Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #368590 in Books
• Published on: 1996-04-15
• Binding: Paperback
• 248 pages

Synopsis
A novel based on the television science-fiction series, "Babylon 5", set aboard a massive space station in the year 2257. Positioned in a key sector of the galaxy and under the jurisdiction of the Earth Alliance, Babylon 5 serves as a space-borne port of call, open to travellers from anywhere.

Customer Reviews

zero star rating is appropriate but the system wont allow.
Lets set aside, for a moment, the quality of the writing, which I have been happy to do many times in the past for a good story, and instead consider the characters and the story itself.
First, Garibaldi. He comes across as a real wimp in this book. I'm not sure if I was more insulted by his total lack of Garibaldi attributes or if it was the totally unlikely situations he was given in the book.
Second, Ivanova. Ivanova is very intelligence and strong willed. She is not the simpering idiot put across in the book.
Why JMS allowed this book to go out with the B5 logo and seal of approval is a huge puzzle. I can only assume an AE advised that it was 'good quality B5 stuff' or something like that.
As a stand alone sci-fi book that didn't steal the names and setting of B5 it *may* not be so bad, but it does use the B5 identity and therefore there was a duty on the publisher and JMS to ensure at least some minimum level of quality and character correctness.
I have all B5 books currently published and although some of the others are not near as good as the latest books this is by far the worst and should have the B5 association stripped.

Dire
Really. Avoid. I like Babylon 5, but this book is truly dreadful.

Where to begin? The characters are not the same as in the series or as in other books - the same names (bar a Psi-person), the same positions, but different personalities, different reactions, and in the case of Kosh, a *really* different way of speaking, as if he was part human! But the book is about strange things happening - that's the reason. Well, no - if I were Kosh, I would have left on my ship before admitting that I was troubled.

It's a one story-thread book - a big thing is about to envelope B5. Earth is lying about the amount of support it will give - this is '59, the military would not lie about a squadron coming to defend B5, for heaven sakes. I kept reading the book, hoping that the one thread would turn into an interesting direction, rather than "people are going even more weird". And just after the climax, you are left with a feeling of "so what?". You read on, searching for an explaination. There isn't one.

What good can I say about this book. The chapters are short. Unfortunately, that means there are a lot of them. Spend your money on more modern B5, such as the Tech Mages, the mystery about the Centuari after '62, or the future of our favourite Psicop, Bester. But don't spend your money on this book.