Secret Agendas

X-Files Anthology #3

by Jonathan Maberry (Editor), Hillary Huber (Narrator), Bronson Pinchot (Narrator)

The truth is still out there! FBI Special Agents Dana Scully and Fox Mulder go hunting in the shadows for dangerous truths in this new collection of original never-before-published tales of the X-Files. Edited by NY Times bestseller Jonathan Maberry and featuring heart-stopping stories by some of today s hottest writers of mystery, thriller, science fiction, and horror."

Genres: Science Fiction, Horror, Short Stories, Audiobook, Fiction, Mystery, Media Tie In

Audible Audio

First published October 4, 2016

About the author

JONATHAN MABERRY is a NYTimes bestselling author, #1 Audible bestseller, 5-time Bram Stoker Award-winner, 4-time Scribe Award winner, Inkpot Award winner, comic book writer, and producer. He is the author of more than 50 novels, 190 short stories, 16 short story collections, 30 graphic novels, 14 nonfiction books, and has edited 26 anthologies. His vampire apocalypse book series, V-WARS, was a Netflix original series starring Ian Somerhalder. His 2009-10 run as writer on the Black Panther comic formed a large chunk of the recent blockbuster film, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. His bestselling YA zombie series, Rot & Ruin is in development for film at Alcon Entertainment; and John Wick director, Chad Stahelski, is developing Jonathan’s Joe Ledger Thrillers for TV. Jonathan writes in multiple genres including suspense, thriller, horror, science fiction, epic fantasy, and action; and he writes for adults, teens and middle grade. His works include The Pine Deep Trilogy, The Kagen the Damned Trilogy, NecroTek, Ink, Glimpse, the Rot & Ruin series, the Dead of Night series, The Wolfman, X-Files Origins: Devil’s Advocate, The Sleepers War (with Weston Ochse), Mars One, and many others. He is the editor of high-profile anthologies including Weird Tales: 100 Years of Weird, The X-Files, Aliens: Bug Hunt, Out of Tune, Don’t Turn out the Lights: A Tribute to Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, Baker Street Irregulars, Nights of the Living Dead, Shadows & Verse, and others. His comics include Marvel Zombies Return, The Punisher: Naked Kills, Wolverine: Ghosts, Godzilla vs Cthulhu: Death May Die, Bad Blood and many others. Jonathan has written in many popular licensed worlds, including Hellboy, True Blood, The Wolfman, John Carter of Mars, Sherlock Holmes, C.H.U.D., Diablo IV, Deadlands, World of Warcraft, Planet of the Apes, Aliens, Predator, Karl Kolchak, and many others. He the president of the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers, and the editor of Weird Tales Magazine. He lives in San Diego, California. Find him online at www.jonathanmaberry.com

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the final volume of the three original anthologies that Maberry edited of original X-Files stories. It has fifteen stories, most of them enjoyable though without any that really stood out, and a couple that seemed out of tune with the established continuity of the show. Seek and You Will Find is an okay parallel worlds story, Perithecia by Andy Mangels is a good mad-scientist/stop-the-infection tale, but Give Up the Ghost isn't very good, a silly, self-referential fanfic. Transmissions starts as a very good build-up to alien invasion but stops abruptly and lacks closure, Desperately Seeking Mothman lacked enough logic or consistency, but Love Lost by Yvonne Navarro was a very good time travel story. Thanks and Praise was long and boring, Border Time was an okay organ-farming/alien bounty hunter story, and A Scandal in Moreauvia, or: The Adventure of the Empty Heart by Nancy Holder was one of my favorites; it fits the theme quite well, and adds a nice Holmesian flavor. Stryzga by Lauren A. Forry was quite good (how can you miss with a creepy summer camp near Three Mile Island in 1994!?), An Eye for an Eye by George Ivanoff is a nice short horror story, and I also enjoyed Kanashibari by Ryan Cady, an off-beat, change of pace story early in the continuity that features a Japanese spirit. I did not care for All Choked Up, which seemed to lack continuity and sense (maybe it was directed at very young readers?), but Along the Scenic Route by Lucy A. Snyder is very enjoyable, even if the weird stuff mostly happens adjacent to the protagonists who leave without a good solution, and I also liked the last story, Grandmother Black Hands by Weston Ochse, which has a great Native American vibe even if a couple of the small details didn't quite add up. All-in-all this is probably the weakest of the three books, but I enjoyed it and think other fans of the show will, too.

