School of X: A Marvel: Xavier's Institute Anthology

Marvel Aconyte Novels

by Jaleigh Johnson, Robbie MacNiven, Cath Lauria

The next generation of the astonishing X-Men grow into true super heroes against their deadliest enemies, in this wide-ranging Marvel anthology.

The New Charles Xavier School for Gifted Mutants isn’t all it’s cracked up to be: The food is so-so, and it’s cold eleven out of twelve months, not to mention the creepy bunker vibes with mysterious tech popping up all over the place. But for the latest mutants to take on the mantle of X-Men, it’s home. Under the stewardship of Emma Frost, Cyclops, and Magneto, these new recruits learn to control their powers and defeat villainy. Yet danger lurks within the academy, and it isn’t just monsters or evil geniuses. Now, these fresh X-Men must take what they’ve learned and put their unique powers to the test against unexpected adversaries – from cyborgs and the undead to temporal chaos, and even alternate versions of themselves.

Genres: Marvel, Comics, Anthologies, Fantasy, X Men, Superheroes, Science Fiction

352 pages, Paperback

Published December 21, 2021

About the author

Jaleigh Johnson lives and writes in the wilds of the Midwest. Her middle grade debut novel The Mark of the Dragonfly is a New York Times bestseller. Her other books from Delacorte Press include The Secrets of Solace, The Quest to the Uncharted Lands, and The Door to the Lost. She has also written fiction for Dungeons and Dragons, Marvel, and Assassin's Creed. Johnson is an avid gamer and lifelong geek.

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of short stories about the students of the New Charles Xavier School for Gifted Mutants from the Brian Michael Bendis era of the X-Men. Most of the stories are written by authors who've written the previous Marvel novels for Aconyte. I like how they reference both the comics they are set between and the previous Xavier's Institute books.


Fifteen Minutes by Jaleigh Johnson
Goldballs and the Stepford Cuckoos get trapped inside their own minds reliving old movies. Solid.

Call of the Dark by Robbie MacNiven
MacNiven revisits Graymalkin and Anole after the events of First Team. Graymalkin has adoped a fear of the dark even though that's where his powers come from and fights his doppleganger. Not great.

Uncatchable by Cath Lauria
Hijack and Cipher take down a gunrunning operation in the midst of a street race. I liked this one quite a bit.

Eye of the Storm by Amanda Bridgeman
Rockslide, Sooraya, and Shark Girl are kidnapped and have to fight animal robots to escape. The weakest story so far.

Of Dirt and Bones by Pat Shand
Phoebe Stepford takes center stage in a story where she breaks away a bit from the other Cuckoos.

Kid Omega Faces the Music by Neil Kleid
My favorite story yet. Quentin Quire gets zapped on a time travel adventure to see Magneto's changing attitudes throughout history. I loved the storytelling device. Quentin had to tell someone his story so he's telepathically putting it in the head of the reader. Quire strives to be a dick but doesn't quite succeed.

Depowered by Carrie Harris
The longest story in the book by far. Carrie Harris returns to write more Tempus and Triage after Liberty and Justice for All. The instructors leave on a mission leaving the students on their own when they are attacked by Sentinels. I loved how all the students step up. Tempus is also dealing with some issues from when she was trapped in the future for several years during Uncanny X-Men, Vol. 3: The Good, The Bad, The Inhuman


Received a review copy from Aconyte and Edelweiss. All thoughts are my own and in no way influenced by the aforementioned.

#Marvel #MarvelEnt #Aconytebooks #review

About Marvel Entertainment

Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of more than 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media for over eighty years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing, publishing, games, and digital media.
For more information visit marvel.com. © 2020 MARVEL

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun collection of short stories about lesser known (to me, anyway) mutants based out of the old Weapon X facility in the Canadian Rockies.


If you don't know these guys read these stories and you will.

As is typical with an anthology your enjoyment will vary (I could have lived without the Fast and the Furious-style race story, for example) but on the whole I definitely recommend for X-Fans of all stripes and vintages.

[♥Milica♥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Where to start with this chaotic brilliance? At the beginning? No, I know, at my favourite story of course.

Of Dirt and Bones is the fifth out of seven stories contained in this anthology, and it's the best one. I am 100% biased since the Stepford Cuckoos are among my favourite characters, but honestly, the story was so good.

My second favourite is Call Of the Dark, followed by Eye Of the Storm. Those two were also very exciting to read.

Your Fifteen Minutes was a bit on the shorter side while Depowered was the longest in the book.

I don't have a lot of feelings about them, but the former was ridiculous (in the best way), jumping from scene to scene, you're not sure what's going on, and neither is poor Fabio.

In the latter we got to see Polaris, who's yet another one of my faves. In every version she's cool, and this one was no exception.

Uncatchable meanwhile, was the funniest story. Being inside David's head was a riot.

Kid Omega Faces the Music is the only story that I didn't really connect with, but I'm also not huge on Kid Omega by default so that might have something to do with it.

All in all, I had a really good time reading this and if you're a Marvel fan so will you.

4.5 stars

About Marvel Entertainment

Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of more than 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media for over eighty years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing, publishing, games, and digital media.

For more information visit marvel.com. © 2020 MARVEL

#Marvel #MarvelEnt #Aconytebooks #review

*Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review*

[Natalie all_books_great_and_small · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

School of X: A Marvel: Xaviers Institute Anthology is a short story collection comic book that focuses on many X-men characters (mutants) than ones I'm more familiar with but which I enjoyed just the same. I also enjoyed how the various authors who wrote this Anthology made reference to the comics made previously that these episodes slot between which makes the stories more understandable if you've read the previous comics first. If not it gives you the incentive to go back and read them to fully understand each story better. The stories in this book are: Fifteen Minutes, Call of the Dark, Uncatchable, Eye of the Storm, Of Dirt and Bones, Kid Omega Faces the Music and Depowered.
The illustrations are excellent as always with Marvel comics and I look forward to exploring more about these characters in the future.

About Marvel Entertainment
Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company , is one of the world's most prominent character-based Entertainment companies, built on a proven library of more than 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media for over eighty years. Marvel utilizes it's character franchises in Entertainment, licensing, publishing, games and digital media. For more information visit Marvel.com . c 2020 MARVEL .

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, with thanks to Netgalley and the publisher.

This is a collection of short stories set in the New Xavier's Institute, written by various authors and many dealing with different characters and stories.

1. Fifteen Minutes by Jaleigh Johnson

I had recently read Triptych by Jaleigh Johnson and really enjoyed it, so I was excited to see her featured within this book. This story opens during the younger X-Men having a movie night and of course a debate. Fabio Medina loves movies so when Celeste, one of the Stepford Cuckoos, triplet clones of Emma Frost, suggests karaoke, he dreads the thought. He notices Celeste is upset at being shot down but he decides that's a problem for another time. Then he wakes up in a detective movie. Then a zombie movie. And so on and so on. He keeps waking up in different stories with the triplets and he can't work out what's going on. Eventually, he deduces that Celeste's emotional state the night of the movie get together has something to do with why he and her sisters are trapped in a psychic simulation, she feels like she's being left behind by her sisters and she can't get a grasp of the simulation. Working together, they get out and they are better friends for it in the end.

This is a nice story, well written, well rounded and it is a nice introduction to Fabio and the triplets because I don't know any of them very well.

2. Call of the Dark by Robbie MacNiven

Before I start the synopsis, this is my favourite story in the book.

