This audio drama is based on X-Files graphic novels (I'm not sure which ones) and structured like a collection of X-Files episodes, complete with most of the original voice actors, the X-Files theme song, and narration outlining the location and time. Most of the episodes are alien or black oil episodes, as Mulder and Scully go back to the FBI and look into incidents involving amnesia-causing bright lights, appearances from people who supposedly died a long time ago, and potential threats against Scully's son. However, the second one is more of a "random monster" episode, featuring the Flukeman, a creature from Mulder and Scully's past.

This had been on my wishlist for a while, but I never felt like spending a credit on it back when I had an Audible subscription. When I heard recently that it was on sale, I snatched it up. Even if it wasn't great, I figured that it'd be worth it for the nostalgia alone.

And boy was there a lot of nostalgia. It went beyond hearing so many of the original actors (there were only one or two characters who I think were voiced by other people). I know the title was Cold Cases and all, but it still seemed a bit too closely tied to things from the original series - almost everything that happened involved something supernatural or extraterrestrial that fans of the original series would probably remember. I found myself wishing that the authors had been more willing to work something new into the story.

One big issue for me was that I was never a fan of the X-Files story arcs that dealt primarily with aliens. One-shot stories that dealt with aliens were okay, and I really enjoyed the "random monster" episodes, but the episodes where black oil became more and more important or when Scully got abducted just didn't work as well for me. Unfortunately Cold Cases was almost exclusively focused on this sort of thing. It also didn't help that I've never been a fan of the Mulder and Scully romantic pairing. I was mostly able to forget about this, except for the occasional moment where one or the other of them said or did something that reminded me.

The one aspect of this audio drama that absolutely won me over was the casting. It was wonderful to hear so many people I remembered from what used to be my top favorite show. Gillian Anderson, in particular, did a fabulous job. David Duchovny...less so. I thought he sounded a bit bored at the beginning, particularly during a part where he found Skinner potentially trying to kill himself - none of the emotions I would have expected Mulder to be feeling were conveyed in Duchovny's voice. Thankfully he got better as the drama progressed.

The audio drama format resulted in occasional awkward moments, as the characters described what they were seeing during moments that would usually have relied on visuals in the original TV series. Basically: "Excuse me while I describe aloud everything that I'm currently seeing, since the audience can't see these mysterious lights themselves."

Other awkward moments included those times where characters briefly explained references to events and characters from the original series, so that newbies and fans who hadn't seen those episodes in ages could keep up. Although it made the dialogue more than a bit strange, I admit to appreciating those explanations, since the last time I saw much of the original series was over 10 or 15 years ago. Even then, I found myself checking fan wikis multiple times in order to get my bearings.

I don't think I'd ever recommend this to people who weren't already fans of The X-Files, and it didn't really have anything in the way of new content for fans, but the nostalgia of it worked for me. I imagine I'll re-listen to this at some point just to hear everyone again, even though the stories themselves were only so-so.

 

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)

Bill Nye recently participated in a controversial debate with young-Earth creationist Ken Ham. In his new book, Undeniable, Nye writes "For those readers who might be deeply religious, welcome... I did not disparage anyone's religion." He notes that "many people... see no conflict between their spiritual beliefs and their scientific understanding of evolution." This fact always makes me wonder how individuals can be so sure they speak for God. When someone makes an assertion in science, scrutiny across the world and over time weeds out falsehoods. Similarly, in religions wisdom accumulates over time. Why some individuals cling to the past puzzles me.
Nye writes that "evolution is one of the most powerful and important ideas ever developed in the history of science," with "essential practical applications." He fears that if the "pseudoscience of creationism" makes inroads into education, it "is an assault not just on evolution but on the whole public understanding of science."
Nye refutes creationism. For example, Ham claims that 7,000 kinds of animals were on Noah's ark - there are 16 million species known today, so eleven new species would have come into existence every day under Ham's vision of the Great Flood to reach today's total. Surely someone would have noticed if that happened. Kangaroos would have had to climb down from snowcapped Mount Ararat and hop to Australia without leaving any sign they passed through. No recorded sightings, no bones in Tibet, and across a land bridge that left no trace of its existence. There's loads of information available about the debate on the internet.
But most of the book goes beyond the debate with Ham. Nye begins with the major concepts of biology such as the age of the Earth, biodiversity, fossils, and mass extinctions; as well as history- the contributions of Darwin, Wallace, Lamarck, Linnaeus, Eldridge, Gould, and others.
He addresses topics in the news, such as vaccine safety, genetically modified organisms, human cloning, racism, extraterrestrial life, and research into the origin of life on Earth. If you're already grounded in biology, you might skip to these chapters.
Nye even tackles an evolutionary topic that leaves some people squeamish - the "short evolutionary distance" between us, apes, and other hominids. We can't say "that humans are no longer evolving, because we surely are." "Cue the spooky music."
Nye is known for his TV series, Bill Nye the Science Guy, which "aimed to teach a specific topic in science [in each episode] to a preteen audience, yet it garnered a wide adult audience as well."
In this same vein, the book avoids jargon and uses a conversational tone ("you and I ain't such a big deal," "I thought about how cool it would be," "he was in a bad mood in Tacoma") and personal references ("when I was a senior in college," "while my family was seated together eating a chicken dinner," and dressing up in a gorilla suit for a TV comedy). This makes the book quite accessible - as Steven Pinker says, statistics without stories are empty.
In addition to a teen audience, adults who haven't thought about the subject since high school will enjoy the book. I think even quite young kids who are interested can handle it - if you know any youngsters who rattle off a dozen dinosaurs' Latin names, you may agree.
I recommend this book to anyone unsure of evolution, new to biology, or interested in biology in the news. As Nye says, "evolution is inspiring" and "profoundly humbling" and well worth your time.

Wonderfully imaginative speculations on what sorts of environments and life forms might be found on planets that could support within our galaxy. Outstanding illustrations.

Cute story. Loved that the heroine didn't second guess what her heart and gut were saying and didn't take forever to fall in love. Very sweet ending.

Reread. I really like this one. It was the first one by the author I ever read, and I picked it up several times and debated over whether to purchase it or not. I finally caved, and am glad I did. (the rest of the series, wasn't as good, I thought). Evie...is a homemaker. I can relate. Her ex dumped her because she wasn't exciting or a bean pole (also known as her ex was a douchebag) Eriff, or Reef, as he's called, is much like the characters in a certain highly popular video game series. He was conscripted as a child, and turned into a cyborg. His central computer was removed between the first book and this one, so he's learning to be pseudo normal. (as an aside, what genius thought it a great idea to put the central computer in the ARM?! Lose the arm, you lost the computer. Ooops.)

He was attracted to her pictures in spite of his central computer's attempt at mind control. Meeting her (without the pesky computer playing chaperone) intensifies the effect, and it's mutual.

The mob bit was almost unnecessary - it facilitated their actual meeting, but there were only brief glimpses of it later. More interesting was the police and their desire for revenge (happenings in first book), the rescuing of him by the National Guard, and of course, the whole thing with the Headmaster (although I wondered what they did with his body - chop it up and feed it to the eels?)

So why isn't it a 5 star for me? Because I did wonder why there was even mention of the mob.