B5 Canon Books.

[JackBauer]

Im aware of 2 of the sets. The Centauri set and the Psi Corps set, there is a 3rd one yes? And im refering to the set of books that JMS himself has authorized as being offical storyline material.

Also where can one find these books?

[Shabaz]

There are three trilogies, and before that there was a numbered series of 9 books. Those first nine books are, from what I understand, not very good, and I don't think JMS considers them cannon, and are about impossible to find in stock anywhere. Except two. Which are considered canon, and actually got reprintings made of them, so it is actually possible to still buy them new.

Number nine of the numbered books, To Dream in the City of Sorrows, details what happened to Sinclair after he left B5 for Minbar, was written by JMS' wife Kathryn M. Drennan, and is considered completely canon. To quote from the JMS written introduction of the book:

... this is the first one that is canonical in every small detail.

What you hold in your hand is an official, authorized chapter in the BABYLON 5 story line. This is the definitive answer to the Sinclair question, and should be considered as authentic as any episode in the regular series.

The other canon book from the numbered series of nine is number seven, The Shadow Within, written by Jeanne Cavelos, detailing what happened during the time of the Icarus, the ship Anna Sheridan and Mr. Morden were on. Of it, JMS said:

> Joe, Which of the paperback books is true to the story?

The Drennan book, just hitting the stands now, is 100% canon;
the Cavelos book, out for a bit now, is about 90% canon. (Those are
books 7 and 9.)

jms

Then you have the three trilogies you just mentioned, the Psi Corps trilogy, the Techno-Mages trilogy, and the Legions of Fire trilogy. The last one details what happened on Centauri Prime after the Fall of Centauri Prime, I believe. All of the trilogy books are based on story outlines written by JMS:

I write a fairly detailed outline for each of the books, anywhere from 10-20 pages each. (One, I think, hit 30 pages.) So figure anywhere from 30 to 85 pages per trilogy, or thereabouts. It contains nearly all of the major beats, character moments and plot turns. Then the authors add in another layer in all three categories as connective tissue and do all the heavy lifting of actually making it all *work*.

Overall, I believe he is happy how they turned out.

As to where you can find these eleven books, any online bookstore, or bookstore that can order books for you, should do. Except the second book of the Techno-Mages trilogy, and the third book of the Legions of Fire trilogy, which are impossible to get new, which is really odd. All the others of those trilogies are easy to get. But those two can, on places like Amazon marketplace, range from $50+ second hand, and $100+ new.


I did manage to get that second book from the Techno-Mages trilogy, but not through any of the regular channels. I actually asked the writer directly, and she was willing to sell me one, which was really cool. One week after I paypal-ed her the money, I got this in the mail:


She even asked if I wanted it signed or personalized. I said yes, of course:


I think it's pretty cool she is willing to do this for her readers, and that she is so easily approachable. I definitely geeked out a bit when the book arrived.

Anyway, you can find her website here, which includes her e-mail. If you should choose to contact her, just be polite, and I'm sure she'll be open to helping you out too.

[JackBauer]

That is amasing stuff, thank you very much!

[SmileOfTheShadow]

Wouldn't that be the Technomage trilogy and its prequel The Shadow Within? I also believe his wife's book To Dream In The City Of Sorrows is supposed to be cannon.

Im aware of 2 of the sets. The Centauri set and the Psi Corps set, there is a 3rd one yes? And im refering to the set of books that JMS himself has authorized as being offical storyline material.

Also where can one find these books?

[Lunan]

as for the books all i have read was the technomage books (got all 3 from barnes and noble, no problem) and they were great relly tied in and made alot of sense, havn't gotten to the others yet

[Night Marshal]

The Books that JMS Considers more or less 100% canon are as follows
Dell Books
#7 Shadow Within by Jeanne Cavelos
#9 To Dream in the City of Sorrows by Kathryn M. Drennan(Straczynski wife)

Trilogies
Psi Corps all by J Gregory Keyes
Book 1: Dark Genesis: The Birth of the Psi Corps
Book 2: Deadly Relations: Bester Ascendant
Book 3: Final Reckoning: The Fate of Bester

Passing of the Techno-Mages by Jeanne Cavelos
Book 1: Casting Shadows
Book 2: Summoning Light
Book 3: Invoking Darkness

Centauri Trilogy:Legions of Fire by Peter David
Book 1: The Long night of Centauri Prime
Book 2: Armies of Light and Dark
Book 3: Out of the Darkness (almost imposible to find any more)

And while Dell books 1-6 +8 are not considered as canon as those listed above they are ok. There are also some Mongoose Books that are suppose to be cominig out but they aren't much better than the early Dell books


PS: Shabaz that book of yours in really cool

[NotSoWize]

Just an FYI, I found an earlier thread about the books and emailed Ms. Cavelos a week or two ago regarding the possibility of purchasing the Techno Mage trilogy directly from her. I have not heard anything back yet. I will update this post if I get a reply.

UPDATE: I just received a reply from Ms. Cavelos and she still has "a few" copies of the books available. I will be ordering all three, autographed, for $40 including shipping. If you are interested, her email address is [email protected]

[Shabaz]

Just an FYI, I found an earlier thread about the books and emailed Ms. Cavelos a week or two ago regarding the possibility of purchasing the Techno Mage trilogy directly from her. I have not heard anything back yet. I will update this post if I get a reply.

The first time I send her an e-mail it bounced, and the bounce message ended up in my spam folder, so initially I didn't see it. Might be worth checking if something similar happened to you?

[Dr Maturin]

Every book store around here has each book from both trilogies. Instead of selling them at an inflated price, I propose a trade. If anybody has the discontinued GI Joe DVD sets, I will trade them for the books.

[JackBauer]

Well I found on of the books on the Chapters website except the 3rd book of the centauri trilogy. How come that one is so hard to come by?

I wish i could find it.

[Dr Maturin]

Well I found on of the books on the Chapters website except the 3rd book of the centauri trilogy. How come that one is so hard to come by?

I wish i could find it.

I can get it for you...but I doubt you have what I want.

[Night Marshal]

Well they have been out of print for some time. and its my understanding that publishers tend to publish less as a Series goes on.

As for finding the book try this site

http://www.fetchbook.info/compare.do?search=0345427203

As for the Mongoose books I noted in my last post I guess they will not be coming out until next april.

[JackBauer]

Amazon.co.uk had it. Awesome!

[Night Marshal]

yep, looks that way. there are also some copies of Out of the Darkness on Amazon.co.uk website
One pound is more less = to 2 dollors. so they are selling for about 12 dollors. Plus shiping of course.

[JackBauer]

I just finished watching the 5th seasona nd have found my interest in this show reinvigoorated.