Many of the questions left unanswered at the end of Babylon 5's television run center around the planet Centauri Prime and its doomed emperor, Londo Mollari. The Long Night of Centauri Prime is the first book in the "Legions of Fire" series of books intended to tie off these plot threads.
Written by Peter David, well known in the franchise-fiction field for his Star Trek novels, Long Night starts with a whirlwind tour of events set out in the episodes themselves. Once again, we see how Londo ascends to the station of emperor, receives a symbiotic Keeper and soon begins scheming to end his life rather than live as a slave to the Drakh-spawned symbiote.
As the years unfold, Londo sits watch over the manipulations of his Drakh masters -- as well as the political machinations of his more mundane advisors -- while events conspire to set his beloved Centauri Prime on the bloody road to regain the Empire's former glory.
A character of epic depth
The Long Night of Centauri Prime continues the intricate development of Londo Mollari, one of the great figures of televised science fiction.
Touched by a darkness that he sees as a punishment for his many sins, Londo nevertheless maintains a nobility of spirit. Though resigned to his personal doom, he does his best to protect those who are close to him and to ensure that his people are provided for. He is a pawn, but he has not yet become a willing participant in the crimes he is forced to commit.
Peter David does equally well by Vir Cotto, Londo's protege. During the five-year run of Babylon 5, Vir rose from bumbling factotum to Londo's surrogate conscience, his eventual co-conspirator, and finally ambassador in his own right. The novel continues his evolution.
Manipulated, betrayed and ultimately abandoned, Vir is once again refined in the crucible of circumstance, emerging sadder but stronger for the experience.
As deft as his handling of Londo and Vir is, David scores his biggest coup with the sinister Drakh. He provides the hitherto unexplored aliens with names, a social structure and well-articulated motivations. While they remain undeniably evil, David explores the reasoning behind their acts, raising them from caricatured penny-dreadful monsters to true villainy.
The lessons of history
David also draws intentional parallels between the Centauri and Germany at the end of World War One. In both cases, the defeated nation adopted an attitude of victimization, despite the fact that they had only their own aggression to blame.
Also in both cases, a powerful leader soon rose to power, promising a return to glory while exploiting youth movements and arranging for dissidents to "disappear."
Of course, we've seen this sort of thing before in Babylon 5 material -- Earth's descent into totalitarian blight was a major theme of the series' run. The subsequent liberation of the planet paved the way for the creation of the Interstellar Alliance that stands in opposition to the Centauri Republic in Legions of Fire.
An old friend of the material
These developments are about as canonical as they can get without springing directly from the head of Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski. Not only does David has the benefit of drawing from Straczynski's original timeline of post-series events, but he builds liberally on an episode ("Soul Mates") he wrote for the television series.
"Soul Mates" was, conveniently enough, largely a character study of Londo, and David revisits this material to great advantage in exploring the complicated Centauri figure in this book.
Due to Babylon 5's intricate mesh of plot and foreshadowing, loyal followers of the series already know something of how the Legions of Fire saga will end -- "in fire."
Still, even if readers already know where the books are going, Peter David has made sure that the journey will be a heck of a ride. Moreover, those new to Babylon 5 will also find The Long Night of Centauri Prime to be a well-crafted, intriguing story.
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