[Mohammed Arabey · Rating 4 out of 5]

It started 33 years ago, ended 7 years ago on TV...But it still in my heart...

Unfortunately, this is the last book of the three Anthology of The X-Files that started 2015, before the Show's revival in 2016

The last 15 Stories/Book Episodes that take places between 1993 (The show's starting year) and 2002 (the show's first finale).
Good stories really and was always great to be back to investigate the paranormal cases with Mulder and Scully..

Mohammed Arabey
Reading this last one from
10 September 2018 :
((
25 years since 10 Sep. 1993
Since the Opening of ....


Where we learned that we must The X-Files: Trust No One and that X-Files: The Truth Is Out There ....

Happy 25 AnniverXary everybody..
))
To 12 July 2025

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

[Martyn Perry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Xfiles

Seek and you will find- 3

A solid start and a nice concept for a murder mystery investigation that leads to a parallel universe theory. The only thing for me that stopped this being more highly rated was the first person narrative didn’t work particularly well for Mulder. His dialogue was fine, but the inner thoughts just weren’t quite his “voice” and took me out of the story at times.

Perithecia - 4

A good story that reads like an X-Files and The Last of Us prequel crossover. It’s the beginning of a cordyceps outbreak and humans are being experimented upon with the fungal zombie infection. Lots of similarities with Last of Us make for an enjoyable and interesting story.

Give up the ghost - 4

Great little story that really captured the monster of the week vibes of the show. When a series of murders takes place, all potential suspects seem to have been possessed by an evil spirit called Sam. It’s not all what it seems as usual, with both the writing and the mystery spot on creepy X-Files.

Transmissions - 5

Gruesome, funny, clever. This is a great story that again captures the ethos of the show perfectly. As it does the characters and the style of storytelling. Unconnected family households of a small town are going through a bit of a murder spree, with the father of each family the murderer. The only links are the nature of the crime, the father always commits suicide after the killing spree of his own family, and they’ve just had Satellite installed. Is it aliens? Or is it hypnosis? Either way it’s not normal but it’s definitely a page turner.

Desperately seeking mothman - 3

A disorienting, slightly trippy short story that’s mainly focussed on Mulder’s encounter with an enticing woman that draws him out into the woods. This reads like a cross between the mothman prophecy, jeepers creepers and Blair witch. Not a classic, but curious.

Love lost - 5

This book is pretty ace. Another great short story that feels just like the show. An old flame of Scully’s reappears some 30 years after she last saw him looking exactly the same and wearing the same clothes. Where’s he been? Why’s he afraid? The interplay between Mulder and Scully as the mystery unravels is spot on.

Thanks and Praise - 4

Well written by Joe Harris, the writer of the “original” official season 10 X-Files comics before the TV show made an unexpected return and redacted all of his great work. This short story delves deep into his own version of the continuation mythology with the excellent Gibson Praise as the mastermind villain and all of the fan faves returning in a nice, organic and alien cloney kind of way. This will be near impenetrable for those that didn’t read the comics, but an excellent backstory prequel for those that did!

Border Time - 3

A really atmospheric and measured first 2/3 of this story make way for a somewhat rushed finale in a well written murder case of a young woman on the Mexican border. There’s bright lights, a mutilated body and an autopsy and all is not as it seems. Just a shame this didn’t have a bit more room to breathe to cover the final few plot points.

A scandal in Moreauvia, or the adventure of the empty heart - 2

This one didn’t really work for me. An attempt at replicating Sherlock Holmes classic stories but with an X-Files twist. Bringing Phoebe Green back was a nice touch, as was an attempt at a UK Based story that riffs on the end of Fight the Future, but overall it just didn’t make much sense and was a bit of a flawed attempt.

