Stargate Atlantis: Perchance to Dream

Stargate-Big Finish Audios #1.4

by Sally Malcolm

Doctor Carson Beckett finds himself in an uncomfortable situation when he becomes a patient in his own infirmary. After a disastrous mission, Beckett brought back to Atlantis with a broken leg - and a bad case of amnesia... but that's the least of his troubles..Cared for by Dr Gilbert, Beckett watches as a strange affliction overcomes his friends, one by one members of the Atlantis crew are brought in unconsious and unresponsive yet with no sign of trauma....

Genres: Science Fiction, Audiobook, Fiction, Media Tie In

60 pages, Audio CD

First published July 31, 2008

About the author

Sally Malcolm was bitten by the m/m romance bug in 2016 and hasn’t looked back. It’s fair to say she’s obsessed with the genre. She has four contemporary m/m romances out, set in the fictional Long Island seaside town of New Milton.

She's also the author of eight Stargate novels and novellas, including the hit "Apocalypse" trilogy. She has penned four Stargate audio dramas for Big Finish Productions, including Stargate SG-1: "An Eye for an Eye" starring Michael Shanks, Claudia Black, and Cliff Simon.

Sally lives in South West London.

Reviews

[Jessica Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I thought there’d be more pain. My patients have always complained of more pain…”

— Dr. Carson Beckett

Stargate Atlantis: Perchance to Dream is a gripping psychotropic thriller centered on Dr. Carson Beckett, plunging him into a nightmarish realm of chaos and confusion. As an enemy manipulates dreams to feed on its victims, Beckett must battle to reclaim his sanity and confront the blurred line between fantasy and reality. Supported by Atlantis's elite team of explorers, he fights a deadly threat that endangers the entire expedition.

On the positive side, this story shines by giving the beloved Dr. Carson Beckett a rare and substantial spotlight in the franchise—one that portrays him as competent and heroic, without reducing him to comic relief or tragedy. The production values are strong overall, with effective sound design and music that heightens the tension, though it occasionally overpowers the dialogue in a few scenes.

However, while the premise is solid and engaging, the story falls short of greatness, feeling more like a good episode concept than a standout tale. Paul McGillion delivers a committed performance as Beckett, staying faithfully in character, but his narration starts off somewhat flat and mundane, giving an initial impression of disinterest before picking up. A notable quirk is his use of the Scottish accent for all characters' dialogue, including American ones like Sheppard—which can feel jarring at first, though it's understandable as a stylistic choice to maintain immersion through Beckett's perspective.

The most disappointing element is the bonus interview at the end of the disc, marred by poor audio quality: the interviewer's voice is clear, but McGillion's is overly loud, distorted, and crackly, detracting from what could have been an enjoyable extra.

Overall, it's a worthwhile listen for Beckett fans seeking more depth for the character, despite these technical and pacing hiccups.

4 Stars

[Ana Gutierrez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful little production! And an interesting story line. I do have to say that some of the background music made it difficult to hear the dialogue in places - not sure if that was because of my car's speakers or actually an issue (or on purpose) with the recording.

Once again there was a wonderful little interview at the end with the voice actor/actor Paul McGillion - can I just add that I LOVE the fact that this audio series was able to snag the actors who portray these characters on their series in order to bring their characters voices to these audio dramas? Because I do love that!

But back to the interview, I thought his insight into voice acting vs. performance acting(?) was interesting. Several of the other cast members have also remarked on the difference and difficulty they encountered when recording their own audio's. Just imagine having to read words on a page, interpreting multiple character voices and how the scenarios on the page would affect them, what inflections would impart urgency or elation or any other emotion and then trying to provide enough energy into your words so that the audience will be able to visualize or at the very least experience these emotions along with the characters! And you're apparently doing all of that in a little sound box with no other visuals than those words on the page.

I think voice acting has to be the most difficult and most emotionally draining of all the performing arts. I have great adoration for good voice actors and Paul's a pretty great one. =)

[John Michael Strubhart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stargate #3 (Atlantis) is entertaining, although you'll listen thinking, "Oh, I know what's going on here." but you don't. Oh, no - you don't. So do go getting disappointed early. If you're going to trash this audiobook, finish it first. Brilliantly written (because it's Sally Malcolm, you know), this story of a Carson Beckett experience as a patient is imaginatively composed. Like I said - not what you think it's going to be. Worse, it is. This Big Picture Audio Production is performed by Paul McGillion who plays Carson Beckett on Stargate Atlantis and additional cast. He does a good job, although I will say that I caught his accent slipping a couple of times. Beckett is one of the most popular character in the Stargate franchise. It's great to hear his voice again.

[Shhhhh Ahhhhh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one was a little difficult for me because I don't remember that much about Stargate Atlantis, so the characters don't make immediate intuitive sense to me. Nevertheless this was just a good sci fi tale. Reminded me of some classic Philip K Dick shorts repackaged into the plotline of stargate.

[miha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kok mi je fajn, k bere s škotskim naglasom, pa on sploh ni škot...

[Daniel Gaul · Rating 4 out of 5]

A chilling adventure for Carson Beckett; this one would have found a great home in the Twilight Zone as well as the SG universe.

[Graisi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cool to hear the actors narrate stories. This was a fun one. Not the kind of story everyone enjoys, but I did.

[Debra Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Carson fights a ghost wraith to save his friends

[Idamus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not quite 4 stars, but better than 3. I like Becket, the story was good just not very memorable.

[Tamara · Rating 3 out of 5]

“...and that's how it started. With gentle words of encouragement. I thought I was safe. I thought we all were inside the walls of the Atlantis. How could I know that the nightmare had already begun?”

Ugh. This sucks. Carson was one of my favorite SGA characters but this audiobook really disappointed me. It was a good journey for Carson (it was finally his time to shine. FINALLY!!!) but for me not so much because I couldnt wait until it was finished. It was sooo bad that while I was listening it I was on GR doing some stuff. I was gonna add a few books but then the story became so off I kept doing what I was doing and kept the audiobook in the background playing. Yup, it was that bad.

First of all, no one was in character. From the start it is sooooo obvious something is off but Carson is really slow at catching things. REALLY SLOW.



And he wasnt the only one. From the way how characters were interacting or not interacting with each other to how they were handling the situation -everything- was ''off''. This didnt felt like a true episode of Atlantis. The characters didnt make sense. The story didnt make sense. Some things werent explained properly. For example, I didnt understand why Teyla could see Carson when others couldnt. I know she has the 'gift' but that gift only Works with Wraith and Carson isnt one. Even though the whole situation was created by a Wraith she shouldnt have been able to interact with Carson. That didnt make sense at all.

Second of all, I liked the effects and the music -they were used very well most of the time but sometimes in some places they were too high. The background music was so loud it made hearing/understanding Paul McGillion nearly impossible sometimes. Specially with the final interview with Paul, the sound was just awful.

Last words; if anybody is wondering this book sets around the second season Stargate: Atlantis.

[Guinevive Parkyr · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Perchance to Dream" by Sally Malcolm and read by Paul McGillion was an interesting look into the character of Carson Beckett on Stargate Atlantis. Not only did it feature the reoccurring villain of the series (The Wraith), but it did so in a new and horrifying way. I would have liked to have had a wider range of POV rather than just seeing the story from Beckett's view, but it held up well enough as it was.
I felt as though if there had been other points of view we would have been able to see more of the plot developments break down instead of it seeming like there were leaps and bounds from where we last saw characters to where they ended up. This was only really noticeable, I found, near the climax of the story, so it didn't affect the entirety of the audiobook.
I did enjoy that they brought in the Wraith as the main enemy of this story, as they are quite well known and formidable in the TV series. However, they introduced it in a way that was so very different from the normal Wraith confrontations that you weren't sure it was a Wraith until you were deeply into the story.
Overall I would give "Perchance to Dream" a 3/5 stars. An interesting story, but without the background it seems slightly implausible. With some more depth to it I could see it as an episode of Atlantis.

[Kati · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good book with an interesting plot: a sleeping sickness is spreading through Atlantis and only Dr. Beckett can help. Though I have to give it four stars because in places, the background music was so loud that Paul McGillion's reading was barely understandable and the sound during the final interview with Paul was really bad too, it crackled and hissed so it kind of took away the pleasure of listening to it a bit.

[Irrlicht · Rating 3 out of 5]

First of all: It is really, really great to listen to Paul McGillion's voice and this awesome Scottish accent (he usually doesn't have, unless he plays Dr. Carson Beckett).

I liked this audio book a lot, but the story is... well, let's just say it's a little too tansparent to be truly captivating, and sometimes the background noise is so loud you can barely understand Paul McGillion.

Other than that it's perfectly fine.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

This must be what being on drugs is like - a strange, mindboggling trip that ultimately leaves you unsatisfied. Despite featuring one of my favourite SGA characters as narrator, I just can't give it more than 3 stars, as in spite of all the weirdness of the story I found it rather predictable and it seemed to take Carson forever to catch on to the most obvious things which was sorely trying my patience throughout the book. Entertaining, but could have been much better.

[Tularia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I adore Carson's character, so a story from his POV is just what the doctor ordered! Keeps you guessing up until the end!

[s3ntrax · Rating 5 out of 5]

very interesting in my opinion. fits stargate genre very well

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good audio play from the Stargate Atlantis series that accurately portrays the Doctor and the gray morality of the show.

[Alyce Caswell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did like the concept, but the execution let the story down - too much "I should have realised/I didn't notice at the time" monologuing from Beckett. This was very frustrating.

[torin_kylara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was really good, really spooky concept. The Wraith hell dimension was a little far-fetched for me, but let's be honest, some of the canon episodes of Stargate Atlantis were a little far-fetched as well, lol.