The Shadow Within (Babylon 5, Book 7) (Mass Market Paperback)

by Jeanne Cavelos (Author) "ANNA Sheridan rested her elbows on her desk and her chin on her nested fists, studying the artifact that lay before her..." (more)
Key Phrases: biomechanical technology, link chimed, jump gate, Captain Best, Psi Corps, Captain Hidalgo (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The electrifying space epic continues as Anna and John Sheridan battle deadly foes at opposite ends of the universe.

The dedication of the new Babylon 5 Station is fast approaching, and desperate enemies intend to see it end in catastrophe. The fate of the fledgling space alliance lies in the hands of John Sheridan, newly appointed captain of the spaceship Agamemnon. His orders are to stop the attack. Unless he first gets to the bottom of the near-mutinous behavior of the Agamemnon’s unruly crew, Sheridan and his spaceship will share Babylon 5’s doom.

Time is also running out for his wife Anna, headed to Z’ha’dum aboard the Icarus. Young, beautiful, and brilliant, she was thrilled to be appointed chief science officer of the follow-up mission to this mysterious planet on the edge of the known universe, where artifacts rumored to hold stupendous powers have been discovered. But the offer she could not resist threatens to become a dark destiny she cannot avoid, for an unimaginable horror lies somnolent on Z’ha’dum–and the monstrous consequences of disturbing the sleeping evil will haunt every living thing in the cosmos. . . .

Babylon 5 created by J. Michael Straczynski


From the Publisher

"They provide an intriguing energy source to draw us in. And here we are. Butwhat I can't figure out is why they would want to hide from us and then attackus. They don't even know us."

As Anna talked, a strange change came over Morden's face. The muscles wentslack, his carefully composed expression melting away.

He reached into the pocket of his jumpsuit, and she realized he was going topull out the PPG. As the PPG came clear of the pocket and began to rise, sheshoved him hard. The gun went off with a reverberating blast. She lost herbalance, heard rocks falling, and then a flash, and she hit the cave floor. Shecovered her head with her arms and tucked her body into a ball. It was likebeing an ant in the center of the bowling pins when God hits a strike.

She was in total blackness. She groped for her light, and shone it toward whereMorden had been standing. He looked as if he had been picked up and thrown atthe cave wall. He was twisted up against it on his side, the jumpsuit over hischest fluttering with quick, shallow breaths. His right hand still gripped thePPG...

Copyright © 1997 by Warner Bros., a division of Time Warner. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Del Rey (November 26, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345452186
• ISBN-13: 978-0345452184
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 4.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #491,722 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What do you want?, August 3, 2003

By	Jason Montgomery "Journ" (Calgary, Alberta Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Shadow Within: Babylon 5, Book #7 (Paperback)

This book tells the tale of what really happened to Anna Sheridan and Morden during the Icarus' doomed expedition to the Shadow homeworld, Z'ha'dum. Plus, there's a subplot concerning Captain Sheridan trying to get the crew under his new command on the Agamemnnon into shape, and then preventing a terrorist attack on the recently completed Babylon 5 space station.

This book, and it's companion volume "To Dream in the City of Sorrows", created a feeling of dread about the Shadows and what they represent, just like on the Babylon 5 TV show. And we all know that Anna joined the Shadows, but her reasons as to why are a shocker. Strongly recommended.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great background info; end vague, January 4, 2003

By	"[e-mail]" (Moorpark, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This book is generally acknowledged to be the best of the B5 books, although I also like the Psi Corps trilogy very much. This book follows the story of Anna Sheridan and Morden, and their ill fated trip to Z'Ha'Dum. It's a quick read, but it's not fluff. The characters are well developed, indeed we find out pertinent details about Morden (he's a very sympathetic person, actually!) and Anna, as well as background into John Sheridan's first command. I read this in a day; I could hardly keep my hands off of it. The only thing I didn't like was the ending. All along, they were helping explain things from the TV show, and fleshing out the characters, filling in many gaps. At the very end, I found it to be lacking. I do know the ultimate fate of the people, but I couldn't figure out exactly how or what happened. I would have liked a bit more of that. I felt the best parts of the story were the interactions between Anna and Morden, and Anna and John.

There is a very small background that takes place on B5, and Delenn and Captain Sinclair are present, but only for less than 10 pages of the story. The story is primarily about Anna, with the "B" plotline being that of John on the Agamemnon. An excellent read...and so many of your questions will be answered!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I liked the background., June 28, 1998

By	Werrf ([e-mail]) (West Sussex) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Shadow Within: Babylon 5, Book #7 (Paperback)

Considering that B5 is a series that thrives on continuity, this was a great effort. I enjoyed reading the details behind stories we'd heard here and there in the series - just *why* Sheridan forgot to say 'I love you' the last time he spoke to Anna, exactly *how* Morden became a Shadow servant.

I really enjoyed the 'B' plot, telling of the problems Sheridan had when he first took command of the Agamemnon. We begin to see what it must have been like for him to have to leave her behind - in short, it gives us a lot of insight into who he is.

I did find myself expecting things that didn't turn up, though...for example, the writing on the side of the 'Egg': 'What is desired', sounded so much to my like 'What do you want', but the characters then went off on a tangent about 'all that is desired', leaving me feeling a little unfulfilled.

In short, a great book, with a great plot and a wonderful feel for the series, that's only let down occasionally by the style of writing. Highly recommended.