Customer Reviews

Personal Agendas (Babylon 5, Book 8)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Why did I bother reading more than one or two chapers of this book? Same reason I used to sit through Gilligan's Island episodes years ago. But wait --- I'm being far too hard on Gilligan. "Personal Agendas" on the other hand has no redeeming value. Not only is it written in a style aimed at fourth-graders, its subplots are designed so that the status quo is preserved and nothing is changed. This is the exact opposite of what Bablyon 5 is about --- characters growing and developing like real people. Skip this one.

This isn't a book, it is merchandising, and merchandising of such poor quality that it is an insult to the consumer. I feel insulted that I am expected to buy this simply because it has the magic words "Babylon 5" on the cover, and I feel a complete fool because that is exactly what I did. The worst bit is that we are actually expected to regard this is being part of the B5 "canon" - as "really" having happened in the timeline of the show. Sorry, no way. Ivanova in a wig all through season 4? Don't be ridiculous. Quality-wise, this is on a par with really bad fan fiction - except that I can't imagine even the dimmest fan writer getting the characterisations so wrong. In fact, go look on the Web and you'll find stacks of amateur spin-off fiction which is light years better than this. Oh, and by the way, I only gave it one star because the software wouldn't let me give it none at all.

Personal Agendas is the eighth of the original nine Babylon 5 novels. The story is set in 2261 as the Shadow War rages on and G'Kar is held captive on Centauri Prime.
Commander Ivanova, Security Chief Garibaldi, and Doctor Franklin disguise themselves as Centauri jewel merchants and arrive at the Centauri homeworld in an effort to free G'Kar who is held prisoner and is being tortured by Emperor Cartagia. Meanwhile, Captain John Sheridan and ambassador Delenn go undercover in order to shed some light on some shady dealings taking place on B5.
Al Sarrantonio makes use of existing B5 plots and subplots to write this novel. The book is well written and presented, and the reader feels that they are watching another B5 feature film.
Personal Agendas starts off very well catching the reader's interest and attention, and holding on to it until the end. Throughout the book Al Sarrantonio brings to the forefront characters that we have come to know and love in a way that does not sway from accuracy and additionally introduces new interesting characters.
On the downside, the author includes 67 chapters in a total of 212 pages, which does not make much sense, nevertheless, that is a minor flaw considering the overall enjoyment that one gets out of the book. Other reviewers criticized Ivanova's shaved head (for this expedition) and her wearing a wig once back on B5, however, it should be noted that the author does not specify how long she has to wear it; there must be inducers that allow for rapid hair growth in the mid-23rd century, which would mean that she would not have to wear it for too long.
In short, with the main series over and as we wait to hopefully see some more (and much better) Lost Tales or another B5 spinoff, thank goodness for the novels. More novels please...

Quality control really fell down here. This is only superficially a part of the Babylon 5 universe. There is no concern for continuity with the series, there is no concern for preserving characterization, and the general quality of writing is poor at best. I can't decide if this book or "The Touch of Your Shadow, the Whisper of Your Name" is the worst supposed Babylon 5 book.

In the cosmic scheme of things, this is Babylon 5's "Way to Eden" .... a piece of drivel so profound it should never have even touched paper. The *ONLY* reason to have a copy of this trash is to complete your babylon 5 collection. and even then, put it as far to the back of the shelf as you can.

The longest chapter in the "book" is about 3 pages. The publisher - by formatting the book slightly differant - could have shortened this to approximately 80 pages, just by having all the chapters edited together, so that instead of having a chapter that is about 10 lines long (and I'm serious here) then almost a full blank page, and going to a new chapter on the next page.

The writing is - at best - sophomoric. What was the point of the james bond theme, other than to stretch out what would have made a passable short story into a borefest?

I'm still trying to figure out how someone with the writing style shown here could have possibly won an award for anything ... yet according to the back cover he has won a number of them. Perhaps he was suffering from something during the writing process ... or was pushed for a deadline and only had an hour to write it?

One more thing. What was the point of Lyndisty? <rolling eyes>

This is not a Babylon 5 book. Aside from the names, locations and background, this has nothing to do with my favourite TV series. The characters are total inventions - I didn't recognise any of them - and it has no regard for the continuity of the series.

It'd be okay as a stand alone novel, totally unconnected with anything else, but as a Babylon 5 novel, it falls down badly. My suggestion: If you're a B5 fan, look somewhere else. If you're just looking for a bit of light entertainment that you can pick up and put down at a moments notice, give it a go.

I read this book after #2,3,4,7,9, so this book was even worse for me than it would be if it was the first book I read.

The characters are stupid, the jokes, which the author stuck in the story too much, are very bad, and the plot isn't that great either. The plot has a few good points. Very few, but at least there's something, which accounts for 1.5 of the points for this book.

The other half point is for the short chapters. This way I can finish a chapter quickly without torturing myself too much. I'm a person who doesn't stop in the middle of a chapter, so it was perfect for me to have this bad book with at least very few pages per chapter.

Except for the character names and the fact that G'Kar is in prison, it has nothing to do with the show. Sheridan and Delenn wouldn't start playing silly spy games in the middle of the Shadow War, and Ivanova, Franklin and Garibaldi wouldn't leave the station at such a time, and for such a risky mission. Besides, Ivanova getting bald doesn't fit in with the rest of the show's fourth season.

People who don't know B5: don't get this book! It will destroy your book-loving.
People who like B5: Don't get this book either. It will destroy your B5-novel-loving.

After reading the excellent The Shadow Within, this was a major disappointment. I just wanted to kick whoever wrote something like this. First of all, Delenn and Sheridan was way to bright after what happened on Z`ha`dum. Delenn was supposed to be filled with guilt, feeling it was her fault that John went away. In this book she shows nothing of the kind! And Londo & G`Kar... Don`t get me started! These great characters are ruined in this book, descriped in a way that makes you think it was a Star Trek novel. With such a great show that B5 is, you should think they took better care of it. After this book, I don`t know. Hey, I`ve got more talent than the one who wrote this book?? Call me next time JMS, I promise I could do better... Camilla Sanman, Nadderudveien 189, 1343 Eiksmarka, Norway

Not all Babylon 5 has to be dead serious and gripping. I thought this book was just fun. It was a good addition to the B5 book series. It was enjoyable having Vir Cotto as the hero. The book was kind of silly. But in a GOOD way!

Unlike some of the reviewers on this page, I like this book. The best part of this novel was the rescue of G'Kar. Dr. Franklin and Ivonova have to sport hair similar to Vir to rescue G'Kar from prison. I must have finished it in a few hours with the short chapters. It's not a serious story, however it did provide fans with a few hours of what would have made a funny episode.