The Unofficial ''X-Files'' Companion

Summer may be rerun time for the cool medium, but hot, fresh TV books are popping up all over. One of the more notable takes a crack at that literate X-Files market: The Unofficial ''X-Files'' Companion, by N.E. Genge, an eye-catching byline (fashioned from just three letters) for a Canadian journalist (X-Files is filmed in Vancouver) — it's almost too perfect for an X-Phile. Genge's book, subtitled ''An X-Phile's Guide to the Mysteries, Conspiracies, and Really Strange Truths Behind the Show,'' is a neat twist on most TV tomes: Yes, it includes summaries of X episodes, but then it goes on to investigate the real-life phenomena that have figured in various plots — from UFOs to cloning to werewolves. Genge maintains a smart tone that's somewhere between true believer and skeptic, just like the show's Mulder and Scully. B