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Marvel Pocket Books Novels
X-Men: Dark Mirror
Feared and mistrusted by the very people they have sworn to protect, the X-Men are a band of mutant heroes dedicated to defending humans from those mutants who would use their powers to harm and destroy. Blessed -- some would say cursed -- with awesome abilities, the members of the X-Men are Earth's last defense against villains and madmen...and the future's only hope.
Jean Grey awakens in an unfamiliar room. She is weak, disoriented, stripped of her telepathic and telekinetic powers -- and trapped in someone else's body. Also prisoner are her teammates Cyclops, Wolverine, Rogue, and Nightcrawler -- their minds held hostage within the bodies of strangers. Who has brought them here, and for what purpose? The answers lead to a terrifying plan that threatens not only the X-Men, but all of mutantkind...
Jean Grey awakens in an unfamiliar room. She is weak, disoriented, stripped of her telepathic and telekinetic powers -- and trapped in someone else's body. Also prisoner are her teammates Cyclops, Wolverine, Rogue, and Nightcrawler -- their minds held hostage within the bodies of strangers. Who has brought them here, and for what purpose? The answers lead to a terrifying plan that threatens not only the X-Men, but all of mutantkind...
309 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published December 27, 2005
About the author
Marjorie M. Liu
254 books4,171 followersNew York Times bestselling and award-winning writer Marjorie Liu is best known for her fiction and comic books. She teaches comic book writing at MIT, and she leads a class on Popular Fiction at the Voices of Our Nation (VONA) workshop.
Ms. Liu is a highly celebrated comic book writer. Her extensive work with Marvel includes the bestselling Dark Wolverine series, NYX: No Way Home, X-23, and Black Widow: The Name of the Rose. She received national media attention for Astonishing X-Men, which featured the gay wedding of X-Man Northstar and was subsequently nominated for a GLAAD Media Award for outstanding media images of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. Ms. Liu also wrote the story for the animated film, Avengers Confidential: Black Widow and Punisher, which was produced by Marvel, Sony Pictures Entertainment (Japan) Inc., and Madhouse Inc.
Her newest work is MONSTRESS, an original, creator-owned comic book series with Japanese artist (and X-23 collaborator) Sana Takeda. Published by Image in Fall 2015, MONSTRESS is set in an alternate, matriarchal 1920’s Asia and follows a girl’s struggle to survive the trauma of war. With a cast of girls and monsters and set against a richly imagined aesthetic of art deco-inflected steam punk, MONSTRESS #1 debuted to critical praise. The Hollywood Reporter remarked that the longer than typical first issue was “world-building on a scale rare in mainstream comics.”
Ms. Liu is also the author of more than 19 novels, most notably the urban fantasy series, Hunter Kiss, and the paranormal romance series, Dirk & Steele. Her novels have also been bestsellers on USA Today, which described Liu “as imaginative as she is prolific.” Her critically praised fiction has twice received the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, for THE MORTAL BONE (Hunter Kiss #6), and TIGER EYE (Dirk & Steele #1). TIGER EYE was the basis for a bestselling paranormal romance video game called Tiger Eye: Curse of the Riddle Box.
Liu has appeared on MSNBC, CNN, MTV, and been profiled in the Wall Street Journal.com, Hollywood Reporter, and USA Today. She is a frequent lecturer and guest speaker, appearing on panels at San Diego Comic Con, the Tokyo Literary Festival, the New York Times Public Lecture series, Geeks Out; and the Asian American Writers Workshop. Her work has been published internationally, including Germany, France, Japan, Poland, and the United Kingdom.
Ms. Liu was born in Philadelphia, and has lived in numerous cities in the Midwest and Beijing. Prior to writing full-time, she was a lawyer. She currently resides in Boston.
