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The X-Files: Young Adult #15
Haunted
Lauren Kyte was always a good employee, dedicated to her job and faithful to her employer. But ever since her boss's death, Lauren's been a different person. Someone--or something--is shadowing her, an unseen force that swiftly and brutally murders anyone who dares to cross her path. Could her boss's poltergeist be acting as her overprotective guardian? Or is Lauren herself a murderous mastermind? FBI agents Mulder and Scully need to uncover the secret that led to her boss's untimely death if they hope to stop the killing spree in Lauren's wake.
144 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1998
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About the author
Ellen Steiber
45 books15 followersELLEN STEIBER is a horror and fantasy writer for both adults and children. Her books for young readers include SQUEEZE, SHADOW OF THE FOX, and TALES OF THE GROSS AND GRUESOME. She lives in Tucson, Arizona.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 30, 2017
"No, I'm giving us the chance to solve a case that's tangible...Instead of chasing after shadows" — Scully to Mulder.
The above quote caps off a wonderfully unexpected scene in which the ultra-skeptical Agent Scully pretends to buy into a ghost story in order to crack the case. Haunted is a bland, yet satisfactory novelization of an early Season One episode of The X-Files titled "Shadows" (1x06). Intended for a young-adult audience, the novella centers on a grieving secretary named Lauren Kyte who's so wrought with sorrow over her recently deceased boss that she can hardly cope with an unseen force that is brutally murdering anyone daring enough to cross her path. While the story isn't the most riveting of tales, there's still some good stuff found within these pages, including a well-placed Stephen King reference and some witty one-liners from Mulder and Scully. What's more, the story contains a curious cast of side characters, such as the dour medical examiner and the (unintentionally) creepy groundskeeper working the city cemetery whose sole purpose is to impart vital exposition to the agents. I also liked the additional scenes that weren't featured in the broadcast episode (that may or may not have been extracted from the original script).
The book isn't without its flaws, though. There's some especially awkward character dialogue that author Ellen Steiber included to help narrate the scene. When the agents' rental car is commandeered by Howard Graves' ghost, Scully makes some lame expository cries as the car is hurtling down the street: "We're going through a red light...And there's a car coming in the opposite direction!" No one can argue that this clumsy and forced dialogue doesn't detract from the narrative tension. Moreover, for no reason that I can fathom, Steiber seems to go out of her way to set the story in 1997—changing the date on the ATM surveillance, altering the date of death on Howard Graves' headstone, etc.—when it actually occurred in 1994. Being an avid fans of the series with an encyclopedic knowledge of the show, it's little details like this that sticks in my craw.
Haunted is a passable adaptation of a generic ghost story conveniently wrapped into a mystery involving corporate espionage. The cover art by Cliff Nielsen continues to be outstanding and eye-catching.
The above quote caps off a wonderfully unexpected scene in which the ultra-skeptical Agent Scully pretends to buy into a ghost story in order to crack the case. Haunted is a bland, yet satisfactory novelization of an early Season One episode of The X-Files titled "Shadows" (1x06). Intended for a young-adult audience, the novella centers on a grieving secretary named Lauren Kyte who's so wrought with sorrow over her recently deceased boss that she can hardly cope with an unseen force that is brutally murdering anyone daring enough to cross her path. While the story isn't the most riveting of tales, there's still some good stuff found within these pages, including a well-placed Stephen King reference and some witty one-liners from Mulder and Scully. What's more, the story contains a curious cast of side characters, such as the dour medical examiner and the (unintentionally) creepy groundskeeper working the city cemetery whose sole purpose is to impart vital exposition to the agents. I also liked the additional scenes that weren't featured in the broadcast episode (that may or may not have been extracted from the original script).
The book isn't without its flaws, though. There's some especially awkward character dialogue that author Ellen Steiber included to help narrate the scene. When the agents' rental car is commandeered by Howard Graves' ghost, Scully makes some lame expository cries as the car is hurtling down the street: "We're going through a red light...And there's a car coming in the opposite direction!" No one can argue that this clumsy and forced dialogue doesn't detract from the narrative tension. Moreover, for no reason that I can fathom, Steiber seems to go out of her way to set the story in 1997—changing the date on the ATM surveillance, altering the date of death on Howard Graves' headstone, etc.—when it actually occurred in 1994. Being an avid fans of the series with an encyclopedic knowledge of the show, it's little details like this that sticks in my craw.
Haunted is a passable adaptation of a generic ghost story conveniently wrapped into a mystery involving corporate espionage. The cover art by Cliff Nielsen continues to be outstanding and eye-catching.
February 11, 2018
When picking out books to read I picked this book up mainly because of the other editions of it I had already read. The other books before and after it where pretty good and fun to read without much of a dedication to them. This book is probably one of my prefered editions from the series. When looking through the pile of books from the series I noticed the uncomfortable and haunting cover page. This and its title being call Haunted made it sound like an obvious ghost story. When picking it up I expected the simple haunted house story, but It was much more complex than many ghost stories I have heard of before.
The books is about 2 FBI agents, they appear in the other books also, that get out on a case involving multiple cases of murder that involved one women. This woman is Lauren, the story at first made it sound like a woman trying to get away with murder. This is especially strange because she seemed to confess that she was at the murder scenes but seem to never know what happened and couldn't answer any questions, a simple cover up act. The story gets a little more complex with unveiling the past of Lauren and her relationship with one of the deaths. After finding this information the story made events seem more like they would only occur in the protection of Lauren. This leads characters in the story to believe there was a supernatural event occuring in the case.
The use of a person that acts innocent or is the victim to bring the audience and the characters toward the idea that they were responsible for the murder makes the story seem simple. The author causes people to assume the outcome of the story. Having all of this information leading toward one ending only to have it all thrown out the window in the next chapter causes the reader to want to read the next chapter and the next, until they have completely finished the story and find an ending that was unique. Having such a familiar base idea can cause a lot of boring prediction but the author was really good at avoiding these boring outcomes without losing interests of readers on the way.
The connection between the agents and Lauren can be a bit stronger. I feel like the agents don't see enough of the paranormal action that they should of. They were always there after, being there after restricts them to only realistic reasons on the incidents. Seeing the events in Lauren’s view allows the reader to know what the paranormal was doing in the case. Than we would see the agents come in and only think of boring reasons and because we know the reasons we get anxious while reading the story because we know more than two of the main characters.
This book overall was really nice. Its small and simple and can be read all the time for fun. Though they aren't as long they seem to feel like small episodes while a full book is a movie. This might be why there is a TV show, but sincerely I do recommend this book to anyone wanting to read for fun.
The books is about 2 FBI agents, they appear in the other books also, that get out on a case involving multiple cases of murder that involved one women. This woman is Lauren, the story at first made it sound like a woman trying to get away with murder. This is especially strange because she seemed to confess that she was at the murder scenes but seem to never know what happened and couldn't answer any questions, a simple cover up act. The story gets a little more complex with unveiling the past of Lauren and her relationship with one of the deaths. After finding this information the story made events seem more like they would only occur in the protection of Lauren. This leads characters in the story to believe there was a supernatural event occuring in the case.
The use of a person that acts innocent or is the victim to bring the audience and the characters toward the idea that they were responsible for the murder makes the story seem simple. The author causes people to assume the outcome of the story. Having all of this information leading toward one ending only to have it all thrown out the window in the next chapter causes the reader to want to read the next chapter and the next, until they have completely finished the story and find an ending that was unique. Having such a familiar base idea can cause a lot of boring prediction but the author was really good at avoiding these boring outcomes without losing interests of readers on the way.
The connection between the agents and Lauren can be a bit stronger. I feel like the agents don't see enough of the paranormal action that they should of. They were always there after, being there after restricts them to only realistic reasons on the incidents. Seeing the events in Lauren’s view allows the reader to know what the paranormal was doing in the case. Than we would see the agents come in and only think of boring reasons and because we know the reasons we get anxious while reading the story because we know more than two of the main characters.
This book overall was really nice. Its small and simple and can be read all the time for fun. Though they aren't as long they seem to feel like small episodes while a full book is a movie. This might be why there is a TV show, but sincerely I do recommend this book to anyone wanting to read for fun.
February 14, 2020
Leider eines der schlechteren Bücher, die ich in letzter Zeit gelesen habe. Ich kann dazu nur sagen: LAAAAANGWEILIG!
Alles war so vorhersehbar und ohne wirkliche Spannung. Ich mag Akte X und die Protagonisten wirklich sehr, aber das Buch war wirklich nicht gut.
Daher nur 2 von 5 Sternen von mir
Alles war so vorhersehbar und ohne wirkliche Spannung. Ich mag Akte X und die Protagonisten wirklich sehr, aber das Buch war wirklich nicht gut.
Daher nur 2 von 5 Sternen von mir
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 2, 2018
I always cry with this book
Read
January 29, 2021The ending was a bit of a letdown. Felt too rushed in terms of the actual bad guy.
January 28, 2016
In the spirit of the new X-files production, I read this quick young-adult paperback that depicts an X-file investigation by FBI agents Mulder and Scully that fans adore. Not the most captivating or imaginative of stories, it doesn't capture the magic of the show itself. But it did satisfy the itch I suppose.
February 1, 2011
133rd - 2011
Aku suka episode ini, sekretaris yang punya hantu pelindung, mantan bos yang sudah menganggapnya seperti anaknya sendiri.
Seperti biasa, Mulder percaya hantu itu ada. Sedangkan Scully... you know her.
Aku suka episode ini, sekretaris yang punya hantu pelindung, mantan bos yang sudah menganggapnya seperti anaknya sendiri.
Seperti biasa, Mulder percaya hantu itu ada. Sedangkan Scully... you know her.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews