X-MEN

Kristine Kathryn Rusch and Dean Wesley Smith (Pocket Books £5.99)

THE publishers have leapt on an approaching Hollywood bandwagon by issuing what the chain calls a "novelisation".

Any sci-fi fan worth his or her salt knows a blockbuster of the same name will reach Worcestershire cinemas in late August.

It's fair to say this 240-page version of the film won't win any awards for artistry. It's a derivative, simplistic effort cobbled together by two authors.

For those not in the know, the X-Men are genetic mutants - with butch names such as Wolverine, Cyclops and Rogue - born with superhuman powers.

They harness their power to the greater good, but the humans they fight to protect fear and loathe them. Their arch-enemies are terrorists led by the powerful Magneto.

X-Men passes muster as a thriller-by-numbers.

Readers who don't mind the authors' irritating habit of putting chunks of script into italics for no good reason, or abrupt sentences that fail to communicate much impact, will find this is not quite as bad as it could have been.

However, I foresee many copies ending up in remaindered bookshops' bargain bins.

Paul Stammers