Customer Reviews

Blood Oath (Babylon 5, Book 3)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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

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.

A very exciting, well planned, brilliantly written novel which fits in perfectly with the story arc that B5 fans have come to love. Top notch book, a must read for all B5 fans and a thrilling read for anyone else.

What can be said except that Vornholt has no idea how to write Babylon 5. The plot is flawed, the settings will be unfamiliar and unrecognizable to B5 fans, and the characterizations are dead wrong. Skip it.

Babylon 5 is a good series, but some episodes are flops. The B5 novel series is good, too, but this book is one of its flops.

The story is slow at times, and at other times very interesting. It is mostly boring, although the end is quite good, in contrary with the rest of the novel.

A more than averagely interesting Babylon 5 book, as the setting for
this novel is, for the large part, on the planet of the Narns, or their
homeworld, as they call it.

If you are interested in more Narn information, and why they are
like they are and what happened to them, this is the place to look.

Blood Oath is the third of the original nine novels. The book is set during the second season prior to events in "The Coming of Shadows."
Ambassador G'Kar receives a death threat in the form of a Shon'Kar, a traditional Narn blood oath. Subsequently, Ivanova, Garibaldi and Na'Toth travel to the Narn Homeworld for the ambassador's funeral. Meanwhile, back on Babylon 5, as well as on the ship en route, people get the feeling that G'Kar might still be alive. Could this be what it seems or is there more than meets than eye?
John Vornholt makes use of existing B5 plots and subplots regarding the Narns and G'kar in particular, on which he bases this novel.
The book is well written and presented, and the reader feels that they have been transported to the Narn Homeworld.
The information conveyed about the Narns' home planet as well as G'kar's rapid rise to the Third circle is interesting and never mentioned before in such detail.
Ivanova's handling of a ride on a Narn lift, on page 150, was enlightening and amusing at the same time: "A second later, Ivanova was close to screaming after what seemed like a sheer drop to the bottom of the shaft. Her stomach churned, her ears ached until they popped, and she could see Na'Toth yawning. The lift finally began to slow, and it deposited them gently at the bottom level of the canyon."
On page 71, the author provides for an excellent description of Narn courting:
"The flower of Narn womanhood is the thorn. I cannot wait to return to the land of thorny women."
"Under the thorn is the softest fruit."
Finally, on pages 224-225, the author foreshadows G'Kar's transformation from being bitter, vengeful, and aggressive to becoming compassionate, altruistic, and noble.
On the downside, the novel is at times much too slow to the point of actually being bland and boring. Moreover, regarding the plot and the main characters' actions, they seemed forced and unconvincing.
Al Vernon was simply uninteresting and the twist at the end was as lame as they get, though the finishing words exchanged between the two ambassadors was highly enjoyable.
In short, with the series over, thank goodness for the novels. 3.5 Stars
More novels please...

Blood Oath involves a plot by G'Kar to fake his own death in order to evade assassins. The other B5 characters receiving significant attention are Garibaldi and Ivanova. The story, while mildly interesting, is not as fast-moving as the first two B5 novels. There is an interesting look at the Narn Homeworld, so G'Kar fans should pick this one up.

I had to admit from Vornholt's point of view, the Narns are especially easy to compare with the Star Trek's Klingons. Of course wwhen you read the book, the Narns remind you of Klingons. But it is quite entertaining. I was hooked.