Graymalkin, or Jonas, is stronger in the dark. After his homophobic father buried him alive 300 years ago, he has always had stronger powers in the dark, it strengthens him and yet, he's terrified of it. Throughout this book, we see him exploring deeper and deeper into the old Weapon X facility that is currently housing the new mutant school and the deeper he goes, the darker it gets. He finds himself being faced with something worse than he could have thought, himself. In the dark lies an evil doppelganger who stalks him, even in the light, and even in class and throughout his daily activities, Jonas feels the looming presence of his evil darkness. His fear of the dark gets worse and worse and his best friend, Vic, gets worried about him. When Cyclops finds out that he's been exploring the abandoned facility below the school, he suspects what is causing this breakdown of Jonas's sanity and why Jonas can't help but continue to explore it.

I loved this story. I like Jonas as a character, again he's a new character to me and I loved getting to see his and Vic's friendship throughout this short story and how Vic is willing to follow Jonas into the dark.

3. Uncatchable by Cath Lauria

David, or Hijack, is our machine X-Man. He is older than his fellow students, his mutation becoming clearer later in life and he's bored by being treated like a kid. He's in his 30's for christ sake. Sneaking out in his Golf GTI, he plans on going to a street race and coming back as if he hasn't left...Until he's interrupted by Cipher materialising on his front seat asking questions. He tells her what he's up to and decides she can come along as long as she stays invisible but she's suspicious when they arrive that the street race is actually a front for a dangerous gun-running scheme. They work together to compete in the race and attempt to draw the police to the guns to bust the ring.

This is a nice story. Simply X-Men saving the day. As they should.

4. Eye of the Storm by Amanda Bridgeman

Eye of the Storm follows three mutants as they attempt to levee a river in the eye of the storm to prevent the downstream towns from flooding and unwelcome guests making their way up the river and towards the school. Things are going well until Iara is kidnapped by a cyborg who hates humans and mutants alike, soon her colleagues are kidnapped too and they have to battle their way out of the cyborg's facility while also thinking of ways to protect the town downstream.

I don't think I have many thoughts about this story. It was fun, interesting and I enjoyed it.

5. Of Dirt and Bones by Pat Shand

We're back with the Stepford Cuckoos in this go, only this time we're focused on Phoebe. Following a weird dream, she wakes up in her diamond form, something her sisters are quick to tease her about until they find out they have yet another brutal training season in the courtyard under the eye of Emma Frost. When they get there, they are in no ways eager to take part. The training has been getting more and more traumatising and yet, Emma doesn't seem to care and this time is no different. Except it sends Phoebe over the edge when she realises she has been psychically cut off from her sisters and in the end, the overwhelming of it all manifests her telekinesis into a physical form and she wins. In doing this however, she kills a goose that was flying over head and in guilt, she buries the animal and curses Emma for pushing them so far. When on a walk with Morph, they discover basically zombie animals all over the woods who follow them and the instructors at the institute are soon in shock when not even Triage can help. Phoebe soon works out perhaps she caused this and tries to fix it.

Honestly, in my opinion, it was about time someone shouted at Emma. I get why she does this, she is after all responsible for these young mutants as their teacher, but man she is brutal sometimes. Also, these instructors are 100% inept at providing a good, safe learning environment for their pupils, I'm just saying...

6. Kid Omega Faces the Music by Neil Kleid

Kid Omega is like every annoying stereotype you can think of for the main character but in a loveable scamp kind of way. Quintin starts this story by being shouted at by Scott who is furious at him and demands to know what he was thinking. Well, turns out Quintin was thinking of himself, which he soon explains is nothing new. This story is written like a conversation between the character and the reader. Basically, he goes to Akron-Con to meet Wonder Boy and steal his glasses. His plan is somewhat simple but then Kang the Conqueror shows up and time gets all messed up. We follow Kid Omega as he meets Magneto at various points, looks at his own philosophies on Mutant Supremacy and then meets himself in the future and gets a better outlook on things.

I liked the change of writing style, it really helped this story stand out amongst the others but that being said, if I was Scott, I too would be furious at him.

7. Depowered by Carrie Harris

This is the final, and longest, story in the book. It's the only one split into chapters and we basically start in one of Magnetos classes where Eva Bell is trying to hide that she is not the Eva Bell who was there a week ago. No, she got her powers all messed up and travelled into the future where she got stuck for 10 years before coming back. Not only is she older, but she is mourning the loss of her life in the future that no longer exists. Her husband, her child, gone. And now she is staring at Magneto once again. When the X Men instructors are called out on a mission, the students face their own mission when Polaris and Dani Moonstar show up looking for help with regaining and controlling their mutant powers. Chaos ensues, sentinels show up, Eva and Triage save the day and alls well, ends well.

I loved getting to see Lorna, I feel like she is really looked over as one of Magneto's children so I'm glad we got to see more of her.

Overall, I enjoyed this collection and I'm so happy to have been able to read more from this world.

DISCLAIMER:

About Marvel Entertainment

Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of more than 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media for over eighty years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing, publishing, games, and digital media.
For more information visit marvel.com. © 2020 MARVEL

[Emmett · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 rounded down.

This is the third Marvel Acontye novel I’ve read this year, after First Team: A Marvel: Xavier's Institute Novel and Rogue: Untouched. This one is a bit different from the other two in that it’s a collection of 7 short stories rather than a novel focusing on the same characters (though some do repeat).

Most of the stories were great, but a few fell a bit flat for me. I was pleased to see that one of the stories, Call of the Dark was written by Robbie MacNiven. I thought he did a great job with First Team, so was more than happy to read another story focusing on one of the characters from that novel, Graymalkin. I also loved Of Dirt and Bones focusing on the Stepford Cuckoos- certainly my favorite of the bunch. I would be stoked to read more by the author centering the same characters.

Kid Omega Faces the Music was a fun ride and I cracked a smile more than a few times while reading it. Depowered, being much longer than the others, was also well-written and had some fun cameos of better-known X-men characters included. The author, Carrie Harris, wrote another novel focusing on the same characters, Liberty and Justice for All: A Marvel: Xavier's Institute Novel, which I haven't read but definitely have to check out now.

Uncatchable and Eye of the Storm failed to capture my interest, but I think it’s due to these stories being more action-focused than the rest mentioned above.

Overall, this is a strong collection that I think any X-men/Marvel fan will more than appreciate. As far as I’m concerned, Acontye has been doing justice to the X-men and so I am more than ready to read more from them in the future!

I received a free ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

****************************************
About Marvel Entertainment
Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of more than 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media for over eighty years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing, publishing, games, and digital media.
For more information visit marvel.com. © 2020 MARVEL
#Marvel #MarvelEnt #Aconytebooks #review

[Martin Maenza · Rating 3 out of 5]

Coming in December 2021 is School of X, a Xavier's Institute anthology in the Marvel line from Aconyte Books. I was given the opportunity for an advanced look in exchange for an honest review.

The New Charles Xavier Institute isn’t all it’s cracked up to be: the food is so-so, it’s cold eleven out of twelve months, not to mention the creepy bunker vibes with mysterious tech popping up all over the place. But for the next generation of X-Men, it’s home. Under the stewardship of Emma Frost, Cyclops, and Magneto, these new recruits learn to control their powers and defeat villainy. Yet, danger lurks within the academy and it isn’t just monsters or evil geniuses. Now, these fresh X-Men must understand what it means to fight not just yourself, but alternative shades of who they might have become in the past, present, and future.

