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Babylon 5 Books

Hi Everyone,
I got all the other B5 novels but had just
the same problem you guys had to
acquire book 3 of the Centauri trilogy,

Rest of content deleted by staff. - Kribu
 
That's still pretty blatant copyright infringement guys. And if I'm not totally misinformed, I'm pretty sure the people running this place would rather you not use this forum for doing that.

The B5 short stories are even harder to find, and JMS made it clear that the trading of digital copies of those that apparently went on a few years ago was both illegal and harming the potential chances of a reprinting of those stories. And most B5 forums will not allow you to trade them, I believe. What's true for those short stories is doubly so for trading an entire novel, I think.
 
I am really surprised that one of the mods hasn't jumped in already.

As a bare minimum, this stuff should be kept to PM and not put on the board itself ... although I would prefer to see it not going on at all. Personally I would love to get a copy of the short stories and the unfilmed Crusade scripts, but knowing how JMS feels about illegal sharing I am happy to go without.
 
Shabaz and Garibaldishair are correct, I'm afraid. JMS has made it entirely clear that he does not approve of any kind of sharing of printed & published content by such means, and it has long been the policy at this board to support JMS regarding this issue.

It is very unfortunate that this book is not easy to find at present - I'm just hoping that perhaps there will eventually be a reprint. Perhaps if the new filmed B5 projects work out well, there will be more interest in publishing new books and reprinting older ones - one can hope, anyway.
 
While I respect the forum's decision, and of course no one wants to act illegally - this is exactly why I hate the copyright laws. There is book which forms the culmination of a journey in the B5 universe that is wholly unavailable by any other means. Sharing a book that can still be bought is one thing but condeming people to never being able to read a book is something else.

Sorry - just had to get that off my chest. It's not a shot at the forum, you've acted properly and I should have known better. But I do think that sometime the law is an ass!

Donald
 
Hey guys, long time reader, second time poster (I believe my only other post on b5.tv was being the first to post that Andreas Katsulas had died).

Anyways, I managed to win Legions of Fire III: Out of the Darkness on eBay a couple of days ago for around $23USD (it hasn't arrived yet but since the seller has a 99.6% approval rating on 223 transactions I'm not too worried).

I got the first book from the library last year and was looking forward to reading the others, only to find that NONE of them were available through the local library anymore. I remembered someone in this thread saying Amazon.co.uk had it listed and I put in an order there (I'm Canadian), only to see donald's post stating that the listing is only a placeholder and they don't actually have any copies available.

After searching EVERYWHERE online and locally, I stumbled across the book on eBay and it was bidding at about $11USD. One other person bid on it in the meantime but I luckily managed to win. After converting to Canadian dollars plus $8.50USD shipping it's going to cost me just under $40 Canadian, but I reasoned with myself that if the book were only available in hardcover at that price I would have bought it (and there's no way in hell I'm paying the $75 to $150 it's being listed at elsewhere).

Anyways, I just wanted to share my story and tell you guys not to give up hope, and I apologize for not letting you know about the eBay listing before, but as a poor university student I couldn't afford to have a bidding war drive up the price any higher.
 
While I respect the forum's decision, and of course no one wants to act illegally - this is exactly why I hate the copyright laws. There is book which forms the culmination of a journey in the B5 universe that is wholly unavailable by any other means. Sharing a book that can still be bought is one thing but condeming people to never being able to read a book is something else.

Sorry - just had to get that off my chest. It's not a shot at the forum, you've acted properly and I should have known better. But I do think that sometime the law is an ass!

Donald

As an erstwhile writer and someone who works in publishing, I respectfully disagree. Just because something is out of print does not give you the ethical right to act as if you created or owned the work itself. There are many ways of obtaining or reading an out-of-print book (used book stores and sales, paperback book stores, libraries, Ebay and other websites, loaning it from friends or fellow fans).

Do you know that even though the B5 books have been supposedly out-of-print for a while, Amazon still has new copies for sale?
 
Do you know that even though the B5 books have been supposedly out-of-print for a while, Amazon still has new copies for sale?

Speaking of Amazon.com (US), not of all of them are in stock. Information is current as of about 5 minutes ago.