Ms. Liu is a highly celebrated comic book writer. Her extensive work with Marvel includes the bestselling Dark Wolverine series, NYX: No Way Home, X-23, and Black Widow: The Name of the Rose. She received national media attention for Astonishing X-Men, which featured the gay wedding of X-Man Northstar and was subsequently nominated for a GLAAD Media Award for outstanding media images of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. Ms. Liu also wrote the story for the animated film, Avengers Confidential: Black Widow and Punisher, which was produced by Marvel, Sony Pictures Entertainment (Japan) Inc., and Madhouse Inc.
Her newest work is MONSTRESS, an original, creator-owned comic book series with Japanese artist (and X-23 collaborator) Sana Takeda. Published by Image in Fall 2015, MONSTRESS is set in an alternate, matriarchal 1920’s Asia and follows a girl’s struggle to survive the trauma of war. With a cast of girls and monsters and set against a richly imagined aesthetic of art deco-inflected steam punk, MONSTRESS #1 debuted to critical praise. The Hollywood Reporter remarked that the longer than typical first issue was “world-building on a scale rare in mainstream comics.”
Ms. Liu is also the author of more than 19 novels, most notably the urban fantasy series, Hunter Kiss, and the paranormal romance series, Dirk & Steele. Her novels have also been bestsellers on USA Today, which described Liu “as imaginative as she is prolific.” Her critically praised fiction has twice received the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, for THE MORTAL BONE (Hunter Kiss #6), and TIGER EYE (Dirk & Steele #1). TIGER EYE was the basis for a bestselling paranormal romance video game called Tiger Eye: Curse of the Riddle Box.
Liu has appeared on MSNBC, CNN, MTV, and been profiled in the Wall Street Journal.com, Hollywood Reporter, and USA Today. She is a frequent lecturer and guest speaker, appearing on panels at San Diego Comic Con, the Tokyo Literary Festival, the New York Times Public Lecture series, Geeks Out; and the Asian American Writers Workshop. Her work has been published internationally, including Germany, France, Japan, Poland, and the United Kingdom.
Ms. Liu was born in Philadelphia, and has lived in numerous cities in the Midwest and Beijing. Prior to writing full-time, she was a lawyer. She currently resides in Boston.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
March 26, 2015
My actual rating is 3.5 stars.
This is based on the popular Marvel characters. In this one, some of the X-Men head to Seattle to check on a mental institution that is holding mutants. Without any notice, the X-Men wake up in this institution in different bodies that are human. They need to get back home and they need to do this without their powers.
I was surprised how much I enjoyed this book considering it a superhero book with the characters having no abilities. This is your basic walking in someone else's shoes and the author does a good job with this concept. She does a commendable job with the mutants adapting to a regular body and she adds humorous moments to this switch. There has to be funny moments with Wolverine trapped as a woman. I liked how the characters learn from this experience and has character growth which must be hard to convey with characters that are so established. The reason I subtracted a half star from my rating was the ending. It was a little too easy and I believe the author should have prolonged the outcome.
This is a prime example of "don't judge a book by its cover". This cover is terrible but the story is enjoyable and superhero fans will enjoy it even though it lacks major battles and fights.
This is based on the popular Marvel characters. In this one, some of the X-Men head to Seattle to check on a mental institution that is holding mutants. Without any notice, the X-Men wake up in this institution in different bodies that are human. They need to get back home and they need to do this without their powers.
I was surprised how much I enjoyed this book considering it a superhero book with the characters having no abilities. This is your basic walking in someone else's shoes and the author does a good job with this concept. She does a commendable job with the mutants adapting to a regular body and she adds humorous moments to this switch. There has to be funny moments with Wolverine trapped as a woman. I liked how the characters learn from this experience and has character growth which must be hard to convey with characters that are so established. The reason I subtracted a half star from my rating was the ending. It was a little too easy and I believe the author should have prolonged the outcome.
This is a prime example of "don't judge a book by its cover". This cover is terrible but the story is enjoyable and superhero fans will enjoy it even though it lacks major battles and fights.