Gwendolyn Nix is the editor for this anthology of seven short stories featuring the latest class of merry mutants. These are not your father's X-Men (or, in my case, the X-Men I grew up on in the 80's). This is a new breed of young heroes whose stories are presented by a varied pool of writing talents. In "Your Fifteen Minutes" by Jaleigh Johnson, movie night turns into a deadly re-enactment of 80's action scenes. In "Call Of the Dark" by Robbie MacNiven, Graymalkin must face his own personal darkness. In "Uncatchable" by Cath Lauria, Hijack discovers the secret behind a late-night street racing event. In "Eye Of the Storm" by Amanda Bridgeman, a trio of mutants is tested against man-made menaces. In "Of Dirt and Bones" by Pat Shand, a traininng exercise has an unexpected effect on Phoebe Cuckoo. In "Kid Omega Faces the Music" by Neil Kleid, the titled mutant takes in the past which has a major impact on his future. And, lastly, "Depowered" by Carrie Harris is a novella length story about what happens when the students are left unsupervised and a threat comes knocking at the door.

I myself happen to love anthologies, especially ones involving stories about super-heroes. My personal library includes many from Marvel and DC as well as all of the Wildcards series that is edited by George R.R. Martin. The short story format is good for delivering concise tales that can focus on characters and interactions. The stories in School of X fit that criteria as well. A number of these stories also seem to be laying the groundwork for future novels in the series.

This format worked very well, though some tales appealed to me more than others. I do hope that the publisher is able to do more anthologies like this one. I would personally enjoy seeing one focusing on villains from the Marvel universe as those stories always fascinate me.

About Marvel Entertainment

Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of more than 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media for over eighty years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing, publishing, games, and digital media.

For more information visit marvel.com. © 2020 MARVEL

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the different writing styles and the different X-characters highlighted! I'd definitely read more of these, or more individual stories.

[Siobhain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review: School of X A Marvel: Xavier’s Institute Anthology edited by Gwendolyn Nix and featuring stories by Jaleigh Johnson; Robbie MacNiven; Cath Lauria; Amanda Bridgeman; Pat Shan; Neil Kleid; Carrie Harris

This is the latest brilliant installment in the range of fantastic novels featuring characters from the New Charles Xavier School of Mutants. This plethora of new characters are guided and trained by classic X-men characters such as Magneto and Kitty Pryde. This series of novels are the perfect introduction for a new generation but are also sure to appeal and entertain older fans. Filled to the brim with Superhero Action, new and unexplored dangers, coming of age stories and triumph in the face of adversity there is truly something for everyone. With a cast that is perfect for the modern reader and true of the classic X-men story lines of ‘found family’. This is the perfect introduction to the expanding series and just some of its diverse citizens.

Each story contained within itself but all focus on a wider whole. The New Charles Xavier School for Gifted Mutants isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. It’s cold eleven out of twelve months of the year, the food is so-so, the teachers can be annoying and not to mention the whole creepy bunker vibe with the school being based in a disused Weapon X Facility. Still for the latest Mutants wanting to take on the mantle of X-men it is home. Under the guidance and watchful eye of X-men such as Magneto, Emma Frost and Cyclops these new mutants learn to control their powers and stand up against villainy. What happens when danger lurks within and it’s not just the usual monsters or evil geniuses? We follow these fresh X-Men as they take what they’ve learnt and put their unique powers to the test against unexpected adversaries – including cyborgs, the undead, temporal chaos and even alternate versions of themselves.

As always Aconyte and their authors have done a wonderful job at representation in all terms. It is so refreshing to see a broad spectrum of characters that represent those found in real life. More so when this is done so naturally. The authors never make a big show of their inclusivity because it is just there, as it should be. You don’t feel they do this because they need to for the books to sell but rather because it is natural. I find it so refreshing each time and it always makes me smile. I really wish more authors did this in such a natural way.

I will not give away too much of each story but here is the general outline and line up of wonderful mutants we get to meet or for veterans of the Charles Xavier’s Institute prose series remit.
Your Fifteen Minutes by Jaleigh Johnson
With a love of movies and wanting to be a true undisputed Hero Fabio Medina aka “Goldballs” get his chance when his consciousness is swept up into a series of vivid hallucinations after telepathic training goes awry. As each situation becomes more and more dangerous Medina must work with the Stepford Cuckoos to break free from the telepathic prison before he not only learns how it feels to be a hero but how to die like one too.

Call of the Dark by Robbie MacNiven
When your mutation is strongest in the darkness it doesn’t help to be afraid but Graymalkin is. Struggling to deal with the high-intensity darkness training sessions, Graymalkin tries to fight his fear by entering forbidden rooms and caverns underneath the school. What waits for him in the dark? An evil doppelganer and a Weapons X device. Soon Graymalkin realizes that everything and everyone has a dark side and he has to come to terms with his to face his own fears.

Uncatchable by Cath Lauria
Looking for some R&R Hijack takes to a street race but when Cipher ends up tagging along and accidently uncovers a cartel gun-running operation it seems that Hijack’s dream of being part of The Family in the Fast and the Furious style might come with some of the bad as well as the good. The X-men don’t just fight Sentinels and stop world-enders, so now it’s up to this duo join forces and the help local Mounties to keep the community safe.

Eye of the Storm by Amanda Bridgeman
A terrible storm is threatening to flood a local town which would not only be bad for the town but would risk exposure of the school as well. Enter Shark Girl, Dust and Rockslide to save the day. What should be a simple mission takes a terrible turn when a secret tunnel is found which leads the trio to a diabolic foe bent on destroying organic life in favour of a mechanical cyborg-drive future.

Of Dirt and Bones by Pat Shand
When animals start crawling from the forest it’s like the New Charles Xavier School has been transported to the infamous novel Pet Sematary. Morph, Phoebe Cuckoo and Triage must team up and use their unique powers to investigate the causes of this macabre reanimation.

Kid Omega Faces the Music by Neil Kleid
School can be boring so Kid Omega and his BFF Glob skip a day to fangirl over Wonder Man, what could possibly go wrong? Caught up in a botched case of time-travel kidnapping the pair are sent shooting through some of the greatest moments in X-Men history. Will Quentin Quire embrace the heroics in chaos and learn friendship? And will her score an excellent Simon Williams souvenir along the way?!

Depowered by Carrie Harris
Dani Moonstar and Polaris seek out the New Charles Xavier School to hopefully find a solution for losing the mutant powers after M-Day. Unfortunately they accidently bring Sentinels down on the institute! Now Triage, Tempus, and the rest of the students must work together and put all that learning to the true test keeping the school safe and it’s location secret. Are they ready to use their experience and powers when it matters most?

As always with X-Men we have a cross section of characters and I am so happy that Jonas Graymalkin, Polaris and Lara Dos Santos on the roster. Shark-Girl is one of my favourite X-Men and seeing her portrayed in prose form and so perfectly made my inner fangirl do a happy dance! Every short story was fantastic. Sometimes with Anthologies you will find one or two stories fall short or are easily forgettable (although I haven’t found Aconyte to do so) this was not the case. If I take away my bias of loving Graymalkin and Shark Girl I cannot honestly say I had a favourite or least favourite in this collection!

A definite must read for fans new and old. It contains all the good things we have come to associate with the X-Men throughout the decades and presents them in beautiful, vivid and action paced prose that makes you unable to put this down.

As always thank you to Aconyte and Netgalley for giving me access to this advanced reader copy for an honest and fair review. I know it may seem that all my Aconyte reviews are glowing but I simply cannot express the skill and mastery the authors have at crafting and building on established worlds and bringing them to life.

The ebook will be available from the 7th December along with the Paperback in the US with the UK paperback following on the 17th February 2022

Aconyte Books are the novel division of Asmodee Entertainment. Asmodee Entertainment is based in an amazing building in Nottingham, England. The Star Brewery opened in 1852, producing beer for Shipstones until 1991.
About Marvel Entertainment
Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of more than 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media for over eighty years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing, publishing, games, and digital media.
For more information visit marvel.com. © 2021 MARVEL

[Michael Botterill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been provided with an advance copy of the new Xavier’s Institute anthology School of X edited by Gwendolyn Nix, and published by Aconyte Books, so here is the honest review I promised in exchange for the book.

