^*A Battlestar Galactica novels can be split into two sections - the original ones written by Glen Larson and co. and the newer novels written by Richard Hatch and co. Both are good sets of books (depending on which author is co-writing at the time - number 8 "Experiment in Terra" is awful, really. I mean, since when does Apollo go around calling Starbuck his "good buddy" after almost every sentance?) and both provide a wealth of new information about the background. However, both do go in slightly different directions, which is to be expected.

Actually, Battlestar Galactica 6: "The Living Legend" confers an interesting place in the BSG literature. The reasoning for this, is that the book was clearly written after the series was over (even Galactica: 1980) and is an attempt to patch together the events from "The Living Legend" from the television series, along with the rest of the book series, with some interesting consequences (or so it seems to me). For a start, the rag tag fleet suddenly goes from being several thousand vessels to 120 - even less than the series! Cylons are still reptilian. And there are a few other anomolies present as well. Still, we do find out that Apollo was killed in action before Galactica: 1980, so that explains what happened to him.

The novels by Richard Hatch are also interesting. You find out more things as the series goes on, which is natural enough. And he's managed to fit in the robotic Cylons with the living ones in a nice way too.

Unfortunately, "Rebellion", the fourth book in the series, is very poor. The writing style seems to be for children, and the plot is weak, and, in my opinion, unbelievable as well. In addition, the ending is not explained. Why do the Cylon allies turn on the Cylons, and more importantly, how do they (the Chitain) end up in the Ur cloud? Not good I fear.

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