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Battlestar Galactica #2
ยานอารยะ 2
Starbuck and Apollo battle a planet of lost clones, mind-slaves of the Cylon warrior Vulpa, who are aiming the ultimate weapon at the embattled starfleet of humankind!
Based on the episode "The Gun on Ice Planet Zero"
Based on the episode "The Gun on Ice Planet Zero"
456 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1979
2 people are currently reading
262 people want to read
About the author
Glen A. Larson
44 books31 followersGlen Albert Larson was an American television producer and writer best known as the creator of the television series Battlestar Galactica, Quincy, M.E., The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries, B. J. and the Bear, The Fall Guy, Magnum, P.I. and Knight Rider.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
November 13, 2019
Very nice adapataion of the TV show. Well written, good action and fast paced. Recommended
June 6, 2023
When a single episode of the original t.v. show is extrapolated out to a full book, you can expect a lot of filler and a very thin plot. This book delivers both.
June 21, 2023
Battlestar Galactica 2 is a novelization of the 1978 Battlestar Galactica TV series episode, The Gun on Ice Planet Zero. This was one of my favorite BG episodes and I loved the expansion of the story in this novel. My reread of it forty-five years later was enjoyable, nostalgic, and a measure of how far I’ve come.
THE GUN ON ICE PLANET ZERO
The last battlestar, Galactica, is fleeing the Cylons who have destroyed humanity’s twelve home planets. The Cylon fleet bears down on the humans, pushing them through a sector of space that contains the ice planet, Tairac. This planet contains a Cylon garrison that operates a giant laser cannon. The cannon is an adaptation of a communications device created by a human scientist, Ravashol, working on the planet assisted only by the clones he created. The Cylon plan is to push the Galactica within range of the cannon, which can destroy the battlestar with one laser pulse.
A scouting patrol of fighter spacecraft (vipers) from the Galactica discover Tairac and the cannon. It then becomes evident what the Cylons are trying to do. So the Galactica commander, Adama, sends in a team to plant explosives and destroy the cannon. Since the cannon is on a mountain, Adama includes some experienced mountaineers as part of the demolition team. These mountain-climbers, however, are taken from the fleet’s prison barge.
A BETTER DONE ADAPTATION
This novel’s adaptation from the series script is much better done than the one from the pilot movie (Battlestar Galactica). It contains more character internals and subplots that fill out the episode’s storytelling. I especially liked the character, Croft (played by Roy Thinnes in the TV show). Croft is conflicted between his loyalty to his fellow convicts and his desire to be reinstated as a Colonial Warrior. His relationship to his wife, Leda (alsoc a convict and played by Christine Belford on TV), is also compelling.
The Cylon viewpoint is presented much more than in the series. Once again, we spend some time in the mind of the Cylon Imperious Leader as he chases the human “ragtag” fleet into a trap. I still like the alien depiction of the IL, though I don’t care for his interaction with the Starbuck simulation. The computer-generated simulation is supposed to be a reconstruction from Cylon records. The simulation of Lt. Starbuck, however, seems too forced and doesn’t work for me.
In this story, another Cylon shares the antagonist role. This is First-Centurion Vulpa who commands the garrison operating the cannon. Vulpa is a hot-headed (for a Cylon) officer who is placed on Tairac as punishment for speaking too candidly among the Cylon hierarchy. He sees destroying the Galactica as a way to get back into favor and moved back to the Imperious Leader’s basestar (command ship). He drives the opposition to the human demolition team, fulfilling that role with the required strength and nastiness.
NOSTALGIC BUT DATED
Though written at about a ninth-grade level, the novel does convey the ambiance of the series. The tense bridge scenes are there as Adama, Tigh, and Athena deal with avoiding the laser cannon and fighting the Cylon attacks prodding them into the trap.
The prose conveys the space battle scenes pretty well, considering the whole point of the series was leveraging state-of-the-art special effects using scale models (and so tapping into some of the Star Wars mania at the time). This novel was adapted from a script and so there is a good bit of telling about character and plot rather than describing action. This diminishes archtype characters like Starbuck. So we’re often told he’s a lady’s man wanting to avoid a romantic attachment with Athena, rather than showing it in actions. This situation applies to other characters as well. Still, it’s not as bad as in the first novel. This is something I really didn’t notice forty-five years ago.
