Customer Reviews

Battlestar Galactica

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Um, yes...actually the author did view the show, many times, and is well aware of the polytheistic nature of the Colonists' religion. If indeed the spellings are as reported by the previous reviewer, then that would indicate typos introduced into the text following my last proof check. (Not impossible.)

In truth, I would love to have gone into more detail about the differing religious viewpoints and what it meant to the characters. But as that was still under development in the minds of the show's creative team, it was an opportunity I never really had. Like viewers everywhere, I had to wait and see what was going to unfold with the characters. So yes--the scope of this novel is a rather sharply focused retelling of the miniseries, with gaps filled in and characters brought into clearer relief--but not too much expansion beyond the original.

What I tried to do was to retell the story in as fast-moving, plausible, and entertaining a fashion as possible--and I hope I succeeded. (You must of course take my star rating with a grain of salt.)

If you'd like to read more about the process of writing this book, there are some entries about it in my blog, at http://starrigger.blogspot.com.

cwldm "cwldm" who wrote the review `Less than the original' (and who only gave this book 2 stars) would have you believe that the use of the word 'God' in this book is an oversight on the part of the author, due to the fact that the religion of the Colonials is polytheistic in nature and the word used should be 'gods'.

However, if the reviewer were a true fan of the show, he/she would realise that the opposing religious views of the Cylons and Colonials was not actually officially introduced until Season One. If you watch the Miniseries, you will see that the word 'God' is used several times (by Cylons and Colonials alike) and the word 'gods' does not appear at all.

In fact, the only slight reference to polytheism in the Miniseries is to the 'Lords of Kobol', and Ron D. Moore himself has admitted that at that point, the Lords of Kobol were only going to be historical figures in Colonial history (like the saints in Catholicism) and not any sort of deities.

There are other aspects of the Miniseries which were changed in actual series in order to make more sense (i.e. changing the Astral Queen from a freighter to a prison transport and changing the number of prisoners from 500 to 5,000), and is to be expected.

In short, it is the job of the author to write a book that is true to the specific subject material, in this case, the Miniseries. In this, I believe that Jeffrey Carver has done his job, and done it well (hence the five stars).

It is not however, the job of the author to attempt to fill in every plot-hole, contradiction and continuity error made by the show's creator's. And considering the fact that most books based on television series are never truly considered to be `canon' by either the fans or the powers that be, any changes made by the author would be futile, as the 'official version' (the Miniseries) despite being contradicted later, will always be considered to be the `correct version`.

The Miniseries is the starting point for every other story about the Galactica, and it makes sense therefore, that the first book Tor would release would be a novel of the Miniseries. Anyone who has not seen the Miniseries in a while should get this book before reading any other Galactica novels (released in the latter half of 2006), if only to serve as a reminder of the events that led to the situation in which the Galactica now finds itself.

I know I'm not quite in the right generation, but I have read the old Battlestar Galactica book adaptations of the TV series (thank you, public library!) and have grown rather fond of them. I was a little perturbed about the new Battlestar (particularly how Starbuck is now a woman), but I am open to new ideas, so I bought this one with my birthday gift card.
PLEASE NOTE: I have never seen the actual miniseries, so this is just a review on the book, not on how the novelization compares to the miniseries.
Many years ago, the Twelve Colonies created the Cylons to make life easier. They even made Cylons to fight their wars for them. Eventually, the Cylons got wise enough to wonder why they were taking orders from humans and revolted. For many years, the two fought until the humans drove the Cylons away, not to be seen again.
Or so the Twelve Colonies thought. Forty years have passed, and the Cylons are back, badder, slicker, and ready for human blood--and lots of it. They nearly wipe out civilization with the exception of the select few. Commander Adama of the last battlestar, Galactica, Captain Apollo Adama, Lieutenant Kara Thrace, Laura Roslin, the new President of the Twelve Colonies, and others must now battle their way across the galaxy searching for respite from the Cylons' attack.

Good:
Well, I must admit I was scared that they would wreck Battlestar Galactica. What with the onslaught of bad remakes, such as The Dukes of Hazzard, Bewitched, and Starsky & Hutch, I feared the worst.
Fortunately, these fears were unfounded. Although several events have changed (namely, that several characters have gender changes, names such as "Starbuck" and "Boomer" are now pilot call-signs, and Zee is killed in an accident some time ago instead of during the battle), the changes for the most part are good. Obviously, the TV series of the 70's was dated. It is nice to see women in positions of power instead of the ubiquitous "companions" (Cassiopeia in old Battlestar or Inara of Firefly fame) or relations of the big boys.
The events in the new Battlestar are most definitely edge-of-your-seat material. I mean, it was easy to whip through thirty or more pages of the fast paced action in one sitting. Seeing how people react to Armageddon, the tough choices they have to make, and how people band together is awesome but what is even more awesome is how the book handles these subjects. Well done, realistic, and, most importantly, interesting.
Over the course of the novel, three characters have found a place in my heart: Commander Adama, President Roslin, and Colonel Tigh. Commander William Adama is a perfect leader but really not that awesome as a dad. His tough demeanor makes him appear to be unemotional, but we, as the audience, can see the inner turmoil he hides inside. President Laura Roslin in some ways is similar to Commander Adama but in other ways not much. She also is a good leader (given that she started out being the Secretary of Education) and hides her emotions deep inside. Unlike Adama, Laura is comforting, willing to divulger her condition to her aide, and more likely to kill herself saving another's life. Colonel Saul Tigh is completely different than the other two. Tigh drowns his sorrows in alcohol, starts fights so he can retaliate against another officer, and isn't afraid to make the tough choices about who lives and who dies.

Bad:
Besides the sexual situations (the beginning one with Gaius and Natasi was too much for me), there really isn't a whole lot to pick on with this book. There are so many characters that I wish the author had included a Dramatis Personae in the beginning. At one point, Adama refuses to leave until Starbuck and Lee return to the Galactica. Ordinarily, this would be no problem, but several times in the book, characters (including Adama) leave doomed survivors behind to favor the ones that could be saved. This seemed to me to be contradictory. Furthermore, the beginning was a little kiddy, a little slow, and a little boring.

Dialogue/Sexual Situations/Violence:
While the f-word is replaced with "frak" (may be too much for some people), other words such as da**, he**, and sh** do not have their "Twelve Colonies" equivalent.
I was rather shocked at the copious sexual references in the book and at such an early stage. Within the first 50 pages, three separate situations are detailed. Some are merely "grope" fests, while others are definitely R-rated.
Violence is typical fare. Lots of space battles, nuclear bombings, etc. Several people (most unknown or vaguely sketched) are killed.

Overall:
I am pleased to say that my worst fears were quickly dissipated with a reading of this book. Battlestar Galactica is not the way it was in the 70's and that's great. What "they" have done with Galactica is great: new, exciting, updated, yet still a tribute to its namesake. While I wish the sexual situations could have been toned down and a few characters nixed, I would greatly recommend this book to anyone.

Brought to you by
*C.S. Light*

The novelization of "Battlestar Galactica" by Jeffery Carver is a pretty good one. Mr. Carver does a very good job in his visualization of many of the battle scenes. While this novelization does not offer the reader many extra or deleted scenes, he does give the reader good insight to several characters. Overall this novelization very good.

I usually love adaptations because they go more into detail than the actual film. I think the only thing I got extra out of this was that #6's name was Narisa. If you love BSG and just want a recap, go rent the DVD. Save your pretty penny.

I am a committed BG fan, but this book was a waste. I expected it to have expanded detail and sub plots not included in the movie. It didn't. I could have sat in front of my TV and written this in no time. I appreciate the author for trying to feed my BG need, but this book was not worth reading if you saw the movie. I never not finish a book, but with this one, I didn't even reach page 100.

