Voices

by John Vornholt

Published by Dell Publishsing

When I think of a Babylon 5 novel, I think of a novel based on the characters of the TV series. This book, although it\'s a B5 novel isn\'t like that. Yes, the names of the Babylon 5 characters appear here, and their ranks and positions are as in the series (i.e Sheridan is the captain and Talia is the resident telepath), but their personalities have gone through drastic changes. These are not the Sheridan, Ivanova, Garibaldi and Talia that we know from the series. They are new people created by the author. Any similarities in their personalities are only coincidental.

Apart from the fact that the characters do not behave like themselves, the novel is good. It is pretty predictable, but the good action scenes are described very well. People should think of this as a "Science Fiction, Innocent Renegade" story, and they will like the story. Otherwise, if you expect to read a Babylon 5-based novel, you\'ll be disappointed.

Back to the characters. I don\'t understand why they had to make Harriman Gray obsessed with Commander Ivanova. He knows how she hates Psi Corps and he was on the station for no more than a week, so why is he so much in love with her? A man like that can only be described as pathetic. Clearly, there was never a relationship between him and Ivanova, and she\'s not even going to be friendly with him easily. But then again, maybe he thinks she\'s just playing hard to get.

This book is a "can read" book for both fans and non-fans of B5. You won\'t miss anything if you don\'t buy the book, but you also wouldn\'t be just spending money if you do.