Dark Genesis: The Birth of the Psi Corps (Babylon 5): J. Gregory Keyes: 9780345427151: Amazon.com: Books

Book Description

Release date: August 29, 1998 | Series: Babylon 5 (Paperback Ballantine) (Book 12)

Long before the Babylon 5 space station brought Humans face-to-facewith alien races, they discovered an extraordinary breed among their very own . . .

The year is 2115. Shock waves follow in the wake of astonishing news: science has proven the existence of telepaths. Amid media frenzy, panic, and bloodshed, Earth's government steps in to restore order--and establish tight control over the newfound special population . . . by any means necessary.

Ambitious senator Lee Crawford spearheads the effort, overseeing the creation of the Psi Corps--an elite unit charged with tagging and monitoring all telepaths "for their own protection." But the real agenda behind the crackdown is one of government control. Many question the telepaths' origins, while others view them as a coveted weapon. As the Corps tightens its iron grip, the stage is set for a cataclysmic confrontation--one in which the future of Earth will be decided.

#outer_postBodyPS { display: none; } #psGradient { display: none; } #psPlaceHolder { display: none; } #psExpand { display: none; } Long before the Babylon 5 space station brought Humans face-to-facewith alien races, they discovered an extraordinary breed among their very own . . .

The year is 2115. Shock waves follow in the wake of astonishing news: science has proven the existence of telepaths. Amid media frenzy, panic, and bloodshed, Earth's government steps in to restore order--and establish tight control over the newfound special population . . . by any means necessary.

Ambitious senator Lee Crawford spearheads the effort, overseeing the creation of the Psi Corps--an elite unit charged with tagging and monitoring all telepaths "for their own protection." But the real agenda behind the crackdown is one of government control. Many question the telepaths' origins, while others view them as a coveted weapon. As the Corps tightens its iron grip, the stage is set for a cataclysmic confrontation--one in which the future of Earth will be decided.

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Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

The fabric of B5 is astonishingly literary in scope and style, and it posed a major challenge. Even though we knew the viewers were intelligent--prime readers--we had to convince them the books we would produce were necessary to the telling of the saga.

The answer: we hired series creator J. Michael Straczynski to outline the stories. If the fans perceive our books as canon--part of the story they can't get anywhere else--that'd hook 'em. But it had to be the truth. We can't just make up something cute, then claim it's real. It has to be real. Straczynski made it so. What remained was the task of finding the actual novel writer.

I'd met J. Gregory Keyes at conventions, and he'd revealed to me that he didn't get Babylon 5 where he lived. The solution: he had friends who taped hours and hours of the show, then they would all spend weekends together in B5 video-fests (which usually involved a great deal of beer, as well). B5, he confided, was the only media SF he followed religiously. So when I asked Greg if he'd like to write our first B5 novel trilogy, featuring Psi Corps, he jumped at the chance. The result has been the best Babylon 5 fiction ever written--just ask Mr. Straczynski himself.

--Steve Saffel, Senior Editor

From the Inside Flap

Long before the Babylon 5 space station brought Humans face-to-facewith alien races, they discovered an extraordinary breed among their very own . . .

The year is 2115. Shock waves follow in the wake of astonishing news: science has proven the existence of telepaths. Amid media frenzy, panic, and bloodshed, Earth's government steps in to restore order--and establish tight control over the newfound special population . . . by any means necessary.

Ambitious senator Lee Crawford spearheads the effort, overseeing the creation of the Psi Corps--an elite unit charged with tagging and monitoring all telepaths "for their own protection." But the real agenda behind the crackdown is one of government control. Many question the telepaths' origins, while others view them as a coveted weapon. As the Corps tightens its iron grip, the stage is set for a cataclysmic confrontation--one in which the future of Earth will be decided.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

Series: Babylon 5 (Paperback Ballantine) (Book 12)
Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Del Rey (August 29, 1998)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0345427157
ISBN-13: 978-0345427151
Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
Shipping Weight: 5.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (69 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #485,119 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars A good book February 20, 2000

By Lila Ioan

Format:Mass Market Paperback

After reading (and enjoying) this book, I realised that it should not be judged in relation to the TV show. It is canon, as are most of the Babylon 5 books, but it does not somehow completly click together with the TV show, and the arcs in it. The telepath arc here is far too Earth-tied to do that. But as a book itself, it is very good. We get to see what happened since the beginning of the telepaths, through the arrival of the Centauri and so on, up until the birth of (SPOILER). We see brilliant political machinations, ancestors of telepaths in the show (Lyta Alexander, Talia Winters), and how the Psi Corps slowly gets more and more power. We also get well thought out characters, and most of them are not what they seem, although I felt that some stories were rushed. I would say that this book is worth buying by Babylon fans, especially if they like the telepaths stories. Those who prefer space battles/aliens/wars should maybe look for it at a friend's house.