April 8, 2020
An X-Men tale in paperback format… the story begins with Scott, Jean, Kurt, Logan and Rogue waking up in an asylum in other people's bodies and with no powers. A neat kicking off point for what turned out to be an OK adventure, but definitely a read for those already familiar with the team. 5 out of 12.
February 22, 2023
Perhaps not the X-Men book I was expecting but in a way the one I needed...
Liu takes the familiar (to us X-fans) characters of Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Jean Grey, Cyclops and Rogue and throws them into the novel scenario of waking up in regular human bodies sans mutant powers, in several cases even with a different biological sex. From such harrowing beginnings we start a cross-country odyssey of self-discovery that has a lot to say about unconscious bias, overt prejudice, the treatment of the mentally ill, and more.
At times the storytelling was a little repetitive but this is offset by the author's deep understanding of the characters she's using and frequent touches of genuine humour.
I definitely recommend, though if you want a book chock full of superheroics and eye beams this is probably not the one for you.
Liu takes the familiar (to us X-fans) characters of Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Jean Grey, Cyclops and Rogue and throws them into the novel scenario of waking up in regular human bodies sans mutant powers, in several cases even with a different biological sex. From such harrowing beginnings we start a cross-country odyssey of self-discovery that has a lot to say about unconscious bias, overt prejudice, the treatment of the mentally ill, and more.
At times the storytelling was a little repetitive but this is offset by the author's deep understanding of the characters she's using and frequent touches of genuine humour.
I definitely recommend, though if you want a book chock full of superheroics and eye beams this is probably not the one for you.
July 6, 2014
While not high literature or anything, this book is FAR better than I expected a random X-Men paperback plucked off of the shelf of the community center library to be, and tells a story that movie audiences would never tolerate, and that would likely not really work in the comics, either. Engaging and well-paced, begins at a totally unexpected point, and moves well - a little too quick on the wrap up (that roller coaster effect again) or it would have garnered more praise.
July 10, 2020
Five of the X-Men (the V-Men?) wake up in different bodies. Wolverine is now a busty young woman, Cyclops is a cute Asian woman, Jean Grey is now, I dunno, a rastafarian dude? Nothing makes sense. But it affords the X-Men an opportunity for even more navel-gazing than usual. Added bonus: lots of talk about peeing.
August 12, 2023
It was a fun look at the characters. The pacing didn't do it 100% for me, but I still enjoyed the story.
It was also nice that the story acknowledged that being in a body of the opposite gender would cause some awkwardness for many. I feel like a lot of what I've read never comments on figuring out the bathroom and not wanting to look down. Haha.
It was also nice that the story acknowledged that being in a body of the opposite gender would cause some awkwardness for many. I feel like a lot of what I've read never comments on figuring out the bathroom and not wanting to look down. Haha.
May 27, 2012
Dark Mirror was amazing in some ways, not so much in others. The unique story, humorous dialogue, themes of teamwork, and great writing were all to this novel's benefit, but some profanity and sexual content, the latter of which veered into the kind of "PG-13" territory that even the films didn't touch, threw some garbage into the mix. True X-Men fans will love and enjoy Dark Mirror, but, if you're not one of them, then stay away.
June 12, 2019
This was great. Without giving too much way, the confines the X-Men find themselves in is perfect for introspection. This makes for a deep, character-heavy look at characters shown in a very different way. My favorite of the X-Men novels.
I discuss this series in more detail in this episode of the All the Books Show Podcast https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/ep...
I discuss this series in more detail in this episode of the All the Books Show Podcast https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/ep...
March 20, 2023
I enjoyed this book as a character study of the different X-Men, but the book's ending was way too abrupt and unsatisfying.
