The Cylons' Secret: Battlestar Galactica 2 (Paperback)

by Craig Shaw Gardner (Author)
Key Phrases: comm officer, Tom Zarek, Doctor Fuest, Research Station Omega (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for the Battlestar Galactica TV series:

 

"This story of enemies within is dead serious, and seriously good."

—James Poniewozik, Time Magazine

"It's all been said before, but I'll say it again: Battlestar Galactica is much, much better than you can possibly imagine. The battle scenes are claustrophobic and paranoia-inducing; the power struggles are complicated and nuanced like the ones you find on "The Sopranos;" the stakes are always high, and there's an incredible amount of action in each episode."

—salon.com

“An intensely suspenseful journey of survival … gripping, scary, and well worth staying home on Fridays to watch … TV’s most provocative fantasy adventure …”
—TV Guide “Roush Rave”

"Rapidly shaping up to be the most influential Science Fiction series since Babylon 5 and the original Star Trek."
—TV Zone magazine

"Serious and sexy, Battlestar Galactica is the best sci fi on TV."
—CFQ (Cinefantastique)

“…this Battlestar is smart enough and entertaining enough to win you over.”
—Robert Bianco, USA Today

“With its hot, androgynous heroine leading the remnants of humanity against evil, God-fearing robots, Battlestar Galactica is boldy re-creating sci-fi TV.”
—salon.com

"Galactica is back, better than ever . . . You don't have to love sci-fi to love Battlestar Galactica. . . a great TV series."
—USA Today

Product Description

Sometimes no news is bad news.

It’s been twenty years since the end of the Cylon war. The twelve human colony worlds are rebuilding, and the Cylons . . . the Cylons have been just too quiet. They are nowhere to be found. The robotic race that tried to obliterate their creators has gone to parts unknown in deep space.

The aftermath of the war has created a new, illegal profession: scavenger. Tom Zarek is one, scouring the outer settlements for valuable Cylon technologies and artifacts and usually returning empty-handed. But now, he and the crew of the Cruiser Lightning have found the Omega Station, a scientific station shrouded in secrecy beyond the edge of charted space. This is it, the big score, except something is wrong…the base is still occupied, not by humans alone; by Cylons too!

The Battlestar Galactica, one of the oldest warships in the fleet, receives the Lightning's distress call, a cryptic one-word message: "Cylons." William Adama, newly promoted to second-in-command, is worried. Most of his crew are green, new recruits, not prepared for anything but the most routine missions. And, as Adama soon discovers, this mission is anything but routine. Omega is indeed full of Cylons, but also something much more disturbing . . .

See all Editorial Reviews

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Product Details Paperback: 304 pages Publisher: Tor Books; 1st edition (August 22, 2006) Language: English ISBN-10: 0765315793 ISBN-13: 978-0765315793 Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies) Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews) Amazon.com Sales Rank: #876,899 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books) Popular in this category: (What's this?) #23 in  Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Authors, A-Z > ( G ) > Gardner, Craig Shaw

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Inside This Book (learn more)

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
comm officer

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Tom Zarek, Doctor Fuest, Research Station Omega, Colonel Adama, Admiral Sing, Captain Tigh, Bill Adama, Chief Nedder, Saul Tigh, Captain Nadu, Cflfl Ifl, Vipes Three, Cylon Chef, Vipes Four, Colonial Science Protectorate, Crystal Blue, Dreadnaught Invincible, Doctor Villem Fuest, Captain Draken, Colonel William Adama, Vipes One

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Citations (learn more)

This book cites 14 books:

• A Difficulty with Dwarves by Craig Shaw Gardner in Front Matter
• Battlestar Galactica by Jeffrey A. Carver in Front Matter
• A Multitude Of Monsters (The Exploits of Ebenezum, Bk. 2) by Craig Shaw Gardner in Front Matter
• Malady Of Magicks by Craig Shaw Gardner in Front Matter
• The Last Arabian Night by Craig Shaw Gardner in Front Matter

See all 14 books this book cites

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	43% buy the item featured on this page: The Cylons' Secret: Battlestar Galactica 2 2.5 out of 5 stars (11) $14.95
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	17% buy Sagittarius Is Bleeding: Battlestar Galactica 3 3.5 out of 5 stars (15) $6.99

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Customer Reviews

11 Reviews 5 star:    (0) 4 star:  (4) 3 star:  (1) 2 star:  (3) 1 star:  (3)           Average Customer Review 2.5 out of 5 stars (11 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 28 of 32 people found the following review helpful: 1.0 out of 5 stars Cynical fraudulent tie-in hack job, September 20, 2006 By  L. Masco (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews This book is nothing more than a hack job, intended to cash in on the Battlestar Galactica name. The author has no regard for Battlestar Galactica continuity, and violates it left and right. He attempts to work events into the backstories of Adama, Tigh, Zarek, and the Colonies that simply don't fit - we're supposed to believe that news of the Cylons lurking about in a Dreadnaught ("close to ten times the size of Galactica") wouldn't leak from the crews of 6 battlestars to the rest of the populace, right after we're told that the Admiral couldn't keep the CIC personnel on the Galactica from blabbing to the rest of the crew. Yet, we're told in the TV series that nobody has seen the Cylons since the armistice - that's a critical backstory element. Cylon Wariors from the period of the war look like the 1978 series' Centurions, not like the more modern versions that Shaw describes. The Colonial High Command would not have been as lackadaisical about computer control of the Colonial military, had they known that a Cylon Dreadnaught was still out there at the edges of human space - even 20 years after the fact. Especially when they had been concerned enough to send 6 battlestars after it. I can only guess that this was a manuscipt that the author had sitting around, in which he replaced his own characters with the BSG characters - labelling this as Battlestar Galactica is a fraud. I haven't been this angry about a book in a long, long time - unless you're short of material to burn in a fireplace, avoid this one... you won't know how bad a sucker job you missed. And if you see Craig Shaw Gardner, tell him I want my three hours back. 8 of 10 people found the following review helpful: 2.0 out of 5 stars Blegh!! Written for 12-year olds, October 29, 2006 By  Harvey Moul "I read more than you do, most li... (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    Utter crap. Reads like the outline to a bad fan-fiction movie, complete with a girl-crush from the plucky young heroine on a young Tom Zarek. For anyone that seriously enjoys the show, you need to skip this "book" and pretend it doesn't exist. Reading it will be painful and annoying - thankfully it is a very quick read so the torture doesn't drag on too long. On a more serious note, it is written for preteens with a crude, simplistic plot and nearly non-existent character development. There are gaping plot holes and serious deviations from established canon that are distracting. While it claims to "based upon" the re-imagined series, the word "loosely" should be included in that statement. 12 of 16 people found the following review helpful: 1.0 out of 5 stars Misleading at Best, October 7, 2006 By  Mr. Robert C. Elsenpeter "henry_the_dog" (Blaine, MN) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    Before I get too far, I'd just like to say I only got to page 77 of this book. If it picked up and got better by page 78, then I missed it. Unfortunately, the frst quarter of this book was a snoozer. If I had picked up a phone book I'd have a better chance of finding people I knew that reading this thing. Set 20 years in the past (ugh) the author tries to make a lot of his own square pegs fit into the BSG round holes . Too bad they just don't fit. This book seemed more like a rewrite of a 1960s Star Trek episode, trying to be shoehorned into BSG -- 20 years in the past.		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 4.0 out of 5 stars Quick and Fun BSG Read I'm not a fan of the show, but my husband is, and he truly enjoyed this story. He read it in only a day, which is a near-record! Read more Published 13 months ago by Jennifer Wardrip 4.0 out of 5 stars Don't Listen to the Naysayers!!!! I felt it was important to write this review because when I had decided to read the Battlestar Galactica (BSG) novels, the reviews on amazon. Read more Published 18 months ago by Eitan M. Altshuler 1.0 out of 5 stars BSG fans UNITE...to ignore this book. This author obviously didn't know a darn thing about the source material. He explains in the story that Zarek was brought up on Caprica by well-to-do parents. WHAT?!? Read more Published on April 9, 2007 by The Reaper 2.0 out of 5 stars After the First War This is an interesting story, but it in no way fits with the show's premises. Twenty years after the first Human-Cylon War, Adama is on the Battlestar Galactica and looking for... Read more Published on March 29, 2007 by Joshua Koppel 4.0 out of 5 stars Fun and Fast-Paced Battlestar Galactica: The Cylons' Secret, by Craig Shaw Gardner was a surprisingly fun book. I had reservations, as it's been a while since I've watched the new show. Read more Published on January 2, 2007 by SciFiChick 2.0 out of 5 stars SECRET IS OUT... This is the first tie-in novel to the critically acclaimed SciFi re-imagined Battlestar Galactica TV show but I doubt this book will garner such praise. Read more Published on September 20, 2006 by B. THOMPSON 4.0 out of 5 stars Good reading, well paced action. Set twenty years before The New Series - sheds some new light on three characters- Adama, Tigh and Zarek. Read more Published on September 2, 2006 by Igor Pudliszak 3.0 out of 5 stars A Decent first outing It been twenty year since the a truce between the Colonials and the Cylons. Now scavengers search space trying to cylon technolgy and a man called Tom Zarek has come upon a... Read more Published on August 24, 2006 by M. E. Newell Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; 1st edition (August 22, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765315793
• ISBN-13: 978-0765315793
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #876,899 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #23 in

  Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Authors, A-Z > ( G ) > Gardner, Craig Shaw

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Cynical fraudulent tie-in hack job, September 20, 2006

By	L. Masco (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This book is nothing more than a hack job, intended to cash in on the Battlestar Galactica name. The author has no regard for Battlestar Galactica continuity, and violates it left and right.

He attempts to work events into the backstories of Adama, Tigh, Zarek, and the Colonies that simply don't fit - we're supposed to believe that news of the Cylons lurking about in a Dreadnaught ("close to ten times the size of Galactica") wouldn't leak from the crews of 6 battlestars to the rest of the populace, right after we're told that the Admiral couldn't keep the CIC personnel on the Galactica from blabbing to the rest of the crew. Yet, we're told in the TV series that nobody has seen the Cylons since the armistice - that's a critical backstory element.

Cylon Wariors from the period of the war look like the 1978 series' Centurions, not like the more modern versions that Shaw describes.

The Colonial High Command would not have been as lackadaisical about computer control of the Colonial military, had they known that a Cylon Dreadnaught was still out there at the edges of human space - even 20 years after the fact. Especially when they had been concerned enough to send 6 battlestars after it.

I can only guess that this was a manuscipt that the author had sitting around, in which he replaced his own characters with the BSG characters - labelling this as Battlestar Galactica is a fraud. I haven't been this angry about a book in a long, long time - unless you're short of material to burn in a fireplace, avoid this one... you won't know how bad a sucker job you missed. And if you see Craig Shaw Gardner, tell him I want my three hours back.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Blegh!! Written for 12-year olds, October 29, 2006

By	Harvey Moul "I read more than you do, most li... (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Utter crap. Reads like the outline to a bad fan-fiction movie, complete with a girl-crush from the plucky young heroine on a young Tom Zarek.

For anyone that seriously enjoys the show, you need to skip this "book" and pretend it doesn't exist. Reading it will be painful and annoying - thankfully it is a very quick read so the torture doesn't drag on too long.

On a more serious note, it is written for preteens with a crude, simplistic plot and nearly non-existent character development. There are gaping plot holes and serious deviations from established canon that are distracting. While it claims to "based upon" the re-imagined series, the word "loosely" should be included in that statement.

12 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Misleading at Best, October 7, 2006

By	Mr. Robert C. Elsenpeter "henry_the_dog" (Blaine, MN) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Before I get too far, I'd just like to say I only got to page 77 of this book. If it picked up and got better by page 78, then I missed it. Unfortunately, the frst quarter of this book was a snoozer.

If I had picked up a phone book I'd have a better chance of finding people I knew that reading this thing. Set 20 years in the past (ugh) the author tries to make a lot of his own square pegs fit into the BSG round holes . Too bad they just don't fit.

This book seemed more like a rewrite of a 1960s Star Trek episode, trying to be shoehorned into BSG -- 20 years in the past.