappeared the same way his sister did several years ago. He's obsessed with helping to find them and he brings his friends along for the ride.
Gimble's dad used to work for the military until things . . . now he won't leave the house and he's obsessed with aliens and a book called "Stormbringer." He seems to be really crazy, BUT, he's not and I really liked him!
Phoebe is super smart so it's easy for her to help Mulder who has the photographic memory (I wish I had one of those) and Gimble is a great help too. They get caught up in some major stuff.
Mulder is on the heels of a killer or killers. He's being stalked by some peeps in a black car, one of which we know from the shows. He is going crazy over trying to find out who took his sister. And he made a decision about what he wants to do with his life.
I'm not saying any more because I don't want to spoil it. <-- I say this a lot in my reviews but I have to because that's what I do. Lol Also, there are a lot more things going on in the book that I didn't even hint at so read it and love it!
Anyway, I think anyone that loves the X-Files will enjoy this book even though it's young adult. It's super awesome and I look forward to reading about Scully.
MY BLOG: Melissa Martin's Reading List
July 15, 2021
4.5 Stars
CW:
Well the truth is definitely out there that I have always been a huge fan of all things X-Files!
I loved the TV show and of course David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson ARE Mulder and Scully. This Mulder origin story was, in my opinion, spot on in terms of Mulder's personality. The case itself was grimly gripping and the murder mystery element was incredibly well done. It is quite dark and fast paced so it will have a lot of appeal in a high school. As it is an origin story it won't matter that today's teens may not have watched the X-Files as no prior knowledge is necessary to understand the novel. Loved it!
CW:
Well the truth is definitely out there that I have always been a huge fan of all things X-Files!
I loved the TV show and of course David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson ARE Mulder and Scully. This Mulder origin story was, in my opinion, spot on in terms of Mulder's personality. The case itself was grimly gripping and the murder mystery element was incredibly well done. It is quite dark and fast paced so it will have a lot of appeal in a high school. As it is an origin story it won't matter that today's teens may not have watched the X-Files as no prior knowledge is necessary to understand the novel. Loved it!
April 1, 2019
This was fine. I used to watch The X Files (original) as it aired but that's been sooooo long ago that I'm not well versed on the canon. I'm sure this had many little references that went over my head. Other than some of the character names this felt like it could have stood on its own, so I think even people who have never seen the show could enjoy this.
Audiobook review: Good. Would recommend.
tw: kidnapping/disappearances of children, ritualistic child murder.
Audiobook review: Good. Would recommend.
tw: kidnapping/disappearances of children, ritualistic child murder.
February 9, 2017
The X-Files was and still is one of my favorite shows and I absolutely couldn't resist reading teenage Mulder. And of course he's just as you would expect.
Loved the story, the characters, and the creepy factor. It felt like an episode and I was captivated from the beginning.
Onward to Scully's story!
**Huge thanks to the publisher for sending me an early copy**
Loved the story, the characters, and the creepy factor. It felt like an episode and I was captivated from the beginning.
Onward to Scully's story!
**Huge thanks to the publisher for sending me an early copy**
April 11, 2022
4.5 stars. A solid and illuminating portrayal of seventeen year old Fox Mulder, already on the path to becoming the dogged investigator with an unquenchable desire for the truth that we came to know and love in The X-Files. The story ties in deeply to his sister's childhood abduction, an event that would come to shape his whole life, and sheds some light as well on his rocky relationships with his parents. The plot relies a bit too much on coincidence, but kept me engaged nonetheless. The main supporting characters were all excellently fleshed out, including his fiercely independent and brilliant girlfriend Phoebe, his nerdy best friend Gimble, and Gimble's conspiracy theory nut of a father known only as "the major", who seems to have made quite a lasting impression on Mulder. Copious references to nerd culture of the 1970's made this especially fun, including Star Trek, Star Wars, Dungeons & Dragons and Michael Moorcock's Elric series, the latter of which ties in deeply to the story's core. Highly recommended to fans of The X-Files!
October 13, 2018
UGHHHH I HAD MY WHOLE REVIEW WRITTEN AND MY BROWSER CRASHED AND NOW I'M GOING TO HAVE A TEMPER TANTRUM.
K back from temper tantrum now.
So I had this huge brilliant review* for this book, which I stupidly wrote in the review space here on Goodreads instead of somewhere that saved things periodically like I usually do, and upon being two sentences away from finishing it, my browser decided to to go non-responsive, crashed and deleted the whole thing. I will note that this ONLY ever happens to me while using Internet Explorer on computers that aren’t mine. Why does anyone have a computer that has nothing but IE? WHY. What terrible person makes these decisions? I hope they regret everything.
*It wasn’t brilliant. I’m just angry. Whyyyyy does IE suck SO HARD. I KNOW it sucks. Whyyyyy didn’t I save my review??? This isn’t even the first or second or third time this has happened to me. Will I never learn. Honestly.
So long story short I’m not writing that review again. That seems like torture. Instead I will sum it up in bullet points, from what I can remember:
-Liked the secondary characters for the most part: Mulder’s friend Gimble and Gimble’s father, The Major (a conspiracy theorist). Also thought the murder was good, creepy and well thought out, although a bit too reliant on a forty-plus year old fantasy novel (if you’re planning on reading Michael Moorcock’s Elric Saga, don’t read this book; it spoils the ending of the series completely).
-This wasn’t nearly as bad as its partner, the Scully book, but it didn’t quite capture Mulder’s voice. It also had some weird easter eggs that felt forced in, like Mrs. Mulder mentioning the vacuum from “Paper Hearts” while on the phone with Mulder, or It’s just too much of a stretch.
