The X-Files: Origins (Kami Garcia) Books in Order

Kami Garcia's The X-Files: Origins contribution goes back before Fox Mulder became an FBI agent. Agent of Chaos takes place in spring 1979, when Mulder is seventeen, newly uprooted to Washington, D.C., and still haunted by the disappearance of his younger sister, Samantha. The story asks a simple question that fans of the larger franchise already know matters: how did Mulder become someone willing to believe the unbelievable?

He starts with a case that feels personal.

When a local boy is found dead and another child disappears, Mulder cannot stay away from the investigation. His family history is already marked by unanswered questions, strained relationships, and a father connected to secret government work. The new case gives him a reason to look harder at the stories adults dismiss, especially when the evidence begins pointing toward violence, the occult, and a possible conspiracy.

This is a young adult origin story, not a replacement for the television series. Garcia writes Mulder before the familiar suit, badge, and partnership with Dana Scully, but the key pieces are already there. He is curious, stubborn, empathetic, and willing to chase an answer long after other people tell him to let it go. The book keeps the paranoia and unsettling mystery that define The X-Files, while making room for high school friendships and family pressure.

The truth is starting to look stranger.

The companion volume, Devil's Advocate by Jonathan Maberry, follows teenage Dana Scully during the same period. Together, the two books offer separate paths toward the future partnership readers know. Garcia's volume is Mulder's side of the setup, so it works on its own while also inviting readers to continue with Scully's story.

Expect a mystery with real danger rather than a monster-of-the-week retelling. The plot involves a serial killer, missing children, secrets around powerful institutions, and Mulder's growing sense that the official explanation is rarely the whole explanation. It is built for readers who enjoy suspense first, with the supernatural possibility always hovering nearby.

For the cleanest reading experience, start with Agent of Chaos. It is a stand-alone Mulder story, but it gains extra resonance for anyone who already knows where Fox and Dana will eventually end up. Garcia uses the premise to show the young man beneath the future legend, still grieving, still looking, and not yet sure which truths will change his life.