Blood Ties

Stargate Atlantis #8

by Sonny Whitelaw, Elizabeth Christensen

Creatures of the night…

When a series of gruesome murders are uncovered around the world, the trail leads back to the SGC — and far beyond…

Recalled to Stargate Command, Dr. Elizabeth Weir, Colonel John Sheppard, and Dr. Rodney McKay are shown shocking video footage — a Wraith attack, taking place on Earth. While McKay, Teyla, and Ronon investigate the disturbing possibility that humans may harbor Wraith DNA, Colonel Sheppard is teamed with SG-1’s Dr. Daniel Jackson. Together, they follow the murder­ers’ trail from Colorado Springs to the war-torn streets of Iraq, and there, uncover a terrifying truth…

As an ancient cult prepares to unleash its deadly plot against humankind, Sheppard’s survival depends on his questioning of everything believed about the Wraith…

Genres: Science Fiction, Media Tie In, Fiction, Fantasy, Space, Ebooks, Adventure

352 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published February 25, 2007

Reviews

[Miss Clark · Rating 1 out of 5]

Apart from being an awful story, it has practically nothing to do with Stargate and its characters. Rather, the author chooses to focus on her original character, who literally takes over the story. It could have been a novel about anything but Stargate! Eden, Lilith, vampires. Oh, yeah and the wraith thrown in as a tie to the universe of SGA.

Rodney McKay, self-confessed egomoniac-jerk-arrogant-stubborn-genius, is a caricature of himself, doing nothing but complaining and whining and being an absolute idiot throughout. He is reduced to an inanity, whimpering and cowering all over the place. He nearly has a hysterical fit in a public place and Weir acts as if its not an issue really. While McKay is selfish and prone to overreact, especially to profess doom and gloom, he also is essentially a good person and the one, along with his team mates, who ends up saving the day when the chips are down, the odds are stacked and everything has gone all to heck. This was just a travesty, even taking into account personal license. Also, McKay is a fairly well-liked character on the series and I somehow doubt that many people would like how Whitelaw has chosen to view him. But, really, she was probably so busy making sure that her character, along with Daniel and John, (maybe this is just a personal fantasy being exorcised) was solving the mystery and setting all to rights that she forgot that this was supposed to be about Stargate Atlantis and its characters, all of which she ignored and totally trashed.

An utter waste and I would sincerely recommend that you never read it if you actually like the series. Otherwise, whatever...

[Ana Gutierrez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah, another wonderful addition to the Stargate Atlantis universe! I think these two co-authors, Whitelaw and Christensen, are awesome together!

Seriously their plot lines are elaborate but chock full of science-y goodness. I think they also do an awesome Rodney McKay! Well they do everyone justice but I think Rodney's the hardest to Ballance between his arrogance and his socially aquard but caring relationship with his team/friends.

They also seem to love weaving their stories into bot SGA and SG1 cannon by mentioning events from both series. In this one they explore the ramifications of Carson's death which didn't get a lot of focus in the series, or at least I don't think it did.

[Craterdweller · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not the best

Characterizations were all over the place and the ending seemed especially contrived. Considering many of the Atlantis expedition started at the SGC, I've never enjoyed novels that emphasize us vs. them politics.

[Alyce Caswell · Rating 1 out of 5]

There was a cool concept here, but the execution made it a complete shambles. Random "chosen one" OCs do not belong in Stargate novels. I really wish this whole book had been set on the dinosaur planet, much as I love Tasmania.

[Emilija · Rating 3 out of 5]

The 150 Prompt Doctor Who Reading Challenge - War Doctor - 2) No More: Read a book about war, rebellion or resistance, but from the perspective of someone who wants it to end.

I remember adoring this novel when I was younger (and completely obsessed with Stargate Atlantis), but I've read this now as an adult, and I really struggled to get into it. It's taken me a few days to get through it, and it is a really hard book to get into as it's science heavy and there are so many moving plots that it gets hard to remember what everyone is doing and how they relate to each other. I will say that the author write Rodnry fantastically, but do they dislike Ronon and Teyla or something? The two of them were barely in this novel. For a Stargate Atlantis novel, Daniel Jackson was more involved in this novel than Elizabeth was.

The pacing was also a little awkward. The beginning and the middle sections of this book were so slow, it was a slog to get through them. I got down to forcing myself to read a chapter and then put the book down for a break and then come back an hour or two later for another chapter, but then, the last 80 pages or so sped up so much that it honestly felt like the entire plot happened in those pages.

