2006-08-14
The Shadow Within
Author: Jeanne Cavelos
This novel covers the events in the Babylon 5 universe from November 2256 to January 2257. Anna Sheridan and the rest of an archealogical team take the Icarus to Alpha Omega 3 to investigate the find of the century, which everyone from Earthforce to Psi-Corps is far too interested in. John Sheridan takes command of the Agamemnon and has to overcome a dispirited crew to stop a terrorist plot. While they were supposed to be spending a few weeks together for their anniversary, these obligations manage to keep them apart. Will love abide this border?
The good news is that these stories are told fairly well and, in the case of the Icarus, fill in part of the great B5 story that didn't make it on the air. My edition of this book has "a thrilling prequel to The Passing of the Techno-Mages" printed on the cover, but The Shadow Within was actually published in 1997 in the middle of the television show's run, and relatively soon after the story of the Icarus became the subject of intense curiosity. (Passing is the same author's excellent trilogy that steps outside the main line of the B5 story to take an in-depth look at some fascinating supporting characters. Its success was the reason why the reprint edition of tSW I own exists.)
The bad news is that the two stories are only related by the fact that their main characters are married. Basically Anna's story is novella length, and the unrelated short story of the Agamemnon is mixed in to bring the volume up to 260 pages. I've gotten used to much longer works recently, and this one flew by in two days of effortless reading. I'm not saying the stories should have been padded -- telling the story and then stopping is a good thing -- but be warned about the amount of entertainment between the covers.
The endings contribute to the feeling that a person didn't just finish a novel. The reader is expected to know what happens after the last page, so the abrupt cutoff is suitable. There's no need to overlap with what's already been covered on the air. Cover additions aside, The Passing of the Techno-Mages trilogy is irrelevant (but highly recommended anyway) to this book, but seeing the first three seasons of Babylon 5 is a realistic prerequisite. This is a novel for fans of the series, not for arbitrary readers.
This novel covers the events in the Babylon 5 universe from November 2256 to January 2257. Anna Sheridan and the rest of an archealogical team take the Icarus to Alpha Omega 3 to investigate the find of the century, which everyone from Earthforce to Psi-Corps is far too interested in. John Sheridan takes command of the Agamemnon and has to overcome a dispirited crew to stop a terrorist plot. While they were supposed to be spending a few weeks together for their anniversary, these obligations manage to keep them apart. Will love abide this border?
The good news is that these stories are told fairly well and, in the case of the Icarus, fill in part of the great B5 story that didn't make it on the air. My edition of this book has "a thrilling prequel to The Passing of the Techno-Mages" printed on the cover, but The Shadow Within was actually published in 1997 in the middle of the television show's run, and relatively soon after the story of the Icarus became the subject of intense curiosity. (Passing is the same author's excellent trilogy that steps outside the main line of the B5 story to take an in-depth look at some fascinating supporting characters. Its success was the reason why the reprint edition of tSW I own exists.)
The bad news is that the two stories are only related by the fact that their main characters are married. Basically Anna's story is novella length, and the unrelated short story of the Agamemnon is mixed in to bring the volume up to 260 pages. I've gotten used to much longer works recently, and this one flew by in two days of effortless reading. I'm not saying the stories should have been padded -- telling the story and then stopping is a good thing -- but be warned about the amount of entertainment between the covers.
The endings contribute to the feeling that a person didn't just finish a novel. The reader is expected to know what happens after the last page, so the abrupt cutoff is suitable. There's no need to overlap with what's already been covered on the air. Cover additions aside, The Passing of the Techno-Mages trilogy is irrelevant (but highly recommended anyway) to this book, but seeing the first three seasons of Babylon 5 is a realistic prerequisite. This is a novel for fans of the series, not for arbitrary readers.
