Customer Reviews

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

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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.