Casting Shadows (Babylon 5: The Passing of the Techno-Mages, #1) by Jeanne Cavelos

Casting Shadows (Babylon 5: The Passing of the Techno-Mages, #1) Reviews

• 
  Stephen

  2.0 to 2.5 stars. A decent, quick read but I was really hoping for better as I am a fan of B5 and was hoping for an interesting read providing more details regarding the Shadow War. Alas, I was pretty disappointed. I will probably read the net book in the series at some point and hope it is better.
• 
  Dan

  This series gives a depth of insight into Galen, and the Techno-Mages. Quite enjoyable.
• 
  Dan

  Cavelos has created the best B-5 trilogy yet. Her novels (Casting Shadows, Summoning Light, and Invoking Darkness) flesh out the background of the techno-mages and Galen's past. She meshes her material with the television series seamlessly and brings out nuances in character and situation. The relationship between the techno-mages and the Shadows is revealed in a striking manner that will satisfy any B-5 fan.
  
  Though the most exciting B-5 trilogy I have yet read, Cavelos has a tendency to focus on emotional-turmoil and bringing the pacing of the plot to a complete and utter halt so a character can brood, mope, brood some more, mope again. Making matters worse, she repeats the same trite descriptions describing these feelings of melancholy and worthlessness over and over. But the rewards of completing this trilogy is worth the pitfalls in the prose. A must for any B-5 fan.
• 
  Kim Headlee

  Tinker Bell won't expire on my watch. I do believe in fairies. And just once, I'd love to see angels and dragons descend en masse from the sky. Casting Shadows treats the reader to such wonders and more as the techno-mages gather to make the single most important decision in the thousand year history of their order. The Shadows will soon arrive, and the techno-mages must join them, oppose them or flee.
  
  If you're reading this review, chances are you know the Babylon 5™ universe so well that you can recite the color of Londo's underwear. So I don't need to waste time explaining the Shadows, why they pose such a threat to the universe, or the choice the techno-mages ultimately make.
  
  Cavelos knows you know all this, so Casting Shadows, thankfully, doesn't bog down in repetition. The book fills in gaps left unexplained in the television series, including why the mages acted the way they did. The book also covers, in heart-rending detail, the backstory of Galen, featured techno-mage in the firefly-like B5 spin-off, Crusade.
  
  In November 2258, Galen stands on the verge of initiation as a fully empowered techno-mage. His teacher, Elric, one of the order's leaders, admonishes him to stretch his techno-magical wings and conjure spells to express his inmost self, since that forms the core of the mages' operating philosophy.
  
  Still struggling to cope with the accidental deaths of his parents, 11 years prior, Galen nonetheless strives to please Elric, whom he loves as much as a father as a mentor. Galen's unique spell language, fueled by mathematical equations, leads him to discover a spell that indeed expresses himself -- and gives him the capability to wield vast destructive power. Which could come in quite handy against the Shadows. However, the rampantly pacifistic techno-mage leaders make Galen vow never to activate that spell again, upon pain of expulsion from the order and the certain death that would result.
  
  The order sends Galen and Isabelle, another newly initiated techno-mage, to unearth incontrovertible proof of the Shadows' actions. The nature and extent of the Shadows' operations comes as much of a surprise to Galen as the fact that he finds himself falling in love with Isabelle. When their investigation puts Galen and Isabelle directly into the line of fire, his vow comes under fire, too.
  
  I knock off a point for a key issue that remained unresolved at the end of the book, with no indication that it might be revisited in the next installment. But I judge that a relatively minor infraction compared with the sheer magical and emotional wonder conveyed by Casting Shadows, and I eagerly anticipate its sequel.
  
  (Review originally printed in
  Crescent Blues. Used with permission.)
• 
  Michelle

  I was so pleasantly surprised by this novel! On several occasions I laughed out loud or proclaimed, "Oh no!" And I don't think I can give a novel any higher praise than that.
  
  I stumbled across Casting Shadows while doing a search on Amazon for the Babylon 5 spin-off Crusade. I was looking for reviews after watching Crusade because it was so terrible; I was curious if others thought it as bad as I did. While reading those reviews I saw an ad for this book.
  
  Though I didn't like the series, I was intrigued with the idea of the Techno-Mages while watching Crusade. In fact Galen and the Techno-Mages were the only thing I really enjoyed about the series, and so my curiosity was piqued. When I also saw how many good reviews had been posted for this book, I reluctantly decided to give it a try.
  
  The book was a quick, easy read, and well written. In fact, I didn't want to put it down. I enjoyed all the characters, and fans of Babylon 5 will find the Babylon 5 universe faithfully reproduced.
  
  Casting Shadows tells the story of Techno-Mages leading up to the Shadow War. Those familiar with Crusade will recognize the main character Galen right away. The novel follows him as he completes his training and becomes a Techno-Mage in his own right.
  
  My only disappointment as I write this is that the next novel in the series hasn't arrived yet in the mail. Sadly these books are out of print and so I've had to order them used. I don't mind ordering used books at all, but book dealers seem to recognize that they can squeeze the fans for a little extra cash here. I paid about $10 a piece for the 1st and 3rd book. For the second book I shelled out $25.
  
  I think Babylon 5 fans will love this book; I highly recommend it. I don't know if those unfamiliar with the Babylon 5 story will enjoy it quite as much, though I do think it stands on it's own and is a good read regardless.
• 
  Nicholas

  Not quite as good as the Cnetauri books, this was still fairly enjoyable. It was nice getting more development on both Elric and Galen (though honestly, if I didn't see and hear them as Michael Ansara and Peter Woodward, I don't think I'd have enjoyed it as much). However, while and enjoyable enough read, it is not flawless.
  
  There is a romance story in it that just. . . doesn't work. I think that's largely because the love interest never really has any character developed. She has a list of traits, and certain required beats are hit, but that is all. She ultimately serves as a plot device to spur on the protagonist.
  
  And then the author spends way to much time on internal pseudo-monologues. Which are fine, they help us to understand the character in question, but she spends more time on them than is interesting, but never brings anything new with each one. Every time we visit a character's internal monologue, all we get is essentially the same thing we got in the last one. Over and over and over (and this continues in the second book of the trilogy unfortunately). Though in fairness, I think the editor can be faulted for this as equally as the author. It is the editor's job to deal with stuff like that, after all.
  
  The only other real problem with the book is that everything is pretty telegraphed. Mostly because there are no original plot developments in it. Early on in the book, you can pretty well tell this character is going to do A, that character is going to do X, etc.
  
  It's a credit to the author and editors that despite these issues, I still enjoyed the book for the most part.
• 
  Steve Haywood

  The Technomages are gathering on the planet Soom for their convocation, only held every few years. All mages will be present that can be, and all the apprentices too. Galen is one among them, and this time is very important for at this convocation he will take his initiation and become a full Technomage. But times aren t easy for the Technomages the Shadows have returned to their ancient home and ready themselves for war. Galen and his friend are sent on a task to bring back proof that the Shadows have returned...[return][return]This Babylon 5 book, the first in the Technomage trilogy, has very little to do with Babylon 5. The Technomages only ever appeared in one or two episodes of the series, and the main character appeared in the ill-fated Crusade. It does link in a little, for the mages are investigating the Shadows, and Morden appears on a couple of occasions, but I don t believe Babylon 5 itself is ever mentioned. Still, I found this to be the best Babylon 5 book yet written. The Technomages fascinate me, and the story grips me. I would highly recommend this book.
• 
  Patrick

  This is a marvelous book, and I can't wait to get into the other two connected to it. Though from the beginning, I sensed tragedy, and not just because the Shadows would be involved...even so it is a magnificent story on one of the most interesting groups in the B5 Timeline. The sheer background on the old events coming from a new source in new ways is simply amazing, and pulls any B5 fan in for more.
• 
  April Helms

  I loved this trilogy. Here, we see bits and pieces of Galen's childhood and training.
• 
  Jodi McMaster

  I generally don't read books based on series, but I did enjoy the Bab-5 books that J. Michael Straczynski plotted, and this particular series was my favorite.
• 
  Juanfra Valero

  Buen libro, pero sólo si eres fan de babylon 5. Da mucha información sobre los tecnomagos, especialmente sobre Galen y Elric, y de cómo se enteran de la llegada de las Sombras.
• 
  John

  There were many interesting bits of this book. It pulls back the curtain on some of the most mysterious characters in the B5 universe: the technomages.
• 
  Kelly

  Was a little bit slow to start but picked up half way through the book.... After 3/4of the boom I couldn't put it down....
• 
  Judith Paterson

  Very gripping and explosive ending - sad
• 
  Dale Rosso

  I enjoyed this series of stories about the techno mages and their origins make a lot of sense in the Babylon 5 universe.
• 
  Adi

  My least favorite of the B5 trilogy books, but still a good read for B5 fans.