-The whole Phoebe thing was pointless. I spent the first 2/3 of this book being annoyed that Garcia had decided to have Mulder meet his old lover Phoebe (whom we met in season one’s “Fire”) when they were teenagers in Martha’s Vineyard, rather than at Oxford, and on top of that she was his “best friend,” and totally out of character. Eventually, I realized it was probably another Phoebe, and that conclusion turned out to be correct when her last name was revealed. But, come on, man. You can’t give a character the same name as one of your hero’s previous lovers, if that character is also a previous lover. How confusing and pointless it is. Also, she was just a pointless character to begin with, only there because in YA, the hero has to have a girl to pine over. This book would have been better without her entirely, and just focused on Mulder’s relationship with his strange but sweet friend Gimble instead.
-I will accept that the Syndicate is involved in Mulder’s life because they were canonically involved in the show, and also the Cigarette Smoking Man is obsessed with Mulder. But it's still unacceptable for them to have been involved with Scully's life. (It's really dumb that Mulder went to Scully's extremely small town, a town which they go out of their way to mention isn't even on a map. If he had actually run into her, I would have lost it.)
It was just okay. If they publish sequels (which I know they wanted to do), I won’t be reading them. And I don’t think they will, anyway. I don’t believe these have sold well at all (probably didn’t help that most of the new season wasn’t very good).
Bottom line: if you were even going to bother trying this, don’t.
K back from temper tantrum now.
So I had this huge brilliant review* for this book, which I stupidly wrote in the review space here on Goodreads instead of somewhere that saved things periodically like I usually do, and upon being two sentences away from finishing it, my browser decided to to go non-responsive, crashed and deleted the whole thing. I will note that this ONLY ever happens to me while using Internet Explorer on computers that aren’t mine. Why does anyone have a computer that has nothing but IE? WHY. What terrible person makes these decisions? I hope they regret everything.
*It wasn’t brilliant. I’m just angry. Whyyyyy does IE suck SO HARD. I KNOW it sucks. Whyyyyy didn’t I save my review??? This isn’t even the first or second or third time this has happened to me. Will I never learn. Honestly.
So long story short I’m not writing that review again. That seems like torture. Instead I will sum it up in bullet points, from what I can remember:
-Liked the secondary characters for the most part: Mulder’s friend Gimble and Gimble’s father, The Major (a conspiracy theorist). Also thought the murder was good, creepy and well thought out, although a bit too reliant on a forty-plus year old fantasy novel (if you’re planning on reading Michael Moorcock’s Elric Saga, don’t read this book; it spoils the ending of the series completely).
-This wasn’t nearly as bad as its partner, the Scully book, but it didn’t quite capture Mulder’s voice. It also had some weird easter eggs that felt forced in, like Mrs. Mulder mentioning the vacuum from “Paper Hearts” while on the phone with Mulder, or It’s just too much of a stretch.
-The whole Phoebe thing was pointless. I spent the first 2/3 of this book being annoyed that Garcia had decided to have Mulder meet his old lover Phoebe (whom we met in season one’s “Fire”) when they were teenagers in Martha’s Vineyard, rather than at Oxford, and on top of that she was his “best friend,” and totally out of character. Eventually, I realized it was probably another Phoebe, and that conclusion turned out to be correct when her last name was revealed. But, come on, man. You can’t give a character the same name as one of your hero’s previous lovers, if that character is also a previous lover. How confusing and pointless it is. Also, she was just a pointless character to begin with, only there because in YA, the hero has to have a girl to pine over. This book would have been better without her entirely, and just focused on Mulder’s relationship with his strange but sweet friend Gimble instead.
-I will accept that the Syndicate is involved in Mulder’s life because they were canonically involved in the show, and also the Cigarette Smoking Man is obsessed with Mulder. But it's still unacceptable for them to have been involved with Scully's life. (It's really dumb that Mulder went to Scully's extremely small town, a town which they go out of their way to mention isn't even on a map. If he had actually run into her, I would have lost it.)
It was just okay. If they publish sequels (which I know they wanted to do), I won’t be reading them. And I don’t think they will, anyway. I don’t believe these have sold well at all (probably didn’t help that most of the new season wasn’t very good).
Bottom line: if you were even going to bother trying this, don’t.
January 28, 2018
4 stars ****
This book was great fun for an X-Files fan like me! Fox Mulder, Mr Cool himself, as a teen in this his origin story. What could possibly go wrong? Plenty, I know, but nothing does!! This is not literary excellence, it’s just a fun, fast-paced look at how Fox Mulder became a believer. The Cigarette Smoking Man, X, the Major, Samantha, the missing, aliens, UFOs, conspiracies, the occult - it’s all here in a thoroughly enjoyable read!
The truth is out there, you know? 😉
This book was great fun for an X-Files fan like me! Fox Mulder, Mr Cool himself, as a teen in this his origin story. What could possibly go wrong? Plenty, I know, but nothing does!! This is not literary excellence, it’s just a fun, fast-paced look at how Fox Mulder became a believer. The Cigarette Smoking Man, X, the Major, Samantha, the missing, aliens, UFOs, conspiracies, the occult - it’s all here in a thoroughly enjoyable read!
The truth is out there, you know? 😉
February 7, 2017
Read more of my reviews at Cornerfolds.com!
*Review to come!*
**Anticipatory Comments**
Wait... what? I adore The X-Files and YA fiction is my LIFE, but what is Mulder without Scully?? I'm hesitantly excited about this book...
*Review to come!*
**Anticipatory Comments**
Wait... what? I adore The X-Files and YA fiction is my LIFE, but what is Mulder without Scully?? I'm hesitantly excited about this book...