So here is an important disclaimer which is always important to put out there first. I have a casual work contact with Asmodee to demonstrate board games for them in stores and at conventions. Asmodee being the parent company of Aconyte the publisher.

I also a, friends with one of the authors, Robbie MacNiven on Facebook, although for him that connection is probably more about interacting with fans than anything else, but I did once interview him for Edge 0f Empire!

I am going to try my best to not let these things cloud my judgement in this review, but I accept that subconsciously it might.

What is Marvel
Look at this point I would bore you with a bit of background to the game/universe, but lets not, you all know the Marvel Universe, if you don’t have you been living under a rock!

The Xavier’s Institute novel series is focused on the heroes that attend this school and their adventures and the books in the series thus far have focuses on what would very much be considered b-list heroes, which is good because it allows the authors to do a lot more with the characters than they would be able to do with more established heroes.

The Stories
As this is an anthology I will break down the individual stories and give a few thoughts about them.

Fifteen Minutes by Jaleigh Johnson
A story in which Goldballs and the Stepford Cuckoos get to take centre stage.

Trapped inside their own minds after movie night, Goldballs gets to act out his fantasies about being a silver screen hero, but to break out of it, he needs to get through to Celeste who is finding themselves drifting apart from her sisters.

This is a solid story, very short with barely a wasted word, really enjoyable and a great opening story.

Note, don’t refuse a Stepford Cuckoos desire for karaoke!

Call of the Dark by Robbie MacNiven
Robbie gets to revisit Graymalkin and Anole after the events of First Team, and in the aftermath Graymalkin has developed a fear of the dark.

Forced to wander the depths of the insitues lower levels, he finds himself in a tussle with his darker self, but is he going mad, or is something more sinister going on.

On this story I have mixed feelings, at times I feel its the best story in the collection, and at others I feel its the least. Its the one I have reread the most and I struggle to really figure out how I feel about it.

That’s probably a sign of good writing, but its one I cannot make my mind up over, its likely I will buy the eBook so that I can dissect this story a few more times.

Uncatchable by Cath Lauria
This is a super fun story in which Hijack and Cipher go out for a midnight illegal street race, but discover a hidden secret to the meets.

Finding themselves having to take down a criminal gang in the middle of a street race, the pair save the day.

This is a simple story, but a great one, its very much something that I could picture as a one shot issue with a great premise, X-Men have some fun, but end up taking down the bad guys!

Eye of the Storm by Amanda Bridgeman
Sooraya, Shark Girl and Rockslide get kidnapped by a cyborg who hates humans and mutants alike, they are forced to fight animal robots.

I hate to be negative, but this story is the weakest of the bunch, I think this would have worked better as an individual short story release. I can’t put my finger on it, but it feels out of place here.

Of Dirt and Bones by Pat Shand
Phoebe Stepford starts to break away a bit from the other Cuckoos, having nightmares that force her into her diamond form whilst asleep.

Traumatised by Emma Frost increasingly brutal training sessions, she is sent over the edge and cut off from her sisters.

She ends up accidently killing a goose, and wracked with guilt she buries it in the grounds of the school, but soon the area is overrun by zombie animals!

This is a great story with lots of wonderful horror inspired elements and really takes a look at the trauma that training to be a member of the X-Men can cause.

Kid Omega Faces the Music by Neil Kleid
This is a really funny story and a very different one to the others, and as the last “short” story in the book is perfectly placed.

The story telling mechanism is fantastic, Kid Omega, who as a character, I really dislike normally, is forcing the story into the head of a random person, because he can’t tell it to anyone at the school, so why not subject a random stranger to a telepathic barrage.

Its written as a conversation between Quintin and the reader, and tells how after sneaking off to a film convention, to steal Wonder Boys glasses, Kang the Conqueror turns up and sends him on a merry journey through time.

But the trip has a purpose, as Quintin sees the evolution of another Omega level mutant, Magneto, and gets a deeper understanding of his teachers journey and the evolution of his belief in mutant supremacy.

This story is one of the real highlights of this book, and to be honest makes it worth the cost all on its own!

Depowered by Carrie Harris
This is more of a novella and sees Carrie return to Triage and Tempus, who she wrote about in Liberty and Justice for All (Not yet read this, I missed its eARC on Netgallery and I have struggled with funds for new books recently).

The Schools teachers leave for an urgent mission leaving the students alone, but not for long as Polaris and Mirage turn up seeing the help of Triage and Tempus to try and regain/control their powers after the Scarlett Witch’s muttering of the words “No More Mutants”.

Unfortunately the powers that Polaris still have are out of control and in the chaos caused by a demonstration, they attract a squadron of Sentinels, who invade the school and attempt to apprehend the young mutants.

It also strongly references the time that Tempus spent in the future in which she married and started a family in the Uncanny X-Men, before being flung back to the present destroying that future forever.

This is a great story, a good mix of action, character development and a focus on plenty of characters giving good screen time to several of them.

Makes me want to go any buy Liberty and Justice for All next time I have the pennies!

Conclusion
Overall this collection is worth the money, yeah some stories stand out more than others, but that’s inevitable with any anthology.

It flows well and other than the one story, all fitted quite nicely together, with most characters making an appearance in the final story.

The ones that stand out, Eye of the Storm and Call of the Dark do so because the characters don’t feature in that last story, I can’t even recall them being mentioned in them.

And I think that’s why they don’t flow as well, the others build up to an almost Avengers style final story where most of the characters come together to face down the big bad.

But yeah this collection is solid, and I can see it as being something I could easily recommend to someone, its got a lot of characters that see less focus in the comics and other media.

I am going to give it 4.5 out of 5

[Bookish Sophia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review

School of X is an anthology collection of short stories of the lives of the new young mutants training to learn how to defend themselves and protect their kind.

Each story focuses on one student, showing their journey. How they battles with doubt that affected their control over their powers.

Most of their doubts arises from each mutant searching for redemption from their past mistakes and failures.

While reading the first 6 stories, it seemed like getting a glimpse at what each of these mutants training under the famous X-Men Magneto and Cyclops.

But at the last story, there's a summary of how each of these students learn to put their differences aside and stand up as leaders and hero's to protect their secret existence from the world.

Each story was written by different authors. It was nice to experience these characters through different writing styles. It kind of showed that people are different regardless of our common goals and objectives.

Thank you Netgalley, Aconyte Books and Marvel Entertainment for an advanced reader's copy of School of X.

#Marvel #MarvelEnt #Aconytebooks #review

About Marvel Entertainment

Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of more than 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media for over eighty years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing, publishing, games, and digital media.

For more information visit marvel.com. © 2020 MARVEL

[Amy Walker - Trans-Scribe Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've struggled to keep up with the Marvel Universe over the years. There are so many books to read, so many big events, and so many moments that seem designed to shift the status quo that I never felt like I had a good grasp on things. There were certain books I tried to read, to check in with some of my favourite characters, but half the time they felt like stories written to tell big action stories, with a few character moments tacked onto them.

Since Aconyte books started producing Marvel novels, however, I've found myself able to spend some time with characters again, to get to know them, and to read stories that are more about the people that these heroes are, rather than some big flashy action story. I have to be honest, I've been enjoying Marvel more as novels than I have as comics, and books like School of X: A Marvel: Xavier's Institute Anthology only cement this feeling, as this is one of the best collection of X-Men stories I've had the pleasure to read.