Stryzga - 4

Another fun story mixing up the mythologies of aliens, haunted woods and weird experiments. Mulder and Scully visit a kids camp where some of the kids are getting savagely attacked by a strange creature, the answers are pretty fun with multiple plots woven into its short narrative.

An eye for an eye - 5

When people are waking up in hospital with no recent memory and a missing left eyeball, an X-File is needed. This story was pure horror. A truly creepy, monster of the week, icky horror story that was 100% classic X-Files. Is the culprit a grotesque eyeball monster, an optician, both, or something else entirely? It’s excellent, but wouldn’t want to read it again in a hurry!

Kanashibari - 4

Mulder and Scully rock up in a classic J-horror story about an ancient hag that crawls and chokes victims in their sleep. This is creepy stuff with echoes of The Ring and Dark Water. The investigation elements were also more nuanced than in other stories which made it fun.

All choked up - 2

Average fair here. Pretty poorly written at times and a bit like one of the poorer tech themed episodes of the early seasons. Smart clothing is killing its victims, is it all because of the Cigarette Smoking Man? Clunky action scenes almost derail this one.

Along the scenic route - 4

An enjoyable mystery with lots of different elements and pseudo-scientific investigation for Scully and Mulder to bicker about. This is good fun from beginning to end, are the townspeople imagining things, or are there dark forces at play? Marred by an abrupt and dangled carrot of a teasing ending.

Grandmother Black Hands - 5

This is a story that’s allowed the page space to be well paced and detailed. A nice back story into ancient Apache Indian tribal curses and small town cultures mixed with the classic Mulder Vs Scully hypothesis and investigation approaches. A great way to end an anthology that really felt like watching a new season of the X-Files.

Recommended?: as you can see from the scores, there’s far more hits than misses in this 3rd volume of X-Files short stories. A great addition to the wide ranging X-Files media and it definitely gets you in the mood for watching more of the show.

[Colleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent collection

[Niki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some stories were great. Some didn't make sense for the time period they were in. The last one was set in 2002 which was after season 9 so it didn't make sense that they were still FBI agents. And there were a few that were out of character (especially the one from Scully's POV.) But the others were all great.

[Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super enjoyable for fans of the show. Some of the stories are a bit weaker than others, but I (almost) always think that about short story collections. After I finished it, I wanted to binge some episodes.

[Virginia JB · Rating 3 out of 5]

In general, I liked it, but it's true that I liked the other two of the saga more. It's entertaining and there are certainly good stories in it, but some others were more simple. To sump up, it's not bad.

[Scott S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great anthology, I wish there were three more. I don't know if it's my appreciation of these characters, the nostalgia of my youth or if Maberry is genuinely *that* good at choosing the writers/stories, but I've not tired of these collections.

Fantastic narration.

[Nalina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the stories were fantastic, while others didn’t quite fit the time period they were set in. I wish there had been more stories to dive into! A few side characters felt a little off, and some tales didn’t fully capture that classic X-Files vibe, but overall, it’s definitely worth a read.

[Hazi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love all things X-Files and this collection of short stories is no exception.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

An Anthology book, reads like mini episodes. a mystery, action, then no answers/ proof like always. .

[Eric Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of these stories I could see working as episodes. Great collection can't wait for more!!

[Christian · Rating 5 out of 5]

At this point in my life I am unable to be impartial towards anything having to do with the X-Files. The nostalgia is too great. As long as it feels somewhat true to the original series, I’m into it.

[Sonia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty sure a good chunk of these authors got together and agreed not to make Mulder very Muldery

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always enjoyed these short story collections, but this was not quite as entertaining as the past ones and I can't quite put my finger on why.

[Randy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun run of X-files short stories. A great read for any fan wanting more “episodes” of Moulder and Scully.

[D.K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this.

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Worst one in the series - a lot of forgettable stories. But 3⭐️ for Mulder and Scully.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Mindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a fan and usually like these collections, but most of the stories in this one were just okay. Some were bad. One was downright awful. None were great. This might be the last volume I listen to.

[Cynik · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some good stories but some that were not up to level with the rest. Overall not as good as the first two volumes but still good for X-Files fans.

[Doug · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not nearly as good as the first two in the Trilogy.

