Moebius Squared

Stargate SG-1 #22

by Jo Graham, Melissa Scott

Stranded in Ancient Egypt at the end of the Stargate SG-1 episode Moebius, Jack O'Neill, Sam Carter, Teal'c and Daniel Jackson are enjoying the simple lives they've forged in the years since Ra was driven from Earth.

But life never stays simple for long...

Back in the twenty-first century, trouble strikes the SGC. With one of their own people snatched by renegade Tok'ra, Colonel Cameron Mitchell leads the new SG-1 on a chase through time to rescue their friend -- and to protect their future.

But for Carter, Daniel and Teal'c, the greatest challenge is encountering themselves -- and coming to terms with the consequences of their own choices.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Time Travel, Ebooks, Science Fiction Fantasy

273 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Alejandro · Rating 4 out of 5]

More than one SG-1 team, what else can you ask?


THAT MESSING THING CALLED TIME TRAVEL

This prose novel of Stargate: SG-1 is the only one (so far, 2017) set not only after the finale of the mentioned TV series but also after the “Ark of Truth” theatrical film and also the “Continuum” Direct-to-DVD movie. While the characters of the said series have appeared in the Legacy book saga in Stargate: Atlantis where they published eight novels in the event, set after the finales of this other TV series. In the case of Stargate: SG-1, this novel at hand is the only one set after the ending of this TV series & sequel movies…

…but not only that!

Because, it’s also a sequel to the events of the two-parter episode “Moebius” (Season 8) which is one of the best in the TV series and a fan-favorite.

During the mentioned TV episode, the team of SG-1 (Brig.Gen. Jack O’Neill, Lt.Col. Samantha Carter, Dr. Daniel Jackson & Teal’c) took an experimental Puddle Jumper with Time Travel capacities to search for a ZPM (an Ancient power battery) in the era of Egypt when Ra (Goa’uld System Lord) was still ruling there. The plan was go in and out, without being noticed to avoid messing with the timeline…

…you can guess that the plan hardly worked that way.

SG-1 got trapped in the past and the timeline is dramatically altered and the Stargate Program never was activated and Jack O’Neill, Sam Carter, Daniel Jackson and Teal’c were living totally different lives, even they didn’t meet each other…

…until a VHS cassette is discovered explaining the mess of the first time travel.

Sam and Daniel are called due that, and later they are able to convinced a retired Jack O’Neill to take the salvaged Puddle Jumper to go through the Stargate to find Teal’c (who due the timeline mess is still a Jaffa Prime of Apophis), but things got out of hand and Apophis infected Daniel with a Goa’uld symbiote and is killed, and to avoid being captured again Jack, Sam and Teal’c go back in time, and after a Stargate trip, they are back on Earth but in the era of Ra’s ruling at Egypt.

There, they found out that the “originals” Jack, Sam and Teal’c got killed during a failed rebellion against Ra’s empire.

So, this “merged” new SG-1 do what’s needed to avoid the altered timeline succeding at that and the “present” is once again as it should be, plus a ZPM.

THAT is what happened (in a very resumed way) in the original TV episode in case you never watched, since it would kinda complicated to comment about the current novel without having a basic understanding of the original TV two-parter episode.


WILL THE REAL SG-1 STAND UP?

So, guys and girls!

Are you still with me? Good!

Now, in the current novel,…

…a Tok’ra rogue cell attacks Stargate Command (while SG-1, but Vala Mal Doran, is in a away mission) and they steals the experimental time travel Puddle Jumper, along with kidnapping Dr. Carolyn Lam (since only people with the Ancient Technology Activation gene) and escaped.

Once SG-1 (Lt.Col. Cameron Mitchell, Lt.Col Samantha Carter, Dr. Daniel Jackson & Teal’c) got back and they are informed about the situation, they are out again (now with Vala Mal Doran) trying to find clues about the plans of the Tok’ra rogue cell that due the Time Travel Puddle Jumper, they have to involve to get back in time with a highly risk of altering the timeline.

Sam, with the help of a Ba’als lab (the one of the “Continuum” movie) are able to determine the “when”abouts of the stolen Puddle Jumper and using Ba’al’s technology are able to get back in time through a stargate...

…and yes…

…you can guess that they arrive to the ancient Egypt, where the “merged” SG-1 team, stranded in time, is living “now”.

