Book Review: Babylon 5 - Dark Genesis: The Birth of the Psi Corp by J. Gregory Keyes (Psi Corp Trilogy #1)

Stars: 2 out of 5

Pros: Gives a history to the Psi Corp.

Cons: Dry reading covering too much history.

The Bottom Line:

History, no plot

Novel drags as a result

For show's fans only

Tries to Do too Much

Dark Genesis is the first book in the Psi Corps trilogy, a tie in novel to the science fiction program Babylon 5.

In the series, the Psi Corps is the organization that all human telepaths must join. Run by Earth's government, it is overseen by stronger telepaths who make sure everyone stays in line. This book tells how the organization started.

In 2115, the first human telepath is discovered. Normal humans are alarmed by the development, fearing their private thoughts will be read and told to others. Ambitious senators view this as a great issue to gain fame and begin forming the Psi Corps to tag and regulate telepaths.

Some telepaths don't take kindly to this, however. They think they should be as free as normal humans. They hide out and form the resistance. Over time, they grow stronger. But can they overthrow the government's hold on their own kind?

I went into this book looking forward to learning more of the history of the Psi Corp, the group I loved to hate from the show. I was disappointed, however. It tries to cover too much territory. The action takes place over 100 years and includes a couple generations of characters. As a result, it doesn't appear to be really focused on anything or anyone. It comes across as more of a history then a novel.

Dark Genesis is interesting reading for the Babylon 5 fan, but not an engrossing novel. Only fans of the show will be interested, and even then, only die-hard fans will get through this dry "novel."