I was aware of the absence of Cassiopeia and Serena. They are prominent secondary characters, but they aren’t required for this plot, so they’re simply omitted.
The From the Adam Journals sections are used, but not as much as in the first book. While the intent of these chapters is insight into the story from an expression of Adama’s thoughts, they often feel irrelevant.
Boxey and his pet droid, Muffet, are as annoying as ever. They do provide excuse for a final rescue sequence, but otherwise, they don’t do much. In fact that rescue sequence struck me as unbelievable when I first read this novel, and it still does. It seems they left it out of the TV episode, or redid it somehow.
Another aspect of rereading the novel so many years later is that the depicted tech is outdated. There are a lot of paper printouts, wires, and references to spacecraft in airplane terms.
A sense of relative distances in space is also lacking. It is hard to imagine the ragtag fleet being “pushed” into a place near a planet within range of a “laser cannon(?).” I never understood why the Galactica could not just fly by it at a safe distance (can the cannon shoot a killer pulse for light years?). Maybe there is some “space warping” mitigation but it is not expressed well enough in the story. Still, I can grant some dramatic license.
WORTH READING AGAIN
This story is a retelling of the classic movie, The Guns of Navarone. While there is some awkwardness in it, the writers don’t do a bad job, especially considering the constraints of the TV series. They even introduce nuances of character to an extent. My feeling in 1978 was that this novel was an enjoyable elaboration of the TV episode. I still think it is, although I also see the high school level of the storytelling. Battlestar Galactica 2 is not great science fiction, but is a fun read and nostalgic indulgence.
THE GUN ON ICE PLANET ZERO
The last battlestar, Galactica, is fleeing the Cylons who have destroyed humanity’s twelve home planets. The Cylon fleet bears down on the humans, pushing them through a sector of space that contains the ice planet, Tairac. This planet contains a Cylon garrison that operates a giant laser cannon. The cannon is an adaptation of a communications device created by a human scientist, Ravashol, working on the planet assisted only by the clones he created. The Cylon plan is to push the Galactica within range of the cannon, which can destroy the battlestar with one laser pulse.
A scouting patrol of fighter spacecraft (vipers) from the Galactica discover Tairac and the cannon. It then becomes evident what the Cylons are trying to do. So the Galactica commander, Adama, sends in a team to plant explosives and destroy the cannon. Since the cannon is on a mountain, Adama includes some experienced mountaineers as part of the demolition team. These mountain-climbers, however, are taken from the fleet’s prison barge.
A BETTER DONE ADAPTATION
This novel’s adaptation from the series script is much better done than the one from the pilot movie (Battlestar Galactica). It contains more character internals and subplots that fill out the episode’s storytelling. I especially liked the character, Croft (played by Roy Thinnes in the TV show). Croft is conflicted between his loyalty to his fellow convicts and his desire to be reinstated as a Colonial Warrior. His relationship to his wife, Leda (alsoc a convict and played by Christine Belford on TV), is also compelling.
The Cylon viewpoint is presented much more than in the series. Once again, we spend some time in the mind of the Cylon Imperious Leader as he chases the human “ragtag” fleet into a trap. I still like the alien depiction of the IL, though I don’t care for his interaction with the Starbuck simulation. The computer-generated simulation is supposed to be a reconstruction from Cylon records. The simulation of Lt. Starbuck, however, seems too forced and doesn’t work for me.
In this story, another Cylon shares the antagonist role. This is First-Centurion Vulpa who commands the garrison operating the cannon. Vulpa is a hot-headed (for a Cylon) officer who is placed on Tairac as punishment for speaking too candidly among the Cylon hierarchy. He sees destroying the Galactica as a way to get back into favor and moved back to the Imperious Leader’s basestar (command ship). He drives the opposition to the human demolition team, fulfilling that role with the required strength and nastiness.
NOSTALGIC BUT DATED
Though written at about a ninth-grade level, the novel does convey the ambiance of the series. The tense bridge scenes are there as Adama, Tigh, and Athena deal with avoiding the laser cannon and fighting the Cylon attacks prodding them into the trap.