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars insight into Psi Corps May 17, 2000

By TammyJo Eckhart VINE VOICE

Format:Mass Market Paperback

I was intrigued and disappointed by the telepaths in the Babylong Five television series -- too much about the normals! I snatched up this book as soon as I found it. I was not disappointed. The characters seem believable and the action fast paced. Leaves you wanting more.

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A throughly interesting read. October 31, 1999

By hallben2000@hotmail.com

Format:Mass Market Paperback

This book in a some what hurried view explains the history of propably one of the most intersting aspects of the Babylon 5 genre. In a sense you could look at this book as a future history as it is not set at the current time of events in the B5 universe. If you are well versed in B5 this book will effortlesly add to your knowledge and deliver invaliable incite into the Psi-Corps history. If on the other hand you are knew to B5 this book will begin to establish a solid foundation for you to use to expand your interest in the subject.

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-read for fans of the series.... September 28, 1999

By J. Alexander Harman

Format:Mass Market Paperback

"Dark Genesis" gives a concise history of the origins of the Psi Corps, and some of the hidden forces and secret agendas that made it what it was during the time covered by the show. Possibly the most interesting aspect of the book is the moral ambiguity; it is not at all clear that the Corps is bad and the resistance good. The Corps, in the beginning, is a tool of the Vorlons, while the resistance fighters, whether they know it or not, advance the ideology of the Shadows. From the viewpoint of normal humans, both are potentially dangerous enemies. It was also interesting to see the histories of the bloodlines that will ultimately give rise to the final leaders of the two factions, Alfred Bester and Lyta Alexander. All in all, a good read.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars The Psi Corps from Pre-history to Post-history February 7, 2011

By WILLIAM H FULLER

Format:Mass Market Paperback

DARK GENESIS, THE BIRTH OF THE PSI CORPS is the first book in what we might call the "Psi Corps Trilogy," the next book being DEADLY RELATIONS, BESTER ASCENDANT and the third being FINAL RECKONING, THE FATE OF BESTER. None of the books stands well by itself, and I'd just as soon all three had been published together as a single volume. If any reader is tempted to purchase one of these books, then he really should purchase all three and read them in the intended sequence. Also, buying all three at the same time is a good idea since each of the three can be read in two or three sittings, and waiting for the next to arrive will be annoying.

But wait, why should anyone buy these in the first place? Are they worth the purchase price and, more, the time to read them? They do not fare well as independent science fiction books, for a knowledge of the characters in the Babylon 5 television series is more or less necessary for the reader to recognize the ancestors of the series' characters and, in the second and third book, to recognize the characters themselves. To derive the most pleasure and satisfaction from these books, one must either have a clear recollection of the televised series that aired from 1994 through 1998 or else have recently watched the recorded episodes again. One might say that watching the series is a prerequisite for fully understanding these books.

DARK GENESIS gives us a historical perspective on the emergence of human telepaths and the creation of the Psi Corps. The history that we learn from this first book sets the stage for a tremendous irony in the life of Psi Cop Al Bester, as well as giving us a glimpse into the lives of Lyta Alexander's and Talia Winters' ancestors. In it, we also see the frightened and hostile reaction of "mundanes," the non-telepathic population, to the telepaths among them. We meet the director of the newly born Psi Corps, Kevin Vacit, a man with a secret that he must hide from the Corps itself and a man with a particular interest in the young Al Bester. To my mind, this is the strongest and most fascinating of the three books in this trilogy in that it explains a great deal of how and why the organizations that we meet "fully grown" in the television series came into existence.

DEADLY RELATIONS, the second book, is closer to the time period of the Babylon 5 television series. As its title implies, we see Bester advancing his career as he becomes more and more single minded in his devotion to what he believes the Psi Corps should be. As his perceptions and beliefs harden, so his regard for humanity diminishes. The reader also comes to understand something of the psychology behind Bester's development and often sympathizes with the lonely young man who never quite fits in with the Psi Corps cadet social scene, who can make no lasting friendships, and who feels betrayed by each of his female peers to whom he becomes attracted. From the Babylon 5 series, we know that Bester is a loner. DEADLY RELATIONS enables us to understand why he became such.

