Armies of Light and Dark

Babylon 5: Legions of Fire: Armies of Light and Dark. Peter David. 2000. Del Rey. 255 pages.

Prologue: My 'masters' are pleased with me this day.

Chapter one: Vir stood before the giant, crackling energy gate. The ground around him was littered with bodies.

Armies of Light and Dark is the second in the Legions of Fire trilogy. It is definitely a must read! Once you've read The Long Night of Centauri Prime, you're going to want to continue the story. Trust me. So Vir is learning more and more about the darkness surrounding Centauri Prime, learning more about what--or should that be who--the Shadows left behind. He's learning more about the plans--the grand plans--being set in motion. And he's got a little help. True the 'help' is a bit cranky at times, and oh-so-mysterious. (He may NEVER understand technomages.) But Vir is determined--for better or worse--to battle the darkness, the evil forces that no one quite wants to acknowledge just yet.

Read Armies of Light and Dark

• If you're a fan of Babylon 5, if you just have to know what the future holds for all our characters--well, most of our characters
• If you're a fan of science fiction with a focus on politics, ethics, good and evil
• If you're a fan of Vir, if you want to see him transformed into a hero, if you want to see him make tough, tough choices
• If you're a fan of Londo, if you want to see what happens to him during his reign as emperor
• If you're a fan of Senna, if you want to see how her character grows and develops 

And now for the quotes,

Vir on the craziness of life:

For the men he passed in the settlement town of K0643, it seemed, the line between truth and fiction, between the easily understood and the incomprehensible, had become blurred. For Vir himself, the line had long ago been completely erased. Anything was capable of happening to him. He felt that this was the only possible mind-set for him to maintain, since anything--more or less-generally did have the habit of happening to him. (14)

Vir and Rem Lamas:

Vir quickly put up his hands and forced a grin. "That's...that's quite all right, I get the idea. I don't really need to know more than you've told me. In fact, I wouldn't have been upset to know less." He cleared his throat, and then said, "So you were going to tell me about..." (16)

Vir being profound:

That was the trouble with knowing what lurks within the shadows, he realized. One can't figure out where to look anymore. If you gaze into the shadows, you blanch at whatever may be in there looking back at you, and you jump as the shadows move. If you look into the light, not only are you blinded by its intensity, but also it serves to remind you that you should be doing everything you can to expunge the darkness. Light does not allow for excuses. (24)

And now a word from Londo:

It is not fit, or meet, or responsible for Centauri to rejoice in the misfortune of others. Throughout our history, we have dealt with other races with compassion, always with compassion. Granted, there have been races that did not see that compassion for what it was, and rebelled. The Narn, naturally, come to mind. In dealing with them, however--in dealing with any who operated in a manner contrary to the interests of the great Centauri Republic--we did exactly what we had to do. No more and no less. (68)

Londo to Senna:

"There are battles that can and should be fought, and there are battles that should not be. In the case of the former, let nothing stop you. In the case of the latter, let nothing start you." (85)

Galen to Vir:

"For every action, however, there is an equal and opposite reaction. That is an immutable rule of the universe. You are to be the opposite reaction." (98)

Londo and G'Kar

"You," Londo said, "are the single most irritating individual I have ever met."
"You see?" G'Kar replied."What could be more proof of friendship than that? Who but a friend could be anywhere near as irritating as I am?" (196)

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews