Text 942, 183 rader
Skriven 2006-05-29 23:29:00 av Robert E Starr JR (1388.babylon5)
Ärende: To Dream in the City of S
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A sidestep to the novels, now, for author Kathryn M. Drennan's
account of Sinclair's first year on Minbar.


THE PLOT

In the wake of his confrontation with Neroon in "Grey 17 Is Missing,"
Marcus travels to Minbar to recover from his wounds. While on Minbar,
he sits near the statue of Valen and reflects on all that has happened:
Sinclair's trip back in time to become Valen, Sinclair's
replacement with Delenn. Finally, Marcus allows his thoughts to drift
back more than a year, to when he first met Sinclair.

We then flash back even further than Marcus, to see a Sinclair who is
increasingly frustrated by his post to Minbar. His sleep is troubled by
nightmare recollections of what happened to him at the Battle of the
Line. His waking hours are troubled by his inability to get
communications active to either Babylon 5 or Earth, and by Earth's
refusal to send him a diplomatic staff.

As he begins to think bitterly of his new Ambassadorial position as a
bad joke by new Earth Alliance President Clark, he resigns... forcing
the Minbari President, Jenimer, his Minbari aide, Rathenn, and Delenn
to reveal to him the true reason the Minbari requested his appointment.
His Ambassadorial post is a cover. The real reason he is there is to
act as head of the Anla'shok, the Minbari Rangers. He is told of the
Shadows and of the coming war. Offered the chance to help stop the
Shadows, he can do nothing but accept.

Sinclair's new position on Minbar is not without complications,
however. President Clark's administration is using the press to paint
Sinclair as a traitor to his own species. Minbari Warrior Caste leader,
and recent Grey Council appointee, Neroon finds the idea of a human
leading the Rangers to be an abomination. And the Vorlon advisor, known
as Ulkesh, seems determined to control Sinclair's every choice and
movement, to the point of attempting to forbid Sinclair any contact
with his friends on Babylon 5 and attempting to halt his relationship
with Catherine Sakai.


THE GOOD

This novel was written by Kathryn M. Drennan, series creator J. Michael
Straczynski's "spousal overunit" and writer of the first season
episode "By Any Means Necessary."  The latter credit is especially
noteworthy with regard to this novel, as "By Any Means Necessary" was
almost certainly the best character episode made for Jeffrey Sinclair.
Unsurprisingly, Straczynski later noted that Drennan was very fond of
both the character of Sinclair and of Michael O'Hare's portrayal.

All of which is a roundabout way of observing that Drennan has an
excellent handle on the character. It's not just that she's a
"fan" of Sinclair. Techno-Mage trilogy author Jeanne Cavelos
appears from her writing to be a "fan" of Sheridan, but Cavelos'
love of the Sheridan character leads to a certain blindness on her part
to the character's flaws, which in turn actually reduces the
effectiveness of her writing for Sheridan. Drennan, on the other hand,
possesses a firm perspective on Sinclair. She seems to know the
character, in a way that perhaps even Straczynski does not, and she
brings out both the character's strengths and weaknesses.

The main body of the novel opens with Sinclair still settling into his
new life on Minbar. Drennan takes time to establish Sinclair's
discomfort in his new surroundings. This discomfort includes many
details that add to the novel's verisimilitude, such as a day that
does not accord to a human 24-hour day (the Minbari day is noted to be
a little over 20 hours long) and Sinclair's need to stick to bland
foods as Minbari meat is not suited to the human digestive system.
There are also psychological issues for Sinclair, who on-screen never
did get the chance to fully reconcile his past fighting the Minbari
with his present.

Appropriately, the first scene from Sinclair's viewpoint is a dream
sequence, in which he relives the Battle of the Line, the moment that
marked him out from the rest of humanity forever. Mixed in with his
memories of the battle are bits of knowledge gained since, as in his
mind's eye he sees a hooded Minbari menacingly telling him, "We claim
your soul!" When he awakens, a mild conversation with the eternally
pleasant Rathenn takes a bad turn when Rathenn mentions Branmer, the
Minbari hero who led the attack on the line. The mention leading to a
sudden stiffness and abruptness on Sinclair's part. An excellent
first chapter, demonstrating that Sinclair's emotional issues -
tantalizingly glimpsed here and there in some of the first season's
best moments - have not been forgotten.

