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Stargate SG-1 (ROC) #4
The Morpheus Factor
in a world known as P4V-837, the SG-1 team encounters the Kayeechi, a race of apparently hospitable natives, but, after a few hours on the planet, the members of the team find themselves experiencing bizarre hallucinations that become progressively darker and more terrifying. Reissue. (A Sci-Fi Channel series, starring Richard Dean Anderson)
304 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published February 1, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
March 1, 2014
** Warning for spoilers **
After reading that back-of-the-book description, I really wanted to read this book! I'd found the second in the series The Price You Pay at a book store, and had special-ordered First Amendment from Border's. This title, however, was unavailable wherever I went. I went looking for this book for quite some time until I found a listing on eBay and purchased it online.
The first chapter did not disappoint. The summary promised dreams and surrealism; the first page of the first chapter dropped the reader in the midst of one of these hallucinations. Reading the first chapter reminded me of an X-Files episode, where bizarrely intriguing events are taking place - you have no clue what's happening, but know you'll understand at least somewhat as the story unfolds.
The core of this plot was the best part of this book. The team walked in each other's dreams and explored lucid dreaming. The author definitely did her research in that respect.
Where she didn't do her research, however, was in portraying these characters. That fact was all too clear throughout the book. A couple of times, she refers to Major Samantha Carter as 'Amanda Carter'; Amanda is the actress's first name.
Also, in this story, Teal'c still has his symbiote. With the symbiote, Teal'c makes it clear that he does not sleep; instead, he goes into a form of meditation known as kel'no'reem. He even says in the season 6 episode "The Changeling" that he does not dream... and yet, in this book, he's dreaming.
Those discretions are forgivable, and I read on. I do not believe myself to be a nitpicky fan; I don't pick up on half the mistakes that fellow geeks would find. When I do, I tend to chalk it up to creative license and continue with the book or fanfic. This book, however, pushed past my level of tolerance.
I cringed when General Hammond referred to two female officers as "ladies", when Teal'c used just Daniel's first name when he always calls him "Daniel Jackson", when the author repeatedly referred to Daniel as being blond when he's a brunette... but what I couldn't get past were all-too-many moments when people behaved profoundly out-of-character.
1) For some reason, she had Jack wandering around naked in front of Dr. Fraiser just after sustaining a zat blast. I found a couple of problems with this scene. First, it's a zat blast! Characters on the show are always getting zatted! It hurts like hell, they fall on the ground, but within minutes, most of the effects have vanished. They never ever put the person on a gurney and strip them naked after getting a zat blast! Second, they never strip people naked! Sooo many times, when you see scenes of the infirmary on the show, the characters are wearing their black T-shirts and BDU pants. Even with long-term ailments, they rarely ever change out of their military issue apparel. I probably wouldn't have noticed a series continuity issue if Jack had been wearing a hospital gown. But naked?! Who the hell ever lays around naked in an infirmary? Third, Jack's not going to go parading in front of Fraiser with no clothes. He may make a snarky comment about his anatomy, but he has his dignity. The author made a point of saying how Fraiser was so used to seeing Jack naked in her line of work. This reminded me waaay too much of First Amendment and the author's Mary Sue characters! Like here's a good excuse to picture Jack naked, which has absolutely nothing to do with the damn plot!
2) It was just a zat blast! Fraiser had Jack hooked up to all kinds of machines, and many times, appeared concern as to whether he was really all right. Even worse, Jack was swaggering all over the place. The author really needed to look into zat blast effects before devising this way-off-the-plot-line deal.
3) Fraiser insists upon sitting in on a debriefing. I have never seen her do this in the series. Even weirder is when General Hammond agrees. The only people who are supposed to be involved in a debriefing are the individuals involved in whatever happened and their CO. The chief medical officer may be invited to share any medical expertise pertaining to the physical health of the team or a team member upon return. But as pointed out above, it was a just zat blast! If she had something vital to share in the debriefing, Hammond would have invited her. You do not just invite yourself to a military debriefing!
4) Hammond wants to split up the team, sending Jack and Carter back to the world... and Dr. Fraiser. His choice makes absolutely no sense whatsoever! Daniel's the one who was able to gain control in his dreams and walk in Jack's. Teal'c used to control the images he saw in kel'no'reem. So why send not send either one of them when they're more likely to have success with lucid dreaming? I really don't understand the deal with splitting up the team either. Hammond says something about it being too dangerous and not wanting to risk his team. The danger is no higher than any other instance of Gate travel; the team is always at risk. Why are suddenly Teal'c and Daniel too valuable to lose? And why would he rather send his chief medical officer off-world? It's a more ridiculous circumstance than in the two "Heroes" episodes. Daniel and Teal'c are smart cookies! Why can't Janet teach either one of them how to operate the brain wave machine? Hammond says something about there not being enough time... but there's enough time to practice lucid dreaming before the mission? Why not teach Daniel or Teal'c how to use the machine while Jack's doing the lucid dreaming?
