The Passing Of The Techno-Mages (All Three Books In One., 1,2 & 3) [Hardcover]

Jeanne Cavelos (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 874 pages
• Publisher: Science Fiction Book Club; 1ST edition (2002)
• ISBN-10: 0739423959
• ISBN-13: 978-0739423950
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,244,939 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am a writer, editor, scientist, and teacher. I began my professional life as an astrophysicist, working in the Astronaut Training Division at NASA's Johnson Space Center.

After earning my MFA in creative writing, I moved into a career in publishing, becoming a senior editor at Bantam Doubleday Dell, where I created and launched the Abyss imprint of psychological horror, for which I won the World Fantasy Award, and the Cutting Edge imprint of literary fiction. I also ran the science fiction/fantasy publishing program. In addition, I edited a wide range of fiction and nonfiction. In my eight years in New York publishing, I edited numerous award-winning and best-selling authors and gained a reputation for discovering and nurturing new writers.

In 1994, I left New York to pursue my own writing career. My latest book is Invoking Darkness, the third volume in the best-selling trilogy The Passing of the Techno-Mages, set in the Babylon 5 universe (Del Rey). The Sci-Fi Channel called the trilogy "A revelation for Babylon 5 fans. . . . Not 'television episodic' in look and feel. They are truly novels in their own right." My nonfiction book The Science of Star Wars (St. Martin's) was chosen by the New York Public Library for its recommended reading list, and CNN said, "Cavelos manages to make some of the most mind-boggling notions of contemporary science understandable, interesting and even entertaining." The highly praised The Science of The X-Files, (Berkley) was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award. Publishers Weekly called it "Crisp, conversational, and intelligent."

My first published book, the Babylon 5 novel The Shadow Within (Dell), has been reissued by Del Rey with a new cover. Dreamwatch magazine called it "one of the best TV tie-in novels ever written."

Other works include essays in Star Wars on Trial and Farscape Forever, a novella, "Negative Space" (which was given honorable mention in The Year's Best Science Fiction), in the anthology Decalog 5: Wonders, and an essay, "Innovation in Horror," which appears in both On Writing Horror: A Handbook by the Horror Writers Association and The Complete Handbook of Novel Writing (Writer's Digest Books). I've published short fiction, essays, and reviews in many magazines.

I'm currently at work on a science thriller about genetic manipulation and cloning, titled Fatal Spiral.

I also put together my first anthology, The Many Faces of Van Helsing, which was published by Berkley in 2004 and nominated for a Bram Stoker Award.

I run Jeanne Cavelos Editorial Services, a full-service freelance company that provides editing, ghostwriting, consulting, and critiquing services to publishers, book packagers, agents, and authors. Among its clients are major publishers and best-selling and award-winning writers.

Since I love working with developing writers, I created and serve as director of Odyssey (www.odysseyworkshop.org), an annual six-week workshop for writers of fantasy, science fiction, and horror held at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, NH. Guest lecturers have included George R. R. Martin, Harlan Ellison, Terry Brooks, Ben Bova, Jane Yolen, and Dan Simmons.

During the school year, I am an English lecturer at Saint Anselm College, where I teach writing and literature.

I've lectured widely at venues as varied as the Smithsonian Institute, the United States Air Force Revolutionary Technologies Division, the American Chemical Society, Dartmouth College, the Intel International Science Fair, the Discovery Channel, the Sci-Fi Channel, the History Channel, Turner Entertainment, the Art Bell radio program, and many others.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great tie-in story - well constructed, thoughtful ideas, intense action, September 17, 2011

By 

C. Rotolo - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Passing Of The Techno-Mages (All Three Books In One., 1,2 & 3) (Hardcover)

Jeanne Cavelos surpasses her effort from the prior "prequel" novel, The Shadow Within. The 1st book, Casting Shadows, is a thoroughly conceived and well-paced novel on the culture, customs and lore of B5's Techno-Mages. Densely packed with detail, the story, which takes place in the year 2258, concerns the initiation of Galen into the circle of Mages, the leadership and guidance of his master, Elric (B5-Season 2: The Geometry of Shadows) and the revelation of the galactic reawakening of the Shadows.

The second volume, Summoning Light, raises the dramatic intensity slowly over the course of the book, building to climactic events in the closing chapters. As the techno-mages hatch their desperate plan to elude confrontation with the Shadow race, the story splits to follow both Elric and Galen as they pursue separate agendas toward saving their order. The author does a fine job weaving scenes portrayed in the B5 episode "The Geometry of Shadows" into a larger, more calculated gambit Elric and his colleagues are enacting aboard the space station. Galen meanwhile heads to the galactic rim on a covert mission, struggling to control the powers he has gained, in pursuit of his enemies. There he will discover the Big Secret the mage leadership have closely guarded for a millennium. The Vorlon Kosh, Anna Sheridan, and a deliciously sadistic telepath contribute key elements of detail to the story. Summoning Light keeps with the narrative pace established in Casting Shadows, spanning a few months in the year 2259.

The concluding novel, Invoking Darkness, brings Cavelos' trilogy to its tumultuous conclusion, corresponding with the end of the Shadow War. Concurrent story threads are once again a primary structural device. Galen's, of course, remains the centerpiece thread; his inner turmoil over his purpose and control of his mage-tech matches his external tug-of-war with the Shadows and their agents. A parallel thread follows Anna Sheridan in the last months of her life, adding much behind-the-scenes detail in the lead-up to the Babylon 5 episodes, "Shadow Dancing" and "Z'ha'dum", and brings her story full-circle from where it began in The Shadow Within. Anna becomes our primary window into Shadow beliefs and culture. The underground city we catch glimpses of in "Z'ha'dum" gets a generous amount of descriptive detail as Galen pursues a final confrontation with his nemesis, Elizar. All threads intersect at that momentous place in the B5 story that ends with the nuclear bombing of Z'ha'dum. We even learn how the White Star so effortlessly penetrated the planet's defenses.

I was surprised by the relatively short span of time (3-1/2 years) covered by the three books. I had expected the narrative to span far more years, into and beyond the Crusade timeline, thinking the trilogy might expand on events beyond the short-lived Crusade series. There is the one big reveal regarding the source of the Mage powers that would likely have been a major plot element in Crusade going forward. Jeanne Cavelos was remarkably consistent, though, with each of her books spanning no more than a few months. The story contains much sadness with the loss of several likable characters; each loss driving home the deadly seriousness of the mounting Shadow conflict. It also contains much wisdom, as Galen discovers the path to giving up control, and seeking a life of questions, not answers.