Consider this: A shady character known as Iblis finds Kali, the last Cylon. Kali bestows Iblis with the gifts of charm and persuasion, and both are rescued by the 1978 Battlestar Pegasus. Iblis uses these gifts to control the ’78 Pegasus in the hopes of eventually meeting the ’78 Battlestar Galactica (BSG) for ultimate control of that fleet. Iblis wants to destroy the fleet, side with the Cylons, and control the Cylons as their emperor and ruler because he hates humans. The 2003 BSG fleet gets caught up in the mess and the tensions run high between both fleets, giving Iblis pause to reconsider his plan. Plans are thwarted, Kali is killed, Iblis is shot out into space to “rot in hell,” while another wormhole opens up and the ’78 fleet are drawn in before the wormhole closes leaving the crew of ’03 fleet wondering what just happened.
I am not a fan of this book. There are so many plot holes that they would mirror wormholes in the storyline. Laura Roslin is brought in for a few pages and then forgotten. It’s the same with Baltar and Six and also with Athena and her role. Doctor Cottle ran batteries of tests on the ’78 fleet to make sure they weren’t skin jobs, but that would take forever according to the 2003 series, so the timing is off.
I am convinced Peter David hasn’t watched either series (except perhaps the beginning of 2003’s season three). The characters personalities and speech patterns are off. Laura Roslin sounds like a 12-year-old, and Kara Thrace does not come off as the strong independent woman that she is, but as a simpering woman out only for a good time. I have no idea who these BSG characters are and I’m saying this as someone who religiously watches the ’03 series at least twice a year. The personalities of the characters seem flat and wooden. It’s hard to tell which character is talking and when. I’m invested in these characters on the television shows, but here they bear such little resemblance to their counterparts. This, coupled with a less than decent storyline makes me wonder why I’m reading this book. There is a scene in the beginning when one of the characters, upon meeting Kali, asks if she’s female. Kali’s shape is so over-exaggerated that it’s clearly obvious she’s presenting as female. What this has to do at this point of the story is a mystery. Sex seems to be a very important part of this book, but it does not advance the story, so I’m not sure why there is such a huge emphasis.
The art is just as bad as the writing. Johnny Desjardins’s work looks amateur-ish and Mohan’s coloring comes from a limited palette, which gives no depth to the artwork. It’s hard to follow the action since the palette is so dark and limited. While Desjardins covers the artwork for 1-3 and Edu Menna for 4-6, the artwork is inconsistent. In the variant section, Aaron Lopresti and Robert Castro’s variants are miles away better and I wish these artists were used instead, because that could have saved this book or at least given it some dignity.
I want to believe this book exists to serve someone’s desire for a mashup between the two series, fan fiction served if you will, but it’s done terribly and is an embarrassment to the franchise, rather than something that could have been beloved. The book is also marked teen, but the content should definitely be classified as adult. There are too many faults for this book to be recommended in any capacity.
Battlestar Galactica vs Battlestar Galactica
By Peter David
Art by Johnny Desjardins, Edu Menna
ISBN: 9781524107208
Dynamite, 2018
Publisher Age Rating: Teen
NFNT Age Recommendation: Older Teen (16-18), Adult (18+)
Browse for more like this title
Character Traits: Pansexual
Related to…: TV to Comic