[Ida Leter · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a pretty stupid book. Well, rather, it is two books, only loosely held together by plot. The plot about telepathic half-ascended dinosaurs is quite stupid, but in a fun way. The plot about the incubi and the succubi, not so fun. It doesn't work, starting with the original character who gets told things she has no business knowing, just magically makes up the rest, and has super-duper special genes of speciallness, to the baffling and anticlimatic ending. The infodumping of the things people past the age of 13 should not be surprised about was eye-roll worthy. And many other things.

There were a few moments involving Rodney that I enjoyed, of him mourning Carson and bonding with his teammates. The rest I could have done without.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a wild ride! It’s a crossover story, which I like more than almost any other kind of story, featuring the Atlantis team, Elizabeth, and Daniel set in the Pegasus galaxy and on Earth. I've enjoyed all the Stargate novels by this writing team. They have a knack for creating off-the-wall plots, but making it feel like just another day in Atlantis/SGC. My favorite part are the telepathic space dinosaurs. There is also a crime procedural involving proto-Wraith. Like I said, it's a wild ride. I loved every page.

[Shadowsword · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rebecca is a Mary-Sue. She knows Sheppard from the past, profiler with very special talents and strong genes, nearly saves the world and saves major characters, understands everything - even the SGC -,and has more knowledge of the past than Daniel.

One star lost for the book because of her although the beginning of the book and the idea were very promising and I liked the end. All of them had to die because otherwise the rest of the series would have made no sense. The cave had the feel of deus ex machina. Book could have been way better. Partsof it were too long.

[Aithein · Rating 4 out of 5]

The plot was a bit more complex than experienced on a few of the other novels I’ve read so far. It is interesting to see which authors capture the characters best from the bantering to offering a closer glimpse at what makes each character tick. Had a laugh out loud moment when the engineer with the big wrench made an appearance…

This is a great way to re-experience watching the show so many years ago. Highly recommend.

[Tagcaver · Rating 4 out of 5]

just a minor gripe or two…

These are probably spoilers, so stop here if you need to.









Ok, first of all, Ronon is not immune to wraith feeding. Secondly, ginkgo trees are not rare on earth, and are quite a common tree planted in yards.

Other than that, the book is a decent read.

[Stephanie Jo Hanauer · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorites so far in the series. This one is essentially a crossover with SG-1 and takes place on Earth. Love delving into the Lt. Col. Sheppard character a little deeper! (Please see extended review of this series under my "read" book, Stargate Atlantis #2, Reliquary.)

[Alex Holmgren · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best of the Atlantis series. Such a cool cross over and if ya like Stargate Atlantis and SG-1 then you simply must read this book!

[Beenee Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I could give this more stars I would! I have stayed up until 3am to finish this book and I regret nothing!!

[Graisi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despite this one taking place mostly on Earth, it was really good.

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like dinosaurs and succubi and various conspiracies, so this was a lot of fun for me.

[jagle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great to be back in this universe!

[Nora · Rating 2 out of 5]

The orientalism and jingoism were so painful. God save us from ignorant Americans.

[Scott Gardner · Rating 1 out of 5]

Worst of the lot , terrible plot

[Halcyon · Rating 4 out of 5]

*posts 14-year-old review*

Timeline: Right after Vengeance, and before First Strike.

This is probably one of the best SGA books out there, yes?

I at least loved it! We finally get to explore M1M-316, or the planet that's perfect for another Jurassic Park movie. Here's what happened in it:

At the beginning, Elizabeth Weir, John Sheppard and Rodney McKay are recalled back to Earth because there's some funky stuff going on at home. People are found dead, and burned. But the getting burned part is only to cover up the fact that they were drained of life. The murderers have left something behind at the crime scene: a drawing, symbol of some kind; signifying the Stargate and a Wraith Dart. That's not good.

After that, Woolsey comes in with a video featuring a cousin of his. He had a visit from a female Wraith-like humanoid figure, seemingly draining him of life, but he did not get older.

From then on, for about half the book, the team is split up. Ronon, Teyla, McKay and a Dr. Geisler travel to M1M-316 in search for a laboratory, or more specifically its database, belonging to an Ancient who messed around with DNA from Wraith right before the Ancients had to leave for Earth. And naturally she took that DNA with her to Earth, where she introduced it into the human population.

Sheppard on meanwhile is on Earth, teamed up with FBI-profiler Rebecca Larance and Dr. Daniel Jackson, to investigate likewise cases of murders, and find more information on what kind of cult could be at work on Earth.