Drennan also utilizes the character of Neroon to good effect. Sinclair
and Neroon's interactions in the episode "Legacies" were fascinating,
as I mentioned in my review of both that episode and "Grey 17 Is
Missing."  By the end of the episode, there was a mutual respect; but
despite this, anytime the two characters were on-screen together, it
seemed to be all either man could do to keep from tearing the other man
apart.

Here, we are allowed to see both facets of these two characters. Neroon
puts obstacles in Sinclair's path at every turn. He protests
Sinclair's appointment to the Rangers. He is firmly against
Sinclair's being named "Entil-Zha," only acceding to honoring
Sinclair with that title when Jenimer plays on Neroon's own sense of
honor in a way that leaves him little choice. But Neroon is obliged to
acknowledge respect for Sinclair a few times in the novel, notably when
Sinclair navigates a solution (once again, as with many times in Season
One, working "within the rules" to find a solution) to the problem
of a part of the ceremony that should prove fatal to humans.

Finally, the events of the novel give us some explanations as to how
Sinclair changed between "Chrysalis" and "War Without End."  When
Sinclair returned in "War Without End," he appeared far more subdued
than he had previously. The buried anger was gone, and in its place was
a sense of peace, tinged by more than a small amount of sadness.
Without providing spoilers, suffice it to say that the reasons for that
sadness are made abundantly clear by the end of this novel. The
Sinclair Marcus observes near the end of his time on Minbar lines up
very well with the Sinclair we saw at the beginning of War Without End
- walking alone, with the cowl of his robe over his head to make his
face invisible, taking care not to touch or be touched by anyone around
him - isolating himself, even more than he did in early Season One.
Sinclair accepts that he has a role to play, but the cost of that role
(even before he learns of his destiny) is a crushing one for him to
bear.


The novel also provides us with a look at a pre-third season Marcus.
The incidents Marcus has only briefly described on television are
dramatized here on the page. We see Marcus' relationship with his
brother, and his job on a mining planet. This is a very different
Marcus than the exuberant man we have grown to know. He's much more
reserved, and much less inclined to jokes and quips. However, the
change - as with the change in Sinclair's character - is reasonable.
Like our Marcus, "businessman Marcus" is all about his duties. He uses
his job to hide from himself and the world, as his brother tries to
force him to see. Later Marcus - our Marcus - is also all about his
Ranger duties. He buries himself in the Rangers, and when that is not
enough in jokes, literary references, and a "clown act," to try to hide
from his pain and guilt. We have glimpsed this in certain Season Three
episodes (notably in "Ceremonies of Light & Dark"), and it does add up
with the characterization first seen here. Marcus is a man who hides.
In work, in duty, in jokes, in anything he can find to keep his
emotional vulnerabilities hidden. He basically joined the Rangers out
of guilt (and, when he met Sinclair, out of a sense that Sinclair was a
man he could respect), and ultimately there is a sense that Marcus is
in the right place, in the right job, but for the wrong reasons...
which may play into Marcus' ultimate fate, as well.


THE BAD

The first half of the book is unimpeachable. We see that Sinclair is
still wrestling with his post-traumatic-stress symptoms, and we see how
life on Minbar effects that. We see Marcus' pre-Ranger life, and can
make the connection between Marcus' earlier life and who he will
become. We tie into various Season Two episodes (there is rarely a
point in this novel where we are not aware of approximately where in
Season Two the events are falling), and it is all quite effective.

Unfortunately, somewhere in the second half, the novel starts to feel
rushed. We never do see Sinclair overcome his issues concerning the
Minbari, and particularly the Minbari Warrior Caste. Those issues just
seem to basically disappear between chapters. The sense I get is that
the material here was perhaps too much for a single novel. Sinclair's
time as Ranger One might have made a better Del Rey trilogy later.
Among other complaints: what about Season Three?  I'm assuming
Sinclair did more than just sit on his hands after Marcus left for
Zagros 7, so the story is left feeling somewhat incomplete.


Ah, well. The minuses are relatively minor ones (particularly when
compared to some of the earlier Dell novels). For the characterization
of Sinclair and Marcus, for the way Drennan is able to weave her story
in and out of the events of Season Two of the series, and simply for
dealing with some of the implications of the Sinclair/Sheridan change
between Seasons One and Two, this book is a definite "must-read" for
"Babylon 5" fans.


My Final Rating: 8/10.
                                                             
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