May 28, 2010
Let me begin by getting the negativity out of the way. I hated the cover of this book. Not so much the style of the cover but the interpretations of the characters. Perhaps Cyclops can pass for half decent but the rest, and Rogue in particular, don't look like the characters in the Marvel universe. Sure, you can tell who Wolverine is by the claws and the suit but would you know that was Jean Grey or Rogue if they didn't appear with the rest of the team on the cover? I really think not.
For many years the Marvel prose novels appeared to be very much in house when it came to the authors penning them. You would see the same writers going from one set of superheroes to another so it was a pleasant change when Marjorie M. Liu brought a fresh perspective to the world of the X-Men.
Published in 2006 'Dark Mirror' adds an intriguing twist to the usual X-Men tales. You see, instead of them fighting the bad guys with their array of superpowers they find themselves stripped of their powers, by virtue of inhabiting the bodies of strangers, and so find themselves relying on their cunning, stealth and brains. From the back of the book...
"Jean Grey awakens in an unfamiliar room. She is weak, disoriented, stripped of her telepathic and telekinetic powers - and trapped in someone else's body. Also prisoner are her teammates Cyclops, Wolverine, Rogue and Nightcrawler - their minds held hostage within the bodies of strangers. Who has brought them here, and for what purposes? The answers lead to a terrifying plan that threatens not only the X-Men. but all of mutantkind..."
You would think that stripping away the powers that make the X-Men who they are would be a mistake as they would be losing what makes them unique. However, Ms Liu has such a wonderful grasp of the characters and how they act and think that this is far from the case. In fact, it was a refreshing change to see the X-Men stripped down to their bare bones. One of them, I won't spoil it by saying who, is inhabiting the body of someone of the opposite sex which really mixes things up and makes this X-Men novel even more unique.
I would suggest that all the other X-Men prose novels I have read, all twenty-nine of them, would only really appeal to fans of the franchise. However, this one is different and should appeal to those with little or even no knowledge of the X-Men due to the characters being stripped bare. It's only at the novel's climax when the X-Men's individual mutant powers come into play and by then, if you're not a superhero fan, you will have already had more than your money's worth due to the excellent story.
For many years the Marvel prose novels appeared to be very much in house when it came to the authors penning them. You would see the same writers going from one set of superheroes to another so it was a pleasant change when Marjorie M. Liu brought a fresh perspective to the world of the X-Men.
Published in 2006 'Dark Mirror' adds an intriguing twist to the usual X-Men tales. You see, instead of them fighting the bad guys with their array of superpowers they find themselves stripped of their powers, by virtue of inhabiting the bodies of strangers, and so find themselves relying on their cunning, stealth and brains. From the back of the book...
"Jean Grey awakens in an unfamiliar room. She is weak, disoriented, stripped of her telepathic and telekinetic powers - and trapped in someone else's body. Also prisoner are her teammates Cyclops, Wolverine, Rogue and Nightcrawler - their minds held hostage within the bodies of strangers. Who has brought them here, and for what purposes? The answers lead to a terrifying plan that threatens not only the X-Men. but all of mutantkind..."
You would think that stripping away the powers that make the X-Men who they are would be a mistake as they would be losing what makes them unique. However, Ms Liu has such a wonderful grasp of the characters and how they act and think that this is far from the case. In fact, it was a refreshing change to see the X-Men stripped down to their bare bones. One of them, I won't spoil it by saying who, is inhabiting the body of someone of the opposite sex which really mixes things up and makes this X-Men novel even more unique.
I would suggest that all the other X-Men prose novels I have read, all twenty-nine of them, would only really appeal to fans of the franchise. However, this one is different and should appeal to those with little or even no knowledge of the X-Men due to the characters being stripped bare. It's only at the novel's climax when the X-Men's individual mutant powers come into play and by then, if you're not a superhero fan, you will have already had more than your money's worth due to the excellent story.
March 17, 2011
I love the X-Men and Marjorie Liu but still didn't have high expectations when I opened this book. I was mistaken. They were familiar characters, but Marjorie Liu is such a terrific author that this book was a great read. It was still a 'comic book' novella, but had a depth that most of those books don't have. (Um, not that I read a lot of those... of course not.)
