Stargate Atlantis: Death Game: SGA-14 [Mass Market Paperback]

It was a bit of an ordeal actually getting a hold of this book. It was available for several weeks through the publisher while Amazon still had it down as a Pre-Order with an unknown ship date. I eventually got frustrated enough to cancel my pre-order and order directly from the publisher. Was the book worth all that hassle? I believe so.

In 'Death Game' the Atlantis team is scattered on a world whose DHD has been tampered with: allowing travelers to arrive but not to leave. The world also has an energy field similar to one the team encountered on a world full of children that would disable any ship that tried to pass through it. Sheppard and Teyla wake onboard their crashed jumper; John with a bad enough concussion to not remember how and why the jumper crashed. The two end up as prisoners and shipped to the High King as "Tribute" to act as contestants in the Games of Life. It doesn't take long for Sheppard and Teyla to figure out who is actually running these games and that they need to escape... now. All the while, Ronon and Zelenka are trying to find their own way back to Sheppard and Teyla while Rodney, Lorne, and team of Marines do their best to fix the Stargate and rescue their missing team-mates.

The Stargate novels I've read tend to fall into the categories of Hit or Miss. I think 'Death Game' falls into the Hit category. The characterizations were much closer to their TV counterparts than I've seen in other novels. Though I do wish the publisher or author would add a "This story takes place between episodes ..." for clarity's sake so one doesn't have to puzzle it out in their own head as they read. I think Zelenka's character in the book was a bit more testy than I recall him being on the show (he always had far more patience for the unscientific mind and rarely lost his cool with anyone besides Rodney). I would have rather seen his characteristic outbursts in Czech when frustrated. I did enjoy that the characters were paired off in an atypical fashion: Sheppard and Teyla, Ronon and Zelenka, and McKay and Lorne instead of the usual: Sheppard and McKay, Teyla and Ronon, Lorne and Zelenka that we saw often on the show. The banter between Sheppard and Teyla was fun (except I can't imagine Teyla using the word "Meta") though I would have loved to have seen one near-romance situation (but that's the Sheppard/Teyla 'shipper in me speaking out.) Major Lorne is my favorite Atlantis recurring character so, I love, love, love that he had a decent part to play in this book.

If I had to get nit-picky I'd have to point out that the last time the team encountered an energy field around a planet it rendered all electronics inert within the field. If it was meant to be the same type of energy field then the Jumper should have crashed as soon as they left the 'Gate and entered the field and none of their equipment (radios, etc) should have worked. Also, though I enjoyed the story, I felt it was lacking a true sense of urgency and peril. Never once did I wonder how or if the team would escape.

All in all, "Death Game" is a good story which I could picture as an actual episode and, for a media tie-in, that's not a bad thing.

I ordered this book even though there were no reviews on it yet. That's always taking a chance since many of the Atlantis books are very well written and others not so much. This book is definitely well written and for the most part everyone is in character. The interaction between the characters is good and the pairings atypical, also good. The story isn't exactly fast moving and I did skim through some of the slower parts but no doubt the writer has a nice writing style. The adventure did pick up toward the end but much of it was somewhat slow paced. The thing I really didn't like (and the reason for only 3 stars) is that the author spent a large portion of the book having the characters tell each other stories while they were waiting around for things to happen. These stories gave background on several of the characters. But the stories, in my opinion, didn't necessarily ring true to the characters that we learned about in the show. First, the story is written around the second season where supposedly no one knows that Sheppard even has a family (episode Sateda) however, the author had Sheppard telling Teyla this incredibly long detailed story about his mother, father, brother, etc... The author also writes that Sheppard only began thinking about joining the Air Force halfway through college, and then only because his Dad decides to stop paying for him. The reason is that Sheppard calls Dad's new girlfriend a bimbo and a few other not so nice words in public. Out of character IMO. The implication also being that Sheppard and his Dad had a great relationship until that point. (Episode Outcast tells us Dad had his life planned out for him since he was 14 and John couldn't wait to get away). But beside the fact that these stories don't ring true, they also in no way connect to or enhance the plot or outcome of the story. They are simply thrown in there for the amusement of the writer. And there's no way John would have just volunteered such detailed information to Teyla just because they were bored. Especially not in Season 2. As a fan fiction the story is well done, but to actually become a published novel, I think the story needs to stick closer to canon and not the whim of the author, I know this author has several new Atlantis novels coming out. I hope these will stay closer to the facts of the show. I don't mind speculation and background on characters, in fact I love seeing interaction and introspection, but it has to be believeable and agree with what we already know.

Firstly, I admit I didnt buy this via Amazon. At one stage I had it on order via both the UK and US sites to see which would get here first, but bothwere waaaay too delayed in distributing it, so I cancelled and bought direct from the publisher - and it was with me within 1 week of the publish date. Shame we can't rate Amazon ordering / distribution process as a separate issue - in which case they would get 1 star or even zero!

The book itself : loved it! I like drama, action, good plot, h/c, character development & background, and a generous dollop of whump is always an added bonus. This story had all that for me. Lately, I've found more satisfaction in reading fanfic from the handful of really good online SGA authors, and so it's no surprise to me that this author also pens fanfic under a pseudonym. In the build-up to publish date, I've been reading all the snippets and teasers on the authors LJ, and so I knew before reading Death Game that this story would effectively be the first step on a 7-book story arc (the first Legacy book - 'Homecoming' - is due next week). And I appreciate the time and care and detail that has been put into Death Game to set up the next books.

Death Game focuses on 3 character pairings : Sheppard & Teyla, Ronon & Radek, McKay & Lorne. It's interesting to read the interactions between Ronon & Radek, and Lorne & McKay as these characters don't often get placed together in difficult situations, and as they learn more about each other, so do we. Sheppard & Teyla are also still learning about each other too (in a totally non-'ship way), as the story is set in early season 2, and this allows us to fill some more blanks in the back-stories that have been sorely missing. Sheppard's usual reticence on personal issues is possibly tempered by the situation and being somewhat incapacitated. Perhaps ultimately whether you feel someone is being written in-character or out-of-character depends on your interpretation of the nuances of the actors' original performances and the limited canon material. Some readers may feel that having the characters tell each other stories feels artificial, but it's an effective way of allowing characters to speak about what they see as important moments in their lives.

This is not a wham-bam / action-only story, so don't bother if that's what you're after. If you want something that makes you connect a few dots across the pages within and also the episodes and future books, then this is for you. The detail in the characterisations, the nods to past episodes/events, the nods to future events (as yet unknown by the characters but well known to the viewer), the pop-culture references that are threaded through, and the first inklings of issues that are going to come back to haunt the characters in the later books : all made for a really satisfying read.

The Fandemonium catalogue is like the Curate's Egg - good in parts (as my mother used to say). For me, this book has now joined a very select group of just two SGA books published so far, that I have seriously enjoyed (and feel would have made damn good episodes IMHO). I can't wait to read Homecoming, Lost and the rest of the Legacy books, and I thank Jo for this book plus the rest of the co-authors in advance for their detailed knowledge, and obvious passion and enthusiasm for the subject matter (sadly lacking in some other authors).

I sincerely hope that Fandemonium can maintain this calibre of story-telling through Legacy and beyond, since this looks to be the only 'official' SGA continuation we're likely to get for some time / ever *

* delete as applicable :-)

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 10 reviews  3.9 out of 5 stars