SG-1 teams up with SG-1!!!

Members of three SG-1 teams from three different timelines, all together!!!

What else can you ask?

And this adventure is just beginning!

Since I barely tell you the starting point where the good stuff begins!

So, what are you waiting for?!

[Silverscarf · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just finished watching all of SG-1 from the beginning again and I still wanted more, so of course I turned to my huge library of Stargate novels looking for one I hadn't read yet. This one stood out because I remembered that I had started reading it at one point a long time ago but didn't end up finishing it for some reason that I can't remember, and also that it was set after Continuum, so it worked out. This was a pretty good read, though a lot of times I still wanted more details about what was going on with things like everyone's relationships and how the alternate SG-1 team from Moebius got to the point where they are during this story. There are a lot of different characters in here between the different versions of SG-1 and the new side characters, it's just packed full, so while there are some details, a lot of them are glossed over or just mentioned in passing, and I never really felt like any of them had enough attention devoted to each of the possibilities they could have provided. And I definitely wanted more Vala in here, Vala was always my favorite part of seasons 9 and 10, she was just such a fun character and though she didn't have a whole lot to do in this story, very little, I still sort of missed the humor and interesting point of view she normally provides. The plot for this was interesting, I love the time travel episodes and having just re-watched all of them definitely helped. Though I wish the Tok'ra were a little bit more involved, they're used as the set up for why the main team goes back, but then after that they're just sort of forgotten, so that part felt a little like a loose thread sometimes. This also dragged in the middle just a little bit, it just didn't feel like there was that much going on, like it was just the obligatory part that got you to the action packed climax. But it was a cool adventure, exploring the origins of the Tok'ra and also giving the SG-1 from Moebius another purpose besides just their original one.
This was a pretty good read, even though it felt a little bit rushed at times, rarely taking the time to really explore the details and potential this premise could have offered. Overall it's not one of my favorite Stargate novels, but it was enjoyable and satisfied my need for more Stargate. And also I really hope that they start writing more novels set post series for SG-1, it worked great with the Atlantis Legacy series and I would love to see a book or two like that for SG-1 at some point.

[Alyce Caswell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Moebius Parts 1 & 2 are among my least favourite episodes. But I went in with an open mind and even enjoyed some bits of this book. However, a lot of it just doesn't make any sense. I prefer books that complement the canon, not rip it to shreds.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first SG-1 novel I read. I caught up on all of the Star Trek relaunch books and realized that SG-1 probably has a plethora of good novels in the same vein, but I really had no clue where to start. So when I looked through some book titles, this one caught my eye because I really enjoyed the Moebius two-parter.

I usually look at these kinds of books-based-on-TV as "paid fanfiction" -- while this definitely does sound disparaging, it's not meant to be. But I do want to recognize that books will often not present revolutionary storylines simply because they can't damage the prime canon of the TV universe.

What's especially interesting here is that because Moebius Squared deals with a parallel set of main characters in a storyline set in the past that TV show essentially abandoned, Jo Graham can do whatever she wants with them, which raised the stakes a little bit more for me.

As a quick review, I watched both episodes of Moebius before reading Moebius Squared to make sure I was primed for the twisty time travel problems that were almost sure to show up.

One of the things I really appreciated about Graham's writing is how effortlessly her writing allowed me to differentiate between the parallel-past sets of characters (Danyel, Sam, and Jack) and the mainline characters (Daniel and [Colonel] Carter). Going in I was worried about not being sure which Daniel or which Carter was talking, but Graham picked clear and intuitive ways to refer to each character that made reading dialogue simple. I'm sure she also plotted the story out to keep characters separate most of the time, too.

The story itself was fantastic and plausible; it neatly answers the questions of the origin of the tok-ra, why they never tried to time travel to defeat the goa'uld in the past, and what happened to the parallel SG-1 team in the past (as well as why they still existed).

I felt like Graham succeeded in telling a great story that had a satisfying ending for all parties that ALSO felt meaningful in the context of the greater storyline in the TV show. This is a high bar and really the ideal for fan fiction (paid or not).

[Vicky P · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this - been a long time since I was in the Stargate world. A good fun yarn and added to the canon of the series very neatly.

