daddytodd | Babylon 5 Books

I've continued my reading program of Babylon 5 novels; since completing jeanne Cavelos's Techno-Mage Trilogy, I re-read her "The Shadow Within," Kathryn Drennan's "To Dream In The City Of Sorrows," and, just today, the Legions of Fire trilogy (aka he Centauri Trilogy) by Peter David

The first 2 Legions of Fire books were good, the third one was a bit of a let-down. David had a lot of canonical ground to cover, and some of the plotting didn't really fit with what I remember of the relevant episodes and movies taking place around the novel. Nevertheless, it didn't ruin the trilogy for me. Overall, I consider it a satisfying read.

I''m going to read the 3 novelizations of the TNT movies ("In The Beginning" and "Thirdspace" by Peter David, and Robert Sheckley's "A Call To Arms") before re-reading Greg Keyes's Psi Corp trilogy. By the time I finish those 6 books, the next Star Trek: The Next Generation "relaunch" novel should be out ("Q & A" by Keith R.A. DeCandido) and I'll dive back into that

I also recently read a strange little book by Samuel R. Delany, called "Phallos." I loved it, it was a very effective piece.

I've been a big fan of Delany for a couple decades, not just because he looks like the uber-daddybear of my (wet) dreams, but also because he writes about stuff that matters to me, like science fiction and pornography. "Phallos" falls into the latter category (sort of) but it's wrapped in an insulating layer of academic distance -- the book is written as if it were a descriptive essay about a "lost" porn paperback from the sixties, put out by one of those publishers who put out reams of one-handed fiction. A handful of books from these publishers (such as "Song of the Loon") have become bona fide classics of gay literature; the majority are lost and forgotten. "Phallos," it turns out, is both lost AND a classic. It's hard to describe what Delany was doing in this book; read it if you can find a copy!