February 5, 2017
Fantastic.
I watched The X-Files with my dad religiously growing up, so when I heard about Origins, I knew I needed them in my life. Reading about young Mulder and how he learned that there are no coincidences and why he should trust now one made my inner conspiracy theorist sing glory.
Now on to read Scully's Origin. If it is half as good as this book, then it will be in good company.
I watched The X-Files with my dad religiously growing up, so when I heard about Origins, I knew I needed them in my life. Reading about young Mulder and how he learned that there are no coincidences and why he should trust now one made my inner conspiracy theorist sing glory.
Now on to read Scully's Origin. If it is half as good as this book, then it will be in good company.
July 4, 2018
I've been having a hard time with retellings lately. Every book that I've been reading has me thinking, but is this really Bruce Wayne? Is this really the voice of Belle? And then I'm usually yelling at the book, THIS IS NOT *MY* SLEEPING BEAUTY. However, hold your book fantasy horses, because Kami Garcia did it and got the voice of Fox Mulder down perfectly. This is honestly one of the best retellings/prequels in a TV/Movie character's that I've read it, and I just want to bask in all the X-Files goodness.
The characters were amazing. Mulder's voice is so spot on. Garcia didn't just pay attention to his love for mysteries but she picked up on little traits that were particularly Fox. She got his obsessive need to dive full on. She got how he would want a waitress to skedaddle away when he was in the middle of telling his friend his story. She got his unrelenting need to find the truth - because, um, the truth is out there. She got everything about Fox, and this honestly could have just been an episode of young Fox Mulder written by Chris Carter. The other characters were great as well. I enjoyed Phoebe and Gimbel who were fun, funny, and wonderfully detailed sidekicks. I loved the Major. And the cameosssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss. They were absolutely fantastic. I fangirled each time a cameo happened. Garcia did a fantastic job of balancing the original characters with new, intriguing characters that came from her imagination.
The plot was so interesting as well. I was definitely on my toes the entire time on what was really happening and where the story would go. I read this last year, and I couldn't quite remember the final verdict of the story. I was still so intrigued to see what was coming for me at the end of the story. It was a true X-Files mystery as well.
Garcia did an absolute amazing job of blending the original story elements as well as X-Files canon. This story was like the perfect prequel to Fox's life on the X-Files. It fit so well with his psychology and how he would become the man he is. It explained how he became an FBI agent, his experiences with aliens, and how he could start the spiral with finding Samantha even more. It explained so much in parameters that just FIT. This story probably could be read as a standalone, but it really does mean a lot more if you know the X-Files since it's little things that stand out that Garcia snuck in that just made my fangirling so on high.
This book was a surprising little powerhouse for me. I hadn't quite enjoyed Garcia's work before this book, but she completely knocked everything out of the alien ballpark in every respect for this book. I feel bad for books that are retellings/prequels of sorts now because it's going to be ridiculously hard to live up to the standards she set. She created wonderful original characters while staying true to the ones already there, she created her own original mystery that would fit perfectly in a season of the X-Files, and she gave the proper Mulder love. This was everything I needed a Fox Mulder story to be. 5 crowns and an Aurora rating!
The characters were amazing. Mulder's voice is so spot on. Garcia didn't just pay attention to his love for mysteries but she picked up on little traits that were particularly Fox. She got his obsessive need to dive full on. She got how he would want a waitress to skedaddle away when he was in the middle of telling his friend his story. She got his unrelenting need to find the truth - because, um, the truth is out there. She got everything about Fox, and this honestly could have just been an episode of young Fox Mulder written by Chris Carter. The other characters were great as well. I enjoyed Phoebe and Gimbel who were fun, funny, and wonderfully detailed sidekicks. I loved the Major. And the cameosssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss. They were absolutely fantastic. I fangirled each time a cameo happened. Garcia did a fantastic job of balancing the original characters with new, intriguing characters that came from her imagination.
The plot was so interesting as well. I was definitely on my toes the entire time on what was really happening and where the story would go. I read this last year, and I couldn't quite remember the final verdict of the story. I was still so intrigued to see what was coming for me at the end of the story. It was a true X-Files mystery as well.
Garcia did an absolute amazing job of blending the original story elements as well as X-Files canon. This story was like the perfect prequel to Fox's life on the X-Files. It fit so well with his psychology and how he would become the man he is. It explained how he became an FBI agent, his experiences with aliens, and how he could start the spiral with finding Samantha even more. It explained so much in parameters that just FIT. This story probably could be read as a standalone, but it really does mean a lot more if you know the X-Files since it's little things that stand out that Garcia snuck in that just made my fangirling so on high.
This book was a surprising little powerhouse for me. I hadn't quite enjoyed Garcia's work before this book, but she completely knocked everything out of the alien ballpark in every respect for this book. I feel bad for books that are retellings/prequels of sorts now because it's going to be ridiculously hard to live up to the standards she set. She created wonderful original characters while staying true to the ones already there, she created her own original mystery that would fit perfectly in a season of the X-Files, and she gave the proper Mulder love. This was everything I needed a Fox Mulder story to be. 5 crowns and an Aurora rating!
August 10, 2020
"When in dark of night I wake, show me the soul that I must take."
Ever since I heard about this book, I needed to get my hands on this like how a junkie needs a fix. Holy hell!! What did I just read? I'm speechless at how divine this was.
You take something we all love and make a back story of a younger Mulder and how he started to believe. Because you really can't trust anyone.
The book starts off with a bang and slowly sets up the pace for that mindblowing end that is to come.
Mulder is a 17-year-old high school student who is about to graduate, turn 18 and go to college just like his old man wants him to do. But we all know he has different plans in mind.