The prose conveys the space battle scenes pretty well, considering the whole point of the series was leveraging state-of-the-art special effects using scale models (and so tapping into some of the Star Wars mania at the time). This novel was adapted from a script and so there is a good bit of telling about character and plot rather than describing action. This diminishes archtype characters like Starbuck. So we’re often told he’s a lady’s man wanting to avoid a romantic attachment with Athena, rather than showing it in actions. This situation applies to other characters as well. Still, it’s not as bad as in the first novel. This is something I really didn’t notice forty-five years ago.
I was aware of the absence of Cassiopeia and Serena. They are prominent secondary characters, but they aren’t required for this plot, so they’re simply omitted.
The From the Adam Journals sections are used, but not as much as in the first book. While the intent of these chapters is insight into the story from an expression of Adama’s thoughts, they often feel irrelevant.
Boxey and his pet droid, Muffet, are as annoying as ever. They do provide excuse for a final rescue sequence, but otherwise, they don’t do much. In fact that rescue sequence struck me as unbelievable when I first read this novel, and it still does. It seems they left it out of the TV episode, or redid it somehow.
Another aspect of rereading the novel so many years later is that the depicted tech is outdated. There are a lot of paper printouts, wires, and references to spacecraft in airplane terms.
A sense of relative distances in space is also lacking. It is hard to imagine the ragtag fleet being “pushed” into a place near a planet within range of a “laser cannon(?).” I never understood why the Galactica could not just fly by it at a safe distance (can the cannon shoot a killer pulse for light years?). Maybe there is some “space warping” mitigation but it is not expressed well enough in the story. Still, I can grant some dramatic license.
WORTH READING AGAIN
This story is a retelling of the classic movie, The Guns of Navarone. While there is some awkwardness in it, the writers don’t do a bad job, especially considering the constraints of the TV series. They even introduce nuances of character to an extent. My feeling in 1978 was that this novel was an enjoyable elaboration of the TV episode. I still think it is, although I also see the high school level of the storytelling. Battlestar Galactica 2 is not great science fiction, but is a fun read and nostalgic indulgence.
December 10, 2017
This book pulled me right back into the BG universe alongside of Adama, Apollo, Starbuck, Athena, Boomer, and the others so I felt like I was fighting alongside them as they battled the Cylons.
July 29, 2020
I realize that a book called "The Cylon Death Machine" does not make huge demands on the expectations of the reader, but even with said expectations set to a low level, I found this novelization to be a slog and a disappointment. That is not to say it has no merits or that I regret reading it, but it could have been significantly better than it was, and it is no use to shrug and mutter that novelizations are weak material by nature. They don't have to be, and that ought to be our guiding star.
"Death Machine" is a novelization of the (classic) BATTLESTAR GALACTIA TV series two-part episode "Gun On Ice Planet Zero," which debuted in 1978. It is the second in a series of novelizations of GALACTICA episodes written by series creator Glen A. Larson and co-author Robert Thurston, which is curious, because in the actual series, "Lost Planet of the Gods" was the second entry in the series, and putting this story second screws up the continuity of the novels, since a key character dies in "Gods" and is therefore inexplicably absent here. Anyway....
In "Death Machine," we find the last battlestar, Galactica leading the ragtag fugitive fleet containing what's left of humanity away from a relentless Cylon pursuit. The fleet commander, Adama, however, suspects a trap looming ahead, and he's right. On an icy planet directly in the fleet's path likes a Cylon mega-weapon, the Ravashol Pulsar, under the command of First Centurion Vulpa, an ambitious Cylon officer. Hounded from behind, Adama has no choice but to try and run the gauntlet, but hopes to cheat the trap by sending a special commando team led by his son Apollo, the redoubtable warriors Starbuck and Boomer, and four convicts dragged off the military prison barge who have the sort of training necessary to infiltrate the base, climb the mountain the gun reposes upon, the blow it to bits before the fleet enters its sights.
If all of this sounds like a sci-fi version of "The Guns of Navarone" crossed with "The Dirty Dozen," well, it is. However, there is significant sub-plot involving the creator of the pulsar, the human renegade Dr. Ravashol, and the clone-workers he has created to serve as slaves to the Cylon Empire.