If you're an X-Men or Liu fan, you should definitely pick it up.
If you're an X-Men or Liu fan, you should definitely pick it up.
August 3, 2015
Dark Mirror is what i call a fine book. It is not a AMAZING SPARKLING UNICORN-ISH plot nor are the characters.
The X-men are still cool, loveable and even funny, but they feel weak and poor. The plot is not really progressive. Things happen so slowly, even though a lot of unnecessary story was cut off (THANK YOU, MARJORIE).
It is good to read if you just want to have fun. But if you are waiting for something BIG, you should leave it there and come back later, but still not forgetting to.
The X-men are still cool, loveable and even funny, but they feel weak and poor. The plot is not really progressive. Things happen so slowly, even though a lot of unnecessary story was cut off (THANK YOU, MARJORIE).
It is good to read if you just want to have fun. But if you are waiting for something BIG, you should leave it there and come back later, but still not forgetting to.
March 17, 2016
Dark Mirror was a pretty good book. The story is centralized around Wolverine, Jean, Scott, Rogue, and Nightcrawler. These five x-men are placed in the bodies of five individuals that are currently living in a mental institution. The book continues with their struggles to regain their bodies and stop an evil telepathic from ruining the
x-men.
x-men.
September 10, 2013
Despite a really unfortunate cover (who are those people?!), this is a pretty good X-novel. It's a little short on action for the amount of introspection, but there are some genuinely amusing bits mixed with some careful considerations of the iconic characters from alternative viewpoints. I liked it.
May 17, 2021
I’m torn between three and four stars here but am being kind. This is a gender-bending, body-swapping, how-did-this-happen-and-what-are-we-going-to-do-about-it” books. It had its moments but I doubt I’ll reread it.
Only real criticism — too much time talking about peeing and body gestures. We get it, dude, we get it.
Only real criticism — too much time talking about peeing and body gestures. We get it, dude, we get it.
January 4, 2010
Jubilee is awesome, and that's really all I have to say about this book.
July 23, 2016
This book is crack, but enjoyably so. Two major downsides: the horrible cover and the deus-ex-machina ending. Still, in between that you get genderswap shenanigans. Reads like a train.
December 3, 2013
Not gonna lie - if it involves the X-Men (particularly my favorite character, Jean Grey/Phoenix), then I'm gonna read it.
November 28, 2023
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X-Men: Dark Mirror is a standalone X-Men story by Marjorie M. Liu that features some of the more well known members. Rouge, Jean Grey, Wolverine, Scott Summers, and Kurt Wagner have all been body swapped with patients from a mental hospital. They are all unsure of who or what body swapped them.
This story was really exciting in some parts and really disappointing in others. I wish the mental hospital scenes weren't just people talking about how "insane and crazy" mental hospital patients are. I also didn't like how
I would have rated this four stars because I really liked the story but the treatment of the mental patients was just borderline ableist and I really didn't like that.
I'm giving this story 3 out of 5 stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5 Stars
I listened to this for free on [HooplaDigital.com]
---
X-Men: Dark Mirror is a standalone X-Men story by Marjorie M. Liu that features some of the more well known members. Rouge, Jean Grey, Wolverine, Scott Summers, and Kurt Wagner have all been body swapped with patients from a mental hospital. They are all unsure of who or what body swapped them.
This story was really exciting in some parts and really disappointing in others. I wish the mental hospital scenes weren't just people talking about how "insane and crazy" mental hospital patients are. I also didn't like how
I would have rated this four stars because I really liked the story but the treatment of the mental patients was just borderline ableist and I really didn't like that.
