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stephen_arvidson's review
5.0
“And I hope you’re not suggesting a headless body kicked its way out a latched morgue freezer” – Scully to Mulder (p.13).
Regeneration is a young-adult novelization of the Season Four episode of The X-Files titled “Leonard Betts.” In Pittsburgh, FBI Agents Mulder and Scully investigate the apparent death and regeneration of an exemplary EMT named Leonard Betts, a humanoid mutant who subsists on cancer and possesses unimaginative regenerative abilities.
Regeneration, which chronologically is the last book in the young-adult series, features one of the more fascinating monsters in The X-Files gallery of baddies. Unlike Eugene Victor Tooms ("Squeeze") or the Flukeman ("The Host"), Betts is actually a sympathetic, almost tragic character villain who is murdering cancer-riddled victims to ensure his survival, the deaths of his victims being incidental to his needs. As an EMT, he worked vigorously to help people, and only resorts to murder after a freak accident brings his abnormalities to light. As more and more of this complex character is revealed, readers will have a difficult time seeing Leonard Betts as a genuine monster.
Penned by the three of the show’s more solid writers—the three-headed monster that is Vince Gilligan, John Shiban, and Frank Spotnitz—this is a quintessential monster-of-the-week story that will likely stick with readers. Well-executed and with a lingering mystery that gradually reveals itself over that course of the story, Regeneration is also notable for its shocking revelation in the closing pages, the revelation that Scully has cancer. Observant readers will likely appreciate the clever set-up in the book’s climax, the first subtle clue that Scully has cancer revealed through a bombshell of a phrase (“I’m sorry, but you have something I need”) that Leonard Betts used just prior to his attack on Scully.
Regeneration is a faithful adaptation of a quirky yet well-crafted episodic script. Everett Owens (which is a pen name for author/screenwriter Rob Thomas) does a commendable job translating the witty banter between Mulder and Scully, depicting their thoughts and frustrations. There’s so much to like here that even the most adamant fans of the television series will not be disappointed by this wholly satisfactory novelization.
Regeneration is a young-adult novelization of the Season Four episode of The X-Files titled “Leonard Betts.” In Pittsburgh, FBI Agents Mulder and Scully investigate the apparent death and regeneration of an exemplary EMT named Leonard Betts, a humanoid mutant who subsists on cancer and possesses unimaginative regenerative abilities.
Regeneration, which chronologically is the last book in the young-adult series, features one of the more fascinating monsters in The X-Files gallery of baddies. Unlike Eugene Victor Tooms ("Squeeze") or the Flukeman ("The Host"), Betts is actually a sympathetic, almost tragic character villain who is murdering cancer-riddled victims to ensure his survival, the deaths of his victims being incidental to his needs. As an EMT, he worked vigorously to help people, and only resorts to murder after a freak accident brings his abnormalities to light. As more and more of this complex character is revealed, readers will have a difficult time seeing Leonard Betts as a genuine monster.
Penned by the three of the show’s more solid writers—the three-headed monster that is Vince Gilligan, John Shiban, and Frank Spotnitz—this is a quintessential monster-of-the-week story that will likely stick with readers. Well-executed and with a lingering mystery that gradually reveals itself over that course of the story, Regeneration is also notable for its shocking revelation in the closing pages, the revelation that Scully has cancer. Observant readers will likely appreciate the clever set-up in the book’s climax, the first subtle clue that Scully has cancer revealed through a bombshell of a phrase (“I’m sorry, but you have something I need”) that Leonard Betts used just prior to his attack on Scully.
Regeneration is a faithful adaptation of a quirky yet well-crafted episodic script. Everett Owens (which is a pen name for author/screenwriter Rob Thomas) does a commendable job translating the witty banter between Mulder and Scully, depicting their thoughts and frustrations. There’s so much to like here that even the most adamant fans of the television series will not be disappointed by this wholly satisfactory novelization.
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