A few years ago, living with his very happy family and younger sister in Maryland, something devastating happens. Pow! The lights go out and when Mulder snaps out of it and the front door is open and his little sister is nowhere in sight. She was kidnapped, but by who? With no clues left behind and Mulder having his memory wiped clean. It's a cold case from the start that rips apart his family and his mind completely. Counting down the days of how long it has been since she went missing and on the hunt for clues to lead to her body.
His best friend Gary and his conspiracy theorist dad turn skeptics into true believers in a hilarious not so hilarious way. Gary doesn't believe any of this, he thinks it was his dads way of acting out when his wife passed away. But the Major knows the truth and knows a good airman when he sees on.
While out for a run, Mulder is stopped in his tracks by crime scene tape at a cemetery. They found a body.... Gasp! A dead body... well, duh! But this was placed in an empty crypt with some mementos left behind. Mulder thinks this has something to do with the disappearance of his sister and he investigates more bringing his best friend Phoebe and the Major into the picture to help to solve this crime. And oh boy, does the Major know some things that will light your socks on fire. They need to follow all the clues and help track down this psycho before he kills another kid again.
He does this all while being followed by X. The mysterious X is hunting information about Mulder. But why?
I'm downright obsessed with this book. I already just read it and I want to dive right back in. I really don't know what I was expecting, but it sure as hell wasn't this literary gold.
Just remember, The truth is out there!!
Ever since I heard about this book, I needed to get my hands on this like how a junkie needs a fix. Holy hell!! What did I just read? I'm speechless at how divine this was.
You take something we all love and make a back story of a younger Mulder and how he started to believe. Because you really can't trust anyone.
The book starts off with a bang and slowly sets up the pace for that mindblowing end that is to come.
Mulder is a 17-year-old high school student who is about to graduate, turn 18 and go to college just like his old man wants him to do. But we all know he has different plans in mind.
A few years ago, living with his very happy family and younger sister in Maryland, something devastating happens. Pow! The lights go out and when Mulder snaps out of it and the front door is open and his little sister is nowhere in sight. She was kidnapped, but by who? With no clues left behind and Mulder having his memory wiped clean. It's a cold case from the start that rips apart his family and his mind completely. Counting down the days of how long it has been since she went missing and on the hunt for clues to lead to her body.
His best friend Gary and his conspiracy theorist dad turn skeptics into true believers in a hilarious not so hilarious way. Gary doesn't believe any of this, he thinks it was his dads way of acting out when his wife passed away. But the Major knows the truth and knows a good airman when he sees on.
While out for a run, Mulder is stopped in his tracks by crime scene tape at a cemetery. They found a body.... Gasp! A dead body... well, duh! But this was placed in an empty crypt with some mementos left behind. Mulder thinks this has something to do with the disappearance of his sister and he investigates more bringing his best friend Phoebe and the Major into the picture to help to solve this crime. And oh boy, does the Major know some things that will light your socks on fire. They need to follow all the clues and help track down this psycho before he kills another kid again.
He does this all while being followed by X. The mysterious X is hunting information about Mulder. But why?
I'm downright obsessed with this book. I already just read it and I want to dive right back in. I really don't know what I was expecting, but it sure as hell wasn't this literary gold.
Just remember, The truth is out there!!
February 6, 2017
My original THE X-FILES: ORIGINS - AGENT OF CHAOS audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.
I have to admit, I was rather skeptical at the notion of a young adult The X-Files title when the Origins book, Agent of Chaos, was first announced. And although this was a fun audiobook, with several nods toward key components of The X-Files lore, I’m not convinced it’s an indispensable chapter to the series’ ever-growing mythology despite the entertainment value.
Kami Garcia presents a young Fox Mulder, on the cusp of high school graduation and hunting for colleges, investigating the disappearance of several young children during spring break. Spring break gives Garcia a welcome opportunity to avoid the high school cliches and senior-year melodrama, while still dabbling in young love and PI-style murder investigations. The main impetus for Mulder’s involvement, though, stems from the abduction of his own sister five years prior, and the similarities between her disappearance and those of the current cases. Given Mulder’s personal history and obsession over Samantha’s mysterious kidnapping, his motivations here are natural and believable within the constraints of the story.
It is still slightly jarring and a bit odd, though, to have a teenage Mulder as the focus, after so many years of an adult portrayal on television and other various media tie-ins. To suddenly have the franchise veer into Veronica Mars and The Hardy Boys territory requires a fair amount of suspension of disbelief, even on top of the series staples of alien encounters, monsters of the week, and government conspiracies.
Another sticking point came in the portrayal of The Major, a father of one of Mulder’s friends. An ex-Air Force pilot, The Major is shell-shocked and reeling from the loss of his wife some years prior, and more than a little bit crazed with his obsession over conspiracies involving government cover-ups over alien life, all of which, he believes, is tied into secret revelations hidden in the novel, Stormbringer, written by fantasy author Michael Moorcock. The Major, as both a character and a plot device to draw Mulder into the role of Believer, is a bit too on the nose, particularly as, during their first meeting, The Major advises Mulder with well-trod nuggets like “The truth is out there.”
Will Damron’s narration is solid and serves the story well, although I thought his reading of The Major’s dialogue was a bit too gruff, bordering on over the top. His handling of Mulder was sufficient, even if this youthful interpretation of soon-to-be infamous FBI’s Most Unwanted loses the deadpan delivery David Duchovny brought to the role (but perhaps that’s an aspect the character grew into over the following years). Agent of Chaos is well produced, with the audio quality coming through cleanly and the narration itself professionally handled.
