BPP Novel 8: Personal Agendas

The Babylon Project Podcast

Here we are, looking at the second to last standalone novel Personal Agendas, by Al Sarrantonio. We approached this one with cautious optimism, since it follows a very well written novel that brought us home to the Babylon 5 universe we all love so much. Turns out we weren’t let down; the book warranted our optimism. There were highs and a few lows though, but overall it was well-received.

Personal Agendas filled in some of the backstory revolving around G’Kar’s captivity on Centauri Prime under the ruthless rule of Cartagia. For those familiar with the television series, you know Sarrantonio focused this story on a very dark and heavy set of events. He does this well, and attempted to give the reader a break now and then through several other light-hearted, if not cute, side stories. This worked with mixed results. At the center of the story, G’Kar and Londo form a secret alliance. G’Kar is going to suffer and place himself at great personal risk to assist in the killing of Emperor Cartagia. This could cost him his life. Meanwhile, in exchange, Londo will work to end the Centauri rule over the Narn Homeworld. Things get a little sideways when Londo is captured by a squad of well-intentioned Narn, intending to free G’Kar. They work in ignorance of what’s actually in play, and what they’re putting at risk in terms of liberation for the citizens of both worlds. A basic knowledge of the television series ensures you already know both of our heroes will survive, however, the main story here is told well enough that it becomes a page-turner as you’re left wondering just how this will resolve in a manner that doesn’t disconnect from the series.

Readers will either find the B-stories amusing, perhaps even funny at times, or they’ll find them annoying. Either way, they’re a welcome relief to the high-stakes drama and emotional heaviness of the main story.

In the end we enjoyed the book very much, and we think you will too. Our ratings were a 3, a 4, and a 4.5 (out of 5), giving us an overall Boom Scale rating of 3.83.

Next time we meet, we’ll discuss the ninth and final standalone novel, To Dream in the City of Sorrows, by Kathryn Drennan. If you’ve participated in the many seasons of the podcast, then you know we’ve mentioned this novel many times. We’re anticipating something great!

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Just remember… When there’s no boom today, there’s boom tomorrow. There’s always boom tomorrow!