Transitions - Free Time Travel Included!
I know I am around eight months behind, but since Oceans of Dust and Heart's Desire arrived on my doorstep (ie. propped up against my car, thank you Mr. Postie) and I am somewhat on top of all the end of year fandomy challenges etc I managed to get around to it.
What drew me in rather quickly with this novel as opposed to certain ones in the past was the idea of exploring what happened to SG-1 in between seasons 8 & 9 which really, who hasn't been itching to know, right?
I love love *loved* the first part of this story, it's getting the team together for one last hurrah. SG-1 is so *them* - I do love Bauer's characterisations (especially again when compared to some of other fandy novels), no bully Jack, no whining Daniel or snivelling Sam. The teamy goodness is my favourite part, these guys have known each other forever, they trust and love each other and they fall back into working together like clockwork. And Sam has some mad driving skills that not only save the team from missiles, but also manage to get them from Reno to Vancouver overnight! (Must have been a loooong night).
I was also highly impressed with the connections drawn between the running stories on the ATA gene and Cassandra's abilities that were 'awoken' if you will by Niirti's tinkering in her DNA. Amara's story while quite obvious in its direction was an interesting connection to the future events of seasons 9 and 10 concerning the Ori *but* this is also where the plot begins to fail.
As far as I was aware, the Fandemonium books are not allowed to retcon or alter the franchise's canon, they are supposed to be one time inserts that work in between the episodes and story lines of the show. So how then can Amara's deeds and consequent ascension alert the Ori to the presence of sentient life in the Milky Way (p. 341) when in canon they were not aware until Daniel and Vala travelled to Celestis? And why is it that they care only of the life seeded in the Milky Way and not the life in Atlantis' galaxy given that Amara saved the lives of its inhabitants and ascended *there*? AND, how could Oma have helped Amara if she is locked in an eternal battle with Anubis? (p.335)
The other MAJOR problem I had with this novel was the major screw up in the timeline of SG-1 and SGA. This novel is set between seasons 8 and 9 of SG-1 - Jack is promoted and moves to Washington, Daniel's off to Atlantis, Teal'c go to Dakara and Sam goes to Area 51. Yet the events occurring at the same time in the novel on the Atlantis side of things seem to be those set a good 7-8 months ahead of the SG-1 events.
From what I gather this novel takes place soon after the events of "Grace Under Pressure" - season 2 ep 14 (p.217-218) as Rodney mentions the events of this episode (including his apparition of Sam's lack of apparel). The other big give away is that the Daedalus is under the control of OC Major Laval who is in temporary command while Colonel Caldwell recovers from being taken over by the Trust's goa'uld in "Critical Mass" - season 2 ep 13 (p.212-213). Seeing as Landry was very much in charge of the SGC at this point in canon, the timeline makes absolutely no sense even if both series were not running concurrently.
My last minor quibble really was the use of Michael from season 2's "1969". His corporate sell out guilt trip just didn't fly with me and I felt as if a revisit to modern day Michael and Jenny deserved more than what this novel gave.
In all a decent read if you can look past the timeline screw up, again the characters are beautifully written and I think I fell in love with each and everyone one of them once again, and I sure would love to know what happens to Cassie in the future (superhero anyone?).
What drew me in rather quickly with this novel as opposed to certain ones in the past was the idea of exploring what happened to SG-1 in between seasons 8 & 9 which really, who hasn't been itching to know, right?
I love love *loved* the first part of this story, it's getting the team together for one last hurrah. SG-1 is so *them* - I do love Bauer's characterisations (especially again when compared to some of other fandy novels), no bully Jack, no whining Daniel or snivelling Sam. The teamy goodness is my favourite part, these guys have known each other forever, they trust and love each other and they fall back into working together like clockwork. And Sam has some mad driving skills that not only save the team from missiles, but also manage to get them from Reno to Vancouver overnight! (Must have been a loooong night).
I was also highly impressed with the connections drawn between the running stories on the ATA gene and Cassandra's abilities that were 'awoken' if you will by Niirti's tinkering in her DNA. Amara's story while quite obvious in its direction was an interesting connection to the future events of seasons 9 and 10 concerning the Ori *but* this is also where the plot begins to fail.
As far as I was aware, the Fandemonium books are not allowed to retcon or alter the franchise's canon, they are supposed to be one time inserts that work in between the episodes and story lines of the show. So how then can Amara's deeds and consequent ascension alert the Ori to the presence of sentient life in the Milky Way (p. 341) when in canon they were not aware until Daniel and Vala travelled to Celestis? And why is it that they care only of the life seeded in the Milky Way and not the life in Atlantis' galaxy given that Amara saved the lives of its inhabitants and ascended *there*? AND, how could Oma have helped Amara if she is locked in an eternal battle with Anubis? (p.335)
The other MAJOR problem I had with this novel was the major screw up in the timeline of SG-1 and SGA. This novel is set between seasons 8 and 9 of SG-1 - Jack is promoted and moves to Washington, Daniel's off to Atlantis, Teal'c go to Dakara and Sam goes to Area 51. Yet the events occurring at the same time in the novel on the Atlantis side of things seem to be those set a good 7-8 months ahead of the SG-1 events.
From what I gather this novel takes place soon after the events of "Grace Under Pressure" - season 2 ep 14 (p.217-218) as Rodney mentions the events of this episode (including his apparition of Sam's lack of apparel). The other big give away is that the Daedalus is under the control of OC Major Laval who is in temporary command while Colonel Caldwell recovers from being taken over by the Trust's goa'uld in "Critical Mass" - season 2 ep 13 (p.212-213). Seeing as Landry was very much in charge of the SGC at this point in canon, the timeline makes absolutely no sense even if both series were not running concurrently.
My last minor quibble really was the use of Michael from season 2's "1969". His corporate sell out guilt trip just didn't fly with me and I felt as if a revisit to modern day Michael and Jenny deserved more than what this novel gave.
In all a decent read if you can look past the timeline screw up, again the characters are beautifully written and I think I fell in love with each and everyone one of them once again, and I sure would love to know what happens to Cassie in the future (superhero anyone?).