[Dylan Schonborn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great collection of short stories for people who love the show. Even with many different authors contributing, Mulder and Scully are just as dynamic on the page as they are on the screen. A few of the side characters felt a bit off, and some of the stories didn't feel like an episode of x-files, but overall its worth a read.

[Chris Esposo · Rating 3 out of 5]

The final (so far) anthology of X-File pastiche is probably the weakest, though still enjoyable. Similar to the first two volumes in the anthology series, the quality of writing and stories are diverse. Having read all three now, I can say there should have been stronger/tighter editing for individual submissions, especially with respect to canonicity and removing story anachronisms and other pathologies in the narrative artifacts of the tales. Although possibly the former issue is not much one, as at least a few of the stories seem to purposefully veer away from canon and can be thought of as “alternative” settings to the main TV-show canon, little details like Scully “swiping” her phone or leveraging smart-phone like features in a story that was supposed to be set in the first 2 - 3 seasons of the show can become irksome (especially as it happens more often than one expect had strong editing been imposed).

This volume in particular had a few submission that would likely be redundant for any big X-Philes out there, including the first story of the now defunct “X-Files Season 10” comic book series, which for a time was considered the “spiritual successor” to the X-Files series, with Chris Carter providing some sort of “blessing” to the author and the series. This was before the “official” (and horrid) Season 10 was released, to the consternation of all, including many of actors, including Gillian Anderson, who wisely chose to bow-out after the even more degraded “season 11” was released a few years later. I found many of the anthology stories to be superior to most of the episodes found in the final 2 seasons of the official series (take that as you will).

If however, anyone was confused, this is basically a fan-fic anthology (though mostly well-written fan-fic). Unlike volume 1 & 2, nothing really stood out for me for this volume. I think possibly “the Scandal in Moreuvia” was the most unique, as it references an obscure early-season character, Phoebe Green, who was Agent Mulder’s fling while he was studying in Oxford, but the rest were either just “decent” or forgettable. Also, it should be emphasized that the characterizations of Mulder and Scully are the least strong in this batch of stories, either they are too cliche, or the characters just don’t “act” the way long-time fans of the series are accustomed to.

Still, with the show now permanently defunct, these kinds of pastiche anthologies are the only game in town. Quite frankly, that’s not bad, since whatever magic Chris Carter had in crafting the first few seasons of the show, have long since escaped his grasp as evidenced in the last few seasons of the series. It’s good to have a lively pastiche community. Other fictions, like Sherlock Holmes have survived on nothing but pastiche for over a century now, and that’s just fine. Who knows, these stories may inspire new, or rookie writers to try their hand. Recommended.

[Jenette · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me a while to listen to this one because it was a mix of hit and miss. Some of the stories I found really engaging and others just didn't quite hit the right note. For the most part, I enjoyed another chance to explore the X-Files universe, Mulder and Scully hitting the right notes for their characters, if only occasionally slipping out of character, but while they felt right supporting characters such as Skinner, Cigarette Smoking Man and Gibson just didn't quite sit right with the characters I'd seen on the show.

Still worth a listen, though.

[vin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like the TV show, the majority of stories are solid. Capturing the feel for the characters and the type of mysteries that are interesting enough they could have been episodes. Another good thing about these anthologies is that they aren’t necessarily beholden to the established timelines, etc (the show didn’t even really have much continuity towards the end either) which allows for pretty unique stories, ie one timeline where Mulder exposes the syndicate and their deeds to the world! Of course there are some duds in the bunch but the good outweighs the bad.

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like the first two X-Files compliations these stories are hit or miss. Some of them capture the characters and feel of the show perfectly and others leave you scratching your head wondering what they were thinking. I found this set had a lot more stories, where I really liked them, but they ended in odd ways.

[Mike Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the audiobook from audible. I find the stories and the narrator’s that read them extraordinarily entertaining. They are all written in a truly X-Files Manor. I do not know if they are Canon but they are definitely Mulder and Scully. Check them out the audio book version on Audible is excellent

[A · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the weakest of the three volumes. There were a couple of stories that I found rather boring and some where the timeline is just off. Nevertheless, it's still entertaining.