There is also a considerable amount of time spent by the authors exploring the character of Vulpa, a Cylon with pretentions to the throne, and about a quarter or a third of the book is told from the POV of Croft, one of the convicts who is a mountaineering expert and must decide whether to help his captors with their mission or join his criminal friends, including an ex-wife he's still in love with, as they attempt to ditch their captors and escape. There is even a tertiary sub-plot involving a shot-down Viper pilot named Cree, who Starbuck feels responsible for and wants to rescue...and yet another sub-plot involving Apollo's adopted son Boxey, who stows away and "joins" the mission, much to his stepdad's dismay.
As with the previous novelization, this one shows considerable promise in the opening third or so of the book. Using the device of "Adama's journals," we get some POV from the standpoint of the redoubtable commander himself, while the rest of the book is divided between the stories of Starbuck, Apollo and the mountaineer and former Colonial officer Croft. Larson-Thurston expand on information about the fleet, the Cylons and the characters which is only hinted at in the series, and show considerable imagination when discussing Cylon culture. However, as the story progresses, the prose bogs down and becomes inexplicably dense (in the last book it became inexplicably sparse). What's more, the basic storyline is almost lost in all the sub-plots, and the climax is infuriatingly drawn-out and muddled. In the TV series, they knew that the big explosion at the end also ought to mark the end of the story; here the falling action is delayed way too long thanks to a horribly unrealistic extra climax involving Vulpa, Apollo, Croft and Boxey. The last 50 - 75 pages of the book, which only like 240 to begin with, feel like a total slog and ruin the book quite completely. Croft is a somewhat interesting character (all the convicts are interesting, especially the psychopathic Thane), but since he was never used again, the investment away from the "real" characters seems pointless. We need our regulars to be developed, not serve as backups to one-off guest stars.
Oh yeah, I know, I know. It's 2020 and I'm breaking down a cheap paperback novelization of a TV series written in 1978 or 1979, probably in a matter of weeks or even days, that was probably meant for kids from 12 - 17 years old. But as a fan of the franchise, and of Larson as a television "father-creator" himself, I expect more. As I stated above, there is just enough meat here to make you angry that there isn't more. If the writers were incompetent boobs, I wouldn't bother being annoyed, but they clearly had enough imagination and talent to do better. I wish they had. I will, nevertheless, proceed to the third book in the series. Like the Cylons, I'm a glutton for punishment.
"Death Machine" is a novelization of the (classic) BATTLESTAR GALACTIA TV series two-part episode "Gun On Ice Planet Zero," which debuted in 1978. It is the second in a series of novelizations of GALACTICA episodes written by series creator Glen A. Larson and co-author Robert Thurston, which is curious, because in the actual series, "Lost Planet of the Gods" was the second entry in the series, and putting this story second screws up the continuity of the novels, since a key character dies in "Gods" and is therefore inexplicably absent here. Anyway....
In "Death Machine," we find the last battlestar, Galactica leading the ragtag fugitive fleet containing what's left of humanity away from a relentless Cylon pursuit. The fleet commander, Adama, however, suspects a trap looming ahead, and he's right. On an icy planet directly in the fleet's path likes a Cylon mega-weapon, the Ravashol Pulsar, under the command of First Centurion Vulpa, an ambitious Cylon officer. Hounded from behind, Adama has no choice but to try and run the gauntlet, but hopes to cheat the trap by sending a special commando team led by his son Apollo, the redoubtable warriors Starbuck and Boomer, and four convicts dragged off the military prison barge who have the sort of training necessary to infiltrate the base, climb the mountain the gun reposes upon, the blow it to bits before the fleet enters its sights.
If all of this sounds like a sci-fi version of "The Guns of Navarone" crossed with "The Dirty Dozen," well, it is. However, there is significant sub-plot involving the creator of the pulsar, the human renegade Dr. Ravashol, and the clone-workers he has created to serve as slaves to the Cylon Empire.
There is also a considerable amount of time spent by the authors exploring the character of Vulpa, a Cylon with pretentions to the throne, and about a quarter or a third of the book is told from the POV of Croft, one of the convicts who is a mountaineering expert and must decide whether to help his captors with their mission or join his criminal friends, including an ex-wife he's still in love with, as they attempt to ditch their captors and escape. There is even a tertiary sub-plot involving a shot-down Viper pilot named Cree, who Starbuck feels responsible for and wants to rescue...and yet another sub-plot involving Apollo's adopted son Boxey, who stows away and "joins" the mission, much to his stepdad's dismay.
