is babylonian 5 any good

Discussion in 'Science Fiction & Fantasy' started by tmosler, May 23, 2013.

  1. Guy Gardener

    Guy Gardener Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    You have children.

    Use them.
     
  2. teacake

    teacake Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    If the technomage trilogy came out in hardcover tomorrow for 50.00 each I would buy it. It is that good. What I don't get is why you can't buy them all on kindle?!

    (amazon link may contain spoilers in reviews)

    I don't like going to libraries, they make me sleepy and my local one is always full of people talking about local issues which is awful. I would rather go to ebay.
     
  3. JD

    JD Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Babylon 5 and DS9 are two of my all time favorite shows. I don't really see anywhere where there would be issues that would make liking one would make you less likely to like the other. There are a few kind of similarities in some of the ideas, but IMO they approached in different enough ways that I don't see any conflict.
     
  4. Sephiroth

    Sephiroth Vice Admiral Admiral

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    $20? crap, I've been paying between $2-3 for them used, and at the rate I've been finding them, I figure I'll have them all by the end of the year.
     
  5. Guy Gardener

    Guy Gardener Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    You know it doesn't work that way.

    It will take you 7 years to find the second to last book and you will never find the last one.

    People who take their books to the second hand store(ebay) are quitters, and most likely do not have love or resolve to keep collecting to the end of a series... So will not have the final books to hand over the the rag and bone man (ebay) the next to their love and resolve falters.

    Scarlett Johansen has smelly feet.
     
  6. Sephiroth

    Sephiroth Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Between here (Albuquerque) and this great used book chain in Oklahoma City (which I visit frequently) it's only a matter of time. Ironically the only reason I DON'T have all the B5 trilogies is because my last forray into said OKC book chain yielded the complete B5 RPG library (for about $35)
     
  7. Guy Gardener

    Guy Gardener Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Yowza!

    You find something rare like that and wonder where the cheering throngs are.
     
  8. Darth_Daver

    Darth_Daver Captain Captain

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    I have all three trilogies, and only payed more than $25+shipping for two of them :)
    And the second technomage book is signed to me by the author :)

    And yes, I can confirm they are all damn good!
     
  9. Mr Light

    Mr Light Admiral Admiral

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    The Centauri and Technomage trilogies are the absolutely best. I'm actually re-reading the TM books right now and they're so well written. I love how they expand the scope of the series and explain all the unresolved stuff from the series. The Centauri Trilogy is the *REAL* ending of the B5 story.

    The Psi Corps trilogy is also very good, but the first book I didn't care for because it doesn't star any characters from the show.

    For the numbered novels, the only ones that "count" are #7 Shadow Within and #9 To Dream in the City of Sorrows.

    Shadow is the story of Anna waking the Shadows and it's the weakest of the canon novels, it's not very epic or interesting. City is the story of Sinclair on Minbar and it's well written and interesting.
     
  10. DalekJim

    DalekJim Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    I can't believe anybody suggests such a thing. The Londo framing story is spoilerific enough but the ending to the Minbari War is just.. a huge, defining mystery in the early parts of the show.

    The Gathering is a bit clunky but it is highly atmospheric and hints at the show's potential. Takashima is also highly shaggable which doesn't hurt. Glad we got Ivanova instead though.

    The following episode, Midnight on the Firing Line, is genuinely excellent and should fully hook a new viewer.
     
  11. MacLeod

    MacLeod Admiral Admiral

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    You might need something a tad stronger than tea. :p
     
  12. Guy Gardener

    Guy Gardener Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    How many episodes did any of us ever think that it would apex with the return of DEl Varner... THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN EVER TO STEP FOOT ON BABYLON 5!
     
  13. stj

    stj Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I'm pretty sure that you don't live in the US. At least not in the red states.

    First, libraries by policy sell books that are not checked out, to make space for popular books. They may make an exception for "classics," i.e., those that get onto school reading lists. These appear to be collated by unscientific polling of school librarians in library journals, by the way.

    Second, those "white vans" cost money and they only run inside part of the official districts which budget for them. Interlibrary loans only come from within the system. The system may be as small as a single county.

    Third, the tax laws are written so that a publishers' back list is punitive. (I think the trick is to count unsold books as taxable assets at full value, but I am probably confused on that, on second thought.) The result is that back lists are pared to the bone. Remainder sales are maximally priced, then I think they are pulped. Remainder houses like Edward R. Hamilton or mall outlets are not a very good deal.

    The effect is that all books effectively go down the memory hole, and only get saved for commercial profit. The result satisfies those who think Orwell was a genius.
     
  14. DalekJim

    DalekJim Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Morden, Bester and Kosh II didn't have SHIT on Del Varner. It's lucky he died before the Shadow War because he'd have exterminated both sides.

    Never read a B5 novel, am currently loving the DS9 Relaunch. How does it compare to those books? I have pretty high standards for tie-in novels due to the exceptional quality of the Doctor Who VNA and EDA novel ranges.

    Love Babylon 5 because it's an attempt to make a Dune saga or Tolkien mythology for the small screen. Appeals to me as Dune and The Silmarillion are my two most read books.
     
  15. Belz...

    Belz... Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I had a hard time deciding which was my all-time favourite series: Babylon 5, or DS9. So I say yes, very very much so.

    However, you have to know that the first season is a bit slow starting, and that it's far from having the FX level of Trek. If you can tolerate that, however, it's a hell of a series, in my opinion.


    EDIT: Oh, and start with "The Gathering", the pilot. It's rather important.
     
  16. Guy Gardener

    Guy Gardener Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    "New Zealand".

    I read that wrong for half your post thinking you were talking about "black lists" and not "back lists" because it's late and my vision is blurry, but then you got right black onto that track with the Orwell citation.

    What I described is how "your" library should work, it's hardly my fault that Americanian culture is breaking down.

    In my brain right now, I'm seeing highlights from the episode of Family Ties where the School Board tried to ban Huckleberry Fin.

    Elyse looked troublingly old on Glee last month.
     
    Last edited: May 26, 2013
  17. Guy Gardener

    Guy Gardener Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    The second Kosh is referred to as Ulkesh, which is not to be mixed up with the Goul'd light bomber from Stargate.

    The trilogies (Psi Corps, technomages and Centauri.) came out after the series finished and were controlled by JMS who plotted the shit out of those SOB's unilike the stand alone novels (some written by mercenaries before the pilot aired.) which was just Warner Brothers trying to make as much money as possible.

    And really!

    I saw DEl Varner go up against Jonathan Archer and the Silders.

    PISSPOOR!
     
  18. RandyS

    RandyS Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Amazon doesn't stock them?
     
  19. Sindatur

    Sindatur The Gray Owl Wizard Admiral

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    2 of the Trilogies have at least one book that is very hard to get unless you want to pay $100 on Amazon Marketplace or Ebay.(or you get lucky to find in Used Book store or find an unnoticed one on Ebay that starts with low bidding)

    As the Trilogy progresses, fewer books are printed for the later novels, as sales always go down by the end of a Series. The printed New copies are all sold, so there is only secondary market, with no intention/influence to reprint
     
  20. Guy Gardener

    Guy Gardener Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    It took me 5 minutes to find the ebooks in the same unsavoury places most of us steal our music from, but that's neither here nor there since I read them all years ago.

    US $100.00?

    Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhit.