World Famous Comics: X-Men Mutant Empire : Book 1 - Siege
X-Men Mutant Empire : Book 1 - Siege
By: Christopher Golden Publisher: Berkley Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 338 Publication Date: May 01, 1996 Studio: Berkley
Product Description: The X-Men's oldest and deadliest enemy, Magneto, has taken over the Sentinels, powerful mutant-hunting robots, and the X-Men must fight the Acolytes, Magneto's mutant followers, and the United States government, which holds the X-Men responsible for the takeover. Original.
X-Men Fans will not be dissapointed! ^ Christopher Golden has written a book that does justice to the X-Men comic book series created by Stan Lee. Mutant Empire, the first book in the "siege" trilogy, introduces the reader to the fantasy world of the X-Men. The story line revolves around two philosophies. Philosophies on how humans and "mutants" should co-exist together. The first philosophy coming from a mutant called Magneto. He believes that mutants are the next line in human evolution and should reign supreme over the "normal" humans; he leads a mutant regime of followers called the "Acolytes". But Charles Xavier, leader of the X-Men, believes that with mutual understanding, mutants and humans can learn to exist together in peace. The book includes many conflicts and surprises, including the giant robots known as sentinels and the alien "Starjammers". Comic book fans who have followed the series since its beginnings will not be disappointed, and those just starting will be simply addicted. The book is adventurous, exciting and full of action. Anyone who has an interest in the X-men, no matter how slim it may be, should take the time to read Mutant Empire. The book will leave you searching for the second book in the series.
Serious Fans Beware ^ Personally, I didn't like the writing style or technique. Though the idea was interesting for a fanfic, it has several flaws, most of them on a major scale. The most obvious difficulty in accepting this as a serious work of the X-Men is the time frame. The story is obviously supposed to take place between X-Men #25 and Uncanny X-Men #304. The time frame is established by the leaving of Colossus and the fact that Wolverine has not been "dismembered" by Magneto as of yet. This is impossible, since the events of those issues had very little time lapse between them. Yet Golden's story supposedly takes at least three days of time between the two issues. Further, Golden writes the novels in 1996, a full two years after these issues have taken place and several other developments have occurred in the lives of the major players in the series.
Also, he fails to account for the absence of two of the major X-groups, Excalibur and X-Force, througout the novels. Further, he fails to account for the absence of the Avengers, Fantastic Four and Spider-Man, all who have strong ties to Manhattan, the scene for the majority of the story. Personally, I think the story was poorly conceived, though the idea had merit.
Another issue I have with the novels is characterization - Golden not only has written out Psylocke and Jubilee without explanation, he has also changed much of the idea behind the characterization developed by Marvel for the characters he does include. While remaining true to Cain Marko and Charles Xavier (to an extent), he completely ignores the characterizations developed for Storm, Jean, Rogue, Iceman, Archangel and several of the other characters that he treats dismissively.
While most of the reviewers for this series have said they were thoroughly pleased with it, I was immensely disappointed. Though fanfic can ignore continuity, the author generally makes a introductory courtesy note of the omission to the readers. This prevents disappointment with the story on a whole.
If you are looking for a good X-Men fanfic, there are several available on websites free of charge that are neither so long, nor so tedious as this. I am of the opinion that Mr. Golden needs to re-evaluate his next attempt to characterize the X-Men. And if Marvel is responsible for the editing on this series, they need to hire someone who can read for the *numerous* errors included in the manuscript.
Believe the hype... ^ This is a REALLY good book! The Marvel novels were on a little roll here, and this one keeps the ball rollin'! Mr. Golden has really done fine work (again). He seems like one of the few writers who wrote these books to truly "get" the characters they are writing about...go figure. Just about every character gets some backstory, to help you truly understand them, and they each have distinct characteristics that set them apart from each other (save for a few of the Acolytes, but oh well). Great job, and I look forward to the rest of the trilogy...
Beginning of the Trilogy ^ Wonderful book by Chris Golden that begins the first part of the mutant empire trilogy. In depth knowledge into the X-Men universe. It details the begining where Magneto takes over the Sentinels to start his Mutant Empire in Manhatten. Unfortunately half of the X-Men team is sent off into space to rescue Corsair and the other half is left to confront Magneto and his evil ambitions.
Definitely one of the best X-Men novels ^ X-Men: Mutant Empire Book 1 - Siege, by Christopher Golden
I'm a longtime fan of the X-Men. I discovered the comic book over 10 years ago and have been following it or one of its cousin books ever since. In that time, I've also managed to compile a sizeable back-issue collection, meaning I have most of the X-Men comics from 1975 and on.
That leaves me with huge expectations for every X-Men issue, TV series, movie, and novel that comes out. Needless to say, I've been disappointed by many of them. Sometimes, my only wish is that a new X-Men related product merely be decent, if not great.
Siege, the first part of the Mutant Empire trilogy by Christopher Golden, meets and exceeds every single one of my expectations.
One thing I love about this series, and about each individual novel in it, is the pacing. With about 350 pages per novel, Golden has a great deal of room to work with, and he puts that to great use. He maintains suspense by actually having two simultaneous plots (although one is clearly a relative subplot).
The larger issue is that Magneto has taken control of the Sentinels (mutant-killing robots), and has declared himself ruler of New York City. One half of the X-Men deals with that, and the other half goes into space to rescue Corsair, Cyclops' father. I'll be honest - the latter plot is doomed to be filler from the start, and it doesn't occupy my interest much.
But beyond the plot pacing, the characterization is almost dead-on. The X-Men are just how I remember them from the comic books - complete with accurate dialogue, realistic character interaction, and even some personality development. It's a testament to Golden's skills that he continues to flesh out characters with over 20 (and in some cases, 30) years of history. Each of the characters has a particular worldview, and Golden not only gives each one fair representation, but he also gives the reader a deeper understanding of how each character ticks.
However, I do find that some parts of the novel degenerate into comfortable, "easy" writing. One of my complaints is Golden's description of both Deathbird and Henry Peter Gyrich (the two main villains in the novel) as "evil and insane." Ho-hum. Although he slips in a bit of irony by having Deathbird's obvious paranoia and insanity justified, he paints Gyrich as so thorough a bigot that he borders on contradicting established comic history (but then, that's a fanboy gripe).
I like it that Magneto, soon to be the principle villain of the story, receives very little attention and development in the first novel. His basic motivations and plans are spelled out at the very beginning, and then Golden proceeds to develop the character slowly as the novel proceeds. It's a great way to build suspense toward the inevitable takeover of New York.
In short, Siege is one of the best pieces of X-Men literature I have read, including the comic books. Christopher Golden has an excellent handle on the basics of fine writing, as well as the complex histories of his particular characters, and proceeds to combine them into an engaging and enjoyable tale. This novel stands alone for new readers, or even for people who don't want to buy the whole series (but be warned, the cliffhanger will make you want to read the other two books). And it will please all but the pickiest of longtime X-Men fans. Go for it.
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