Edited by Robert Smith?

ATB Publishing, out October 13

156 new perspectives on 156 X-Files and Kolchak stories by 156 writers.

Edited by Robert Smith?, this hefty tome (454 pages) offers 156 different views on the X-Files and Kolchak, and they vary wildly in opinion, style and clarity.

It feels – and if this wasn’t the case, I apologise – that contributors had the brief to choose an episode and write x words about it. And that’s it. There’s no format or template to follow, resulting in a huge variety of approaches to the pieces, ranging from epistolary, pitch meeting, game, review, fake interview, diary entry, theory, nitpicks… the list is endless. There’s no shortage of imagination on display here, each piece hitting the ground and diving right in.

What this book isn’t is an episode guide, the publishers rightly aware that there’s already plenty of those out there in print and online covering off plot synopses and guest casts. This book presupposes a certain level of knowledge – it’s not a jumping on point – and at times you may have to refresh your memory elsewhere what the episode was about – ‘oh, it’s that one about the thing that does that’.

This is a fan celebration of memories and experiences, and how you engage with each piece will to some degree be determined by how you relate to it. Every X-Files fan will tell you how they used to access episodes – on TV, through US VHS tapes, round a friend’s house – and this book taps into that experience. What comes across is the affection for the show, even the bad episodes.

A follow-up volume is due out next year covering seasons 7 to 11, the second X-Files movie, Millennium, The Lone Gunmen and Harsh Realm.

Verdict: You might not agree with all the views shared here, some of the entries don’t land, and in some cases the writer doesn’t necessarily get their points across, but as an expression of a fan community, it’s very representative. A bit like an online bulletin board, but in a book! 7/10

Nick Joy