As with the previous novelization, this one shows considerable promise in the opening third or so of the book. Using the device of "Adama's journals," we get some POV from the standpoint of the redoubtable commander himself, while the rest of the book is divided between the stories of Starbuck, Apollo and the mountaineer and former Colonial officer Croft. Larson-Thurston expand on information about the fleet, the Cylons and the characters which is only hinted at in the series, and show considerable imagination when discussing Cylon culture. However, as the story progresses, the prose bogs down and becomes inexplicably dense (in the last book it became inexplicably sparse). What's more, the basic storyline is almost lost in all the sub-plots, and the climax is infuriatingly drawn-out and muddled. In the TV series, they knew that the big explosion at the end also ought to mark the end of the story; here the falling action is delayed way too long thanks to a horribly unrealistic extra climax involving Vulpa, Apollo, Croft and Boxey. The last 50 - 75 pages of the book, which only like 240 to begin with, feel like a total slog and ruin the book quite completely. Croft is a somewhat interesting character (all the convicts are interesting, especially the psychopathic Thane), but since he was never used again, the investment away from the "real" characters seems pointless. We need our regulars to be developed, not serve as backups to one-off guest stars.
Oh yeah, I know, I know. It's 2020 and I'm breaking down a cheap paperback novelization of a TV series written in 1978 or 1979, probably in a matter of weeks or even days, that was probably meant for kids from 12 - 17 years old. But as a fan of the franchise, and of Larson as a television "father-creator" himself, I expect more. As I stated above, there is just enough meat here to make you angry that there isn't more. If the writers were incompetent boobs, I wouldn't bother being annoyed, but they clearly had enough imagination and talent to do better. I wish they had. I will, nevertheless, proceed to the third book in the series. Like the Cylons, I'm a glutton for punishment.
February 23, 2024
From what I understand, this novel was an adaptation of a single episode of the TV series. I didn't realize that, but taken purely as a novel, I was impressed. So far I've only read two of the BSG novels, but I've loved both of them. Perhaps if I had seen the TV episode and remembered it, I wouldn't have enjoyed the novel as much, but taken on its own, I thought it was very well done.
February 13, 2018
You know what you're getting into when you read a book like this. It's just something pleasant to pass the time with, so you forgive the massive plot holes, cardboard characters and laughable dialog. I think only fans of the original Battlestar Galactica series would enjoy this.
December 26, 2023
even less plot and more filler than book 1, but, again, fun silly & nostalgic
October 7, 2013
The Cyclon Death Machine by Glen Larson and Robert Thurston is the second book in the Battlestar Galatica series. The story was a good fun adventure story but a very poor science fiction story. What I mean by that is that there was no logic at all in the way things work, it felt like it was written by one of the same idiots that wrote the marvel space comics of the 1970's while they were hopped up on drugs. Maybe I am more forgiving of fantasy than I am of science fiction but the logic and the science behind this story doesn't even hold out to the first step. For one thing the humans have basically self sufficient ships in the galaxy but are still restrained to follow a very linear path through space. This would work better if space was either divided by jump holes or some other form of interstellar drive that requires star systems to operate. Instead we have the fleet being trapped in interstellar space by a rogue planet which just so happens to have a super powerful laser on it. If I even need to explain the issues with that you don't know the basics of physics because in order that a laser would be functional it anywhere regarding interstellar distances with the power to destroy a spaceship it would need a power source that would have to be almost a sun. The rogue world where the story takes place also presents many difficulties as it has a gaseous atmosphere which is warm enough for the characters to breath. All of these problems could have been easily dealt with by putting the whole encounter in system but because the authors wanted to increase the grandeur of their creation they made it very weak in reality. The overall story is one of redemption for the character of Croft who was a former colony commander who had turned to piracy to enlarge his income and had been unwilling to kotow to the leaders who wanted to tax his income. However when the death laser is aimed at the fleet from an icy planet the ship needs someone who has the experience in those conditions so they call on Croft and his vicious crew for help. The group is aided by some clones but mostly it is the inherent heroism of Croft which makes the mission succeed even as he redeems himself in his eyes as well as the eyes of the fleet. In many ways what I got from the book is that even though we are in a certain place either through our own actions or those of others whom we do not control, we all have the opportunity to make the world a better place and take control of our own futures. Overall this was a decent story which was ruined by delusions of grandeur.
