War of the Gods (Book)

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War of the Gods A book of the Berkley Books line
Book No.	7
Author(s)	Nicholas Yermakov
Adaptation of	War of the Gods, Part I War of the Gods, Part II
No. of Pages	{{{pages}}}
Published	December 1982
ISBN	0425056600
Chronology
Previous		Next
The Living Legend	War of the Gods	Greetings From Earth
Paperback Version
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Audiobook Version
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War of the Gods is a novelization of the Original Series episodes of the same name, written by Nicholas Yermakov.

Notes

• Starbuck, Apollo, Sheba, and Boomer all draw lots to see who will search for the missing pilots, because no more than three vipers are allowed to be sent out when the probability of the missing being dead is high. This rule was done to help conserve the fleet's limited strength. Boomer loses the draw.

• The red planet has a decaying smell to it.

• Brie is called Bris.

• Adama is certain that Iblis is not from the planet Earth. He is also not convinced that Iblis was responsible for Baltar's surrender.

• Colonial law does not allow Baltar to be executed. The worst punishment the Council can give him is life imprisonment.

• Boomer is literally possessed by Count Iblis during the triad game, and he plays very rough, injuring Starbuck and Apollo.

• Starbuck tries unsuccessfully to get Count Iblis drunk aboard the Rising Star. This explains why Starbuck was in such bad shape the next morning.

• Boomer can't remember much about the game or that he did anything out of the ordinary.

• The crashed ship on the red planet is much bigger than in the episode. The ship is so enormous it makes Galactica appear to be the size of a viper in comparison.

• Evidence is provided that the crashed ship is not the Pegasus as we are told exactly what Starbuck and Apollo see inside: tall, cloven-hoofed horned beings with tails. It is the same in the original script for the episode.

• In the Adama Journals, we learn that Adama as a child dreamed of being a hero as a viper pilot. It all ended after his first battle as he felt incredible fear whenever he went into combat. A friend of his named Apollo saved his life from a pinwheel attack and died because of it. Adama named his first son Apollo as a way to honor him.

• The eyes of the beings on the Ship of Lights are all blue, no whites, no pupils.

• That evening, after the dinner in which the coordinates to Earth are revealed, the white lights swarm Galactica and the fleet once more. When they disappear, Baltar disappears with them. Baltar wakes up inside his Cylon basestar with Lucifer in front of him. He was found drifting in his Cylon raider and can't remember surrendering to Galactica. All he can remember is a strange white light.

Analysis

From "Sheba's Galaxy" Site

One of Battlestar's best episodes is given a very good retelling in this adaptation. Nicholas Yermakov once again succeeds in adding depth to an episode without sacrificing most of the elements of the original storyline, although the extra scenes are simply taken from the original script. Considering that these extra scenes were likely filmed, it is nice that he thought to include them.

There is a radical change at the end in which the beings from the Ship of Lights return Baltar to his basestar. It conflicts with the continuity of both the series and the following Berkley novels, but I thought it was a nice twist. Straight-forward adaptations tend to be boring, and this change works out rather well.

Cover views

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  Front cover.
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  Back cover.

Original Series definition: a title of nobility (e.g. Count Iblis)

Re-imagined Series definition: card game similar to Poker, see: triad

Original Series definition: a contact sport, similar to football or basketball (see: triad)