SG1: Barque of Heaven (book review)
Feb. 12th, 2008 12:46 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tenayaFandemonium Books has published a new book titled, Barque of Heaven, written by fan writer Suzanne Wood (I tag her with the term "fan" because I've never read a tv tie-in novel by a "pro" that was any better than meh. Identifying her as a fan means you can raise your expectations accordingly.) In the past, I've been completely underwhelmed by the Fandemonium titles; the few I've bought I've not finished and I quit purchasing them a long time ago. No wait, there was one by Julie Fortune, called Sacrifice Moon. That one was pretty good, too.
Nevertheless, I can HIGHLY recommend this novel. It's set in season three and I feel it really captures the spirit of planetary exploration and the camaraderie between the team members in early SG: SG1. The Ancient Egyptian motif that made the film Stargate so striking and rich is enthusiastically delved into here--and I have to say, I really enjoyed that; that theme was a promise that the tv show rarely gave more than a tip of the hat to.
Characterization and dialogue are my two most highly prized elements of a story and Suzanne did an excellent job with them. All four members of the team had multiple, significant parts to play in the plot. All the characters have multiple scenes where they connected to each other, and those were all plot driven. Plot points from episodes that had occurred prior to this story (set after Deadman's Switch) were referenced--and a couple of times those events were illuminated by insight I'd not heard before. The result is that this story fits very snugly into canon. The dialogue hit the character's speech patterns and quirks and made the book a joy to read. And a few well placed Wizard of Oz references made me smile in fondness.
Suzanne gets high marks for creating fifteen different worlds and describing them very vividly. I recall some writing advice that was given to me long ago was to make the environment another character in the story and she certainly accomplished that. One of the things that made the Stargate itself so appealing was that it could take you anywhere and this story revives that enticing idea.
The book is 357 pages long and, unfortunately, in rather small print. I apparently need stronger bifocals. *g* I'd ordered this book over a week ago, and I finally picked it up last Friday. The dense script took me a few days to finish even though I set aside a few well-lit hours each day for it.
As for the plot, it was quite lively and it made it difficult to put the book down. I'm not giving too much away to admit I felt exhausted by what happens to the team. I wanted a long soak in a hot tub after I finished this!
I think it's well worth the price on the cover. On the first read though, I was anxious to find out what happens next and I kinda sped though the book as quick as I could go. So rich are the details I look forward to rereading it so I can immerse myself better in the story.
A small, vaguely specific observation follows so I'll put in some spoiler space.
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I tend to read adult fic at least half the time, so I did have a moment of pause on the planet where the team lost their focus, so to speak. I thought, "oh, this is where, in another version of this story, the team goes NC-17!"
Nevertheless, I can HIGHLY recommend this novel. It's set in season three and I feel it really captures the spirit of planetary exploration and the camaraderie between the team members in early SG: SG1. The Ancient Egyptian motif that made the film Stargate so striking and rich is enthusiastically delved into here--and I have to say, I really enjoyed that; that theme was a promise that the tv show rarely gave more than a tip of the hat to.
Characterization and dialogue are my two most highly prized elements of a story and Suzanne did an excellent job with them. All four members of the team had multiple, significant parts to play in the plot. All the characters have multiple scenes where they connected to each other, and those were all plot driven. Plot points from episodes that had occurred prior to this story (set after Deadman's Switch) were referenced--and a couple of times those events were illuminated by insight I'd not heard before. The result is that this story fits very snugly into canon. The dialogue hit the character's speech patterns and quirks and made the book a joy to read. And a few well placed Wizard of Oz references made me smile in fondness.
Suzanne gets high marks for creating fifteen different worlds and describing them very vividly. I recall some writing advice that was given to me long ago was to make the environment another character in the story and she certainly accomplished that. One of the things that made the Stargate itself so appealing was that it could take you anywhere and this story revives that enticing idea.
The book is 357 pages long and, unfortunately, in rather small print. I apparently need stronger bifocals. *g* I'd ordered this book over a week ago, and I finally picked it up last Friday. The dense script took me a few days to finish even though I set aside a few well-lit hours each day for it.
As for the plot, it was quite lively and it made it difficult to put the book down. I'm not giving too much away to admit I felt exhausted by what happens to the team. I wanted a long soak in a hot tub after I finished this!
I think it's well worth the price on the cover. On the first read though, I was anxious to find out what happens next and I kinda sped though the book as quick as I could go. So rich are the details I look forward to rereading it so I can immerse myself better in the story.
A small, vaguely specific observation follows so I'll put in some spoiler space.
s
p
o
i
l
e
r
s
p
a
c
e
I tend to read adult fic at least half the time, so I did have a moment of pause on the planet where the team lost their focus, so to speak. I thought, "oh, this is where, in another version of this story, the team goes NC-17!"
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(no subject)
Date: 2008-02-12 11:10 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-02-12 12:16 pm (UTC)I figured I'd better post something fannish to keep my fannish membership card active.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-02-12 12:55 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-02-12 05:06 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-02-13 01:51 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-02-13 03:09 am (UTC)It's not that I thought the book would be bad or that I wouldn't like it. I just wasn't sure if I was ready for more SG-1 just yet, but this sounds like it would be fun to read.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-02-15 12:28 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-02-15 12:29 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-02-15 12:34 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-02-15 12:35 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-02-15 07:38 pm (UTC)I definitely won't blame you if I don't like it, but I'm pretty sure that I will. hehe
ETA: I read and loved Sacrifice Moon, which is another reason I think I'll like this one. I love really great gen stories and probably read more gen than slash in the SG-1 fandom, even though I'm more of a slasher than anything else. hehe