Casting Shadows

Galen is a young techno-mage on the eve of completing his apprenticeship to become a full techno mage. He is the offspring of two techno-mages who died tragically when he was young. After their deaths, Galen was raised and taught by his parents' friend and fellow techno-mage, Elric. Years later, Elric is the latest host of the techno-mage gathering, a month long event where techno-mages assemble for a fellowship of sorts and to test their apprentices to see who's ready for the title of techno-mage. However, at the event, things go awry as threats are revealed outside and within the techno-mages that could threaten their existence. Galen finds himself moving from apprentice to potential threat to becoming an important part of the coming war. This book is set in the Babylon 5 universe, and I was a huge fan of Babylon 5 when it was showing. I can vaguely remember Elric and Galen making appearances on the show, but they weren't regulars. Despite that, I never watched the spin-off based on the techno-mages (Crusade). In that respect, this felt like a new story revolving around the techno-mages and technomancy. Technomancy is the process of alchemizing science into magic. Each techno-mage has a signature way of casting their spells and it's different for every mage.

For example, the main character, Galen, breaks spells down mathematically. He has to visualize the equation he associates with spells. Isabelle is a knitter, so her understanding of magic is channeled through that. She "knits" her spells by actually moving her hands as if she's knitting. As a knitter, I found that really cool. Isabelle is adept at shields, and her shields appear as tightly woven energy when examined on a microscopic level. You have characters who sing their spells, scream their spells, perform certain motions to cast their spells, etc. Depending on the way spells are cast, it makes some forms of magic harder for characters. Galen has a hard time creating spells that protect him, and while he can see what needs to be done while attempting healing spells, he's unable to produce the desired outcome. He can't visualize the equations needed for these spells, and he believes they might be too complex or imaginative for his rigid style. Cavelos made sure that she emphasized for readers that Galen wasn't very good with healing and protection for reasons that crop up later in the story.

This turned out to be a fun read that was surprisingly not as campy as I'd expect from a tie-in novel from the late-90s/early-00s. Of course, some things are geared toward readers familiar with the series, but I don't think a reader has to have much intimate knowledge of Babylon 5 or Crusade to enjoy this story.