While I’m not completely sold that this YA experiment is completely integral to The X-Files canon, I am at least curious to see what the next book, a Scully-centric title called Devil’s Advocate by Jonathan Maberry, brings to the table. I’m also greatly relieved that the publisher didn’t attempt to retcon all of The X-Files history by creating a contrived young adult Mulder and Scully partnership. Giving each character their own separate books to chart their own paths toward their future FBI’s basement office is a smart move, even if, at this juncture, Origins feels largely unnecessary to the series itself.
[Note: This audiobook was provided for review by the audiobookreviewer.com.]
I have to admit, I was rather skeptical at the notion of a young adult The X-Files title when the Origins book, Agent of Chaos, was first announced. And although this was a fun audiobook, with several nods toward key components of The X-Files lore, I’m not convinced it’s an indispensable chapter to the series’ ever-growing mythology despite the entertainment value.
Kami Garcia presents a young Fox Mulder, on the cusp of high school graduation and hunting for colleges, investigating the disappearance of several young children during spring break. Spring break gives Garcia a welcome opportunity to avoid the high school cliches and senior-year melodrama, while still dabbling in young love and PI-style murder investigations. The main impetus for Mulder’s involvement, though, stems from the abduction of his own sister five years prior, and the similarities between her disappearance and those of the current cases. Given Mulder’s personal history and obsession over Samantha’s mysterious kidnapping, his motivations here are natural and believable within the constraints of the story.
It is still slightly jarring and a bit odd, though, to have a teenage Mulder as the focus, after so many years of an adult portrayal on television and other various media tie-ins. To suddenly have the franchise veer into Veronica Mars and The Hardy Boys territory requires a fair amount of suspension of disbelief, even on top of the series staples of alien encounters, monsters of the week, and government conspiracies.
Another sticking point came in the portrayal of The Major, a father of one of Mulder’s friends. An ex-Air Force pilot, The Major is shell-shocked and reeling from the loss of his wife some years prior, and more than a little bit crazed with his obsession over conspiracies involving government cover-ups over alien life, all of which, he believes, is tied into secret revelations hidden in the novel, Stormbringer, written by fantasy author Michael Moorcock. The Major, as both a character and a plot device to draw Mulder into the role of Believer, is a bit too on the nose, particularly as, during their first meeting, The Major advises Mulder with well-trod nuggets like “The truth is out there.”
Will Damron’s narration is solid and serves the story well, although I thought his reading of The Major’s dialogue was a bit too gruff, bordering on over the top. His handling of Mulder was sufficient, even if this youthful interpretation of soon-to-be infamous FBI’s Most Unwanted loses the deadpan delivery David Duchovny brought to the role (but perhaps that’s an aspect the character grew into over the following years). Agent of Chaos is well produced, with the audio quality coming through cleanly and the narration itself professionally handled.
While I’m not completely sold that this YA experiment is completely integral to The X-Files canon, I am at least curious to see what the next book, a Scully-centric title called Devil’s Advocate by Jonathan Maberry, brings to the table. I’m also greatly relieved that the publisher didn’t attempt to retcon all of The X-Files history by creating a contrived young adult Mulder and Scully partnership. Giving each character their own separate books to chart their own paths toward their future FBI’s basement office is a smart move, even if, at this juncture, Origins feels largely unnecessary to the series itself.
[Note: This audiobook was provided for review by the audiobookreviewer.com.]
October 21, 2024
The origin story of Mulder, how could I not love this! Fantastically written, I could not put this down. I need to get the other X-Files Origins book and read about Scully's origin story.
January 4, 2020
One of two prequels to The X-Files TV show starring a teenage Fox Mulder.
It's enjoyable. Would it stand on it's own without the TV Show tie-in? Probably not.
Is it an entertaining story to add to the X-Files cannon? Yeah.
I'll read the other book in this duology because I've been an X-Files mega fan since I was a kid and it was entertaining enough. It'll be interesting to see a different author write a similar book, but focused on Dana Scully instead.
It's enjoyable. Would it stand on it's own without the TV Show tie-in? Probably not.
Is it an entertaining story to add to the X-Files cannon? Yeah.
I'll read the other book in this duology because I've been an X-Files mega fan since I was a kid and it was entertaining enough. It'll be interesting to see a different author write a similar book, but focused on Dana Scully instead.
November 27, 2017
Loved the X-Files and loved this book.
February 5, 2017
Overall I thought this was a great book for young adult readers and a really neat way to get that age group into The X-Files. This book is easily read by fans and non-fans (there are some cute references throughout that fans will definitely appreciate, but will not distract or confuse non-fans) and is entertaining. Plus -- and I'm guessing this was intentional -- the similarities of the plot to the story of the David Meirhofer murder case (the first serial killer the FBI used "offender profiling" to catch) made for a tense read.
My main complaint about the book is that it can be on the repetitive side at times. ***very light spoiler ahead*** For example, there's a scene in the story where Mulder is talking with an FBI agent and you read word for word the conversation between them. Then, a few pages later, Mulder repeats the entire conversation to his friend, word for word. ***end spoilers*** It's...kind of weird. Seems almost like filler, which is unnecessary, since the book itself is 320 pages long.
And don't even get me started on the "love" scenes between Mulder and his friend Phoebe. Vom. I get that it's a young adult book so full-blown sex is often avoided, but come on. "They kissed until their lips were swollen"? Blech.