Code:
Dell #1  Not in Stock. Availability: Available from these sellers. 84 used & new available from $0.09 
Dell #2  Not in Stock. Availability: Available from these sellers. 46 used & new available from $0.44
Dell #3  Not in Stock. Availability: Available from these sellers. 36 used & new available from $0.48
Dell #4  Not in Stock. Availability: Available from these sellers. 36 used & new available from $0.01
Dell #5  Not in Stock. Availability: Available from these sellers. 36 used & new available from $0.98
Dell #6  Not in Stock. Availability: Available from these sellers. 26 used & new available from $0.74
Dell #7  In Stock.
Dell #8  Not in Stock. Availability: Available from these sellers. 13 used & new available from $2.00
Dell #9  In Stock.
[i]#7 & #9 are of the Del Rey reprints.[/i]

In the Beginning   In Stock. List Price: $19.00 Our Price: $19.00
Thirdspace         Not in Stock. Availability: Available from these sellers. 37 used & new available from $0.01
A Call to Arms     Not in Stock. Availability: Available from these sellers. 33 used & new available from $0.24

Psi Corps Book 1   Only 4 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).
Psi Corps Book 2   In Stock.
Psi Corps Book 3   In Stock.
Centauri Book 1    In Stock.
Centauri Book 2    In Stock.
Centauri Book 3    Not in Stock. "Availability: Available from these sellers. 12 used & new available from $59.86."
Technomage Book 1  Availability: Usually ships within 4 to 6 weeks. Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Technomage Book 2  Not in Stock. "Availability: Available from these sellers. 9 used & new available from $43.00"
Technomage Book 3  In Stock.

[b][u]B5 Novels/Novelizations and their ISBNs[/u][/b]*
Book#1 Voices             0-440-22057-2
Book#2 Accusations        0-440-22058-0
Book#3 Blood Oath	  0-440-22059-9
Book#4 Clark's Law        0-440-22229-X
Book#5 The Touch of Your Shadow, the Whisper of Your Name  0-440-22230-3
Book#6 Betrayals          0-440-22234-6
Book#7 The Shadow Within  0-345-45218-6
Book#8 Personal Agendas   0-440-22351-2
Book#9 To Dream in the City of Sorrows  0-345-45219-4

Dark Genesis - The Birth of the Psi Corps  0-345-42715-7
Deadly Relations - Bester Ascendant        0-345-42716-5
Final Reckoning - The Fate of Bester       0-345-42717-3

Legions of Fire - Book I - The Long Night of Centauri Prime  0-345-42718-1
Legions of Fire - Book II - Armies of Light and Dark         0-345-42719-X
Legions of Fire - Book III - Out of the Darkness             0-345-42720-3

The Passing of the Techno-Mages - Book I - Casting Shadows      0-345-42721-1
The Passing of the Techno-Mages - Book II - Summoning Light     0-345-42722-X
The Passing of the Techno-Mages - Book III - Invoking Darkness  0-345-43833-7

A Call to Arms     0-345-43155-3
In the Beginning   0-345-42452-2
Thirdspace         0-345-42454-9

[u]Note:[/u] On Amazon.com, you have to remove the "-" from the ISBNs to do a search by ISBN.
 
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Quote <Do you know that even though the B5 books have been supposedly out-of-print for a while, Amazon still has new copies for sale?>

Sorry, but the Amazon thing keeps cropping up. They have it listed but is is not a real listing. If you try to order it, they will undertake to try to find it. The listing does not mean that they have it listed as in stock anywhere.

Quote <There are many ways of obtaining or reading an out-of-print book (used book stores and sales, paperback book stores, libraries, Ebay and other websites, loaning it from friends or fellow fans).>

Used book shops - I have tried very many, both in person, and through the Internet. It is not being released into their clutches. (Not sure I know the difference between a used book store and a paperback book store - is that an American thing?)

Libraries - where I live, you can forget getting hold of it in a library.

Ebay - I admit I've not tried, and I'm encouraged someone on here did find it that way.

Loaning it - I don't know anyone within touching/passing on distance that has it.

I am an author myself - non-fiction books. I appreciate copyright, and I appreciate my royalties payments every year. But I do still think that the copyright laws are a very blunt hammer for a sophisticated world, especially in these days of Internet publishing. I some of my work I have been trying to get old TV programmes made available for academic and non-commercial use in teaching, something made nearly impossible by the requirements of copyright. In the academic world, copyright impedes the flow of knowledge and can hinder research. In the real world, as the music industry has realised, restricting the flow of works through Internet 'piracy' ends up narrowing the market for music in general.

Sorry for the rant!

Anyway, I haven't given up hope of one day reading Legions of Fire III. If anyone wants to lend it to me by post, on the promise that I will return it, that would be very kind. Otherwise I shall continue to patrol the second hand outlets, and perhaps look at Ebay from time to time.

Donald
 
I recall that it took me probably about two years of searching Half-Price Books to get my hands on "To Dream in the City of Sorrows."

If anyone desperately wants to acquire the Technomage trilogy, I think I could accomodate them, and I didn't enjoy those three as much. Too much retrofitting of what we'd seen on-screen.

My copies of Legions of Fire, City of Sorrows, and the Shadow Within are staying with me, however.
 
Do you know that even though the B5 books have been supposedly out-of-print for a while, Amazon still has new copies for sale?

Sorry, but the Amazon thing keeps cropping up. They have it listed but is is not a real listing. If you try to order it, they will undertake to try to find it. The listing does not mean that they have it listed as in stock anywhere.

From what you said below, you're talking solely about Legions of Fire Book III, correct? Amazon.com has it listed as:

Not in Stock. "Availability: Available from these sellers. 12 used & new available from $59.86." ....so it's available from non-Amazon booksellers only:

Code:
$59.85 
+ $3.49shipping
LOW ITEM PRICE 
 Used - Very Good  Seller:  popeyebooks 
Rating:85% positive over the past 12 months (1300 ratings.) 1302 lifetime ratings.
Shipping: In Stock. Ships from OH, United States See shipping rates. 
Comments:   Almost like new cause because book was protected in a plastic cover. NOT xlibrary. Just a plastic.  

     
$59.95 
+ $3.49shipping Used - Good  Seller:  hippo_books 
Rating:94% positive over the past 12 months (75244 ratings.) 93261 lifetime ratings.
Shipping: In Stock. Ships from GA, United States Expedited shipping available. International shipping available. See shipping rates. 
Comments:   Used items at a great price! Come to HippoBooks for all your media needs. We have hundreds of thousands of items available today! ( « less ) 
Comments:   Used items at a great price! Come to HippoBooks for all your media needs. We have hundreds of thousands of items available... ( » more )  

     
$59.95 
+ $3.49shipping Used - Good  Seller:  frizzell66-movies-more 
Rating:99% positive over the past 12 months (711 ratings.) 1251 lifetime ratings.
Shipping: In Stock. Ships from FL, United States Expedited shipping available. International shipping available. See shipping rates. 
Comments:   Spine tight and intact with creasing. Covers with moderate shelf wear. Pages clean and intact with just a hint of tanning around the edges. ( « less ) 
Comments:   Spine tight and intact with creasing. Covers with moderate shelf wear. Pages clean and intact with just a hint of tanning aro... ( » more )  

     
$61.60 
+ $3.49shipping Used - Very Good  Seller:  monarchbooks 
Rating:98% positive over the past 12 months (2463 ratings.) 6428 lifetime ratings.
Shipping: In Stock. Ships from NC, United States Expedited shipping available. International shipping available. See shipping rates. 
Comments:   Mass Market Paperback, Condition: Very Good; very light reading crease.  

     
$63.00 
+ $3.49shipping Used - Very Good  Seller:  4-bookwurms 
Rating:98% positive over the past 12 months (102 ratings.) 113 lifetime ratings.
Shipping: In Stock. Ships from KS, United States Expedited shipping available. See shipping rates. 
Comments:   PB in terrific condition. Light shelf wear on front cover along the top & bottom edges. No spine creases. No dog-eared pages. Fast shipping! ( « less ) 
Comments:   PB in terrific condition. Light shelf wear on front cover along the top & bottom edges. No spine creases. No dog-eared pa... ( » more )  

     
$63.11 
+ $3.49shipping Used - Good  Seller:  temarilovesbooks 
Rating:100% positive over the past 12 months (230 ratings.) 464 lifetime ratings.
Shipping: In Stock. Ships from MI, United States Expedited shipping available. See shipping rates. 
Comments:   Very nice first printing paperback in very good clean unmarked condition inside. Outer covers show mild edgewear. Careful packaging & prompt first-class shipping! ( « less ) 
Comments:   Very nice first printing paperback in very good clean unmarked condition inside. Outer covers show mild edgewear. Careful pa... ( » more )  

     
$64.95 
+ $3.49shipping Used - Good  Seller:  thebookhivedotnet 
Rating:99% positive over the past 12 months (975 ratings.) 1062 lifetime ratings.
Shipping: In Stock. Ships from MN, United States Expedited shipping available. International shipping available. See shipping rates. 
Comments:   Mmpb, single cover crease, shelfwear, pages clean, binding secure." We are a family owned and operated bookstore. Digital images available upon request. Shipped in bubble mailers using delivery confirmation where available." ( « less ) 
Comments:   Mmpb, single cover crease, shelfwear, pages clean, binding secure." We are a family owned and operated bookstore. Digital ima... ( » more )  

