Richard Hatch’s second installment in the continuation of the original Battlestar Galactica moves a little better than the first one. The characters have been introduced now, but even so, there are few things that happen that makes it feel like the stories are falling back on what has already happened as opposed to taking things in new directions. Even as the story continues to let us get used to the new characters like a grown-up Boxey, sorry… Troy, and Starbuck’s daughter, Dalton.

Count Iblis is still floating around causing problems, and the last page of the book puts that character into a whole new perspective which is cool. I will say, jumping ahead, that I don’t like how the story leaves Starbuck at the book’s end.

Apollo’s force abilities, mainly telepathy, have grown. He’s gotten himself a Nomen bodyguard, and his bonding with Sheba seems to be ready to take place any day now. In fact, most of our favourite characters have either been sealed (married) or have kids, or expecting.

The story checks in with the Sky, the species Apollo and the readers met in the first book. And we learn that his space-faring species is at war with another species, one that it seems the Galactica is about to come across.

Just as they find a possible planet to settle on, that may have had a human colony there before. And currently has an old friend there. This is where the book falls back on the series too much, bringing back Commander Cain.

There are some fleet politics with Tigh leading the Quorum of the Twelve, while Apollo and Athena lead the fleet. Baltar is back with the fleet, the Great Traitor tries to play the victim of the Cylons, saying he was manipulated into the Great Betrayal, but most aren’t buying.

There’s a new style of Viper introduced, the Duet. I don’t like it. And the thing’s we learn about the Sky’s enemies. Well, it sounds a little too Ovion-like.

There is a bit of an attempt to continue expanding on the Lords of Kobol mythology and the Lightships, and overall, I did have fun with this novel, even if it feels a bit too familiar.

It doesn’t feel like any real chances are being taken, and that’s too bad. These should be fun, and they should have some of the feel of the original series even as it blazes new ground. The feel is there, the new ground, not so much.

Still, I’d suit up in a Colonial uniform and fly a viper with Starbuck and Apollo anytime. So I guess that means I will be checking out the next book in the series, Resurrection, soon enough.