from Cinescape
BABYLON 5: THE PASSING OF THE TECHNO-MAGES BOOK 1, CASTING SHADOWS
Jeanne Cavelos elevates the art of the TV tie-in
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Dateline: Thursday, October 25, 2001
By: CHRIS WYATT
By: Correspondent
Author Jeanne Cavelos could be doing a lot of things with her considerable talent. Originally she worked for NASA as an astrophysicist assigned to the Astronaut Training Division at the Johnson Space Center. With credentials like that, you’d better believe that she’s got the know-how to think up some pretty amazing hard sci-fi plots. But there are many NASA eggheads with volumes of science stored in their gray matter—that doesn’t mean they necessarily have the imagination to incorporate that knowledge into a decent story.
Well, Cavelos isn’t just another egghead. After finishing her work for NASA, she let her love of science fiction bring her to Dell Publishing as a senior editor. While at Dell, she ran the genre books division that created the Abyss horror imprint—an achievement that won her a World Fantasy Award. So Cavelos’ work experiences prove that she’s got the science and the imagination. That still doesn’t necessarily prove that she can write. No, her amazing experiences don’t prove it… her novel does.
Ninety-five per cent of the time, the TV tie-in field is the quick and dirty realm of genre publishing. It’s not art; it’s not thought provoking; it’s a few characters that you know from TV/Film. They can’t change much during the course of the book, because they can’t end up any different than they are on the show. You can’t put them in any kind of believable jeopardy, because all the readers know that they won’t die; they have to be back on TV next week. Cavelos, however, avoids these tie-in pitfalls through her deft plotting and superior character choices. She expands an area of the BABYLON 5 universe that allows her a great deal of leeway—the Techno-mages.
Galen, a Techno-mage apprentice, watches stars fall from the sky, heralding the arrival of the full mages to his home planet. If all goes well, Galen and his fellow students hope to pass through the intensive initiation rites and become full mages themselves. However, events take an unexpected turn when rumors tell of an age-old race that has mysteriously reemerged after having not been heard of for more than a millennium. Galen and his beautiful companion Isabelle are chosen to investigate the terrifying tales.
Cavelos’ spellbinding prose deftly crafts the central mystery of the story without letting the tone become too harsh or overbearing. Comic moments do exist and are well placed to punctuate the action. While Cavelos’ dialogue at times seems a little stilted, it does make a major impact in terms of the characters’ overall likability.
This novel can definitely be recommended to fans of the BABYLON 5 novel series. Furthermore, readers who were fans of the show, but who haven’t ever picked up a tie-in novel, will be well advised to begin with this one. Those who haven’t seen much of the show might want to avoid this book, however, since the Techno-mage culture is so detailed and vivid, it might be hard for non-fans to get into.
BABYLON 5: THE PASSING OF THE TECHNO-MAGES BOOK 1, CASTING SHADOWS
Grade: B
Author(s): Jeanne Cavelos
Publisher: Del Rey
Price: $6.99
------------------
No one here is exactly what he appears.
G'Kar - Andreas Katsulas
Nothing's the same anymore.
Commander Sinclair - Michael O'Hare
Babylon 5
BABYLON 5: THE PASSING OF THE TECHNO-MAGES BOOK 1, CASTING SHADOWS
Jeanne Cavelos elevates the art of the TV tie-in
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dateline: Thursday, October 25, 2001
By: CHRIS WYATT
By: Correspondent
Author Jeanne Cavelos could be doing a lot of things with her considerable talent. Originally she worked for NASA as an astrophysicist assigned to the Astronaut Training Division at the Johnson Space Center. With credentials like that, you’d better believe that she’s got the know-how to think up some pretty amazing hard sci-fi plots. But there are many NASA eggheads with volumes of science stored in their gray matter—that doesn’t mean they necessarily have the imagination to incorporate that knowledge into a decent story.
Well, Cavelos isn’t just another egghead. After finishing her work for NASA, she let her love of science fiction bring her to Dell Publishing as a senior editor. While at Dell, she ran the genre books division that created the Abyss horror imprint—an achievement that won her a World Fantasy Award. So Cavelos’ work experiences prove that she’s got the science and the imagination. That still doesn’t necessarily prove that she can write. No, her amazing experiences don’t prove it… her novel does.
Ninety-five per cent of the time, the TV tie-in field is the quick and dirty realm of genre publishing. It’s not art; it’s not thought provoking; it’s a few characters that you know from TV/Film. They can’t change much during the course of the book, because they can’t end up any different than they are on the show. You can’t put them in any kind of believable jeopardy, because all the readers know that they won’t die; they have to be back on TV next week. Cavelos, however, avoids these tie-in pitfalls through her deft plotting and superior character choices. She expands an area of the BABYLON 5 universe that allows her a great deal of leeway—the Techno-mages.
Galen, a Techno-mage apprentice, watches stars fall from the sky, heralding the arrival of the full mages to his home planet. If all goes well, Galen and his fellow students hope to pass through the intensive initiation rites and become full mages themselves. However, events take an unexpected turn when rumors tell of an age-old race that has mysteriously reemerged after having not been heard of for more than a millennium. Galen and his beautiful companion Isabelle are chosen to investigate the terrifying tales.
Cavelos’ spellbinding prose deftly crafts the central mystery of the story without letting the tone become too harsh or overbearing. Comic moments do exist and are well placed to punctuate the action. While Cavelos’ dialogue at times seems a little stilted, it does make a major impact in terms of the characters’ overall likability.
This novel can definitely be recommended to fans of the BABYLON 5 novel series. Furthermore, readers who were fans of the show, but who haven’t ever picked up a tie-in novel, will be well advised to begin with this one. Those who haven’t seen much of the show might want to avoid this book, however, since the Techno-mage culture is so detailed and vivid, it might be hard for non-fans to get into.
BABYLON 5: THE PASSING OF THE TECHNO-MAGES BOOK 1, CASTING SHADOWS
Grade: B
Author(s): Jeanne Cavelos
Publisher: Del Rey
Price: $6.99
------------------
No one here is exactly what he appears.
G'Kar - Andreas Katsulas
Nothing's the same anymore.
Commander Sinclair - Michael O'Hare
Babylon 5