5) And why is it that Jack's the only one learning the technique? What the hell was Hammond sending Carter for then?
6) Daniel's reaction to not going on the next mission is so out-of-character! He essentially throws a tantrum, and whines and cries about it to Teal'c for pages.
7) Not to mention the countless times the other characters feel compelled to burst out with crappy puns and sarcasm, supposedly beating Jack to the punch. And, for some reason, any time Jack used a pun or was sarcastic, the author describes the words as "falling flat". Like all that crap didn't fall flat! The dialogue was lame! The need she gives the other characters to "beat Jack to the punch" grated on my nerves.
There's plenty more I could get into here, but you get the idea.
The ending was just plain stupid. Jack dreams of a nuclear test - as the Kayeechi are able to manipulate his dreams even with the device. Teal'c pulls a bunch of wires to stop the test from happening, while Sam - seriously - shouts, "You mean he didn't use prune juice? It's got to be prune juice! It doesn't work if it's not prune juice, double distilled!" And the whole deal with the nuclear test turning everything into butterflies in the dream, all for the author to throw in an old Chinese proverb. STUPID!!
After reading that back-of-the-book description, I really wanted to read this book! I'd found the second in the series The Price You Pay at a book store, and had special-ordered First Amendment from Border's. This title, however, was unavailable wherever I went. I went looking for this book for quite some time until I found a listing on eBay and purchased it online.
The first chapter did not disappoint. The summary promised dreams and surrealism; the first page of the first chapter dropped the reader in the midst of one of these hallucinations. Reading the first chapter reminded me of an X-Files episode, where bizarrely intriguing events are taking place - you have no clue what's happening, but know you'll understand at least somewhat as the story unfolds.
The core of this plot was the best part of this book. The team walked in each other's dreams and explored lucid dreaming. The author definitely did her research in that respect.
Where she didn't do her research, however, was in portraying these characters. That fact was all too clear throughout the book. A couple of times, she refers to Major Samantha Carter as 'Amanda Carter'; Amanda is the actress's first name.
Also, in this story, Teal'c still has his symbiote. With the symbiote, Teal'c makes it clear that he does not sleep; instead, he goes into a form of meditation known as kel'no'reem. He even says in the season 6 episode "The Changeling" that he does not dream... and yet, in this book, he's dreaming.
Those discretions are forgivable, and I read on. I do not believe myself to be a nitpicky fan; I don't pick up on half the mistakes that fellow geeks would find. When I do, I tend to chalk it up to creative license and continue with the book or fanfic. This book, however, pushed past my level of tolerance.
I cringed when General Hammond referred to two female officers as "ladies", when Teal'c used just Daniel's first name when he always calls him "Daniel Jackson", when the author repeatedly referred to Daniel as being blond when he's a brunette... but what I couldn't get past were all-too-many moments when people behaved profoundly out-of-character.
1) For some reason, she had Jack wandering around naked in front of Dr. Fraiser just after sustaining a zat blast. I found a couple of problems with this scene. First, it's a zat blast! Characters on the show are always getting zatted! It hurts like hell, they fall on the ground, but within minutes, most of the effects have vanished. They never ever put the person on a gurney and strip them naked after getting a zat blast! Second, they never strip people naked! Sooo many times, when you see scenes of the infirmary on the show, the characters are wearing their black T-shirts and BDU pants. Even with long-term ailments, they rarely ever change out of their military issue apparel. I probably wouldn't have noticed a series continuity issue if Jack had been wearing a hospital gown. But naked?! Who the hell ever lays around naked in an infirmary? Third, Jack's not going to go parading in front of Fraiser with no clothes. He may make a snarky comment about his anatomy, but he has his dignity. The author made a point of saying how Fraiser was so used to seeing Jack naked in her line of work. This reminded me waaay too much of First Amendment and the author's Mary Sue characters! Like here's a good excuse to picture Jack naked, which has absolutely nothing to do with the damn plot!
2) It was just a zat blast! Fraiser had Jack hooked up to all kinds of machines, and many times, appeared concern as to whether he was really all right. Even worse, Jack was swaggering all over the place. The author really needed to look into zat blast effects before devising this way-off-the-plot-line deal.