FINAL RECKONING is set in the years following the end of the Babylon 5 series. By now, much has changed on earth, and Psi Corps is not what it was. Tension between "mundane" and telepath has lessened, and Bester's acts in support of his version of Psi Corps have made him a war criminal in the eyes of the new government. His skills, however, have developed to such an extent that he is not an easy criminal to apprehend. The story of the pursuit and of the "final reckoning" is engrossing, but the book still fails to satisfy us fully. The Babylon 5 series ends with the enhanced telepath Lyta Alexander flying off with the Narn, G'Kar, to find new adventures in as-yet unexplored reaches of space. Before her departure, Lyta makes a deal with Garibaldi that, if he will garner the financial resources she needs to bring down the Psi Corps, when she returns she will remove the telepathic block that Bester placed in his mind to prevent him from ever taking well-deserved revenge upon the psi cop. Naturally, one expects that, in FINAL RECKONING, Lyta will return and the reader will be treated to a view of her own little war against Psi Corps. Frustratingly, the book virtually ignores this loose thread that was left unresolved when the televised series ended. We are told, in no more than two brief paragraphs, that Lyta had returned at some unspecified time, presumably fulfilled her promise to Garibaldi, and was then killed by Bester. Perhaps Psi Corps had already evolved into the kinder and gentler version that Bester abhors so that there was no longer any need for Lyta to attack it, but it still seems that the poor lady was summarily dismissed and all but forgotten in the writing of this book.

Little is to be achieved by reviewing these three books individually, for none can successfully stand alone. One should determine to read all three or none at all. While the first and third books are the most interesting and the second is the least, the "Amazon star" rating I've settled on is for the entire trilogy. Likewise, these books are not likely to be well received by sci-fi aficionados who have never had the opportunity to enjoy the Babylon 5 television series although, fortunately, that can be still be rectified by watching the recorded shows on DVD. Some shortcomings notwithstanding, I would not hesitate to recommend these three books to anyone who enjoyed and who remembers the Babylon 5 series and who would like to join that universe one more time to glimpse both its pre-history and post-history. Read more ›

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An extraordinary trilogy. July 14, 2010

By Solipso

Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I'm making one review for all three books: Dark Genesis, Deadly Relations, Final Reckoning.

This trilogy is extraordinary because it is good science fiction based on a franchise. Just before reading it, I tried reading a Stargate novel. Then I tried an X-Files novel. I couldn't stomach more than a few pages of either one. But I was pleased with Babylon 5's Psi Corps trilogy.

Ironically I didn't much care for the Babylon 5 TV series: dull set direction; unremarkable visual effects; terrible acting. But, as did Peter David with his Legions of Fire, J. Gregory Keyes fully satisfied me with his writing. His style is contemporary and easy to read (no Dickens or Hardy here), the pace is brisk, and the plot is absorbing in all three volumes.

I was pleased with Keyes for two other reasons:

1) I appreciated his hardhitting prose, which reminded me of Peter F. Hamilton. I despise inappropriate insertions of levity into serious drama. Keyes did not do that. And though he was merciless--that is, he was unafraid to kill off a good guy for the sake of drama--the good guys won in the end.

2) Keyes is a thinker, and his prose reflects that. He didn't just pound out a bunch of words to reap in bucks from saps who buy anything that says "Babylon 5." Take the following example (to avoid spoiling the story, I have replaced character names with "Good Guy" and "Bad Guy"): Good Guy touches the muzzle of his gun to Bad Guy's head. Good Guy says, "You owe me, Bad Guy. You owe me to die like the dog you are....But as much as you've hurt me,...there are a thousand others who you owe more. I'm not going to deny them just to satisfy myself....Your life belongs to everyone you've screwed, not just to me."

This is good thinking by Keyes. Read more ›

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5.0 out of 5 stars Dark Genesis: The Birth of the Psi Corps (Babylon 5)

I never knew there were any books about babylon 5 till I hear them talk about them on the dvds.

Published 9 months ago by allen pearson

4.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't put it down

I've read a few B5 books, this is one of the few that I really couldn't put down from beginning to end. Read more

Published 14 months ago by Andrew Svendsen