<*> Blood Oath <*>

They say that Babylon 5 is a home away from home for diplomats. Apparently, Ambassador G'Kar has been away from home too long and a matter needs his personal attention. G'Kar acquired his political position through stealth, intrigue and the destruction of the Du'Rog family. Now, his past has come back to haunt him. The family had hired the Assassins Guild, to kill him. But the Guild failed, so Du'Rog's daughter, Mi'Ra, has taken matters into her own hands. G'Kar receives a message with her vow of Shon'Kar, the Blood Oath. He decides to return to Narn and kill Mi'Ra before she can get to him. A few hours later, G'Kar's personal transport ship leaves Babylon 5 and explodes.

Saddened by this event, the station captain appoints Commander Ivanova and Security Chief Garibaldi as the Human delegation to G'Kar's funeral on Narn. After the funeral, Garibaldi and Ivanova decide to visit Mi'Ra. The hunt for her twists and turns through the canyons of the Narn Homeworld. Just as they catch up with Mi'Ra, they are surrounded and out-gunned by the Assassins Guild. They should never have interferred with the Blood Oath. Maybe, they will remember that morsel of wisdom in their next reincarnation.

This is the third Babylon 5 book. The events take place before "The Coming of Shadows" television episode. The characters are believable and enjoyable. I particularly liked Londo's eulogy at G'Kar's first funeral. Londo's speech refers to the "Soulmates" episode. The second funeral is pretty forgetable and reminds me of a quote by Mark Twain. The author has done a great job of creating Narn. It's just as hot and dusty as I always imagined. I knew Narn was a stratified society, but I never realized how vicious they are to their own lower classes. The social extreme were well handled. Raised in that environment, I understand why Ambassador G'Kar is emotionally cold, yet hot-tempered and self righteous. This was my favorite Babylon 5 novel before "To Dream in the City of Sorrows" was written.

To those unfamiliar with the Baylon 5 series, the book starts slowly. The interpersonal banter at the beginning is keyed to the fans. The real action kicks into gear, when the Human delegation arrives on Narn and discovers that they are not really welcome. I am reminded of the old MAD magazine shorts on "Spy vs Spy." Toward the end of this book, it's hard to tell who is hunting whom, but that's part of the fun. Tally ho!

<*> Ariann <*>

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