3) Fraiser insists upon sitting in on a debriefing. I have never seen her do this in the series. Even weirder is when General Hammond agrees. The only people who are supposed to be involved in a debriefing are the individuals involved in whatever happened and their CO. The chief medical officer may be invited to share any medical expertise pertaining to the physical health of the team or a team member upon return. But as pointed out above, it was a just zat blast! If she had something vital to share in the debriefing, Hammond would have invited her. You do not just invite yourself to a military debriefing!
4) Hammond wants to split up the team, sending Jack and Carter back to the world... and Dr. Fraiser. His choice makes absolutely no sense whatsoever! Daniel's the one who was able to gain control in his dreams and walk in Jack's. Teal'c used to control the images he saw in kel'no'reem. So why send not send either one of them when they're more likely to have success with lucid dreaming? I really don't understand the deal with splitting up the team either. Hammond says something about it being too dangerous and not wanting to risk his team. The danger is no higher than any other instance of Gate travel; the team is always at risk. Why are suddenly Teal'c and Daniel too valuable to lose? And why would he rather send his chief medical officer off-world? It's a more ridiculous circumstance than in the two "Heroes" episodes. Daniel and Teal'c are smart cookies! Why can't Janet teach either one of them how to operate the brain wave machine? Hammond says something about there not being enough time... but there's enough time to practice lucid dreaming before the mission? Why not teach Daniel or Teal'c how to use the machine while Jack's doing the lucid dreaming?
5) And why is it that Jack's the only one learning the technique? What the hell was Hammond sending Carter for then?
6) Daniel's reaction to not going on the next mission is so out-of-character! He essentially throws a tantrum, and whines and cries about it to Teal'c for pages.
7) Not to mention the countless times the other characters feel compelled to burst out with crappy puns and sarcasm, supposedly beating Jack to the punch. And, for some reason, any time Jack used a pun or was sarcastic, the author describes the words as "falling flat". Like all that crap didn't fall flat! The dialogue was lame! The need she gives the other characters to "beat Jack to the punch" grated on my nerves.
There's plenty more I could get into here, but you get the idea.
The ending was just plain stupid. Jack dreams of a nuclear test - as the Kayeechi are able to manipulate his dreams even with the device. Teal'c pulls a bunch of wires to stop the test from happening, while Sam - seriously - shouts, "You mean he didn't use prune juice? It's got to be prune juice! It doesn't work if it's not prune juice, double distilled!" And the whole deal with the nuclear test turning everything into butterflies in the dream, all for the author to throw in an old Chinese proverb. STUPID!!
June 29, 2014
Here be much weirdness of the strange dreams and hallucinations kind. The story was okay, but some details didn't fit in with show canon and the characters felt off at times.
December 13, 2012
I am sorry to say that this like the previous stargate book does not convey the feel or even the essence of the show - there are too many discrepancies (which many reviewer has picked up on) to be over looked and a general "feel" that is absent too. This book unfortunately falls in to the trap of trying to cash in (both figuratively and financially) on the coattails of the excellent TV series. For a quick read - this is acceptable, for the fan, well tread carefully.
April 1, 2020
* SPOILERS BELOW *
'The Morpheus Factor' is the final Stargate tie-in novel from Ashley McConnell. Essentially, SG-1’s latest mission doesn’t go to plan from the beginning as all four members start hallucinating and seeing different landscapes shape and morph before their very eyes. Every one of them sees something different, however. The locals – known as the Kayeechi – appear to be behind the mystery as they are able to invade the teams’ dreams.
It turns out the Kayeechi are at war and need to find a weapon that will destroy their enemy – and they believe SG-1 can give them the help they need. The team decide to leave the planet behind, but when they get back to the SGC, Jack realizes he dreamed about nuclear weapons and he suddenly feels guilty that the Kayeechi could use this information to unintentionally wipe themselves – and the galaxy – out. With reluctance, the team are sent back to the planet to try and un-do a potentially catastrophic chain of events.
This novel hit the DNF pile at one stage, it was that bad. The concept for the story itself was interesting and did have potential… but it just got lost in the actual telling of the story. The mistakes (and some of these mistakes were huge - i.e. Carter was once referred to as "Amanda Carter") also ruined any potential enjoyment of this book. I can't say it would be one I'd recommend to fellow fans of the show.
'The Morpheus Factor' is the final Stargate tie-in novel from Ashley McConnell. Essentially, SG-1’s latest mission doesn’t go to plan from the beginning as all four members start hallucinating and seeing different landscapes shape and morph before their very eyes. Every one of them sees something different, however. The locals – known as the Kayeechi – appear to be behind the mystery as they are able to invade the teams’ dreams.
