XFiles: Shapes, by Ellen Sleiber (HarperCollins, £3.99 in UK)

By Ellen Steiber based on the teleplay written by Marilyn Osborn after the television series created by Chris Carter, that is…

By Ellen Steiber based on the teleplay written by Marilyn Osborn after the television series created by Chris Carter, that is; and a drearily pedestrian end product it is, too, lacking the pouting prettiness of TV's Mulder and Scully, minus creepy soundtrack and eerie special effects and all the rest. For my money X Files on audiobook, as read by the jaunty Kerry Shale, are a better bet by far; and if you must have aliens on paper there are those smart hardbackjobs with the spaceship silver covers. But for hopeless addicts, these paperbacks are a quick fix, and cheap at the price.

Arminta Wallace

Arminta Wallace

Arminta Wallace is a former Irish Times journalist