Battlestar Galactica

Battlestar Galactica is the Jeffrey A. Carver 2006 novelization of the four-hour Ronald D. Moore mini-series that relaunched the franchise as a serious SF property. Carver, working from the shooting script, expands the on-screen action with interior chapters and additional context that the film could not afford. The book covers the Cylon attack on the Twelve Colonies and the early stages of the Galactica's flight.

Carver's strength in this novelization is the careful patience he brings to characters the film treats quickly. President Roslin's point-of-view chapters have more interior space than the screen version. Adama's grief over Zak is given more room. Fans of the original mini-series will find a useful expansion of the material rather than a redundant transcription.

The book is constrained by the form. The dialogue mostly tracks the script. The book reads quickly and works as a companion to the show rather than as a standalone novel.

Three stars. Recommended to fans of Ronald D. Moore's Battlestar Galactica reboot. The Battlestar Galactica Jeffrey A. Carver novelization gives the careful interior reading that the on-screen pacing could not allow. New readers should watch the mini-series first; the novelization is a complement rather than a standalone entry.