Customer Reviews

Stargate SG-1: Trial by Fire: SG1-1

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

When I read this one I thought it was a really good story, but the background from O'neill's point of view made it pretty clear that what happened to him during the season 6 episode" The Abyss" had affected him more deeply then show made it seem.I think that the only thing in the story that was un-necessary was bringing in that arrogant archeologist and since she seemed to go along the lines of what Daniel's college rival was like in the season 4 episode" The Curse" and continued not to take things to seriously throughout the entire book was what had made things even worse. For Daniel's point of view most of the story involved him getting most of his memories back and then this came up and that made you pretty sympathetic to his feelings on the matter, especially since it dug into the roots of his friendship with O'neill that was never mentioned in the show too much. I have to say that this is one of the best in the new stargate series and I recommend this one to any who like the series.

I'll start by saying I enjoyed the story and the author clearly knows Stargate very well. The plot flowed well and it kept my interest. The dialog sounded right for each character.

However, the writing was pretty bad in my opinion. I read a few passages to a writer friend and he agreed that the writing was poor. Here's an example:

"Participants were Lords Fuano and Tendao, still enthroned in their chairs; the captain of those Temple Guards; Daniel and herself; Hamilqart, without having atoned for his errant wife by getting slain in the field of honor; Luli, huddled by his father's side, edgy but unharmed - apparently the worst thing the Phrygians had done to him was feed and wash and clothe him; Dr. Kelly who'd spent considerable time calling the Colonel every name under the sun before, much to everyone's alarm, wrapping him in a ferocious hug; the Phrygian leader, Tertius, under guard on what passed for the accused's bench; and Colonel O'Neill, ditto." Ditto???

A few times I had no idea who was saying what or doing something.

One annoyance was the use of acronyms and military jargon in the narrative. Example: "...and landed flat on his six", "His 2IC found herself..." and "Armed SFs hung around the fringes of the 'gate room..." It's fine when the characters are speaking this way, but not when it's the narrative.

Another was the use of descriptions instead of character names, like "God's gift was in an obstinate mood..." referring to O'Neill. Even if it was Dr. Kelley thinking this, it still bothered me.

There's also an over-use of descriptions that are just plain irritating. Referring to Teal'c, Dr. Kelley is thinking (this is not in quotes, it's part of the narrative): "Ever since she seemed convinced that Howlin' Mad Murdock had morphed into B A Barracus..." There was also: "...with insurance salesmen as well: Say you're Evel Knievel and slam down the phone..." and "...looking like Snoopy after a week-long bender..." Um.. what? What do the A-Team, insurance salesmen, Evel Knievel and Snoopy have to do with Stargate? Perhaps the author's vocabulary is insufficient to come up with the correct words? It really annoyed me.

I have read 5 of the Stargate: SG-1 novels now, and I have to say that this is by far the weakest one so far. The story is ok, but the characters do not act like the SG-1 we have come to know and love on the television show. My biggest gripe is that SG-1 invites someone who is not in the Stargate program to jump through to another world with them. This is not protocol, I would think... And on top of that, the scientist who tags along with them is one of the most annoying and shrill characters I may have ever read! If you are interested in the SG-1 novels, then I would suggest skipping this one and instead check out the 'Honor' two-parter, or 'Sacrifice Moon', all three of which are MUCH better than this one. I am honestly surprised that this book didn't kill the SG-1 novels before they even got started- after reading this one I almost gave up and figured that the novels weren't worth the time...

Good book. The character of Dr. Kelly was entertaining at times and annoying at other times. But for Daniel fans this is a great book because much of it is from his point of view.

I thought this was a good SG1 mission, on their continuing voyage ... whoops sorry wrong series ... how about their continuing exploration and defense of the galaxy. I didn't see a problem with the inclusion of Dr Kelly, just a supporting character for one mission. Some of the "isms" of the normal cast are a bit overdone, but I've found that seems to be a tendency in the novels.

This is probably more of a 3.5 star book, but I'll round up to 4 :)

I read over 50% of this book, but was not motivated to finish it. I found the premise on which Dr. Kelly joined the mission weak and very unlikely. Then she so dominated the story that I found it a turn off. I found the book A Matter of Honor/The Cost of Honor by Sally Malcom to be a much better story.

a solid example of good writing. In some places, funny as screaming heck. The whole story doesn't quite tuck together as neatly as Barque of Heaven or Blood Ties, nor does it have quite as much character-driven, fun action.

Not the first SG-1 book you should buy, but definitely one of 'em!

I loved this book! Not many of the books I did not love, but I felt like the author truly grasped the characters personalitites. I felt like I really was readin an episode of Stargate SG-1. Nice start to the series of Fandy books!

I am almost done reading this book, I kind of stopped for a while because I found the Dr. Kelly character, some-what obnoxious. Overall the detail in the book paints a perfect picture of the scene of the story. The characters also seem true in terms of the TV series. Because of this book I am looking forward to reading the rest of the books that follow, while trying to cope with my Stargate withdraws. But to cut to the chase, I do recomend this book to all Stargate fans!

The book flowed very good. There was a few times I thought the characters didnt match up with those we love on the show...but for the most part it was like a an SG-1 episode with a large budget.

I liked how it tapped into the Roman culture, I thought that was a nice change.