In general, the character development was decent. Garcia did a nice job of converting the Mulder we all know and love to a believable version of him as a 17-year-old: slightly obnoxious, kind of a horndog and just a tad full-of-himself. Phoebe reminded me a little of a character that I would have thought was great; when I was 14. As an adult she felt like a cliche version of someone I would have thought was REALLY cool on Myspace. But then again, I'm not 14 anymore. Gimble's character was a little underdeveloped, but I liked him. I think maybe the author was trying to give the reader reminders of Langley with him.
The ending was a bit disappointing. ***spoilers*** I really, really didn't like the sort of weird way the FBI agent threw himself at Mulder to compliment his intelligence. I find it hard to believe that the FBI would take a teenager's "notes" which are actually a "profile" and use them for their investigation so readily. It's like every teenager's wet dream to be validated in such an over-the-top, unbelievable way. I know I had stupid fantasies like that as a teen, but to see them on paper -- actually happening -- was a little too Tumblr-esque for my liking. I also find it hard to believe that Mulder had no idea what a profile was, considering he'd been obsessively reading books about murderer psychology and serial killers. Keep in mind this is 1979, and profiling had begun in the early 70's at that point. Maybe not as well-known, but it was still out there for nearly 10 years. ***end spoilers***
It was a fun read, the book jacket and inner design was superb, and I'm looking forward to reading Devil's Advocate (the Scully story) as well.
My main complaint about the book is that it can be on the repetitive side at times. ***very light spoiler ahead*** For example, there's a scene in the story where Mulder is talking with an FBI agent and you read word for word the conversation between them. Then, a few pages later, Mulder repeats the entire conversation to his friend, word for word. ***end spoilers*** It's...kind of weird. Seems almost like filler, which is unnecessary, since the book itself is 320 pages long.
And don't even get me started on the "love" scenes between Mulder and his friend Phoebe. Vom. I get that it's a young adult book so full-blown sex is often avoided, but come on. "They kissed until their lips were swollen"? Blech.
In general, the character development was decent. Garcia did a nice job of converting the Mulder we all know and love to a believable version of him as a 17-year-old: slightly obnoxious, kind of a horndog and just a tad full-of-himself. Phoebe reminded me a little of a character that I would have thought was great; when I was 14. As an adult she felt like a cliche version of someone I would have thought was REALLY cool on Myspace. But then again, I'm not 14 anymore. Gimble's character was a little underdeveloped, but I liked him. I think maybe the author was trying to give the reader reminders of Langley with him.
The ending was a bit disappointing. ***spoilers*** I really, really didn't like the sort of weird way the FBI agent threw himself at Mulder to compliment his intelligence. I find it hard to believe that the FBI would take a teenager's "notes" which are actually a "profile" and use them for their investigation so readily. It's like every teenager's wet dream to be validated in such an over-the-top, unbelievable way. I know I had stupid fantasies like that as a teen, but to see them on paper -- actually happening -- was a little too Tumblr-esque for my liking. I also find it hard to believe that Mulder had no idea what a profile was, considering he'd been obsessively reading books about murderer psychology and serial killers. Keep in mind this is 1979, and profiling had begun in the early 70's at that point. Maybe not as well-known, but it was still out there for nearly 10 years. ***end spoilers***
It was a fun read, the book jacket and inner design was superb, and I'm looking forward to reading Devil's Advocate (the Scully story) as well.
March 9, 2021
The fact that only two books were published—-both in 2017—in the young adult “The X-Files: Origins” series may, in and of itself, mean nothing. Maybe the publishers only ever intended to publish two books in the series. Fair enough.
To a true X-phile, however, it’s hard not to spot a conspiracy. The shadow government, in conjunction with the elusive alien overlords bent on colonization of Earth and the subjugation (and/or annihilation) of humanity, could see that the popularity of the now-cult classic TV show The X-Files was dangerous. It had to be stopped. It was getting too close to the truth.
The damage has been done, though. The cultural impact of The X-Files is impossible to quantify. It’s a genie that will never get put back in that bottle.
Kami Garcia had the privilege of writing the first book in the two-book series, “Agent of Chaos”, which follows a young Fox Mulder as a senior in high school who gets sucked into a mystery involving a local missing girl and a serial killer on the loose. It is a dangerously cathartic attempt to put right what he couldn’t five years earlier, when his sister was abducted in front of him and he was unable to do anything to stop it.
Someone is kidnapping young kids and, eight days later, killing them in ritualistic ways. The local police suspect a Satanic cult of some kind. Mulder thinks something else is going on. He’s also finding clues and noticing details that the police are either missing or purposely ignoring.
Mulder receives help from a potential girlfriend name Phoebe and friend nicknamed Gimble. There’s also Gimble’s batshit-crazy father, a recluse simply called the Major who believes in stuff like alien abductions, UFOs, and a government conspiracy to hide it all from the public. Mulder is the only person who actually thinks the Major may be on to something.
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Mulder, he is being shadowed by a cigarette-smoking man and a young black agent named X.
Obviously, fans of the show will love the easter eggs and references to the X-Files mythology, as well as some real-life cameos that die-hard fans will quickly understand as a nod to Chris Carter’s influences when creating the show back in the ‘90s. Don’t worry, I won’t spoil it any more than that.
Garcia’s book is fun and fast-paced, but my only complaint is that it feels unfinished. I wanted to read more, especially about Mulder’s budding realization about the world of adult secrets and lies that he was getting a peek at and his significance in it.
I’m hoping Garcia, or someone, will one day revisit The X-Files. Make the shadow government and those alien overlords sweat a bit.
To a true X-phile, however, it’s hard not to spot a conspiracy. The shadow government, in conjunction with the elusive alien overlords bent on colonization of Earth and the subjugation (and/or annihilation) of humanity, could see that the popularity of the now-cult classic TV show The X-Files was dangerous. It had to be stopped. It was getting too close to the truth.
