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The explosive confrontation between one

techno-mage and the evil power that spawned him

Babylon 5: Invoking Darkness

Book 3 of The Passing of the Techno-Mages Trilogy

By Jeanne Cavelos

In Babylon 5: Invoking Darkness (Del Rey; $6.99), third volume of the best-selling Passing of the Techno-Mages trilogy, World Fantasy Award winner Jeanne Cavelos brings the mages' story to a shocking climax.

The techno-mages are a mysterious order of humans and aliens implanted with extremely advanced technology that allows them to perform acts that seem magical. In Book 2, the dark secret of the techno-mages was revealed: their implants are provided by an ancient, evil race--the Shadows. By programming the implants to further their agenda, the Shadows have made the mages into agents of chaos and destruction.

Now the Shadows have engulfed the galaxy in war. As billions die and the flames of destruction rage unchecked, the Shadows seem poised for absolute victory. The mages, determined not to aid the Shadows, have withdrawn to a hiding place. Among them is Galen, who burns for revenge against the treacherous mage Elizar, who joined the Shadows and killed Galen's love. At last Galen wins permission to leave the hiding place and kill Elizar and two other enemies. Though the galaxy is being torn apart by bloody conflict, he is not to interfere in the Shadows' war; he is not to use his great spell of destruction against the mages' creators.

As Galen re-enters a war-torn galaxy, he must hold tightly to control. As much as he wants to strike against the Shadows, who infected him with the seeds of chaos and destruction, he knows that giving into those urges will only further the Shadows' ends. But once the Shadows learn of his presence, they have their own plans for Galen. In a desperate, apocalyptic battle, there's no telling who will be the victor. Or if there will be any survivors at all.

The Babylon 5 novels of Jeanne Cavelos have been highly praised by readers and critics as the best in this series, and as "real books," not TV tie-in knock-offs. Cavelos's readers include fans of the TV show and those who have never seen the show, but who love her compelling, page-turning stories.

NOTE: Reruns of Babylon 5 are currently airing on the Sci-Fi Channel, and a new Babylon 5 TV movie will be premiering on Sci-Fi January 2.

Praise for Books 1 & 2 of The Passing of the Techno-Mages

--#1 on the Amazon.com media-related bestseller list

--#1 on the Locus magazine media-related bestseller list

"A revelation. . . . Not 'television episodic' in look and feel. They are truly novels in their own right."

--Science Fiction Weekly

"It is the rare book that not only matches the quality of the material it is based upon, but surpasses it. . . . I have heard people talk before about books they just couldn't put down, but I had never experienced that feeling. Until now."

--The Zocalo Today

"An excellent novel in its own right regardless of its Babylon 5 connection. . . . Marvelous writing."

--About.com

"The beginning of an epic. . . . If the writer set out to prove that media tie-ins could fulfill the demanding art of original storytelling and not just capitalize on a brand name, then she's succeeded brilliantly here."

--Wigglefish

"Well written and evocative."

--Science Fiction Chronicle

"Engrossing. Galen becomes a sympathetic yet unpredictable seeker of self and truth in grim circumstances. . . . Powerfully written."

--Speculative Vision

Babylon 5: Invoking Darkness; A Del Rey Book, 368 pages

11/28; US $6.99/Canada $9.99; ISBN 0-345-43833-7

www.sff.net/people/jcavelos; www.randomhouse.com/delrey

JEANNE CAVELOS is a writer, editor, scientist, and teacher. She began her professional life as an astrophysicist and mathematician, teaching astronomy at Michigan State University and Cornell University, and working in the Astronaut Training Division at NASA's Johnson Space Center.

Her love of science fiction led her to earn her MFA in creative writing. She moved into a career in publishing, becoming a senior editor at Dell Publishing, where she created and launched the Abyss imprint of psychological horror, for which she won the World Fantasy Award, and the Cutting Edge imprint of literary fiction. She also ran the science fiction/fantasy publishing program. In addition, she edited a wide range of fiction and nonfiction. She worked with such authors as Patrick McCabe, Barry Gifford, Peter Dickinson, William F. Nolan, Joan Vinge, Robert Anton Wilson, Dennis Etchison, Tanith Lee, Kathe Koja, Poppy Z. Brite, and Jeanne Kalogridis. In her eight years in New York publishing, Jeanne edited numerous award-winning and best-selling authors and gained a reputation for discovering and nurturing new writers.

Six years ago, Jeanne left New York to pursue her own writing career. Her latest book is Invoking Darkness, the third volume in the best-selling The Passing of the Techno-Mages trilogy, set in the Babylon 5 universe (Del Rey, December 2001). The Sci-Fi Channel called the trilogy "A revelation for Babylon 5 fans. . . . Not 'television episodic' in look and feel. They are truly novels in their own right." The highly praised first volume, Casting Shadows, was called "The best Babylon 5 book to date" by About.com. Her book The Science of Star Wars (St. Martin's) is now available in trade paperback with a new "Afterword" discussing the possibilities and problems raised by the introduction of midi-chlorians as carriers of the Force. The book was chosen by the New York Public Library for its recommended reading list, and CNN said, "Cavelos manages to make some of the most mind-boggling notions of contemporary science understandable, interesting and even entertaining." The Science of The X-Files (Berkley/Boulevard) was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award. Publishers Weekly called it "Crisp, conversational, and intelligent." Jeanne has also written the Babylon 5 novel The Shadow Within (Dell), which has been called "one of the best TV tie-in novels ever written" (Dreamwatch magazine).

Jeanne runs Jeanne Cavelos Editorial Services, which provides editing, consulting, and critiquing services to publishers, book packagers, agents, and authors. Among its clients are major publishers and best-selling and award-winning writers.

Since she loves working with developing writers, Jeanne created and serves as director of Odyssey, an annual six-week summer writing workshop for writers of fantasy, science fiction, and horror held at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester. Jeanne is also an English lecturer at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire, where she teaches writing.

Jeanne has spoken widely on writing, publishing, science, and science fiction at venues as varied as the Smithsonian Institute, the Intel International Science Fair, the American Chemical Society, Dartmouth College, the Discovery Channel, Turner Entertainment, the Art Bell radio program, and many science-fiction conventions.

More information about Jeanne is on her website, www.sff.net/people/jcavelos.