I could have easily overlooked the book - it was part of a haphazard pile where every book was priced at Rs. 50. I had rummaged through the pile for a while and then moved on to other aisles where the collections were more meticulously arranged because combing painstakingly through the pile would have required hours - not to mention loads of patience - both in short supply as far as I am concerned. But my mom, who had chosen to accompany me to the book exhibition by Ashish Book Center, seemed to have both in plenty as she wasn't looking for anything specific.
'Here, take a look at this' she thrust the book in my hand as I stood wondering about which Clive Cussler books to buy. The title of the book she gave me read 'Ruins' and featured Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully on the front cover. In case you just said 'Huh? Who?', these are characters from the 90s TV show, X-Files. It is the story of two FBI agents (sorry, special agents - as all agents of FBI are called!) and their investigation of the cases which, more often than not, contain the truth that is 'Out There'. Funnily enough, though I was never fond of either agent - Mulder is irritatingly gullible and Scully, irritatingly practical - I loved the plots with their own eccentric twists and turns, and of course the lure of the paranormal. BTW, the show is currently being aired on Zee Cafe from Monday to Friday. Season 2 is almost over.
So, back to the book. It is based on the characters from the show, so besides Mulder and Scully, Skinner and the Lone Gunmen are also part of the plot. The story begins when a team of 5 American Archeologists goes missing from an as-yet-unexplored Mayan Site in the Yucatan jungle, Xitaclan. Mulder and Scully are called-upon to investigate the matter. Quite unknown to them, a group of elite US soldiers is dispatched to the same site to investigate a strange signal that is being emitted from the area. To make matters worse, the head of the local police is secretly heading a movement to cede the territory from the rest of Mexico - to protect the native culture. And then there are some shady characters who are running the business of selling ancient Mayan artifacts to the wealthy. Can any of the archeologists be found? Was the ancient visitor to the land of the Mayas an alien astronomer in reality? Do the feathered serpents from the carvings on the Mayan temples still exist?
The book is an intriguing journey of the search for these answers. The characters of Mulder and Scully, as depicted in the book, are totally in sync with their on-screen personae. I am sure the readers will be torn between two conflicting emotions - an intense desire to be at the ruins to experience the ancient site, with all its mysteries and an equally strong sense of dread of the unknown, of the ancient, of the supernatural. I had to make an effort to stop reading every time I picked the book up.
The book is a great accompaniment to a steaming cuppa tea, a plate full of spicy pakodas and the raindrops pattering on the window-panes. :-)
'Here, take a look at this' she thrust the book in my hand as I stood wondering about which Clive Cussler books to buy. The title of the book she gave me read 'Ruins' and featured Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully on the front cover. In case you just said 'Huh? Who?', these are characters from the 90s TV show, X-Files. It is the story of two FBI agents (sorry, special agents - as all agents of FBI are called!) and their investigation of the cases which, more often than not, contain the truth that is 'Out There'. Funnily enough, though I was never fond of either agent - Mulder is irritatingly gullible and Scully, irritatingly practical - I loved the plots with their own eccentric twists and turns, and of course the lure of the paranormal. BTW, the show is currently being aired on Zee Cafe from Monday to Friday. Season 2 is almost over.
So, back to the book. It is based on the characters from the show, so besides Mulder and Scully, Skinner and the Lone Gunmen are also part of the plot. The story begins when a team of 5 American Archeologists goes missing from an as-yet-unexplored Mayan Site in the Yucatan jungle, Xitaclan. Mulder and Scully are called-upon to investigate the matter. Quite unknown to them, a group of elite US soldiers is dispatched to the same site to investigate a strange signal that is being emitted from the area. To make matters worse, the head of the local police is secretly heading a movement to cede the territory from the rest of Mexico - to protect the native culture. And then there are some shady characters who are running the business of selling ancient Mayan artifacts to the wealthy. Can any of the archeologists be found? Was the ancient visitor to the land of the Mayas an alien astronomer in reality? Do the feathered serpents from the carvings on the Mayan temples still exist?
The book is an intriguing journey of the search for these answers. The characters of Mulder and Scully, as depicted in the book, are totally in sync with their on-screen personae. I am sure the readers will be torn between two conflicting emotions - an intense desire to be at the ruins to experience the ancient site, with all its mysteries and an equally strong sense of dread of the unknown, of the ancient, of the supernatural. I had to make an effort to stop reading every time I picked the book up.
The book is a great accompaniment to a steaming cuppa tea, a plate full of spicy pakodas and the raindrops pattering on the window-panes. :-)
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