X-Files: Skin (The X-Files, 6) - Softcover

Mezrich, Ben

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0061056448 ISBN 13: 9780061056444

Publisher: HarperEntertainment, 2000

Synopsis

Medical students hoping to get a leg up on their studies "harvest" skin from the wrong corpse, and in the ensuing melee, a New York City hospital ward is destroyed and an elderly professor becomes a fugitive. Reprint.

About this title

Review:

Skin has an authentic X-Files feel to it--the right mixture of scientific plausibility and mystical overtones to keep both Scully and Mulder interested and on the trail. Skin taken from an unknown body found at the site of a road accident is grafted over the burns suffered by a mild-mannered professor who then goes berserk, killing a nurse. Mulder and Scully try to trace the source of the skin graft and uncover links with a biotech company called Fibrol International, whose deceased CEO, Emile Paladin, was in charge of a MASH unit in a village in Thailand during the Vietnam War. Traveling to the remote village, Mulder is intrigued to learn about a local cult that worships a mythical monster, the Gin-Korng-Pew, or Skin Eater. Meanwhile, Scully follows more prosaic leads in search of Paladin's reclusive brother.

Mezrich's descriptions of medical procedures feel authentic, and he keeps the story moving along at a good pace, with several dangerous moments for both Mulder and Scully and a significant body count among the witnesses. The mixture of FBI investigation, horror, and the occult, with overtones of paranoia about the activities of the military, should appeal to X-Files fans, while others may enjoy it as an entertaining adventure. --Liz Sourbut, Amazon.co.uk

About the Author:

Ben Mezrich graduated magna cum laude from Harvard in 1991. He has published twelve books, including the New York Times bestsellers The Accidental Billionaires, which was adapted into the Academy Award-winning film The Social Network, and Bringing Down the House, which has sold more than 1.5 million copies in twelve languages and became the basis for the Kevin Spacey movie 21. Mezrich has also published the national bestsellers Sex on the Moon, Ugly Americans, Rigged, and Busting Vegas. He lives in Boston.

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperEntertainment
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0061056448
• ISBN 13: 9780061056444
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Number of pages: 336