Betrayals (Babylon 5, Book 6) [Paperback]

S. M. Stirling (Creator), J. Michael Straczynski (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1996 | Series: Babylon 5

The Narn have been greatly wronged by the Centauri.  During the domination of their world by that sophisticated and ruthless people, the Narn were slaves in all but name; forced to watch as their world was stripped of everything of value.  And when at last they succeeded in driving the hated dictators from Narn space, they were left with little but their freedom.



They hate the Centauri, but have learned from them.  The Narn sought out other worlds, rich with resources to supply their beggared home-world.  They found them.  And when those worlds had native populations, the Narn conquered them, enslaved them, and exploited them as ruthlessly as ever the Centauri at their worst might have.  Now, the Centauri have struck again at the Narn and the two powers are embroiled in battle.  It is a time when an enslaved people might see an opportunity to strike at their enemy; perhaps win their freedom.  But in every conflict there comes a lull, a time when exhaustion temporarily causes even the bitterest opponents to call a truce, to rest and recoup, a time when allies try to make peace between the combatants, a time when reluctant rebels might hope for a peaceful solution before they drench their own hands in blood.



Babylon 5 will host a conference between the Narn and the Centauri.  Nobody really expects peace and everyone is determined to remain uninvolved in the conflict, but everyone feels forced to go through the motions.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

The Narn have been greatly wronged by the Centauri. During the domination of their world by that sophisticated and ruthless people, the Narn were slaves in all but name; forced to watch as their world was stripped of everything of value. And when at last they succeeded in driving the hated dictators from Narn space, they were left with little but their freedom.

They hate the Centauri, but have learned from them. The Narn sought out other worlds, rich with resources to supply their beggared home-world. They found them. And when those worlds had native populations, the Narn conquered them, enslaved them, and exploited them as ruthlessly as ever the Centauri at their worst might have. Now, the Centauri have struck again at the Narn and the two powers are embroiled in battle. It is a time when an enslaved people might see an opportunity to strike at their enemy; perhaps win their freedom. But in every conflict there comes a lull, a time when exhaustion temporarily causes even the bitterest opponents to call a truce, to rest and recoup, a time when allies try to make peace between the combatants, a time when reluctant rebels might hope for a peaceful solution before they drench their own hands in blood.

Babylon 5 will host a conference between the Narn and the Centauri. Nobody really expects peace and everyone is determined to remain uninvolved in the conflict, but everyone feels forced to go through the motions.

From the Inside Flap

The Narn have been greatly wronged by the Centauri.  During the domination of their world by that sophisticated and ruthless people, the Narn were slaves in all but name; forced to watch as their world was stripped of everything of value.  And when at last they succeeded in driving the hated dictators from Narn space, they were left with little but their freedom.



They hate the Centauri, but have learned from them.  The Narn sought out other worlds, rich with resources to supply their beggared home-world.  They found them.  And when those worlds had native populations, the Narn conquered them, enslaved them, and exploited them as ruthlessly as ever the Centauri at their worst might have.  Now, the Centauri have struck again at the Narn and the two powers are embroiled in battle.  It is a time when an enslaved people might see an opportunity to strike at their enemy; perhaps win their freedom.  But in every conflict there comes a lull, a time when exhaustion temporarily causes even the bitterest opponents to call a truce, to rest and recoup, a time when allies try to make peace between the combatants, a time when reluctant rebels might hope for a peaceful solution before they drench their own hands in blood.



Babylon 5 will host a conference between the Narn and the Centauri.  Nobody really expects peace and everyone is determined to remain uninvolved in the conflict, but everyone feels forced to go through the motions.

Product Details

• Paperback: 279 pages
• Publisher: Dell (May 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440222346
• ISBN-13: 978-0440222347
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #843,040 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I'm a writer by trade, born in France but Canadian by origin and American by naturalization, living in New Mexico at present. My hobbies are mostly related to the craft -- I love history, anthropology and archaeology, and am interested in the sciences. The martial arts are my main physical hobby.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Cool, December 31, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Betrayals (Babylon 5, Book 6) (Paperback)

As the station prepares for a peace conference between the Narn and Centauri, trouble starts to boil. A race known as T'll arrive looking for help but are turned down by everyone. G'kar is very worried by their presence beacuse the Narn are holding their planet captive, which could ruin the peace conference. Meanwhile Ivanova is recieving data cyrstals which show footage of her brother being a spy for an alien race during the war. She also has the trouble with dealing with a new member of the traffic control team who is an awful worker but has a glowing record. How will Babylon 5 survive the peace conference when there is blood involved? By Victoria Carr

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Parallels between Centauri and Narn conquerors, August 19, 1997

By 

[e-mail] (Finland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Betrayals (Babylon 5, Book 6) (Paperback)

This books starts with three distinct threads and moves them with no hurry to their logical conclusions. I expected a cunning plan which would ultimately tie the threads together before the end, but did not get my wish. Well, in fact two of the three threads crossed each other somewhat in the beginning, but it was not fully exploited. In retrospect, the main plot (T'llin) seems the least interesting, with its 'too easy', behave-better-than-your-enemy resolution that you would expect from a Voyager episode, although the ending had its share of humor and tragedy also. The characters were quite themselves, especially Na'Toth had her temperament intact.

The events take place after "The Coming of Shadows" and before "The Long, Twilight Struggle".

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Jhaeman's Reviews, December 4, 2008

By 

Jeremy (Toronto, ON Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Betrayals (Babylon 5, Book 6) (Paperback)

The sixth book in the Babylon 5 series, titled Betrayals, continues the generally high quality of the novel line. The book reads much like a two-part episode, with a handful of subplots and one main plot (admittedly somewhat cliched), involving a peace conference between the Narns and the Centauri which may be disrupted by terrorists. Unlike previous novels that focussed mainly on a couple of characters, each of the cast members gets several scenes and their personalities and dialogue fit well with what's presented in the show. In terms of larger significance, the novel doesn't drastically expand our understanding of the Babylon 5 universe, but it does add a little more background into Ivanova and Na'Toth. Now, I wouldn't call the novel line an "electrifying series of original, breathtaking outer-space adventures" like the back cover does, but on the whole I've been happy with the B5 books and Betrayals is no exception.