It turns out the Kayeechi are at war and need to find a weapon that will destroy their enemy – and they believe SG-1 can give them the help they need. The team decide to leave the planet behind, but when they get back to the SGC, Jack realizes he dreamed about nuclear weapons and he suddenly feels guilty that the Kayeechi could use this information to unintentionally wipe themselves – and the galaxy – out. With reluctance, the team are sent back to the planet to try and un-do a potentially catastrophic chain of events.
This novel hit the DNF pile at one stage, it was that bad. The concept for the story itself was interesting and did have potential… but it just got lost in the actual telling of the story. The mistakes (and some of these mistakes were huge - i.e. Carter was once referred to as "Amanda Carter") also ruined any potential enjoyment of this book. I can't say it would be one I'd recommend to fellow fans of the show.
December 27, 2019
So this is my first book based on my favourite series Stargate.
Overall I enjoyed the book but felt it didn't really fit with the series as much as I'd have liked.
So SG1 step through the Stargate on their next mission and meet the Kayeechi who are a race who can manipulate and control dreams... and they can use this ability to make things come to life.. in this instance when SG1 sleep its weapons to help fight their enemies the Kayeechi are after.
So the positive for this tale is the plot itself. Very interesting premise that peaked my interest.
There are a few points that didnt work for me though. The issue is the characters... it didn't fit with the well established characters we know from the show. Jack for example... he's an action man.. no words needed... but in a book we need those word..but it just didn't feel right... it wasn't Jack.
I enjoyed the tale but reading other reviews I think readers have picked up on the same issues I had with the story.
Overall worth the read but if you are going to write about established characters you need to get it right... a fan of the show could have edited this and it would have helped so much.
Overall I enjoyed the book but felt it didn't really fit with the series as much as I'd have liked.
So SG1 step through the Stargate on their next mission and meet the Kayeechi who are a race who can manipulate and control dreams... and they can use this ability to make things come to life.. in this instance when SG1 sleep its weapons to help fight their enemies the Kayeechi are after.
So the positive for this tale is the plot itself. Very interesting premise that peaked my interest.
There are a few points that didnt work for me though. The issue is the characters... it didn't fit with the well established characters we know from the show. Jack for example... he's an action man.. no words needed... but in a book we need those word..but it just didn't feel right... it wasn't Jack.
I enjoyed the tale but reading other reviews I think readers have picked up on the same issues I had with the story.
Overall worth the read but if you are going to write about established characters you need to get it right... a fan of the show could have edited this and it would have helped so much.
March 8, 2024
I am a definite fan of the tv series. And what I like best about an SG-1 book is when you can pick it up and the words and actions of the characters are perfectly aligned with what you've seen on the show. As you read it, you're smiling and nodding and recognizing the characters right there on the page. I've read many books that have done this well. This is NOT one of them.
The premise of the story is interesting, but the execution was poor. Not only were the characters on the page not believable when compared with the TV show, but there were also many inaccuracies: such as calling Carter Amanda instead of Samantha in at least one spot, referring to Dr. Frasier as Major multiple times (when she is consistently referred to as Doctor throughout the tv series), and just many out of character actions and dialogue for all the main characters.
I have read at least 7 other books based on the series. And this by far, I am sorry to say, is the worst one. If you are a fan of the television series, you may want to avoid this book. However, you may only want to read it BECAUSE you are a fan of the show. To each their own.
The premise of the story is interesting, but the execution was poor. Not only were the characters on the page not believable when compared with the TV show, but there were also many inaccuracies: such as calling Carter Amanda instead of Samantha in at least one spot, referring to Dr. Frasier as Major multiple times (when she is consistently referred to as Doctor throughout the tv series), and just many out of character actions and dialogue for all the main characters.
I have read at least 7 other books based on the series. And this by far, I am sorry to say, is the worst one. If you are a fan of the television series, you may want to avoid this book. However, you may only want to read it BECAUSE you are a fan of the show. To each their own.