     
$68.98 
+ $3.49shipping Used - Very Good  Seller:  paper_n_stuff 
Rating:99% positive over the past 12 months (218 ratings.) 2148 lifetime ratings.
Shipping: In Stock. Ships from OH, United States Expedited shipping available. International shipping available. See shipping rates. 
Comments:   Paperback original first edition/printing with some light cover wear. Spine is straight, book is clean and solid. Very Good condition. ( « less ) 
Comments:   Paperback original first edition/printing with some light cover wear. Spine is straight, book is clean and solid. Very Good c... ( » more )  

     
$69.99 
+ $3.49shipping Used - Very Good  Seller:  waynes_world_of_books 
Rating:99% positive over the past 12 months (704 ratings.) 2554 lifetime ratings.
Shipping: In Stock. Ships from AZ, United States Expedited shipping available. International shipping available. See shipping rates. 
Comments:   Centauri Prime declares war on the Interstellar Alliance in Book Three of the epic trilogy that continues Babylon 5's brilliant legacy . . . Blind to the fact that he is a pawn in the Drakh's deadly strategy, Centauri prime minister Durla launches an overwhelming blitzkrieg, sending Centauri warships to devastate other races' homeworlds and pave the way for total conquest. Yet Durla is forced to fight a war on two fronts. Even as he mobilizes the massive space fleet for its glorious attack, resistance leader Vir Cotto works feverishly to counter the Drakh's evil influence on Centauri Prime. Emperor Londo Mollari possesses the key that can reveal the presence of the Drakh, but to do so would spell disaster, so he is forced to remain silent. But when the Drakh bring another pawn into play--David Sheridan, son of Alliance president John Sheridan -- the time for silence may be past. If Vir and the Resistance are to prevail, it will be only through action, and with help from very strang ( « less ) 
Comments:   Centauri Prime declares war on the Interstellar Alliance in Book Three of the epic trilogy that continues Babylon 5's brillia... ( » more )  

     
$82.54 
+ $3.49shipping Used - Good  Seller:  quality7 
Rating:91% positive over the past 12 months (23902 ratings.) 96343 lifetime ratings.
Shipping: In Stock. Ships from GA, United States See shipping rates. 
Comments:   Buy without risk! Excellent customer service.  

     
$89.97 
+ $3.49shipping Used - Like New  Seller:  judylb20 
Rating:97% positive over the past 12 months (1508 ratings.) 2355 lifetime ratings.
Shipping: In Stock. Ships from TX, United States Expedited shipping available. International shipping available. See shipping rates. 
Comments:   mint condition;  

     
$90.00 
+ $3.49shipping New  Seller:  lewis62 
Rating:99% positive over the past 12 months (171 ratings.) 704 lifetime ratings.
Shipping: In Stock. Ships from CT, United States Expedited shipping available. International shipping available. See shipping rates. 
Comments:   First printing DELL paperback original, 2000. Brand new, never opened, never read.

:eek: :eek: :eek:

Amazon.co.uk has:

Code:
Price Condition Seller Information Ready to buy? 
£6.50 
Fulfilled by Amazon 
LOW PRICE 
 New  

Delivery: Usually dispatched within 4 - 6 weeks. See delivery rates. See return policy.

... so that must be what you're referring to by "They have it listed but is is not a real listing. If you try to order it, they will undertake to try to find it. The listing does not mean that they have it listed as in stock anywhere."

http://product.half.ebay.com/Out-of-the-Darkness_W0QQprZ1739762QQtgZinfo

http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=0345427203&btnG=Search+Froogle

http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?AID=9885520&PID=1545744&y=10&isbn=0739414852&x=30

http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=0739414852&btnG=Search+Froogle

There are many ways of obtaining or reading an out-of-print book (used book stores and sales, paperback book stores, libraries, Ebay and other websites, loaning it from friends or fellow fans).


Used book shops - I have tried very many, both in person, and through the Internet. It is not being released into their clutches. (Not sure I know the difference between a used book store and a paperback book store - is that an American thing?)

By used book shops, we mean places like "Half-Price Books & Music" where you can take stuff you want to sell, get ~1/4 of the new price for it, and then they resell it for 1/2 of the new price. If I took my copy of Legions of Fire Book III there and sold it to them (which I'd NEVER do), they'd give me $1.62 for it and resell it for $3.25.


Libraries - where I live, you can forget getting hold of it in a library.

Back when the books first came out, I donated a complete set of all three trilogies, #7, #9, and the three novelizations to my local library. If you want, I could see if they'd be willing to sell me Legions of Fire Book III back to me, although I hate to break up the set.