[Ida Leter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun story, with just enough connective tissue, but a bit too convenient. Mother of all Tok'ra somehow was in Teal'c all along? She didn't require any convincing? So does this mean that in the original universe, if she was so close to maturing, this would have affected Rya'c, after Teal'c gave him his symbiote? Is Egeria still alive in the prime universe or did they kill her off before she was allowed to take a host? And suddenly all Tok'ra know that Egeria was a time traveler, and they know what she knew of the "future"? And since when are the Jaffa able to become hosts? And a number of other questions, that just plainly don't make sense.

[Brayden Bise · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book from cover to back. Sure it has its flaws but if you can overlook them it is a great book. Moebius parts 1 & 2 is one of my favorite episodes from SG1 so I was over the moon when I learned this book continues that story line. There are parts that kinda fade out and don't make much sense but the story was so good I was able to overlook it. Towards the end of the book it adds some small knowledge to the pre existing stargate universe. Nothing major but it was cool to learn some of the things the book dove into. I was very happy to have a couple of questions from past episodes answered from this book as well.

I would fully recommend this book!!

[Kasey Minnis · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite of the series

Excellent plot, some great character insights, and a truly satisfying conclusion. Of all the SG-1 novels, I really loved this one best!

[Stewart McLaughlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting look at what happened to the moebius timeline SG1

[Erik Dreiling · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad story.

The story was a fitting conclusion to the season eight finale “Moebius.” It did get confusing at times following along which version of a character was talking.

[Chiara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, it surprised me, I must admit.

[Ladislav Holzäpfel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jack was awesome! And I appreciate a book after Continuum.

[Uli Kusterer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't generally like tie-in books to TV shows or movies, but this is a nice Tok'ra/Stargate story, with a few Atlantis references thrown in for good measure. The characters aren't quite head-on, but don't feel out of character either. At most you could say their voices are a bit bland, and Teal'c says "Indeed" a bit too much. But I found it enjoyable, and the Egypt setting makes it feel like a higher-budget version of all the Abydos-set stories, and of course Moebius and its SG-1-version of the movie.

The story acknowledges the oddities and downsides of life in ancient Egypt, as well as having several versions of SG-1 in the same place, but doesn't dwell on them needlessly or as a gimmick. Everyone comes across as a character, with the opportunity for externalizing some internal dialogue well used, but not over-used. Also, it quickly gives the duplicates consistent names without whacking you over the head too much, the only problematic one being Teal'c, who is kept well apart to alleviate the issue.

All that said, the story is pretty straightforward. It goes where you expect it to go, and the retarding moments feel like they could have used more prominence to make you think they might happen after all.

[Beezus · Rating 4 out of 5]

We finally get a pregnant Sam! And by Jack O'Neill no less!

Seeing the Jack and Sam from one of the time jumps (or alternate reality/string theory - whatever floats your boat as far as chaos theory goes) together and happy, our own Jack and Sam seem more open to the thought. Personally, I think that now that all the franchises have gone belly up, and the books are only available once you order them (hardback, the kindles are always available) - I think MGM or whoever no longer gets their panties in a bunch worrying about who will be offended by the two officers [i]FINALLY[i/] getting together.

P.S. I used two "L"'s in spelling O'Neil on purpose. Die-hard fans will get it, I think.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you enjoy Stargate you highly likely to enjoy this book. A fun adventure for the characters and goes back to a previous episode, the season eight two parter that they did. I would give it about 3.5 stars if I could ideally.

[Buggy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had promised myself not to read a tie-in anymore by these to authors because the books were generally messy and had a sleeping editor but a friend recommended it... yeah. No.

Great idea. Poor execution. Not enough detail and too much going on at the same time is enough to give me a headache.

[Gene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book, an excellent sequel to the Moebius episodes.

[Foggygirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Time travel and alternate timeline storylines normally give me a huge headache but this one was a very entertaining and action packed read.

[Erina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would make a great movie! Be sure to re watch the Moebius episodes first before reading this book if it's been a while since you've seen them.

[Hysilvinia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maybe my favorite Stargate novel!

[Craterdweller · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed watching the interaction between the various versions of SG-1, both the ones left behind in the Moebius episode, and the present day version.

[Cedric · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very cool Story containing the origin of the Tokra