Βαθμολογία: 7.5/10Τρίτο αυτοτελές μυθιστόρημα της σειράς X-Files, πρώτο που συγγραφέας είναι ο γνωστός στο είδος της επιστημονικής φαντασίας και του Φανταστικού, Κέβιν Τζ. Άντερσον (π.χ. The Saga of Seven Suns, μυθιστορήματα Star Wars κλπ). Μου φάνηκε αρκετά καλύτερο των δυο προηγούμενων βιβλίων, πιο καλογραμμένο και σίγουρα πιο χορταστικό. Φυσικά θα πρέπει κανείς να μην σκεφτεί και πολύ κατά πόσο στέκουν όλα αυτά τα υπερφυσικά και κουλά γεγονότα της ιστορίας, για να απολαύσει την ιστορία.Ο διακεκριμένος πυρηνικός ερευνητής, Δρ. Γκρέγκορι, πεθαίνει με φρικιαστικό τρόπο στο γραφείο του στο Κέντρο Πυρηνικών Ερευνών Τέλερ της Καλιφόρνια. Θα έλεγε κανείς ότι μια υπερβολικά μίνι πυρηνική έκρηξη σκότωσε τον επιστήμονα. Την υπόθεση θα αναλάβουν οι ειδικοί πράκτορες του FBI, Μόλντερ και Σκάλι, λόγω της φύσης του εγκλήματος και της φήμης τους. Ο Δρ. Γκρέγκορι δεν θα είναι το μοναδικό θύμα, καθώς θα υπάρξουν και άλλα, που το κοινό στοιχείο που τους ενώνει είναι ένα απόρρητο πυρηνικό πρόγραμμα, το Σχέδιο Λαμπερό Αμόνι. Καθώς οι δυο πράκτορες προσπαθούν να ξεδιαλύνουν το μυστήριο, θα δουν ότι η όλη ιστορία ξεκινά σαράντα χρόνια πριν και σχετίζεται με απόρρητα κυβερνητικά προγράμματα...Σίγουρα έχει κάποια θεματάκια αληθοφάνειας των υπερφυσικών συμβάντων και λίγες σεναριακές ευκολίες, όμως κατά τ'άλλα πρόκειται για ένα ιδιαίτερα καλογραμμένο, συναρπαστικό και χορταστικό θρίλερ επιστημονικής φαντασίας, που σίγουρα θα ικανοποιήσει τους λάτρεις της σειράς, αλλά και του είδους γενικότερα. Η γραφή μου φάνηκε πολύ καλή και ευκολοδιάβαστη, με ωραίες περιγραφές και λίγο χιούμορ, οι δυο πρωταγωνιστικοί χαρακτήρες καλοδουλεμένοι και η ατμόσφαιρα εξαιρετική.
There are several problems with Ground Zero. There is the engineer/nuclear physicist who doesn't know how an internal combustion engine or microwave oven works. UC Berkeley, a state school, is described as having a high tuition cost (one can argue whether or not $1200/year would have been exorbitant, but it is about 11% of what Harvard would have been charging at the time). The USS Dallas is a Spruance class destroyer (no Spruance class ships are named after American cities) in a novel that inserts a discussion about Tom Clancy, an author who actually took the time to note that the USS Dallas is a Los Angeles class submarine. These are things that draw the reader out of the book and make him/her wonder if the author is simple (read: stupid) or just doesn't believe that research plays any part in storytelling. It undercuts every level of verisimilitude needed for the reader to place the story in that murky universe that runs parallel to our own. Perhaps a greater sin is the need Anderson feels to try to wedge in backstory for Scully. It can be done, but the author has to either have a mastery of the characters or (and this is probably the better route to take) write the novel before the series is in its second or third season. Nothing about it seems authentic to the character or the show. Given that he mostly has Mulder and Scully looking sideways/askance at each other, trading quips, and not respecting each other (except to announce to others that they respect each other), it is truly jarring.Now the real problem is that Anderson sucks out all of the suspense by revealing just exactly what is happening about a third of the way through the book. All that is left is for the inevitable conclusion and a weird post-script about government shenanigans.While Anderson has a less infuriating writing style than Charles L. Grant, he handles the story less well. Still...seeing how poorly the series has held up (the first two seasons in particular), I'm not sure expecting much from the novels is the proper attitude to have.
What do You think about Ground Zero (1996)?
Duration: approximately 3 hoursRead by Gillian AndersonAbridgedSo, how can I say this succinctly and clearly? The abridged audiobook of The X-Files: Ground Zero is not good. It is bad. It is not well read. It has few of the best qualities of the TV show. Read by Gillian Anderson, the abridged audiobook clocks in at about 3 hours and read unenthusiastically by Gillian Anderson. One of the reasons I picked this one up is that I figured she'd read it well. It says it was recorded in Vancouver in 1995 (where the show was filmed) and it sounds like she read it between takes. She sounds tired and completely uninterested in the text. Then again, when you look at what she was reading, I cannot blame her for being uninterested. This book has none of the zip of the show. Mulder's lines are almost non-existent. No smart-alack lines or observation. No wry sense of humor that makes even the weakest of the TV shows watchable (I love The X-Files but let's face it - every episode is not being shipped to the TV Hall of Fame...). This book is a tired and pale imitation of what the show was. You can see the ending coming and you wish it would just hurry up and get here. Perhaps the abridgment gutted the book but I was glad it was abridged. The science behind this audiobook is laughable. Not the supernatural stuff - that's what the X-Files is all about. I mean the atomic science. Does the author really think that anyone can explode an atomic bomb without radiation detectors picking up on it? Remember Chernobyl? The West knew it had gone wrong long before the Soviets admitted to it because it was detected by Western atomic sensors. Atomic blasts show up on seismographs. That's how we knew India and Pakistan had them. But, let's ignore facts like that and roll right along with a silly premise.http://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/
—Dale
KJ does a better job in Ground Zero of bringing in the humor aspect that makes X-files so endearing. He doesn't always captured Mulder and Scully's voice, but his secondary character have more dimension to them. They seem more tangible, easier to visualize.As I've said before in my Star Wars days. K.J.A. can create interesting characters. He just doesn't seem to know what to do with them. In Ground Zero, he kills them all off...one of those, "everyone else died, but Mulder and Scully made it, so all is right with the world" endings. And I don't feel bad spoiling you on that, cause it really won't change the experience of the book much. It's kinda like knowing that the Titanic sinks.
—Kay Iscah
In Ground Zero Mulder and Scully investigate the mysterious deaths of two people involved with a secret government project that involves a new type of nuclear device and an above ground test that is against international law. They manage to get a trip to the test site to watch the detonation. Once there they meet up with one of their suspects, a scientist turned nuclear protester and her friend, a blind man whose skin is covered in burn scars and who carries the secret to what has been happening.Ground Zero has a great plot and excellent use of the supernatural that made the X-Files such a fascinating show. The characters don't have extreme depth, but are well drawn. While the ending is telegraphed, Anderson uses great descriptive language to paint the scenes. Mulder and Scully could have been a bigger part of the story and the author didn't really capture Mulder's personality, but Ground Zero was a very enjoyable read.
—Christopher Hivner
