Watchers on the Walls

Marvel Pocket Books Novels

by Christopher L. Bennett

For years, many have believed that the rise of superpowered mutants represents a threat to the survival of ordinary humans. The uncanny X-Men have dedicated their lives to proving that peaceful coexistence is possible. When a refugee spacecraft crashes on Earth, hounded by a warship bent on its destruction, the X-Men race to the rescue -- only to learn that it carries beings of an entirely different order whose very existence may jeopardize life as we know it. Now, facing a direct threat to all life on Earth, the X-Men grapple with an impossible moral dilemma -- to defend the aliens whose only crime is being born different . . . or to embrace the methods of those who have long condemned mutantkind, joining forces with their own greatest persecutors to go hunt down their common enemy and end the evolutionary menace, once and for all.

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

368 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Christopher L. Bennett is a lifelong resident of Cincinnati, Ohio, with a B.S. in Physics and a B.A. in History from the University of Cincinnati. A fan of science and science fiction since age five, he has spent the past two decades selling original short fiction to magazines such as Analog Science Fiction and Fact (home of his "Hub" series of comedy adventures), BuzzyMag, and Galaxy's Edge. Since 2003, he has been one of Pocket Books' most prolific and popular authors of Star Trek tie-in fiction, including the epic Next Generation prequel The Buried Age, the Star Trek: Department of Temporal Investigations series, and the Star Trek: Enterprise -- Rise of the Federation series. He has also written two Marvel Comics novels, X-Men: Watchers on the Walls and Spider-Man: Drowned in Thunder. His original novel Only Superhuman, perhaps the first hard science fiction superhero novel, was voted Library Journal's SF/Fantasy Debut of the Month for October 2012. Other tales in the same universe can be found in Among the Wild Cybers and the upcoming Arachne's Crime, both from eSpec Books. His Hub stories are available in two collections from Mystique Press.
Christopher's homepage, fiction annotations, and blog can be found at christopherlbennett.wordpress.com. His Patreon page with original fiction and reviews is at https://www.patreon.com/christopherlb..., and his Facebook author page is at www.facebook.com/ChristopherLBennettA....

Reviews

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leans heavily into the sci-fi angle but also addresses a compelling moral quandary. I found I liked it better as it went on, a rarity with these Marvel novels.

The audio narration and characterizations were pretty good, as well.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pretty good sf novel, but I didn't think it was a particularly good X-Men novel. I didn't think the characters voices were captured in a way that rang true, and sometimes distracted from rather than adding to the narrative flow. Perhaps it tried to incorporate bits from too many sources (comics, cartoons, movies, other prose pieces), and the characterization came out in too bland a fashion. I enjoyed the alien invasion plot, but it didn't make me want to bless my stars or garters.

[Bailey Marissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is in the style of the 90's animated show, but it also references Hugh Jackman's Logan. There's also references to other Marvel characters which is always appreciated.

Recommended 13+ for violence and language.

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first print superhero novel I've read in quite a while...but I enjoyed it!

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The X-Men, mutants born with various powers, find themselves dealing with invasive alien species that threaten the planet. Their presence is presented as biological warfare when it is discovered their bodies emit a deadly microbe that has the ability to wipe out all life on Earth. With the help of the Shi'ar Imperial Solider and the U.S. government, the X-men take on this threat to save the galaxy.

The book introduces a slew of new students to the Xavier Institute, all of which are struggling with their powers. These characters are present throughout the book, but slowly grow to accept themselves and control their powers throughout the story.

Many other reviewers have noted the similarities to stories told within the original animated X-Men series, which I'd agree with. Although the book starts with a handful of characters currently serving on the X-Men team, it quickly grows the roster when the stakes become insurmountable. For those that love the "X-Men in space" stories, this will bring you back to the days of the original Pheonix Saga.

I'd only suggest this book to those truly into sci-fi, as the superhero antics take a backseat to both the futuristic and philosophical themes of this book. At several points throughout the book, the heroes are torn between solving the immediate problem or looking for a long-term solution. This makes a much more interesting read but slows down the action considerably. If you're looking for the fast-paced, beam-em-up story of the comics, skip this one.

[Derek · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable adventure tale that really does feel like the X-Men we all know and love, full of solid characterization and deft humor. That said, I could do with less of the endless debating between our heroes and their adversaries regarding issues of morality and ethics. There is a LOT of it and it's essentially the same conversation repeated over and over. It drags things down from time to time but doesn't derail the book completely.

[Derrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm starting to feel like x-men stories are all the same. This was just a different take on the same concept that permeates the normal x-men novels. I only read this based on the newest book by Bennett. He did a good job if you enjoy x-men, but I'm not going to pursue reading any more of these.