The damage has been done, though. The cultural impact of The X-Files is impossible to quantify. It’s a genie that will never get put back in that bottle.
Kami Garcia had the privilege of writing the first book in the two-book series, “Agent of Chaos”, which follows a young Fox Mulder as a senior in high school who gets sucked into a mystery involving a local missing girl and a serial killer on the loose. It is a dangerously cathartic attempt to put right what he couldn’t five years earlier, when his sister was abducted in front of him and he was unable to do anything to stop it.
Someone is kidnapping young kids and, eight days later, killing them in ritualistic ways. The local police suspect a Satanic cult of some kind. Mulder thinks something else is going on. He’s also finding clues and noticing details that the police are either missing or purposely ignoring.
Mulder receives help from a potential girlfriend name Phoebe and friend nicknamed Gimble. There’s also Gimble’s batshit-crazy father, a recluse simply called the Major who believes in stuff like alien abductions, UFOs, and a government conspiracy to hide it all from the public. Mulder is the only person who actually thinks the Major may be on to something.
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Mulder, he is being shadowed by a cigarette-smoking man and a young black agent named X.
Obviously, fans of the show will love the easter eggs and references to the X-Files mythology, as well as some real-life cameos that die-hard fans will quickly understand as a nod to Chris Carter’s influences when creating the show back in the ‘90s. Don’t worry, I won’t spoil it any more than that.
Garcia’s book is fun and fast-paced, but my only complaint is that it feels unfinished. I wanted to read more, especially about Mulder’s budding realization about the world of adult secrets and lies that he was getting a peek at and his significance in it.
I’m hoping Garcia, or someone, will one day revisit The X-Files. Make the shadow government and those alien overlords sweat a bit.
April 11, 2017
Okay, so Fox Mulder is pretty much my fave fictional character of all time, so I was treading dangerous reading waters by picking this up. But teen!Mulder was not something I could pass up.
And you know what? Garcia's Mulder was pretty darn spot on. Some things he said and did didn't QUITE fit with his character, but overall I really did feel like I was reading about baby Mulder. Which was amazing.
I really liked the mystery/thriller element, too.
Although, I have to say that the ending felt very, very unfinished, which was a huge disappointment because I loved every other aspect of the story.
Can't wait to read teen!Scully's book next.
And you know what? Garcia's Mulder was pretty darn spot on. Some things he said and did didn't QUITE fit with his character, but overall I really did feel like I was reading about baby Mulder. Which was amazing.
I really liked the mystery/thriller element, too.
Although, I have to say that the ending felt very, very unfinished, which was a huge disappointment because I loved every other aspect of the story.
Can't wait to read teen!Scully's book next.
February 17, 2021
This was so amazing if you loved "The X-Files" TV show you really need to read this like now it is so cannon you guys i do recommend going into not knowing anything because the twists and turns really should come as surprise so I'm going just to end this review by saying read this read it now
January 6, 2017
Review to come!
February 6, 2018
Agents of Chaos was a neat look into the formative years of one Fox Mulder.
A real treat for all hardcore X-Files fans and for pretty much anyone else - yes, even those who somehow managed to grow up/exist unaware of the X-Files awesomeness.
I loved the creepy mystery at the core of this book, the detailed preview of the workings of the young Mulder's brain and the hints of big, sinister things that lurk just within our reach but are totally unseen - for the most part.
It was also a fast-paced read that didn't waste time getting into the mystery and the action.
A real treat for all hardcore X-Files fans and for pretty much anyone else - yes, even those who somehow managed to grow up/exist unaware of the X-Files awesomeness.
I loved the creepy mystery at the core of this book, the detailed preview of the workings of the young Mulder's brain and the hints of big, sinister things that lurk just within our reach but are totally unseen - for the most part.
It was also a fast-paced read that didn't waste time getting into the mystery and the action.
June 12, 2019
3,5/5. This book was quite fun, I loved witnessing the moment Fox Mulder decided to join the FBI. Now I want to rewatch the TV show 📺
September 1, 2024
So….where is the rest of it? Too much left unresolved.
February 9, 2017
Oh fox Mulder even as a 17 year old I still adore you.
I am a huge x-files fan and I was equal part skeptical and excited about reading the xfiles origin books and on the whole I was reasonably pleased with what I read. They do capture the spirit of the TV series for me getting the essence of both Mulder and Scully right so they feel right as a prequel to the series. I would gladly read more of these following both Mulder and Scully right through until they become the agents we meet in the first x-files series.
Mulder's book Agent of Chaos I devoured in one sitting. I adore Mulder and also have done and this book captures a young Mulder brilliant. It gets his quirks and he does exactly the sort of things I could imagine a teenage Mulder doing. The story is creepy as well as being a mystery and keeps you guessing all the way through.
The main thought I had about these books is who are they for? They are definitely YA books aimed at Young Adults but how many of those young adults will be familiar with the x-files enough to want to seek them out to read them considering the original x files series hasn't been on TV since the early 2000s? (yes I know the recent reboot was on last year but again I suspect those who watched were those who watched it the first time around). Don't get me wrong they could happily be read as stand alone novels if you haven't watched the series but I don't know anyone would pick stories about characters from a long standing TV series if they hadn't watched any. Equally on the other hand I suspect most x-files fans are now firmly not Young Adults and therefore less likely to pick up YA novels (yes I know they are missing out). Therefore I just don't really get who these both are for because I imagine YA reading x-files fans are quite a niche market.
I am a huge x-files fan and I was equal part skeptical and excited about reading the xfiles origin books and on the whole I was reasonably pleased with what I read. They do capture the spirit of the TV series for me getting the essence of both Mulder and Scully right so they feel right as a prequel to the series. I would gladly read more of these following both Mulder and Scully right through until they become the agents we meet in the first x-files series.
Mulder's book Agent of Chaos I devoured in one sitting. I adore Mulder and also have done and this book captures a young Mulder brilliant. It gets his quirks and he does exactly the sort of things I could imagine a teenage Mulder doing. The story is creepy as well as being a mystery and keeps you guessing all the way through.
The main thought I had about these books is who are they for? They are definitely YA books aimed at Young Adults but how many of those young adults will be familiar with the x-files enough to want to seek them out to read them considering the original x files series hasn't been on TV since the early 2000s? (yes I know the recent reboot was on last year but again I suspect those who watched were those who watched it the first time around). Don't get me wrong they could happily be read as stand alone novels if you haven't watched the series but I don't know anyone would pick stories about characters from a long standing TV series if they hadn't watched any. Equally on the other hand I suspect most x-files fans are now firmly not Young Adults and therefore less likely to pick up YA novels (yes I know they are missing out). Therefore I just don't really get who these both are for because I imagine YA reading x-files fans are quite a niche market.
June 16, 2020
Pretty good book. Totally feel like this captured Mulder’s character perfectly and completely sets him up to be the man we meet in the show. A bit disappointing though as the pacing was quite strange and the ending felt very anticlimactic.
February 2, 2017
I listened to this novel on audible and the narrator did a really good job. Let me start by making two list: the things I liked, and the things I didn't like so much.
Things I liked.....
1) The story and the mystery were really well developed
2) The character and character growth were done really clearly and really in depth. The characters were more than likeable.
3) I hadn't seen the X-Files and it wasn't necessary to understand the story
4) I really enjoyed the fact that another novel was mentioned in the book. The novel is not a real novel but in the book it plays a big part in the story and I really enjoyed that.
Things I didn't like so much
1) The small bit of romance was awkward, I would of rather them been just best friends
2) I think that might be the only thing I disliked
Overall this was done really well and was super interesting throughout.
Special Note: I have not watched the X-Files so I'm not sure how it lived up for those of you who did.
Things I liked.....
1) The story and the mystery were really well developed
2) The character and character growth were done really clearly and really in depth. The characters were more than likeable.
3) I hadn't seen the X-Files and it wasn't necessary to understand the story
4) I really enjoyed the fact that another novel was mentioned in the book. The novel is not a real novel but in the book it plays a big part in the story and I really enjoyed that.
Things I didn't like so much
1) The small bit of romance was awkward, I would of rather them been just best friends
2) I think that might be the only thing I disliked
Overall this was done really well and was super interesting throughout.
Special Note: I have not watched the X-Files so I'm not sure how it lived up for those of you who did.
February 5, 2017
Love love love love love. I love the X-Files. I love Fox Mulder. I lurrrrrrve David Duchovny. I was pretty sure I was going to enjoy this book, and I did. I love this author's other series, so I was excited when I heard she writing about a young Fox Mulder. This book takes us through the first "case" he investigates as a high school senior. I enjoyed the cast of characters (both familiar and new), and it was a lot of fun seeing baby Mulder get his start. I would definitely recommend watching the series first as there are some pretty big plot points mentioned in this book that took the entire TV series to be fully revealed. I already have the other book in this series about baby Scully (by a different author) that I can't wait to read.
August 17, 2017
2.5 Stars
I'm a huge X-Files fan. Reading about a teenage Mulder was a bit odd after watching an adult portrayal of him for so many years. Seventeen years old Fox Mulder is obsessed with finding his sister Samantha, who disappeared five years prior. He starts investigating the disappearence of several kids who have similarities with Samantha's case. I think Kami Garcia didn't portray Mulder right. The plot was too reliable on a certain book and the secondary characters were insignificant. The mystery aspect was well written and the show's referrences throughout the book were fun for those who have watched it. Looking forward to Scully's book and I hope it will be better than this.
I'm a huge X-Files fan. Reading about a teenage Mulder was a bit odd after watching an adult portrayal of him for so many years. Seventeen years old Fox Mulder is obsessed with finding his sister Samantha, who disappeared five years prior. He starts investigating the disappearence of several kids who have similarities with Samantha's case. I think Kami Garcia didn't portray Mulder right. The plot was too reliable on a certain book and the secondary characters were insignificant. The mystery aspect was well written and the show's referrences throughout the book were fun for those who have watched it. Looking forward to Scully's book and I hope it will be better than this.
March 13, 2018
Oh boy. There is some good - like the tie-ins to Mulder and Scully's future work. Not sure how I feel about some of them - especially the ones that seem just TOO coincidental. I liked Mulder's friends, quirky and distinct. The impact of the case on Mulder's future life path is very plausible, too. But the writing itself didn't work for me here. Even though there seems to be enough characterization and insight, it seems somehow surface-deep only. I never engaged with the characters or the case. Reading this book felt like an assignment, bringing me very little pleasure. Which is highly unusual for anything The X Files related. A bit wary of picking up the Scully sequel now.
February 6, 2017
Actual Rating: 4.5*
I really enjoyed this one! I think anyone who enjoys conspiracy theories, aliens, xfiles, or just generally a good cop show will enjoy this one. I liked the characterizations and the consistency to the original story but I had a few minor complaints which I'll highlight in my full review!
I really enjoyed this one! I think anyone who enjoys conspiracy theories, aliens, xfiles, or just generally a good cop show will enjoy this one. I liked the characterizations and the consistency to the original story but I had a few minor complaints which I'll highlight in my full review!
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