Ebay - I admit I've not tried, and I'm encouraged someone on here did find it that way.

That takes perseverance and a bit of luck.


Loaning it - I don't know anyone within touching/passing on distance that has it..

Where are you? Your profile contains no info. From what you've said above, I take it you're not in the US (where I am, BTW).

Look here:
http://www.fjordstone.com/rastb5mmap/
...to see if there is anybody near you. These are the regular posters at rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated. Maybe somebody there is close to you and might loan you their copy. The thing is, given how pricey and rare Legions of Fire Book III has become, people are reluctant to let their copy out of their sight. I'm sure you can understand that. ;)


Anyway, I haven't given up hope of one day reading Legions of Fire III. If anyone wants to lend it to me by post, on the promise that I will return it, that would be very kind. Otherwise I shall continue to patrol the second hand outlets, and perhaps look at Ebay from time to time.

Donald

Have you read Legions of Fire Books I & II yet, or are you waiting to get Book III to start reading the trilogy?
 
Last edited:
KoshN,

Thanks for the leads. I have read and own all the canonical B5 books but for Legions of Fire III.

It is about a month since I last went on Amazon,so am delighted to see that there are now some copies on there - although the cheapest is 26 pounds, and all are sourced to the USA. I am in the UK. Not that I mind them coming from the USA - it's just curious that none are turning up from Britain. Likewise froogle.co.uk doesn't find any.

So, how desperate am I? Do I pay nearly 30 pounds for a copy? May be - it's an interesting test of my commitment to B5. On the other hand it seems that copies are now beginning to enter the second hand market place. Perhaps if I wait until my birthday later in the year there will be more and the price will have come down. Interesting dilemma. Buying it for myself as a birthday present will avoid my girlfriend thinking I'm insane paying so much for a paperback!

Thanks for the regular posters map - fascinating. I'm surprised there are so few UK posters. The nearest one to me is in Leeds.

Thanks for the effort to help. Much appreciated.

Donald
 
It's not necessarily that there are truly that few posters in the UK; it's that those are the only folks from the mod who e-mailed me and asked to be included on the UK map. What happens is that the only people on the maps are the people who happen to be doing a lot of posting and reading at times when the topic of the maps come up for discussion.

Amy
 
Plus I'm from the UK but dont live there anymore :)

It is bad when there is demand for books but no way to buy them at a resonable price.It's not even as if the authors are getting any royalties from these deals so I wouldn't feel bad about how I acquired copies myself.

Forums however have to play by the rules or risk being shut down.

You would think that they would reprint these books to coincide with the Lost Tales but that appears to be too much like common sense :p
 
KoshN,

Thanks for the leads. I have read and own all the canonical B5 books but for Legions of Fire III.

At 3:55PM EST, before I got online to read your reply, I called my local library where I donated the books in December 2000. They have Legions of Fire Book III on the shelf. :) I asked if I could buy it back from them, and the person there said that they normally don't do that, but that she'd ask the person in charge (who isn't there right now). I gave her my cellphone number, and she's going to call me back when she finds out.

If they sell it back to me, I ought to be able to get it for, at most, the cover price of $6.50.

It turns out that I didn't donate the Technomage trilogy to them. It wasn't out at the time, December 2000. That's something I'll have to get right on. I have an extra copy of The Passing of the Techno-mages Book III lying around, so I'll just need to pick up Books I & II, which are available.

She just called me back. :D Good news. Zipped down to the library....

I have the entire Legions of Fire trilogy back.
...and I did donate the Technomage trilogy, just in 2001.
 
Last edited:
You would think that they would reprint these books to coincide with the Lost Tales but that appears to be too much like common sense :p

Who do you mean by "they" ? Del Rey's license has expired. A publisher needs to approach Warner Brothers and pay a license fee to be able to publish the books. So far, nobody's approached Warner Brothers. How would a publisher know that "Babylon 5: The Lost Tales" is coming out and that it might create demand for the books?

FWIW, I donated all but the Technomage trilogy in December 2000, and in all that time, Legions of Fire Book III hadn't been checked out even once. Sad but true. Don't know about the other books (Dell #7, #9, In the Beginning, A Call to Arms, the Psi Corps trilogy or the Technomage trilogy). The librarian would have had to check each on the computer (They don't stamp cards, anymore.), and I wasn't going to put her through that. Only Thirdspace was missing when I was there. All the ones on the shelf looked new (unread).
 
Given that the books don't appear to have sold as well as Del Rey would have liked at the time they were originally printed, I doubt that they would go to the trouble and expense of re-printing even if they still had the licence.
 

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