Blood Oath (Babylon 5, Book 3) [Mass Market Paperback]

John Vornholt (Author), J. Michael Straczynski (Author)

Book Description

Series: Babylon 5 | Publication Date: September 1, 1995

When a ruthless ambassador is assassinated, Security Chief Garibaldi and Commander Susan Ivanova join the victim's enraged assistant Na'Toth in a search for the killer, only to find themselves the targets of a blood oath.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 247 pages
• Publisher: Dell (September 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440220599
• ISBN-13: 978-0440220596
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #925,772 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good story grafted into B5 universe, March 8, 2003

By 

Brian Hulett "okierazorbacker2" (Oinklahoma) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Blood Oath (Babylon 5, Book 3) (Mass Market Paperback)

As I type this there have been about 15 novels published that are set in the B5 universe. This is one of the first nine, a series initially released by Dell but now being rolled out, one by one, in rerelease by Del Rey's Ballantine series.

"Blood Oath" takes place mostly on the Narn homeworld, a place not often seen during the TV series. It is set somewhere around the end of season 1, during which time the show had focused on the species' recent history of war with the Centauri and the hatred between the two worlds. The author can therefore be forgiven for painting the Narns as barbarians rather than the sophisticated spiritual culture we see from them later on as the primary Narn character G'Kar developed and grew.

And the story told here is really a good one. The images painted by the author are often vivid and memorable, and the story believable and easy to follow. He seems to fall down in the action sequences, though, to me, as I often didn't feel the intensity of such scenes.

But the real problem with this book is the characterizations of familiar B5 characters. Again, it was early in production of the show, so we now know these individuals far better than anyone but series creator J. Michael Straczynski did at the time, but it's really jarring to see known and beloved characters saying things that are totally out of voice from what we would expect, in terms of phrases, relationships, idioms, etc.

Ultimately it feels like the author had a great story and, when given a contract to write a B5 book, slotted the series characters into a general outline he already had, adapting his outline somewhat to fit a vision that otherwise works well. He is clearly not as familiar with the characters as one would like.

It's worth reading because it truly is well written as a novel, but falls far short as a part of the B5 universe otherwise.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Read, March 12, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Blood Oath (Babylon 5, Book 3) (Mass Market Paperback)

although this book is no where "Legions Of Fire" or "To Dream in The City of Sorrows". Blood Oath is one of the better books in this series. Slow at time but a great ending. I liked the stuff about the Narn Homeworld. This book takes place when in 2258 (season 1). It was a great side read until "Armies Of Light and Dark" comes out. So I would highly reccomend this book, You have nothing to loose

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I liked it..., July 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Blood Oath (Babylon 5, Book 3) (Mass Market Paperback)

For a small book written for a TV show I think it was not bad. I enjoyed reading about how G'Kar got where he is. It's not all action but that's B5 and that's how I like it.