The Cylons' Secret - Craig Shaw Gardner

***** Nostalgia of the Cylons

Okay, I admit I exaggerated in giving five stars to this book, but I am biased and my judgment must be subjective anyway.
This is one of those novels, defined tie-ins, which are written sorely to make fans of the series spend money, but add nothing to the story. Indeed, it is correct to say that “The Cylons' Secret” is full of inconsistencies with respect to “Battlestar Galactica”, but the reason is simple: it was written back when the series was not over yet, before certain decisions about the plot were taken or modified.
Like all TV series also “Battlestar Galactica” came from an initial concept, which has evolved over the years, even according to the liking of the public. This resulted in some minor inconsistency in it, although really negligible, but it also does have influenced products like “The Cylons' Secret”. And when you start reading this book you must have this fact clear in mind. Once you accept that, in the end it does not matter whether what is narrated is entirely plausible. We can choose to ignore what does not work and have fun with the rest, because this book serves a single purpose: to entertain fans of “Battlestar Galactica”.
With me it has succeeded. Being hungry of new stories based on the characters of the series and nostalgic of the Cylons (I have always been on their side!), I had so much fun reading this novel that is included, of course, in the sub-genre of space opera and that gives the feeling, with a little fantasy, of being in those TV locations.
The story takes place in the past with respect to the series, when Adama and Tigh were young officers. However they are not the protagonists, but only serve to create the outline in which Tom Zerek moves. He's in the series as well, but his background proposed in this book does not match with the one used in “Battlestar Galactica”. It does not matter. The character is easily recognizable and in his younger version he is very enjoyable to follow.
In short, if you buy this book in search of a great science fiction novel, forget it. This is a book for fans, just one more step above a fan-fiction, and it should be considered as such. Hence the five stars, all deserved, because as a fan I have devoured it in a few days and I loved it. And that is all that matters.


The Cylons' Secret on Amazon.com.

No comments:

Post a Comment