[Rian Monson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Comic book life imitates real life....all that was missing was cheeto face

[Neil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book. I had read it 'years' ago [whenever it first came out in the past six or so years] and enough time had passed that I had forgotten reading it. So I bought it in the clearance section of a used book store. Had forgotten how good it was!

The book starts off with Cyclops and Rogue bickering after a training session while Xavier and Phoenix are at the edge of space to help Phoenix learn to 'listen' better using her skills. They discover two alien vessels heading for earth, one chasing the other. The first ship crashes,and the X-Men are on hand to try and protect the survivors from the attackers. Enter the Imperial Guard, on the side of the attackers. After a stand-off occurs, the US government takes the survivors into protective custody while the allies of the Imperial Guard provide information that the refugees are a universal threat to life as we know it. The X-Men initially join forces with the Imperial Guard and the Diascar to track down Chlorite infiltrators, but when the search becomes too heavy-handed they begin to question their decision to assist in the alien-hunt. In the end, a satisfactory solution is found for all parties involved and the X-Men can breathe a sigh of relief for once again saving a world that fears and hates them.

I liked how the book discussed other heroes in the Marvel Universe as being involved in the search for alien infiltrators as well as trying to discover a way the Chlorites could live in peace with the oxygen-based life forms. All too often, in the previous Marvel novels, the other super hero teams were ignored. It was like the books were written in a vacuum. I liked how this book tied in characters from other comic book series [even if indirectly] and how the superheroes were ALL working together to save the world. It was a nice change of pace.

I think one detriment to the book was that if you were not up on reading the comics, it would be easy to get lost with all of the characters in the novel itself. The author did a nice job breaking it down so that a couple of individuals were used/discussed per chapter, but there still was not very much back history to introduce the various characters. But at the same time, too much background information would have dramatically slowed down the story's pacing, so perhaps the 'lack of backstory' was not as a big a deal as it seemed to me. It just felt like the reader was expected to know more about the characters than they might actually know.

I thought the book had a nice flow to it. It has to be hard to continue the whole 'heroes who regularly risk their lives to save a world that fears and hates them' mantra for so many years. One would think that after the varied number of super teams, super villains, and alien invasions that the people of earth would grow accustomed to mutants and not be so . . . petty? filled with fear? With familiarity often comes contempt, so it would make more sense to me that normal humans would become contemptuous of mutants because mutants should be fairly 'common' and not-so-special over time [based upon regular exposure to their exploits as well as the exploits of other individuals or teams]. Yet this fear and distrust is a regular emphasis for the X-Men comics, and it shows up in this novel as well. Despite this 'mantra,' the premise of the story is a great idea, and it seems to be rather well-developed in terms of content and logical conclusions, per se. I thought the author's ideas and extrapolations were nicely done, and it further added to my enjoyment of the story.

I found the 'humor' in the book to be quite funny. Sometimes an author's attempts at writing funny dialogue can backfire, but this author did a nice job of having witty superhero banter amongst the individuals in the book. I found myself chuckling more than once as I read it. The author seemed to have a great grasp at the relationships amongst the various characters and how they would interrelate with each other. It was superbly done.

I have read other 'superhero' novels and the flow felt forced. This was one of the few that I have read where it felt like it had a natural flow to it. Obviously, when writing certain kinds/types of characters, there is a sense of 'how STUPID can you be?' but that is a part of life [in terms of meeting people who's IQ seems to be lacking in any sense].

I enjoyed reading this one; it kept my interest [despite my memories of having read it once before coming back to me as I read it again - the clues the author leaves plus my returning memories spoiled the 'surprise' for the Xavier Institute] from start to finish. A good book that was fun to read!

[Nicolaas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was pleasantly surprised by this one, got it for dirt cheap at a sale and didn't expect much. Start with knowing this is the X-men from the 90's cartoon and not the X-men from the movies, thus Rogue = hot southern las and not lame teenage girl...

The Good
Its fun and simple quick read. The plot is surprisingly interesting and better that any of the movies actually, leaving the X-men to actually think about things before donning the tights. Its basicly a comic in book form with good SciFi plot.

The Bad
The only real problem I had here was the little introduction you get to the characters, your expected to know all the X-men and most of the bad guys - not a problem for X fans tho.

Overall
If you take it for what it is, its rather fun. With a very "Ender/Speaker for the Dead"-like plot.

[Stanley · Rating 4 out of 5]

It began as an ordinary day for the X-Men until they saved a group of alien refugees on the run. They soon learn that the aliens posed a threat to all life forms. Now they must choose if they want to join the genocide or to protect.

[Wei Feng · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book is cool. it has the x men in it and they re cool. plus the story line was cool and it showed alot of action when the x men fought the bad guys.