The collection brings together a number of authors who fans of Aconyte's work will be familiar with, as some of them have already written some Marvel titles for the publisher; as well as featuring a few new names too. It really does feel like the company have brought together their best people to work on this book.

The first story in the collection is 'Fifteen Minutes' by Jaleigh Johnson, who previously wrote Triptych which featured Fantomex and the X-Men. The story begins with a number of the young students at the school hanging out in their downtime, watching movies and hanging out. It's nice to see these characters outside of their super hero time, and to see that whilst they're still not as close as some of the teams we've seen over the years they're definitely forming into something of a family. The story focuses on Fabio Medina, the mutant known as Goldballs. This is before Fabio became part of The Five, and still didn't know the full extent of his powers, and thinks of himself as something of a joke.

When one of the Stepford Cuckoos, Celeste, suggests a karaoke night to break up the movies she gets shot down by the others, and Fabio notices how much this seems to hurt her. When he goes to sleep that night be begins to dream that he's inside various movies, detective noir films, a zombie movie, an action film, and so on. In each of these films the Cuckoos makes an appearance. Fabio begins to realise that they're a part of why he's trapped in these odd dreams, and has to figure out a way to break them out, and help Celeste if he can.

I really liked this story, not just for showing us what it's like for the young students when they're not learning or being heroes, but also for giving us some insight into some characters that don't always get the spotlight. Fabio has gone on to become an important figure in the X-Men books, but I still don't feel like I really know him, especially from this point in time; so getting to get inside his mind, seeing how he works, what he fears and desires, is very interesting. It also gives Celeste a chance to shine as an individual, rather than as a part of the Cuckoos as a whole. This is something that I don't think happens enough in the comics, so it was wonderful to see more of what she's like as an individual person.

The second story is 'Call of the Dark' by Robbie MacNiven, who gave us the wonderful First Team earlier this year. This story focuses on a character that made an appearance in First Team, but wasn't given a huge focus, Graymalkin. Having been born more than 300 years ago, buried alive by his homophobic father, and found himself in a time far beyond his own Graymalkin is an incredibly interesting character, not least because his power is given to him by the dark, the one thing he's most afraid of.

The story follows Jonas as he explores the dark and lonely halls of the former Weapon X facility late at night, going to places where he really shouldn't be. Along the way he discovers something lurking down in the dark underbelly of the school; a dark doppelganger that torments him, tries to get inside his mind, and who haunts his every moment. This story explores that fear, and Graymalkin's complicated relationship with the darkness. It's a dive into the inner workings of the character, one that reveals more about him than any other story featuring him that I've read. And it's written like a horror story too; which is just fantastic.

The next story, 'Uncatchabe' by Cath Lauria, who wrote the Marvel novel Elsa Bloodstone: Bequest, is more of a traditional X-Men story, in the sense that it sees a couple of our students chasing bad guys and saving the day. It follows David Bond, also known as Hijack, the oldest student in the school. Whilst everyone else in in their teens or early twenties David is in his thirties, and as a result feels kind of detached from everyone else. He's not like the rest of his classmates, and has trouble fitting in. So he burns off steam by sneaking out of the school at night to take part in illegal street races in the nearby town.

Unfortunately for David, he's got a stowaway in the car with him, Alisa Tager, aka Cipher. Thanks to her ability to become invisible and intangible she was able to sneak along with him, and is interested in finding out what David gets up to at night. Whilst at first he's against the idea of her tagging along he relents and agrees to let her stay. However, when Alisa discovers that the street races are being used as a front for gun runners she and David set out to catch the criminals.

This was a really fun story, one that showed that you can still deliver exciting action moments whilst giving good character development. Lauria managed to breathe a lot of life into the two trainee X-Men in this story, particularly David, whom I knew very little about before this. It was nice to have a dynamic where one of the students is closer in age to the teachers, someone who doesn't really fit into either camp, and to get to see him learning to deal with that and find a place for himself.

'Eye of the Storm' isn't the first time that writer Amanda Bridgeman has worked with Aconyte, having written Pandemic: Patient Zero earlier this year, but it is the first time that she has worked with the Marvel characters; but it's clear through her story that she's more than capable of handling these wild and wonderful characters.

This story follows a trio of students who are busy trying to levee a river close to the school before a huge storm causes too much damage, hoping that they can prevent too much attention from being drawn to the area. There's Santo 'Rockslide' Vaccarro, who is a long time student at the school, and two newcomers who recently transferred in from Wolverine's school, Sooraya 'Dust' Qadir, and Iara 'Shark-Girl' Dos Santos. Together, the three of them work to try and get their task finished on time, but when they start vanishing one by one they realise something sinister is going on.

'Eye of the Storm' is similar to the previous story, in the sense that it does have a more action and adventure feel to it as it sees the three young heroes having to fight for their lives against the foe that's set their sights on capturing them. However, what I found most interesting about it was the dynamic between the three of them. Dust and Shark-Girl know each other, have fought together before, and have a camaraderie, but they don't really have this with Rockslide. They don't know him, and they're new to the Xavier Institute and their way of doing things, and feel a little angry that they've been sent away from their own school. There's a sense of antagonism and distrust that's simmering between the group, and it makes them having to work together more interesting.

'Of Dirt and Bones' by Pat Shand comes next, and is one of my favourite stories in the book. Shand hasn't worked with Aconyte before this, but it a name that might be familiar to comic readers as he's worked on titles such as Grimm Fairy Tales: Robyn Hood and a number of Charmed novels in the past. Having worked on titles that focus on powered women it's no surprise that his story does a similar thing, as we get a spooky, magical tale that focuses on Phoebe of the Stepford Cuckoos.

The story begins with Phoebe waking from a strange dream in her diamond form, resulting in some light teasing from her sisters. During a training session that puts the students through a particularly brutal psychic assault that sees Phoebe using her telekinesis to break her way out, though she accidentally kills a goose flying by when she does so. After burying the goose in the woods because she feels guilty for taking its life strange things begin to happen, and soon the school is surrounded by awful zombie animals that have been walking out of the woods. Surrounded by the dead creatures, Phoebe believes that it's her fault, and that the school might end up in danger if she doesn't do something about it.

This story was absolutely delightful. The atmosphere drips off the page in this story, and it feels like a creepy horror/fairy tale mash-up that puts our lone Cuckoo in the centre of things. Whilst I mentioned the first story in this collection giving us an insight into one of this trio I think this one did so in a much bigger way, really showing us what it's like for Phoebe as she feels lost and alone in the world, hounded by guilt and feelings of loneliness. I could have read an entire book like this, and really hope that this won't be the last time Shand plays with these characters.

Neil Kleid is another name that's new to the Aconyte team, but has a history with writing Marvel characters. His story, 'Kid Omega Faces The Music' is, as the name suggests, a story that focuses on the most narcissistic omega-level mutant, Kid Omega. The story follows him as he tells the story of how he snuck out of the school in order to go to a convention with the goal of stealing Wonder Man's glasses. The plan seems to be going fine until Kang the Conqueror turns up and tries to blast Wonder Man with an energy pulse that will send him through time. When Kid Omega is hit instead he finds himself being thrown through different periods of X-Men history, always around Magneto.

Kid Omega has always been something of a dick; it's one of the reasons why we love him. He sees mutants as being superior, and himself as being superior even within the mutant world. This is something that he seems to have in common with Magneto, a figure who has always battled for mutant rights and freedoms, sometimes violently. As Quentin bops through time he sees a young Magneto, fighting to wipe out humanity and put mutants on top, a Magneto who puts himself in the line of fire to save humans, a Magneto troubled by his path in life, and many others. Over the course of his travels Quentin begins to realise that his views, like the young Magneto's aren't quite as simple as he thinks, and begins to suspect that there is a way for humans and mutants to live together if they tried.

This is a really good story, one that forces a character who hardly ever thinks of anyone but himself, and always thinks his view is the right one, to reevaluate his stance on a number of things. It forces him to see that others like him have come before and failed, and that the lessons they've learned are ones that he should pay attention to. He begins to grow as a person, even if only a little. I very much appreciated getting a chance to see how Quentin ticks through this story, and loved how different the writing style of this story was. It was also cool to get a hint of Krakoa here too, events that are happening in the comics now, but would have been the future for the Quentin we're following here.

The final story in the book, the biggest of all of them, is 'Depowered' by Carrie Harris, who wrote the first Xaviers Institute book, Liberty and Justice For All. This story follows the young students when their teachers head out on an important mission, leaving them alone in the school. All's fine until a jet arrives unannounced, bringing with it Dani Moonstar, who's powers were lost on M-Day, and Polaris, the daughter of Magneto, whose own magnetic powers are on the fritz. The two of them have come to the school hoping to find help for their lost and damaged powers. Unfortunately, not long after they arrive a squad of Sentinels follows, forcing the young students to have to work as a team in order to defend their home.

There's a lot of action in this story, and a lot of characters get moments to shine, but if there are two characters in particular who get the focus it's Eva Bell and Christopher Muse, the two leads from Harris' other X-Men book. This story sees the two of them having to step up and become leaders, taking charge of the students when certain death looms on the horizon. It feels like a continuation of Liberty and Justice For All in the sense that these are characters that have clearly continued to grow from that point, and who are drawing from their experiences in that book to help deal with the Sentinels. But it's also a story that's seeing Eva having to deal with one of the most heartbreaking and tragic things in her life, as none of the other students are aware that this comes shortly after Eva's powers pushed her into the future, where she spent a decade making a new life and with her husband and child; a life now lost to her. A life she has to mourn losing without anyone knowing.

I really enjoyed this story, and it gave a lot of character a chance to show why they're not only great characters, but amazing additions to the X-Men line-up. It was also nice to see two familiar faces make a prose appearance in the form of Polaris and Dani Moonstar. They brought some interesting new energy into the mix, and gave the two leaders some wildcards with which to play with when they took charge.

There's a great mixture of stories in School of X, stories that feature a broad range of characters from across the X-Men titles and gives them a chance to lead their own stories. The stories delve into what makes these people tick, their hopes, their fears, their dreams. It showcases how them learning to become super heroes is more than just figuring out their powers, but learning and growing as people and finding their places in the world. An excellent addition to the X-Men mythos.

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

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I received an ARC from Aconyte Books in exchange for an honest review.

I was beyond exciting about getting a preview copy of School of X: A Marvel: Xavier's Institute Anthology. Debuting in late December, School of X is a collection of thrilling stories which focus on a new generation of X-Men.

“Fifteen Minutes” introduces us to Fabio who looks forward to movie night at the School of Learning. When Celeste (one of the Stepford Cuckoos, which happen to be triplet clones of Emma Frost) suggests karaoke instead, Fabio blows her off. He finds himself waking up in various nightmares (zombie themed, noir film) where he tries to escape with the other Stepford Cuckoos. Fabio comes to understand that the dreams are being caused by Celeste herself who is hurt that no one wanted to spend time with her doing karaoke. Her emotional state makes it that Fabio and her sisters are trapped. The students work together to free themselves out of the nightmares, and Fabio is determined to spend more time with the sisters.

“Fifteen Minutes” by author Jaleigh Johnson is a great kickoff story to this strong anthology. We learn about some lesser known mutants and even though they know they have to work together it takes a bit for some of the students to trust each other.

In “Eye of the Storm,” three mutants Santo (Rockslide), Sooraya (Shark Girl) and Iara (Dust) team together to repair a levee in a local river. When Shark Girl notices a strange metal fish beneath the surface of the water, she follows it because it’s clear it’s spying on the students. All three mutants find themselves trapped by a mysterious cyborg villain who tries to defeat them by pitting them against his cyborg animal creations.

An exciting battle takes place where the mutants find their stamina and strength tested against a villain who is determined to escape. Eye of the Storm author Amanda Bridgeman crafts a thrilling story that takes place under water and on land showcasing the different aspects of three mutants who barely know one another but are determined to work together X-Men style.

In “Uncatchable” mutant David (Hijack) is determined to enter a car race despite having to “borrow” a car from the campus garage. Before he slips away, Alisa (Cipher) asks to tag along and the two head out. Hijack has the ability to control vehicles so he is fairly confident he can win the race and as the two prepare, Cipher senses a truckload of weapons nearby. The race is a cover for a weapons smuggling operation and Hijack and Cipher work together to track the weapons while simultaneously racing the other participants!

This story is pretty intricate as the readers gets a birds eye view into the brain of Hijack who has to manipulate several cars at once plus keep track of Alisa and the weapons. It’s never too complicated though and I did like the way the two characters worked together despite not being really familiar with each other’s powers or motivations.

There are several other stories but those are the ones that I really loved. Simply put, School of X: A Marvel: Xavier's Institute Anthology is a collection of thrilling stories which focus on a new generation of X-Men. These are characters who know about Tik Tok and are fully aware of the biases against them. These mutants are just getting to know about the scope of their powers and focus on getting themselves out of danger without replying on the teachers like Cyclops or Emma Frost to rescue them. The stories feel fresh and are filled with unexpected twists and thrilling action. School of X is ultimately a book that explores what is means to be a new generation of X-Men and the challenges and triumphs that the students have within the Marvel universe.

About Marvel Entertainment

Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of more than 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media for over eighty years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing, publishing, games, and digital media.

For more information visit marvel.com. © 2020 MARVEL

[Liz (Quirky Cat) · Rating 4 out of 5]

School of X is one of the latest Marvel/Aconyte novels, and as you might have guessed, it is focused entirely on Xavier's Institute. Better yet, this is an anthology, which means it is full of short stories revolving around beloved X-Men characters.

This School of X anthology includes seven short stories; Fifteen Minutes by Jaleigh Johnson, Call of the Dark by Robbie MacNiven, Uncatchable by Cath Lauria, Eye of the Storm by Amanda Bridgeman, Of Dirt and Bones by Pat Shand, Kid Omega Faces the Music by Neil Kleid, and Depowered by Carrie Harris. Read below to get individual reviews on each!

Fifteen Minutes by Jaleigh Johnson
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Recently I was doing a Marvel novel binge (can you tell by my reading history?), and I was lucky enough to nab Triptych. I'm bringing that up here because Jaleigh Johnson wrote both, and I have come to find that I really like her writing style!
Fifteen Minutes is largely centered around Celeste and Fabio Medina, and it was kind of refreshing to see such a sweet moment of friendship in a world that is so commonly portrayed as being nothing but chaos and pain.

Call of the Dark by Robbie MacNiven
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
For those that wanted to learn a little bit more about the Weapon X program, Call of the Dark will make an interesting read. In this short we see Jonas (Greymalkin) exploring an old Weapon X facility. It's eerie and just the right amount of creepy, while still being quite informative. Making it one of my two favorites.

Uncatchable by Cath Lauria
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
To me, Uncatchable read as a very classic X-Men story – and I don't mean that as a a bad thing. We have Hijack and Cipher doing their thing, which ultimately involves them being amazing superheroes and saving the day. Like I said, classic X-Men story. It made for a fun and quick read.

Eye of the Storm by Amanda Bridgeman
Rating: ★ ★ ★
I'm not going to lie, when I saw the list of short stories, I totally assumed that Eye of the Storm would be a Storm heavy novel. While there is a storm involved,it does not end up going down quite like I expected. However, I appreciate the surprise, so I'm not going to complain.

Of Dirt and Bones by Pat Shand
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Of Dirt and Bones makes for the second short story in this anthology with a focus on one (or more) of the Cuckoos. I'm not going to complain, again because the whole point of this anthology is to appreciate individual characters and smaller moments around them. This time the focus is on Phoebe, though her sisters are present as well. This one does an amazing job of portraying how difficult their training was, and ultimately the sheer level of trauma they went through.

Kid Omega Faces the Music by Neil Kleid
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
Next up we have Kid Omega Faces the Music, which follows the one and only Quintin. I'm not going to lie, I like the guy more thanks to his appearance in West Coast Avengers (it is difficult to dislike anyone who loves Gwenpool). So it was kind of nice to see him here. This is a fairly introspective story, especially for Quintin. I liked it.

Depowered by Carrie Harris
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
Last, but certainly not least, we have Depowered. This is the longest short in the anthology, which makes sense, being the anchor short and all. This one felt like it had multiple threads running throughout each other, which means it is more complex than the rest. That felt very on-point for the comics, where there are dozens of threads going at any one time.
This short features Magneto, Eva Bell, Polaris, and Dani Moonstar, and was an interesting blend of emotion and action that I really appreciated.

Thanks to Aconyte and #NetGalley for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

DISCLAIMER:

About Marvel Entertainment

Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of more than 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media for over eighty years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing, publishing, games, and digital media.
For more information visit marvel.com. © 2020 MARVEL

Read more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

[Kid Ferrous · Rating 4 out of 5]

“School of X”, edited by Gwendolyn Nix, the latest book in the Marvel - Xavier’s Institute series, consists of seven short stories set in the new Charles Xavier Institute which is located inside a disused underground Weapon X facility. It features the exploits of the next generation of X-Men under the tutelage of senior mutants including Emma Frost, Cyclops, and Magneto. The stories are written by, among others, the authors of the previous books in the series. These new X-Men must fight alternative versions of themselves, battle psychic visions, vengeful cyborgs and more, whilst also coming to terms with their own powers and identities.
The first story, “Your Fifteen Minutes” by Jaleigh Johnson, takes place on movie night in the Institute. After watching the exploits of a cinematic hero, Fabio Medina longs for his fifteen minutes of fame in which he can be the hero and save the day, and gets it. The story is fast-paced and twisty, with a surprising, feel-good ending. A solid start.
“Call of the Dark” by Robbie MacNiven is a tense, redemptive tale as Graymalkin strives to conquer his fear of the dark, which may also mean conquering himself, in the deepest, darkest parts of the underground Xavier Institute. It’s dark and brilliantly written, with hints of the larger X-Men lore. MacNiven also wrote the previous novel “First Team”, and this story has references to it as well as some recurring characters.
The third story is “Uncatchable” by Cath Lauria, and features one of the Institute’s oldest students, David Bond, AKA Hijack, who is able to control vehicles, wanting some “me-time” away from the Institute by taking part in a road race that turns out to be much more than it appears. This is a fun and exciting story with some great banter between Hijack and Alisa Tager, AKA Cipher, and well-written action.
In “Eye of the Storm” by Amanda Bridgeman, Iara/Shark Girl and Sooraya/Dust, under the protection (kinda) of Santo/Rockslide, are building a dam in a river at risk of flooding and exposing the Institute when Shark Girl’s curiosity leads them into a battle for their lives. This is very much a traditional story, solidly exciting and action-packed with a boo-able villain.
Fifth story “Of Dirt And Bones” by Pat Shan’s stars the so-called Stepford Cuckoos, psychic triplets Celeste, Irma and Phoebe. This is more of a visceral horror story than the rest, as Phoebe and Benjamin Deeds/Morph face nature fighting back. It also touches on the fact that mutants are seemingly born to fight their entire lives.
“Kid Omega Faces The Music” by Neil Kleid is narrated by the powerful but fun-loving and rebellious psychic mutant, Kid Omega. Attempting to steal the ultimate piece of memorabilia from his favourite actor, he instead finds himself transported to pivotal moments in X-Men history. But will he be tempted to change it? And is he really having a crisis of conscience? It’s a fun romp yet also a profound and redemptive journey and one of the longer stories in the book, along with the final tale, “Depowered” by Carrie Harris.
Left on their own while the teachers attend a meeting, the students have the worst party ever in the Danger Room which is interrupted by the arrival of unexpected guests who have a plan to fix the catastrophe of M-Day when many mutants lost their powers. Soon, however, an outside threat forces the students to finally bond as a team. This is a cracking story, with blistering action and strong character moments.
All the stories in this collection are very good while some are really excellent; they don’t drag and just get on with telling the story. The tales feature callbacks to earlier novels in the series but can be read and enjoyed as standalone stories; indeed, they invite the reader to check out the other books which will enhance these stories even further. Obviously, this is a vastly different experience from watching an X-Men movie, but shorn of glossy visuals, the stories are more character driven and are much better for it. As with all the novels in Aconyte’s Marvel range this book is well-written, pulse-pounding fun.

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I received an advanced reading copy of this book in return for an honest review.
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©️MARVEL 2021

[Adrian Montanez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley and Aconyte for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The School of X: A Marvel Xavier's Institute Anthology was full of surprises, with a mix of short stories and a novella that kept me entertained. But it also contained one story that made me want to throw the Kindle across the room. Overall, it was a fun read.

"Your Fifteen Minutes" by Jayleigh Johnson was fun, giving us a glimpse into a character's dream of becoming an action star with a dark twist. The imagery and the different types of action movie dreams in this story kept me hooked from beginning to end. On the other hand, "Call of the Dark" by Robbie MacNiven was a bit lackluster for me. It centered around self-discovery, but the twist didn't make an impact strong enough to make it stand out.

"Uncatchable" by Cath Lauria was a pulse-pounding ride with exhilarating car chases that had me on the edge of my seat. The action-packed scenes and the adrenaline rush made this story one of the anthology's highlights. We need more car chases in stories. (Good ones). "Eye of the Storm" by Amanda Bridgeman felt like a comic book filler issue, which was enjoyable but didn't leave a lasting impression.

"Of Dirt and Bones" by Pat Shand delved into the individuality of one of the Cuckoo sisters, adding depth to the character and giving readers a better understanding of the team dynamics by delving into the psyche of the sisters. It was a well-written and engaging story that left me wanting more.

On the flip side, "Kid Omega Faces the Music" by Neil Kleid missed the mark for me. It's one of those where the character is telling you the story. Now usually I'm ok with these. They aren't my favorite, but they're a great way to tell a story. However, the protagonist's tone toward the reader was so annoyingly condescending, that I couldn't finish it.

Finally, "Depowered" by Carrie Harris tied everything together in a fantastic novella that brought most of the characters from the previous stories together. The challenge they faced and the development of the new X-Men team kept me engrossed until the very end.

Overall, I'd give this anthology three stars—the mix of great stories, okay ones, and one single miss made for an entertaining read. The standout stories made it worth the journey, and I'd definitely re-read them in the future. I think Marvel comic book fans will appreciate the unique takes on familiar characters and the fresh perspectives brought to the table in this anthology.

3 stars out of 5.