Want to read
July 5, 2016This should be the 3rd volume since The Tombs of Kobol is actually episodes 4 & 5 of the first season of Battlestar Galactica. This volume contains episodes 8 & 9 (The Gun of Ice Planet Zero). The story is a mix of two classic WWII movies made in the 1960's The Guns of Navarone and The Dirty Dozen. The place is a pre 1980 The Empire Strikes Back Hoth minus the AT-AT's and Taun-tauns.
Apollo along with Starbuck and Boomer take a mixed team of 5 prisoners and 4 colonial warriors to blow up a Cylon Pulse Cannon on an ice planet. The book in many ways is superior to the TV version simply because of budget constraints that prevented better special effects (proving the superiority of the readers imagination over greedy media corporations).
This book is not politically correct since violence other than what's shown on the news is no longer socially acceptable for entertainment purposes. The idea of blowing up somebody else's property is considered wrong even if said property is being used to kill others. [sarcasm] The smart-@$$'s version of an orgasm. [snicker]
Apollo along with Starbuck and Boomer take a mixed team of 5 prisoners and 4 colonial warriors to blow up a Cylon Pulse Cannon on an ice planet. The book in many ways is superior to the TV version simply because of budget constraints that prevented better special effects (proving the superiority of the readers imagination over greedy media corporations).
This book is not politically correct since violence other than what's shown on the news is no longer socially acceptable for entertainment purposes. The idea of blowing up somebody else's property is considered wrong even if said property is being used to kill others. [sarcasm] The smart-@$$'s version of an orgasm. [snicker]
December 10, 2012
This book was by far the best sci-fi novel tie-in I've read. Obviously such books are not great works of literature, but they are fun. This one took the original ideas of the show and added so much more. There were all kinds of interesting ideas with the cylons, instead of just identical machines they became characters with ambition and depth. Vulpa was great, as was Imperious Leader's conversations with the fake Starbuck he had his computer generate. There were also passages from the point of view of the criminal prisoner brought to help them explore the ice world. It made me gain a new found respect for Athena and Boomer, and the parts of the Adama journals were truly great. While only a novelisation of the episodes Gun on Ice Planet Zero. It was a very good novelisation and was enough to get me to go back and start rewatching the original series again. I don't know if there were any other original BSG novels. But if I find any I will definitely read them!
October 5, 2015
Once again, seent the episodes it was based on. Also, not my favorite. One big thing I noticed though was the difference in Apollo's attitude; he seems to be an even bigger stick in the mud, impatient commander. I agree with Croft's assessment of him most of the time actually. And in the book's favor, the parts with the Starbuck simulacrum were some of the best parts and I wish that had been in the episodes. So, that's about it here for me.
January 21, 2016
Based on the original 1970s era Battlestar Galactica, this may have started out as a simple television adaptation but it ends up far better than it needs to be. It reads actually as quite good YA, and gets into the heads of some pretty interesting characters as well.
October 31, 2008
Based on the television series Battlestar Galactica
Read
May 21, 2010good adaptation of the original television show
January 22, 2016
Reading this book was so much more fun than watching the original series.
September 1, 2012
What a great cover that has nothing to do with the book!
March 26, 2014
Good TV adaptation fare. Stories are pretty simplistic by Mr. Larson...but it was fun to read about the original characters, albeit in some very unrealistic scenario's.
December 13, 2022
Die Cylonen verfolgen die Menschenschiffe, der Oberzylone prüft Simulationen, blabla.
Das Buch ist leider so schlecht, wie es aussah, darum früh abgebrochen. (wieso habe ich das nur gekauft??)
Das Buch ist leider so schlecht, wie es aussah, darum früh abgebrochen. (wieso habe ich das nur gekauft??)
February 17, 2024
Having no idea a remake of BG would become cool decades in the future...
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews