Stargate literature

Stargate literature covers the novels and short stories in the "Stargate" fictional universe (based on either the original "Stargate" film or the "Stargate SG-1" and "Stargate Atlantis" television shows) and non-fiction literature.

There are three series of novels based on the Stargate franchise and short fiction has also been published in the official "Stargate Magazine". It becomes difficult to discern what is and what is not canonical due to the fact that much of the literature is based on the canon, whilst some of even this type of work deviates from the main productions, or is later contradicted. There's no official word from MGM about the canonicity of the "Stargate" written fiction. MGM does, however, approve each stage of novel's production, from initial outline to final draft. [ [http://www.stargatenovels.com/faq.shtml Stargate Novels::Frequently Asked Questions] ] It remains up to the fan's discretion whether or not to accept Stargate literature as part of the combined Stargate universe.

Movie-based

The movie's novelization

Written by the movie creators, Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich, the novelization of the original "Stargate" movie was published by Signet Books, an imprint of Penguin Books, in December 1994.

The novelization greatly fleshes out the backstory of the movie, placing emphasis on matters only lightly touched upon in the film, such as the prehistory of the ancient Egyptians, Ra's conquest of Earth and the following creation of Egyptian religion and culture, and insight on the background and personalities of the main characters.

Movie sequels

A series of five novels written by Bill McCay were published from 1996 to 1999, based on the story of the 1994 film, "Stargate". Each book was also produced as a book on tape read by David Fox. These were produced by consulting the original notes made by film director Roland Emmerich, in an attempt to envision where the film "would have gone". Neither party has commented on whether McCay's interpretation was correct. The film's producer, Dean Devlin, had his own ideas, but he did not bring them to light until interviewed much later, after the publication of all the novels. The subsequent television series "Stargate SG-1" was an entirely independent development, making no attempt to reconcile with the plot line of the books. This marked the first major branching of the franchise.

The story continues immediately after the events of the film, with the US government (military) interested in the mineral that is mined for Ra by the Abydonians. As conflict arises in many forms on the planet of Abydos, a new threat comes when other gods from Ra's pantheon (namely Hathor) come looking. Bits of the Ancient Egyptian myth, The Destruction of Mankind, is acknowledged in the novel's construction.

The first three books form one complete storyline:
*"Stargate: Rebellion" (October 1995)
*"Stargate: Retaliation" (September 1996)
*"Stargate: Retribution" (October 1997)

The last two continue after the events in the first three books, but move the story forwards by dealing with the Abydonians and the events which happen at the climax of the trilogy.
*"Stargate: Reconnaissance" (May 1998)
*"Stargate: Resistance" (October 1999)

New characters

* Hathor: Although Hathor wears the Mask of the Cat in the books, the Hathor from ancient Egyptian mythology was personified by either the cow or the hippopotamus, and was known as a gentle goddess, not a fierce warrior. However, a mythological tale developed by Lower Egypt regarding the factual event of Upper Egypt's Pharaoh, Mentuhotep II, taking control of Lower Egypt, describes the warrior goddess Sekhmet as becoming much like gentle Hathor at the end of the tale. A cult soon arose which described Sekhmet and Hathor as being one goddess, who was sometimes depicted as a lioness. It is possible that this version of Hathor is the one Bill McCay chose to portray in his novels.
* Sebek: Like all the other "Egyptian gods" created by Ra, Sebek was a human taken from his people at a young age, and raised to serve Ra, later wearing the Mask of the Crocodile after traditionally assassinating the preceding Sebek. When Ra took a routine trip to Abydos, he took Anubis, the head of Ra's warriors, leaving Sebek behind. When neither Ra nor Anubis returned, Sebek became the new leader of the warrior caste. However, Sebek's rule was reasonably short-lived; when Thoth woke the sleeping Hathor from Ra's secondary sarcophagus, Hathor's first goal as successor to Ra was to take control of the warrior caste. To do this, she personally assassinated Sebek, gaining entrance to his inner sanctum by posing as a prostitute. Upon assaulting and beheading him, Hathor established "herself" as leader of the warrior caste; she did not take his place as the next Sebek, as was traditional.
* Thoth: Thoth wore the Mask of the Ibis. He was homely and overweight and was referred to derogatively as an "accountant god". Thoth was the one responsible for waking Hathor from Ra's secondary sarcophagus.
* Ptah: Ptah was Ra's chief engineer and husband of Hathor, he was in charge of maintaining Ra's spacecraft. An accident involving exposure to a ships engine exhaust forced him to graft limbs made of the quartz element onto himself, to replace the ones that had been damaged.

Differences between the books and "Stargate SG-1"

In the books, Ra is the last of his race, and all of his lieutenants (such as Hathor and Ptah) are actually loyal humans who pose as the other Egyptian gods created by Ra to enslave the populace. The movie version of Ra inhabits a human body by possessing the human with his soul, rather than as the parasitic snake as seen in the "SG-1" TV show.

The books focus more on politics, with budget issues and human rights considerations playing a large role. The book's version of O'Neil is much more of a straight soldier, while Jackson remains the idealistic maverick scientist. The quartz-like mineral (called Naqahdah in "SG-1") remains unnamed. The city that Kasuf and Sha'uri live in is called Nagada and more cities on Abydos are shown.

While the first three books focus on the plight of the Abydan (called Abydonian in "SG-1") people and the war between Ra's humans and the humans from Earth, the last two books introduce other worlds and other races.

eries-based

There are two series of novels, one based on "Stargate SG-1" and the other on "Stargate Atlantis".

"Stargate SG-1"

There are two series of "Stargate SG-1" novels, one published by ROC and the other by Fandemonium Press.

The ROC novels

ROC published four novels written by Ashley McConnell from 1998 to 2001. These novels were available only in the US.

hort fiction

The official "Stargate Magazine", produced by Titan Publishing, began publishing short stories written by Fandemonium authors in their 8th issue. The stories alternate between both "SG-1" and "Atlantis". The magazine is available in the UK and internationally through Diamond Comic Distributors' Previews catalogue.

Non-fiction

Companion guides

Thomasina Gibson and Sharon Gosling have written official companion guides for all seasons of "Stargate SG-1" (seasons 1 through 8 as two seasons per companion guide) and "Stargate Atlantis", published by Titan Books.

tepping Through the Stargate

"Stepping Through the Stargate: Science, Archaeology, and the Military of Stargate SG-1" is a collection of works which are centered around the science fiction TV series Stargate SG-1. The book takes a thoughtful, but light-hearted look at the popular, award-winning television series. It was edited by P. N. Elrod and Roxanne L. Conrad and published by BenBella Books in 2004.

The book is a non-fiction collection of essays, articles, and personal recollections by cast and crew members, scientists, military experts, and various science fiction writers, all of whom are fans of the show. Some of the writers are:

Archaeologist Sue Linder-Linsley, parasitologist Francine M. Terry, astronomer Sten Odenwald, philosopher Daniel Dennett, and science fiction authors Melanie A. Fletcher and David Gerrold. Other people who wrote for the book are the show's special effects head James Tichenor, actor Tom McBeath (who plays Col. Harry Maybourne) and Stargate comic book writer James Kuhoric. Even an Air Force Colonel wrote for the book.

References

External links

* [http://www.stargatenovels.com/ Stargate Novels] Official Homepage
* [http://www.gateworld.net/books/index.shtml Gateworld Reviews of Books]