[Brittney · Rating 3 out of 5]

I will admit, after being given this novel to review I committed the cardinal sin of judging it by its’ cover. I originally thought this was a graphic novel anthology, but in actuality it is a collection of short narrative stories.
As a fan of the X-Men, I really enjoyed this. As a whole, I thought it was diverse, fun, and it was nice to see some newer characters get their chance in the spotlight. The fact there was an entire story devoted to Graymalkin made me very happy.
I do think you need some base knowledge of the X-Men cannon beyond what the cartoons and movies provide in order to understand most of the context. Stuff like Operation Zero Tolerance, Genosha, the formation of Utopia, and the events of X-Men: Schism and Secret Invasion, are all kind of relevant. However, a quick google search for a summarized event timeline of the X-Men comics would solve this without too much hassle.
Overall, I think this is a book made for the fans, so I would recommend it to them, and not necessarily anyone new to the universe, or looking to get into it—unless you’re willing to do a little bit of research, or have a knowledgeable friend willing to give you the basic run down
Requested by the publisher:
Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of more than 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media for over eighty years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing, publishing, games, and digital media.
For more information visit marvel.com. © 2020 MARVEL
I have received an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review

[Monita Roy Mohan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley.

As an avid X-Men fan, I was intrigued by this book. It wasn’t a comic book, but an anthology series written by several different writers. I really wanted to like it but I just couldn’t get into it.

Every story started off well—introducing us to the character and their headspace. But the moment it turned to the action, my interested waned. I wonder if it’s because I’m used to the visual language of comic books when it comes to X-Men stories. Somehow, the action just didn’t translate all that well to prose. It was verbose, overlong and repetitive. And I felt like that about each story, so I can’t even fault some of the writers. For me, the medium undid the message.

The characters in this story are the Young X-Men, who I have read very little about. I pretty much had to research each character as they were introduced in the story. Had this been the OG team, New Mutants or the New X-Men, I wouldn’t have had to do that. I knew going in that the characters in this book weren’t familiar to me, nor were my favourites going to play a huge part in the stories. I do wonder, however, if it may not have been a good idea to give readers a little bit more detail about the characters’ powers and recent history. I appreciate the attempt to eschew exposition, but some context would have been appreciated.

X-Men have always been about the characters and their interpersonal dynamics. I missed that in this book. We get snippets, but they usually became sidetracked by the action. I would have much preferred day-in-the-life style stories than more stories similar to the comics.

This is an interesting read for X-Men fans, but can be a bit of a slog due to the medium. Something to be aware of if you pick up this book.

[Christopher Owens · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Xavier’s Institute Anthology

I received an advance reader copy of this book from Aconyte Books via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

This is an anthology of stories featuring characters from the Xaxier’s Institute prose novel series written by various writers who have authored novels in that series as well as other series from Aconyte Books. Included are stories by Jaleigh Johnson, Robbie MacNiven, Cath Lauria, Amanda Bridgeman, Pat Shand, Neil Kleid, and Carrie Harris.


With this many authors included, there was a great deal of variety in both story-telling and writing styles, some of which resonated with me, and some that did not. My favorite one was the novella-length story by Carrie Harris that was the final story of the collection. It included a large cast of characters, a couple of mutant guest stars, and what was probably the most dangerous antagonists of any of the stories. One thing I found confusing was the several of the stories included the sisters known as the Stepford Cuckoos – but nearly every single story had a different sister as the third sister in the group. This may reflect differences in the group of sisters from the comic books, or if the actual world of the Xaxier’s Institute novels also has different third sisters in different stories.

I gave School of X four stars. There were maybe 2-3 individual stories that I would have given five stars, another couple that would have gotten four, and a few that would have rated three stars.

[John Dodd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved comics all my life, and in particular, the colourful adventures of the X men with all the larger than life characters that sprang off the page like a movie on paper. But I've always loved reading, so this was a bit of an experiment, to see if reading about those adventures without the visuals to go with it would be the same.

It wasn't.

However, as with all good books, good visuals come in the details, in the prose, and so it was here. It's been some years since I was collecting the comics every month, so some of the characters were new to me, but I didn't need to know them to enjoy their adventures. Each of these was like opening a new comic at the end of the month and devouring the contents within.

Cheerfully, the focus of the stories wasn't just mutants beating on each other, as it often had been in years past, where "Good" fought "Evil" while the whole world continued to hate them both, these were interesting tales in and out of time, with teamwork and care for one another uppermost. I can't help but wonder if the direction of comics would have gone another way entirely if stories like this had been around at the beginning.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the free advance copy in return for the review.

[Adriana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Consisting of 7 short stories that put the newest mutants currently enrolled in the New Charles Xavier School for Mutants on the forefront and giving them a chance to show off their skills and abilities, this anthology is a bonanza of character-driven action. From deep introspection to all-out war with Sentinels, this book has it all and presents it in short episodes that are incredibly enjoyable quick reads.
The only reason I'm not rating this as a five-star read is that all the authors seem to take for granted that you're fully caught up with the latest happenings with every single character within the X-Men world. I love the X-Men. I try to keep up with all the series. I was still lost about where we were in the timeline and who certain characters were. It's not a major downside considering how good the writing and action are in every short story, but if someone that's a super X-Men fan continually felt a little lost then this book might not be for everyone.

Many happy thanks to Aconyte Books for the exciting read!

[Meghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was received as an ARC from Aconyte Books through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

I am familiar with the X-Men franchise and the characters with all their special abilities which is the reason why they are among the elite in the Xavier School of Gifted Students. Then the new students are not impressed with the layout of the school and it's not what they seem. however, it's their new home and must learn from the very best how to defeat evil. Then the plot thickens, when an inside source is actually an undercover spy for the evil side and it's up to the X-Men and its new recruits to unlock the truth and save the school. The plot was nothing different from the superhero franchise but, what made this book unique were the creative illustrations that grab the attention of the readers.

Another adaptation of the classic franchise told from another perspective. This book gets 4 stars.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

An epic anthology full of Marvel: X-Men retellings in the form of short stories. My favourite is “Eye of the Storm” by Amanda Bridgeman. A fast paced, action packed, short story featuring “mutant” Sooraya Ghadir, the niqabi mutant from Afghanistan, also known as “Dust” for her super power of wielding dust and sand.. it was very exciting to read about her in this anthology and other diverse characters.

If you’re a fan of the series and want to taste stories in the written word rather than graphic novel form - give this a go.. and do what I do - read the short stories in random order rather than from beginning to end.

[Zachary Jenkins · Rating 1 out of 5]

It truly was the worst collection of short stories I've ever read. I am the entire target audience for prose fiction about the X-Men comics of 2012-2015 and somehow they missed in the worst possible way. It turns out, you need to have emotional stakes and a plot for a good book, not just Z-List X-Men characters...

[Cat Treadwell · Rating 2 out of 5]

I do enjoy this series of books (and their authors), but these stories felt too ‘unknown’ for me. Too many characters that I didn’t know and found it hard to connect with.

I may do some research and come back in future. But for now, DNF.

[lic marza · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this! This was a collection of short stories. I would definitely recommend to a fan of the x-men or comic fans.

[Chris Bullock · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn't get into it - it have the same appeal or impact of the films.

[Jason Whissell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A decent collection of short stories, focused on mutants the casual X-Men fan may not be familiar with. However, that doesn't take away from the enjoyment at all

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 for the Graymalkin, water, and last story. Everything else I could’ve done without.

[Ushna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superhero stories aren't usually my favorite genre to read about. I prefer to watch the stories come to life on the big screen. However, School of X provides the exception. Foddder for one's imagination.
I have one phrase to sum it up , ' It's more than just a school , it's a family of misunderstood superheroes saving the day even while the world watches skeptically."
Thank you to Netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.