I really like the author. The writing style is good and engaging.

I stopped reading the story, however, because it doesn't seem to add anything to the overall story. I'll be honest, I was hoping for more mini-stories, background, and revelations.

I will probably seek out other work from this author, but as far is this story goes: been there, done that.

I'd recommend it for people who haven't watched the series though.

This is a well written book that is based on the SciFi miniseries of the same name. It is great for someone who likes to read instead of watching TV. It could also be good for someone who doesn't have regular access to TV like people in the military stationed overseas. It doesn't have that much more info than the series though.

For sci-fi fans Battlestar Galactica is iconic. Making its first appearance in 1978 as a television series, it became the drama to which other sci-fi episodes were compared. Today, it has reappeared on the SCI FI channel after a hiatus of over 20 years. Written by Ronald Moore, (think Star Trek), it has won a new generation of followers.

Now, audiobook aficionados can enjoy Battlestar as narrated by the clear, powerfully appealing voice of Jonathan Davis. He's a mimic among the best, and has developed character voices which bring stunning impact to his reading.

This story is based on Jeffrey Carver's novelization of the miniseries which, as he notes, was both a pleasure and a challenge for him. "Turning a story on screen into a novel is not a simple matter of transcription.....," he said. "When you're writing the novel, you have to flesh out things that go by quickly onscreen."

Thus it fell to him to sometimes write original material to bridge gaps or explain quick scene changes that are easily handled on film but need to be described with the written word. This must be done while staying true to the original intention.

All of this is by way of saying that with this audio book we now have one more way to enjoy Battlestar Galactica. It's a must for seasoned sci-fi fans, while others will be thrilled when they are introduced to it for the first time.

- Gail Cooke

The television series 'Battlestar Galactica' captivated audiences worldwide and was even liked by the critics, something rare in television. With themes that ranged from apocalypse, survival, war and 'the enemy within' it was challenging and cerebral science fiction rather than the lightweight campy fare one is used to.

I was intrigued by this novelisation and wondered if respected sci-fi author Jeffrey A.Carver would manage to capture the atmospheric, claustrophobic and most importantly thrilling nature of the series. It must have been a daunting challenge.

This novel concerns the early part of the series which of course found the Twelve Colonies of Man at peace for forty years, united following a desperate war with the man-made Cylons. The Cylons were (to those unfamiliar with the series) mechanical beings whose function was to perform the manual labour that the humans were loath to do themselves.

The Cylons eventually rebelled and a terrible war ensued followed by the peace found at the start of the novel. During this time the humans assumed that the Cylons were gone forever following a truce, yet the old enemies have in the ensuing years developed new models that chillingly look and act like humans. The vengeful Cylons return to the Twelve Colonies with one sole purpose: the complete destruction and extinction of the entire human race.

After a massive attack only one warship survives: Battlestar Galactica, the oldest in the fleet, which was ironically being decommissioned and turned into a museum. Commander William Adama who was due to retire himself is now tasked with leading the remnants of the human race leading a ragtag group of military personnel and civilians to safety.

The novel, like the series is about survival and that old favourite: paranoia, because when Cylons look human, who can you trust?

I have to say that apart from a few minor errors Carver has managed to produce the goods here. He has captured the desperation of the fleeing human survivors as well as the coldness of the Cylons. The characters of Adama, Tigh, Starbuck, Apollo, Roslin et al are all captured with aplomb.

Carver has captured the essence of the show and infused proceedings with the requisite tension and horror as well as throwing in plenty of breakneck action. The only other gripe is that this is essentially a rehash of the opening episodes of the series. I have no problem with that at all, but if you are already familiar with all things 'Battlestar' you know where things are heading.

That said there is snappy and convincing dialogue and tension throughout. This is also more importantly thought-provoking fiction and Carver can take a bow for this brave stab at what could have been just another pale television tie-in rather than the sophisticated and entertaining work it actually is. Well done.