The Touch of Your Shadow, the Whisper of Your Name (Babylon 5, Book 5) [Paperback]

Neal Barrett Jr. (Author), J. Michael Straczynski (Author)

Book Description

Series: Babylon 5 | Publication Date: March 10, 1996

Babylon 5, designed to be a place of peace in a troubled universe, has erupted into rioting as visiting cultures clash and passions explode.  Security chief Garibaldi must use all his skills to quell the violence between races.  But the troubles escalate as terrifying nightmares plague everyone on board from Captain Sheridan to Vorlon Ambassador Kosh.  It seems as if some "force" is touching them all...



Then an alien presence appears.  A long, twisting band of green light nine million miles long stretches out against the darkness of space on a collision course with Babylon 5.  Since it remains invisible to computer sensors, some are calling it an illusion, others are calling it an evil life force.  Still others are calling it God.  Now, it is up to Captain Sheridan and Garibaldi to find out, risking their lives, and perhaps their souls, to venture forth amond the stars to meet the unknown.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Babylon 5, designed to be a place of peace in a troubled universe, has erupted into rioting as visiting cultures clash and passions explode. Security chief Garibaldi must use all his skills to quell the violence between races. But the troubles escalate as terrifying nightmares plague everyone on board from Captain Sheridan to Vorlon Ambassador Kosh. It seems as if some "force" is touching them all...

Then an alien presence appears. A long, twisting band of green light nine million miles long stretches out against the darkness of space on a collision course with Babylon 5. Since it remains invisible to computer sensors, some are calling it an illusion, others are calling it an evil life force. Still others are calling it God. Now, it is up to Captain Sheridan and Garibaldi to find out, risking their lives, and perhaps their souls, to venture forth amond the stars to meet the unknown.

From the Inside Flap

Babylon 5, designed to be a place of peace in a troubled universe, has erupted into rioting as visiting cultures clash and passions explode.  Security chief Garibaldi must use all his skills to quell the violence between races.  But the troubles escalate as terrifying nightmares plague everyone on board from Captain Sheridan to Vorlon Ambassador Kosh.  It seems as if some "force" is touching them all...



Then an alien presence appears.  A long, twisting band of green light nine million miles long stretches out against the darkness of space on a collision course with Babylon 5.  Since it remains invisible to computer sensors, some are calling it an illusion, others are calling it an evil life force.  Still others are calling it God.  Now, it is up to Captain Sheridan and Garibaldi to find out, risking their lives, and perhaps their souls, to venture forth amond the stars to meet the unknown.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Dell (March 10, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440222303
• ISBN-13: 978-0440222309
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #963,702 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I liked it., May 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Touch of Your Shadow, the Whisper of Your Name (Babylon 5, Book 5) (Paperback)

I liked it. The story was interesting and held my attention. It was also easy to read - I read it in one day. I think most of the people objected to it because it doesn't fit into the main story line of the TV series. I didn't have a problem with this. It's a great story, told from differing view points of the characters but mainly Security Chief Garibaldi's. It was lighter than some, but I liked that too after reading "To Dream in the City of Sorrows" which was a great book but the story was a bit heavier and took more thought. I think most people who reviewed this book have forgotten about the TV episodes which also seemed to have nothing to do with the "shadows" storyline but had almost totally separate and sometimes light-hearted adventures. Anyway, I enjoyed it and I think anyone interested in a light sci-fi adventure would too.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A possibly promising beginning but then..., March 8, 2001

By 

Mikael Kuoppala (Helsinki, Finland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Touch of Your Shadow, the Whisper of Your Name (Babylon 5, Book 5) (Paperback)

This book was a bit of a dissapointment for me.

The beginning offers the book to be full of either interesting opportunities or huge dissapointments. It was neither.

The plot was intriquing and the book kept you with it, but there was not enough pay off at the end, as the author fell back on old, predictable solutions and colorless writing.

A nice read but nothing is missed by not reading it either.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Doesn't belong in the series, July 21, 1998

By 

Geoff Loker ([e-mail]) (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Touch of Your Shadow, the Whisper of Your Name (Babylon 5, Book 5) (Paperback)

Although it is nominally set on Babylon 5 and uses the names of various of the characters (mostly unrecognizable from the series, or mere caricatures of themselves), this book really has no place in the Babylon 5 universe. The story is poor, it advances nothing within the B5 universe, and its "reset button" Deus ex machina ending violates the entire spirit behind Babylon 5.

Take a look at "Thirdspace" by Peter David (based on the movie by J.M.Straczynski) to see how this story should have been done.

There was a serious slip in quality control when this book made it through as an authorized B5 vehicle. If you like B5, avoid this one at all costs.