Saga of a Star World (Book)

For other uses of the title of "Saga of a Star World", see: Saga of a Star World (disambiguation)

This article has a separate continuity. This article is in the Berkley books separate continuity, which is related to the Original Series. Be sure that your contributions to this article reflect the characters and events specific to this continuity only.

Battlestar Galactica A book of the Berkley Books line
Book No.	1
Author(s)	Robert Thurston
Adaptation of	Saga of a Star World
No. of Pages	256 (reprint)
Published	September 1978
ISBN	0425039587
Chronology
Previous		Next
None	Battlestar Galactica	The Cylon Death Machine
Paperback Version
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Audiobook Version
Available at iTunes – [{{{itunes}}} Purchase]

Saga of a Star World is a novelization of the premiere episode, "Saga of a Star World", for the Original Series.

This book was reprinted by iBooks Inc. on September 30, 2005.

Summary

"From the Adama Journals"

• First Entry (Before Chapter 1): Adama talks about how the Cylon war began abruptly with an outright attack on the Colonials' merchant ships, resulting in the destruction of thousands of ships. He tells of the first Cylon offensive against the twelve worlds, which the Colonial Fleet repulsed, thus beginning the thousand year war. He later notes that the humans later forgot the extent of Cylon treachery, and should never have trusted the peace offering the Cylons offered "just as abruptly as they had initiated hostilities". He believes that the Cylons were able to prey upon the humans' desire for peace, and blames himself for not trusting his suspicions.
• Second Entry (between Chapters 1 and 2): Adama notes that there is often debate between the significance of individual death and mass death. Adama doesn't believe there is a difference, noting that either set of deaths—a singular individual death (like that of his son, Zac) and the mass deaths caused by the Cylons in the same act—is "no less intense, no less meaningful, no less important".
• Third Entry (between Chapters 2 and 3): Adama reflects on his withdrawal from the Battle of Cimtar to rush to the Colonies and the misconceptions that surrounded it, particularly those from his own pilots, Boomer and Starbuck. In this entry, Adama tells of the legend of Gavin and the Villain; a moon miner from the solar system that contained Earth who spends his life looking for a villain after trying to best said villain in a game to prove his bravery. Adama relates to the legend, saying how his times of "apparent cowardice" made him feel like Gavin.

Notes

• Baltar is believed to be killed off by the Imperious Leader in this version. The Imperious Leader orders Baltar be beheaded and is told by a Centurion that Baltar's head and headless corpose are thrown in a garbage chute.
• The term "year"—not "yahren"—is used throughout.
• The names of the Colonies include: Aeriana, Caprica, Gemini, Virgon. The names of the occupants from each of the Colonies include: Aeries, Gemons, Virgos, Scorpios, Leos, Picons, and Sagitarians.

Contradictions

• The book contradicts itself over how the Thousand Yahren War with the Cylons began. In the first entry of Adama's journals, Adama claims that the "war with the Cylons began abruptly—without warning, without even a formal declaration that war was to be". Adama explains that the Cylons first opened fire on Colonial merchant ships, destroying their ships by "the thousands", and, following this, the Cylons sent a fleet of basestar to the The Twelve Colonies. However, this attack was repulsed by the Colonial military, who had the military might to do so. Later, in a discussion with the Quorum of Twelve over the issue of disarmament, Adama points out to the Quorum that the Colonials did not come into direct conflict with the Cylons (and thus start the conflict) until they defended their neighbors, the Hasaris, from the Cylons who sought to enslave them.

Analysis

• One of the jarring concepts of the Original Series was the fact that a large caravan of ships were able to successfully elude Cylon pursuit on mere sublight speed—its maximum speed being restricted to the maximum speed of the slowest ship in the Fleet. The book explains that the Colonials were able to construct camouflaging force fields to hide the Fleet. While mostly effective, the Cylons were able to periodically determine the Fleet's location whenever the field weakened, so as to get a general location of the Fleet.
• While faster-than-light travel was rarely broached in the Original Series, the book mentions that that the ships in the Fleet underwent conversion to hyperspace capability. Presumably, this term is neither inferred nor used because "hyperspace" is a term used in Star Wars for FTL travel, and was likely on the list of the various things that George Lucas and Glen A. Larson agreed not to use in Battlestar Galactica.

Official statements

• Robert Thurston explains the differences between the novelisation and the episode:

"There were many changes done in the novelization as the film script changed. Each week or so I would recieve new script pages (new pages were in different colors), which presented new writing and indicated material cut out, and I diligently tried to incorporate each change into the novelization. Actually, this was one of the more exciting things about this particular novelization. Features of it were always changing in the way one alters a clay figure. However, the book was done several months ahead of the TV premiere, which explains some of the major differences between the film and the novelization. The most important one, as I’m sure you already know, was the nature of the Cylons. In the script they were always aliens. When I finally saw the film in a theatre in Canada, they were still aliens. But of course, apparently due to some network stricture about how many could be killed, they were changed to robots. The gambling planet section was extensively revised and was, I thought at the time, better in its original than in its reworking. I wish I could remember why."

• The back-cover description from the first edition:

A VAST AND ANCIENT STARSHIP PROBES THE UNIVERSE FOR THE LEGENDARY LOST PLANET "EARTH"

THE NEW DEEPSPACE SPECTACULAR WITH THE MOST EXCITING SPECIAL EFFECTS EVER PRODUCED

Zac and Apollo are brothers—and rivals—in the ultimate adventure, as humankind's heroic star-fighter crews battle the alien Cylon for control of the known galaxy! BATTLESTAR GALACTICA is an epic multi-media event: the triumphant ABC-TV spectacular with the most expensive special effects ever produced, designed by Oscar-winning genius John Dykstra... and a powerful science fiction novel, a gripping space-war saga of interstellar adventure!

• The back-cover description from the iBooks Inc. reprint:

At the end of a bloody thousand-year war against an invincible enemy, an uneasy peace has finally between been achieved between humans and the dreaded cyborg warriors of the Cylon Empire. But peace soon turns to bloodshed when the Cylons launch an unexpected attack against humanity's twelve Colonial worlds, wiping out most of the inhabitants. Pursued by Cylon forces, the survivors gather together a ragtag fleet of ships, their only protection the valiant warriors of the Galactica, the sole battlestar able to escape the sneak attack. Led by Commander Adama and his son, Captain Apollo, the Colonials begin a desperate search for a new home: a planet called Earth, where legend says the long-missing Thirteenth Colony of Mankind will be found. Unfortunately, no one knows where, exactly, Earth might be, and the journey may be a long one-with the Cylons drawing closer with every passing moment.

Alternate covers

• 
  Cover from the original print.
• 
  Back cover to the original edition.
• 
  Cover for the reprint.

Re-imagined Series definition: technology enabling travel across distances faster than the speed of light would permit, see: FTL

Re-imagined Series definition: technology enabling travel across distances faster than the speed of light would permit, see: FTL