2257-58, some thoughts

[Cold Fuzz]

It was about a page in the first Passing of the Techno-Mages novel (one of the trilogies which is considered to be canon).

Yep, when I read that Anna was one of the Shadow ships, it blew my mind. It's one of those Babylonian ironies that ended up being perfect though to anyone who closely followed the series.

[SaberBlade]

It was about a page in the first Passing of the Techno-Mages novel (one of the trilogies which is considered to be canon).

Explains why I've never heard it before as I've never had the chance to read any of the books. It's a pretty cool revelation. It would have been interesting to learn more about it in the show as I always felt it was a missed opportunity for them to reveal any of the actions her ship was involved in.

[DigiFluid]

I'd recommend checking them out. The Shadow Within (of which only the Icarus' storyline is canon) is very interesting in how it fleshes out Anna Sheridan, the origins and motivations of Morden, as well as the nature of how the Icarus mission actually played out.

The Psi Corps novels (I've only read the first two) are pretty neat too. The first one is almost an anthology of sorts, telling the stories of various people and their descendants from the first appearance of telepaths on Earth in 2115 up until the birth of a certain Stephen Dexter in 2189. A boy who would end up adopted to the Psi Corps and renamed Alfred Bester to hide his origins. The second novel is all about his upbringing by the Corps, really doing a phenomenal job of showing how much indoctrination occurs right from a young age. I haven't read the third book yet.

The Techno-mage novels are....different. The first one takes quite a while to get going, choosing instead to look at the Techno-mage coming-of-age through the eyes of a young Galen. Once it gets going though, it's kinda neat--showing stuff on the Rim and how various allies of the Shadows are migrating en masse and preparing their war machine (at the end of 2258). The second book is really a bit of a trip though, because it takes place concurrently with The Geometry of Shadows and TOTALLY changes the nature of that episode. Again, haven't read the third novel yet.

I'm really looking forward to the Centauri trilogy too. I gather they tell the story of Vir leading the Centauri underground during the Drakh's 17 year occupation of Centauri Prime.

[SaberBlade]

One of the things that puts me off reading the books is that only parts of it could be considered canon. It's disappointing to know that I could enjoy a book only for it to be picked apart to determine what is and isn't canon.

[DigiFluid]

One of the things that puts me off reading the books is that only parts of it could be considered canon. It's disappointing to know that I could enjoy a book only for it to be picked apart to determine what is and isn't canon.

Not to worry, only one book is like that, The Shadow Within. And if you happen to pick up the same publication as the one I own, I could even give you page references for the parts that are canon

Others are deemed either completely canon or not canon at all.

Fully Canon:
To Dream in the City of Sorrows
(Psi Corps I) Dark Genesis: Birth of the Psi Corps
(Psi Corps II) Deadly Relations: Bester Ascendant
(Psi Corps III) Final Reckoning: The Fate of Bester
The Passing of the Techno-mages I: Casting Shadows
The Passing of the Techno-mages II: Summoning Light
The Passing of the Techno-mages III: Invoking Darkness
Legions of Fire I: The Long Night of Centauri Prime
Legions of Fire II: Armies of Light and Dark
Legions of Fire III: Out of the Darkness

Partially Canon:
The Shadow Within

Non-Canon:
Every other B5 book

[DigiFluid]

Another fun thing I didn't realize until I was tooling around on the B5 Wikia earlier today.... That picture we see a few times in Season 1 of the ill-fated President Santiago; that's actually a photo of B5 executive producer Douglas Netter

[maneth]

Yeah, that was pretty cool. As well as JMS' final cameo appearance in SiL.

[SaberBlade]

Got around to watching more of the first season, and was shocked to see how poor the legal system is in the future.

Deuce uses a Nakalene (not sure on spelling) Feeder on one person, kidnaps a judge and Jinxo, who he then offers to the Feeder, kills Aldus in view of several people and is still on B5 for the events of Thirdspace three years later. I've got to get that guys lawyer.

[maneth]

Na'ka'leen. But yeah, you're right, the whole situation stinks.

[Cold Fuzz]

Got around to watching more of the first season, and was shocked to see how poor the legal system is in the future.

Deuce uses a Nakalene (not sure on spelling) Feeder on one person, kidnaps a judge and Jinxo, who he then offers to the Feeder, kills Aldus in view of several people and is still on B5 for the events of Thirdspace three years later. I've got to get that guys lawyer.

You've got to hand it to Deuce. As Ivanova said in Thirdspace, he's a survivor. I think he's slime but he somehow escaped justice with that nasty situation with the Feeder though the Feeder itself got scragged. He made it through the Shadow War despite the fact that B5 wasn't the safest place to be in 2260. And then there's Thirdspace. I'm sure he found a way to scrape out an existence on B5 even into 2262 after N'Grath went down.

[Cold Fuzz]

I'd recommend checking them out. The Shadow Within (of which only the Icarus' storyline is canon) is very interesting in how it fleshes out Anna Sheridan, the origins and motivations of Morden, as well as the nature of how the Icarus mission actually played out.

The Psi Corps novels (I've only read the first two) are pretty neat too. The first one is almost an anthology of sorts, telling the stories of various people and their descendants from the first appearance of telepaths on Earth in 2115 up until the birth of a certain Stephen Dexter in 2189. A boy who would end up adopted to the Psi Corps and renamed Alfred Bester to hide his origins. The second novel is all about his upbringing by the Corps, really doing a phenomenal job of showing how much indoctrination occurs right from a young age. I haven't read the third book yet.

The Techno-mage novels are....different. The first one takes quite a while to get going, choosing instead to look at the Techno-mage coming-of-age through the eyes of a young Galen. Once it gets going though, it's kinda neat--showing stuff on the Rim and how various allies of the Shadows are migrating en masse and preparing their war machine (at the end of 2258). The second book is really a bit of a trip though, because it takes place concurrently with The Geometry of Shadows and TOTALLY changes the nature of that episode. Again, haven't read the third novel yet.

I'm really looking forward to the Centauri trilogy too. I gather they tell the story of Vir leading the Centauri underground during the Drakh's 17 year occupation of Centauri Prime.

I loved the Technomage novels. I thought I would like the Centauri trilogy as well but that actually wasn't the case in the first and part of the second book. I think part of it was Jeanne Cavelos' visceral writing style. It drew me in and by the time I finished Invoking Darkness I was completely blown away by the stunning descriptions of Z'ha'dum and a vastly different perspective on the Shadow War. With the Centauri trilogy, it seemed incredibly exposition heavy at times and I remembered thinking at one point that I never imagined a B5 story could be tedious. However, I think if Peter David made different choices with the narrative, especially when it came to the ins and outs of the Centauri palace, I personally would have enjoyed the first two novels more.

[maneth]

Deuce is one of my favorite small-time villains ever. In the grand scheme of things he certainly didn't amount to much, but in his own sphere he ruled.

[flobo]

A few things i can think off :
I believe the Minbari assasin was suppsoed to have been hired by Takashima, who was a traitor. It never went anywhere as she left the show.

About Jason's comment, Sinclair's fate is implied to be the same as Sheridan's, no body ever found, just "disapeared" one day, so that may explain the comment, he didn't really die and may come back someday as well.

Kosh recording of Tellia was, as explained a backup to bring her back after the was mindwinded.
But since she left the show, it never went anywhere. It's a bit sad since Garibaldi even reference the recording as a way to bring her back in that episode...