November 25, 2020
夢を土台に物質を形作る…という、なんともわかりにくい異星人の元を訪れるお話。
いや、わかりにくいのは私の説明か。
ようするに夢で見たものを現実に具現化できる能力をもっている異星人なんですが、彼らは別種族にいつも襲われていて、その敵を壊滅させるための武器をSGチームの夢の中から獲得しようとするわけなんですね。で、そんなことを知らないSGチームは眠らされて、夢なんだか現実なんだかわからない世界をそれぞれに彷徨わされることになるわけです。その中でオニールは核実験の夢を見てしまい、そこでようやく実は異星人たちが夢の中から武器を得ようとしていることを悟ります。で、なんとか、彼らに核弾頭を具現化させまいと奮闘するわけなのですが…。
戻ってきたと思ったら、また夢で…ということが続くので、もう、これは本当に基地に戻ってきているんだろうか。この将軍やジャネットは本物なんだろうかと中盤戦、いろいろと深���みしすぎてしまったり、勘ぐってしまって、ちょっと混乱してしまいました。
いや、わかりにくいのは私の説明か。
ようするに夢で見たものを現実に具現化できる能力をもっている異星人なんですが、彼らは別種族にいつも襲われていて、その敵を壊滅させるための武器をSGチームの夢の中から獲得しようとするわけなんですね。で、そんなことを知らないSGチームは眠らされて、夢なんだか現実なんだかわからない世界をそれぞれに彷徨わされることになるわけです。その中でオニールは核実験の夢を見てしまい、そこでようやく実は異星人たちが夢の中から武器を得ようとしていることを悟ります。で、なんとか、彼らに核弾頭を具現化させまいと奮闘するわけなのですが…。
戻ってきたと思ったら、また夢で…ということが続くので、もう、これは本当に基地に戻ってきているんだろうか。この将軍やジャネットは本物なんだろうかと中盤戦、いろいろと深���みしすぎてしまったり、勘ぐってしまって、ちょっと混乱してしまいました。
May 23, 2021
What was slightly annoying in the previous novel in this series is almost infuriating in this one: obvious typos, everyone acting out of character, ridiculous storylines, and an ending that’s so unbelievable it can’t even be called science fiction!! I so wanted to like this because the premise had such promise... but nope. I was glad when this one was over, and I almost didn’t even bother finishing it at all.
February 17, 2019
As with the other books in this series, this book captures the feel of the early seasons very well. The story itself is bulked out with the main character's dream sequences and I found the ending rushed (although some of the episodes of show did the same, ending rather suddenly). I particularly liked the sequence where an alien struggles to comprehend General Hammond's bald head!
May 29, 2020
I wasn't diligent enough to spot the errors, and whilst I did enjoy the majority of the plot, I feel it was really let down by the abrupt ending. It is possible that the editor didn't like how many pages the author was tallying up, and just cut out the last chapter! It's really odd, literally a paragraph to wrap up!
September 16, 2018
Finally finished it
It did not really capture the team nor the feel of the show to me
It did not really capture the team nor the feel of the show to me
December 13, 2019
Easily the worst Stargate book out of the first two series. Extremely boring with an abrupt ending and a story that holds no relevance to the rest of the SG-1 storyline.
Read
December 30, 2023DNF at 64%
January 18, 2016
SG-1 goes to yet another planet where they meet a race of beings that seem to be very friendly. Still, the team seems to dream a whole lot, and the aliens are watching their dreams and making things out of them. The problem is that we've seen that SG-1 is a really intelligent group, and the idea that they would not figure out what was actually causing their dreams until later in the book is simply unrealistic. It just spoils the book which would otherwise be good.
February 16, 2015
The positive aspect of the book is that the overall plot was interesting. Problem is everything else was awful. Confusing the names of the actors with characters, mixing up physical attributes of characters, people behaving insanely out of character with terrible dialogue to boot. It's the book that turned me off from reading any of the Stargate books for years.
April 11, 2010
An inventive and interesting story, however it lost something in the telling. The characters didn't always speak in the way I expected them to. I think it would have been a lot more effective as a TV episode since so many different perspectives were involved at times.
November 9, 2011
The end surprised me and the plot was very good, but the characterization was poor, the narration was very slow at times, and there were a few things that just made me cringe. I honestly expected it to be better, so I was indeed a bit disappointed.
January 14, 2016
2.5 stars
February 25, 2009
The Morpheus Factor (Stargate SG-1, Book 4) by Ashely McConnell (2001)
February 8, 2011
It was okay. It was really on the side of fanfiction, as the author didn't really portray the voice of the actors very well.
March 1, 2011
good plot
July 27, 2011
This was an okay book, not really new territory in sci-fi or in Stargate but the characters were written well. It wasn't too engaging but held my interest throughout.
July 6, 2016
Review: The Morpheus Factor I don't have much to say about this except the ending was stupid. And it didn't make a whole lot of sense. Pretty disappointed.
November 25, 2008
Trippy, man. Very trippy.
June 15, 2015
not the best one I've read so far, but not horrible.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews