Book Review: Stargate SG-1 - Hydra
If you are a fan of SG-1 and have missed all the awesome team moments, let me say now above the cut that you really need to find this book and read it. Order it from Amazon or Fandemonium if your local bookstore doesn't carry it or go special order it or something. Although if you pay more than $7.95 before tax and shipping, you're getting jipped.
I can't think of anything else to say that might not be spoilery, so the rest is behind the cut.
First off, let me say that this is the best SG-1 book to date. Seriously. Like, it blows all the others out of the water and into tiny little bits. And keep in mind that we've gotten some pretty good Sam/Janet moments from past books, so I don't say that lightly.
Let's start with the plot. OMG, wow. It was incredibly complex and well thought out. This book read like a two-parter (possibly even a three parter) from the show except, with the importance of the inner dialogues, never could have been done on the show. While I would have loved to see them do the ending visuals with space folding in on itself, if they hadn't gotten it right (I'm not doubting them, just the available technology) it could have gone from possibly the most visually stunning scene to the worst.
I was doubly happy because I got, not only clones (okay, robots, but you still get the possibility of clone!sex), but evil!counterparts. While I find evil!Sam to be the hottest possibility, all of the others were very compelling in their own right. While Sam had the evil practicailty about her and seemed inclined to torture when needed, but didn't need it as a high, evil!Jack was a sadistic bastard that I can easily see Jack becoming if he ever lost everything he ever held dear, evil!Daniel had that psychological edge which is much more in line with his character and evil!Teal'c was...not back to being a Jaffa, but you could see what he would have been if he still didn't believe the godhood bull, but stayed because it was what he was good at and he comfortable living that way.
As for the other teams, they each had an interesting dynamic which really encapsulated different bits of possibility. Alpha team really was SG-1, just robot and aware of it. They were a repeat of what we got with Cronus' destruction except with a different backstory. Gamma seemed to be similar, except without some of the same underlying loyalty to Earth. Their loyalty seemed more to each other than anything else. Zeta...Beta...which were the ones who went immediately Goa'uld? I think it was Beta. Anyway, all that was really left of the original team seemed to be their specialties and, again, that loyalty to one another, though I feel pretty certain that would have fractured when their combined self-interest was eclipsed by individual self-interest. Eta was the one who suicided? Another view of SG-1 aware of themselves as robots and not liking it except less willing to go with the punches and do what needed to be done. I shall call them emo!SG-1.
SG-Theta was still much more intriguing to me, especially when they did eventually betray one another. Up to that point, while they could be incredibly cruel to one another, they were still a team. It seemed like the cruelty was their warped way of expressing love. Yes, they were irritated with one another and apparently actively considering homicide, but it still felt like that loyalty was hard-wired into their brains.
And the combined effect on the original SG-1 was so well done. They were all horrified at these versions of themselves that, I think, each could see a piece of deep in their souls that, to me at least, would be simultaneously repeling and attractive. And the way that the team then has to deal with how an original's counterpart handled them, notably Theta-Daniel and Jack, Theta-Teal'c and Sam and Theta-Jack with Sam. Even if the Cave Canem scar heals (which was brilliant, by the way), I think Jack is still going to have nightmares about it. The area may even have a phantom itch. It could be a very interesting tell. Sam has the double-whammy because she had Jack and Teal'c, two warriors whom she trusts implicitly with her life who have both "betrayed" her and beat the ever-loving crap out of her. There could be a brilliant follow-up kind of PTSD piece with her.
I could continue to talk about the characters, but I think I'll leave it there and wait for people to comment. Anything else probably wouldn't be as articulate anyway.
So, the science. This is where some of you may be getting ready to roll your eyes and ask me if I can ever just let go a reality a bit and just enjoy the idea. Well, rest assured, my friends, because the science was AWESOME! I don't know if it's just because this is a really theoretical aspect of astrophysics that I never really delved too carefully into (you really do have to understand the underlying math to get it), but I couldn't find a single nitpick. Not one. I was actually amazed by how much these two authors apparently really know their stuff. Nuff said.
And the pairings. While I could see bits of pretty much any pairing, the two that were really big on all of the teams were Sam/Teal'c and Jack/Daniel. Like woah. There was the Sam/Teal'c multiple times with the Alpha team and that cross team mention of "dark flirting" that had me in fits of giggles. And the Jack/Daniel had two dynamics, depending on the team. Alpha-J/D was a lot like I see the real J/D except with possibly fewer hang-ups on Jack's part (that's where I've always seen the most conflict arising from a possible romantic relationship between them) and a more intense relationship all around. Theta-J/D was that relationship bastardized to be more about the sex and trying to hurt each other than about love.
I thought there was more I wanted to say about the book, but it seems to be escaping me right now. I'm sure I've said more than enough as it is, already, so, that's okay.
And now I'll say it again because it deserves to be said: you need to read this book. Seriously. If you're a fan of SG-1. Especially if you miss the team. If you like to see different aspects of the characters' psyches. If you just want a good book to read that's compelling the entire way. Go find this book.
I can't think of anything else to say that might not be spoilery, so the rest is behind the cut.
First off, let me say that this is the best SG-1 book to date. Seriously. Like, it blows all the others out of the water and into tiny little bits. And keep in mind that we've gotten some pretty good Sam/Janet moments from past books, so I don't say that lightly.
Let's start with the plot. OMG, wow. It was incredibly complex and well thought out. This book read like a two-parter (possibly even a three parter) from the show except, with the importance of the inner dialogues, never could have been done on the show. While I would have loved to see them do the ending visuals with space folding in on itself, if they hadn't gotten it right (I'm not doubting them, just the available technology) it could have gone from possibly the most visually stunning scene to the worst.
I was doubly happy because I got, not only clones (okay, robots, but you still get the possibility of clone!sex), but evil!counterparts. While I find evil!Sam to be the hottest possibility, all of the others were very compelling in their own right. While Sam had the evil practicailty about her and seemed inclined to torture when needed, but didn't need it as a high, evil!Jack was a sadistic bastard that I can easily see Jack becoming if he ever lost everything he ever held dear, evil!Daniel had that psychological edge which is much more in line with his character and evil!Teal'c was...not back to being a Jaffa, but you could see what he would have been if he still didn't believe the godhood bull, but stayed because it was what he was good at and he comfortable living that way.
As for the other teams, they each had an interesting dynamic which really encapsulated different bits of possibility. Alpha team really was SG-1, just robot and aware of it. They were a repeat of what we got with Cronus' destruction except with a different backstory. Gamma seemed to be similar, except without some of the same underlying loyalty to Earth. Their loyalty seemed more to each other than anything else. Zeta...Beta...which were the ones who went immediately Goa'uld? I think it was Beta. Anyway, all that was really left of the original team seemed to be their specialties and, again, that loyalty to one another, though I feel pretty certain that would have fractured when their combined self-interest was eclipsed by individual self-interest. Eta was the one who suicided? Another view of SG-1 aware of themselves as robots and not liking it except less willing to go with the punches and do what needed to be done. I shall call them emo!SG-1.
SG-Theta was still much more intriguing to me, especially when they did eventually betray one another. Up to that point, while they could be incredibly cruel to one another, they were still a team. It seemed like the cruelty was their warped way of expressing love. Yes, they were irritated with one another and apparently actively considering homicide, but it still felt like that loyalty was hard-wired into their brains.
And the combined effect on the original SG-1 was so well done. They were all horrified at these versions of themselves that, I think, each could see a piece of deep in their souls that, to me at least, would be simultaneously repeling and attractive. And the way that the team then has to deal with how an original's counterpart handled them, notably Theta-Daniel and Jack, Theta-Teal'c and Sam and Theta-Jack with Sam. Even if the Cave Canem scar heals (which was brilliant, by the way), I think Jack is still going to have nightmares about it. The area may even have a phantom itch. It could be a very interesting tell. Sam has the double-whammy because she had Jack and Teal'c, two warriors whom she trusts implicitly with her life who have both "betrayed" her and beat the ever-loving crap out of her. There could be a brilliant follow-up kind of PTSD piece with her.
I could continue to talk about the characters, but I think I'll leave it there and wait for people to comment. Anything else probably wouldn't be as articulate anyway.
So, the science. This is where some of you may be getting ready to roll your eyes and ask me if I can ever just let go a reality a bit and just enjoy the idea. Well, rest assured, my friends, because the science was AWESOME! I don't know if it's just because this is a really theoretical aspect of astrophysics that I never really delved too carefully into (you really do have to understand the underlying math to get it), but I couldn't find a single nitpick. Not one. I was actually amazed by how much these two authors apparently really know their stuff. Nuff said.
And the pairings. While I could see bits of pretty much any pairing, the two that were really big on all of the teams were Sam/Teal'c and Jack/Daniel. Like woah. There was the Sam/Teal'c multiple times with the Alpha team and that cross team mention of "dark flirting" that had me in fits of giggles. And the Jack/Daniel had two dynamics, depending on the team. Alpha-J/D was a lot like I see the real J/D except with possibly fewer hang-ups on Jack's part (that's where I've always seen the most conflict arising from a possible romantic relationship between them) and a more intense relationship all around. Theta-J/D was that relationship bastardized to be more about the sex and trying to hurt each other than about love.
I thought there was more I wanted to say about the book, but it seems to be escaping me right now. I'm sure I've said more than enough as it is, already, so, that's okay.
And now I'll say it again because it deserves to be said: you need to read this book. Seriously. If you're a fan of SG-1. Especially if you miss the team. If you like to see different aspects of the characters' psyches. If you just want a good book to read that's compelling the entire way. Go find this book.