I'm giving this story 3 out of 5 stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5 Stars
I listened to this for free on [HooplaDigital.com]
May 20, 2017
X-Men tem sido uma das minhas histórias favoritas desde a infância e, mesmo assim, não havia me despertado o interesse para o livro. Comecei-o sem muitas expectativas e me surpreendi pelo lado bom. É interessante a experiência de estar com personagens já conhecidas pelos desenhos e filmes em forma de prosa, de me aprofundar mais na narrativa e no que está acontecendo. A autora traduziu bem a essência de cada um, suas personalidades e, também, o universo ao qual pertencem.
No entanto, esperava algo mais da história, já que traz uma ideia interessantíssima. Acabou sem muita ação ou um desfecho convincente, mas trouxe o mesmo sentimento dos filmes e dos quadrinhos.
No entanto, esperava algo mais da história, já que traz uma ideia interessantíssima. Acabou sem muita ação ou um desfecho convincente, mas trouxe o mesmo sentimento dos filmes e dos quadrinhos.
October 3, 2017
For an X-Men novel it was a bit on the slow side. It had an interesting story though. A team of five led by Cyclops gets body snatched and their minds get place into the bodies of mental patients at a mental hospital they are investigating. They spend most of the book trying to get home and the last couple chapters are a short battle. A lot of time is devoted to mentioning their many bathroom breaks lol. Over all the story was so so. Not bad not great.
August 1, 2023
3.5
O livro é bom naquilo que se propõe. Comecei a ler não esperando muito de um romance dos X-Men mas me surpreendi com o resultado.
O desenvolvimento da história é muito bem feito até 75% do livro, os outros 25% parecem meio apressados. O vilão tem uma história clichê e pouco desenvolvida e o desfecho apela para a força fênix muito rápido. Apesar disso, a autora consegue visitar temas interessantes sobre as mutações que não são tão glamourosas quanto os X-Men.
O livro é bom naquilo que se propõe. Comecei a ler não esperando muito de um romance dos X-Men mas me surpreendi com o resultado.
O desenvolvimento da história é muito bem feito até 75% do livro, os outros 25% parecem meio apressados. O vilão tem uma história clichê e pouco desenvolvida e o desfecho apela para a força fênix muito rápido. Apesar disso, a autora consegue visitar temas interessantes sobre as mutações que não são tão glamourosas quanto os X-Men.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 30, 2023
The X-Men don't have any powers or any cash--I loved it.
I didn't like the ending, but the bulk of the novel was so fun to read, I don't know if any ending could have matched it.
I think my major note is that a younger character is put in danger and that didn't seem necessary to the story, and not too fun to read.
I also felt sorry for the mental hospital staff. There was some conversation about the X-Men and violence that was interesting. What are the other good X-Men novels?
I didn't like the ending, but the bulk of the novel was so fun to read, I don't know if any ending could have matched it.
I think my major note is that a younger character is put in danger and that didn't seem necessary to the story, and not too fun to read.
I also felt sorry for the mental hospital staff. There was some conversation about the X-Men and violence that was interesting. What are the other good X-Men novels?
December 7, 2023
I really just picked this up because Liu is such a genius. Fully did not expect much from the premise and wasn’t sure x-men would translate well to prose buuuuuuut this book rules. It’s funny and sweet and it’s clear Liu understands the characters in depth. It never gets as action-packed as someone might expect, and I can see some people having issues with aspects of how mentally ill people are mostly characterized, or in the twist at the end.
January 15, 2018
Não tinha expectativas, achei divertido. Roadtrip, conflitos humanos, mutantes sem poderes. Velhos amigos numa nova história.
July 16, 2018
o livro é extremamente devagar até as últimas 30 páginas, que são as que valem o livro todo.
February 21, 2023
Think X-men meets Freaky Friday. Over all just average, nothing special.
November 28, 2023
Lackluster
September 16, 2024
3.5-4 ⭐️
September 19, 2024
I guess on the paper blending the X-men with One Flew Over the Cookcoo's Nest could have been interesting but the way it played out it was just weird and nonsensical.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews