Babylon 5 is one of my all-time favourite TV shows, and Susan Ivanova is my favourite character in the series. The show ran for five seasons, but Ivanova was not present in the fifth season, for reasons which differ markedly depending on who you're hearing the story from. Claudia Christian, the actor who played Ivanova, at some stage took the opportunity to write a novel about what her character was up to during the fifth season. The first I knew about this novel was when I heard Claudia Christian talk about it during her appearance on stage at the Wellington Armageddon in 2006. I thought that it was a fantastic idea, and ever since I've been keeping an eye out for it. You can read about the strange circumstances under which I finally got a copy of the book here.
In terms of physical layout and editing, the book is in a need of a little work. Some page numbers are randomly missing, and there are several instances where one word has been typed when clearly another was intended. And the book does a really strange number in page-breaks that are nearly in the right place. About half of the chapters end in mid-sentence, with anything from one word to a couple of sentences pushed to the next page by the errant page-break, where the words sit just above the heading of the next chapter. But of course none of this matters, and it's nothing that a good hard edit wouldn't fix. The important question is, of course, is the book any good?
Well actually, yes.
For a start Claudia Christian has done an amazing job of weaving the novel into the broader Babylon 5 tapestry. She said during her appearance at Armageddon that, in preparation for writing the novel, she sat down and watched all five seasons - for the first time ever! This research of hers shows in every page. The book is positively chocker with references to events in the TV series. A major part of the plot is a direct and satisfying consequence of an event that took place in the TV show and was never mentioned again. Characters who only appeared once in the TV show turn up in the book. There's a passing nod to the gropos, and another to Rebo and Zooty, and even a sly and very funny swipe at Alfred Bester's hairpiece! Claudia's integration of the novel into the established Babylon 5 storyline is masterful, and a very smart piece of work indeed.
However, this aspect probably means that book would be less interesting to someone not immersed in Babylon 5 lore. For me a huge part of the enjoyment of the book was the smug feeling I got from recognising yet another reference that someone who had never seen the show would not understand.
I was also impressed with how Claudia Christian perceived how EarthForce personnel would react to Ivanova, one of the leaders of the rebellion. Some consider her a traitor, others see her as a hero, still others realise that what she did was right but still resent her for the EarthForce people who died at her command, and everyone, whatever they think about the rebellion, views her as a curiosity. Ivanova deals with this as you might expect: with straight back and stern visage on the outside, while feeling very alone on the inside. Good stuff.
As for the somewhat vexed issue of whether a book is well-written, I use my own definition of what this means. Good writing to me is writing that vanishes. By this I mean the words flow past your eyes so smoothly that you're barely aware that you are reading, and the story appears to leap straight from the book to your brain. By this definition the writing is for the most part good, although there are occasional clumsy uses of flashback, and passages where the viewpoint character moves physically between adjacent paragraphs, which I found confusing and which snapped me out of the immersion.
The general feeling of the writing is sombre, but there are occasional welcome flashes of humour. (I'm still cracking up over "I feel like an old-fashioned new-ager.")
My main criticism of the story would be to do with the pacing. Ivanova leaves Babylon 5, travels to St Petersburg to face the ghosts of her past, reports to EarthDome in Geneva, and is transported to her new command. All this is interesting enough, but I consider it scene-setting stuff, and yet it takes up nearly half the book. Then when the first really exciting thing happens, it's all over in a couple of pages - not nearly enough time to work up a sense of suspense or introduce the possibility of failure. And the main story doesn't actually kick in until page 170 of the 270-page book. Personally I would have been happier with a smaller starter and a bigger main course.
But this is a very minor concern. It's a good book, and a very welcome addition to the Babylon 5 story. I can certainly recommend it to anyone who is a fan of the TV series.
The story takes place on a timescale that corresponds to only the first few episodes of season five. I assume Claudia Christian did this deliberately to give herself the space to fit more Ivanova novels in before the end of the season. I sure hope these novels get written.
Baptism of Fire is by Claudia Christian.
Claudia Christian very kindly included a copy of her CD Once Upon a Time with my book, so I thought I'd review that as well.
Her voice is very smooth and nice to listen to, although there are occasional patches of rough intonation, especially at the end of phrases. The orchestrations I found pretty ordinary and a bit pop-y for my tastes. I liked the simple accompaniments best, such as the beautiful piano and high-hat number that accompanies a sultry Claudia in Morning Can Wait.
The songs themselves are great. They are all original, with many written by Claudia Christian herself, or by her fellow Babylon 5 cast member Bill Mumy. Although the songs tend to cover the usual subjects and themes of modern music, each one has something interesting or quirky about it which sets it apart from the flock. How can you go wrong with a song that talks about Atlantis beneath the sea and uses it as a metaphor for the mysteries of love? (Gone Today, Here Tomorrow)
My favourite song was Beige MG, which demonstrates what seems to be a Bill Mumy signature - internal rhymes within the individual lines of couplets, for example:
"Sitting next to me, in a beige MG, by the Malibu sea, in black-and-white.
I can hear your laugh, through the photograph, that I tore in half, late last night."
So, it's a good, solid, enjoyable album, and one I am very happy to have.