What follows then is a story on DNA-manipulations, rival cults of succubi and incubi on Earth, telepathic conversations with dinosaurs, forest burns in Australia, and Teyla singing. The latter is of course added to have some Spikey!whump next to all the others getting bloody. Hurt, that is.

A thing I was a bit bummed about was the reference to Ronon Dex not being able to be fed upon by the Wraith. We know that this is in fact not true, he can be fed upon just fine, but he's so defiant that the Wraith wished to keep him alive just to toy with him some more before eventually killing him. It was said in the book 3 or 4 times, so if you cringe at such points, be prepared to see it around. After you get over the fact that they misinterpreted the Runner-part, you can focus more on the interesting parts, because there are plenty.

Another thing I didn't like that much when I read it was the part where a Tyrannosaurus Rex could follow the team into the Stargate to Atlantis. Can you imagine a T-Rex, think Jurassic Park, the one who ate the guy on the toilet, fit in the Stargate? They described it as having a jaw that *just* didn't fit around a Puddle Jumper, so it was pretty big indeed. Later on in the book they said it wasn't a mature one yet, but if this fixes my issues with it completely, I don't know. I still don't see a T-Rex falling to his knees, and crawling through a wormhole just to try to catch some food. Not that they said he did quite that, but in order to fit through the Gate... You get it, I'm not entirely convinced of that point. I thought they could just as easily have let it be a Velociraptor, at least they're smaller, but the same Warrior-build, but they couldn't write that because those were to be used later on. Ah well. I should be happy there were a few dino-species in it, yes? Even though they just ended up shooting the T-Rex.

Overall, this is an excellent read, very entertaining with all that DNA-stuff in there, and the mythology behind it. A definite recommendation, as it's supposed to be one of the better books of SGA, or so I've heard. And I agree. So go buy it and read it already!

Have you read it? Do you agree/disagree? I'm curious!

[Paulo "paper books only" · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a little different. Instead of adventuring in the Pegasus galaxy in these novel we get to do half the job on earth with Daniel Jackson and Rebecca Larance and Sheppard helping them out. Unfortunally that spoil the book for me. When I read these novels is for the characters. I don't care about the main series (Stargate). The characters on the Atlantis are way good and the adventures as well, not to mention the Wraith and the ancients.


These novel Rebecca Larance is almost godlike divine being. She is a "real" wonder woman. Not only does she have the ATA gene but another rare gene which explains her own prophecy (bla bla bla).


The plot itself was far fetched even for the stargate universe and we see here the mysticism of Vampires. Yes.. Vampires are a kind of wraiths and even with all historical presentetion given by Jackson was weak. The plot in Iraq was nothing special and all the novel on earth is weak. The only good part was the dinosaurs part happenning on the pegasus galaxy. Quite good.
Critiscism
Dr McKay is heavily portrait as a coward but as you all know, even if his words are of a coward his actions are not. He has saved the main cast dozen times and after complaining he is courageous beyond doubt. I really hope the next novels by Christensen are better.
The plot was weak and rather far-fetched.
Rebecca was annoying and totally unrealistic character
Weir and Sheppard are two-dimensional
Good
The characters: Undoubtly the characters are the best part of the novels. To read again a novel with Sheppard, Teyla, Ronon and of course my favourite Dr Mckay (even if this one was awfully bad portrait, and I mean really awful.. a little brat that Weir (another weak character on the book) had to remove him from a science meeting. Awful!!!

Conclusion
Would I recommend this book to anyone? No. There are so many awful things on it that I can't recommend to anyone unless they are die-hard fans as I am. And even bad canon is worth reading. I really hope the other books are far better.

[Anastasia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Even though it had Daniel and John on the cover, thus the focus of the story would've focused on both of them I was very disappointed with the plot. My first impression of the book was it felt like a crossover between Criminal Minds (the profiler woman complete with the "we're on a plane, let's talk business" scene) and something else, with John and Daniel tossed in, and stuff happening in Pegasus Galaxy just so the book can be labeled as a Stargate Atlantis novel.

Usually when i read SG books, I read them in the actors' voices, not this one. Here the characters just didn't seem 'true' to themselves. And what was the point of Dr Rebecca Larance ? Couldn't relate to the character in any way, and didn't even feel for her when she had her little fit; and the way she ties into the story is just ridiculous at best. The story would've been a lot better without her, IMO.

The writing is dodgy, and the proverbial "reset button" is used way too many times. Daniel gets blown up, few pages later "bam, he's fine" ; Sheppard gets injured and shot up TWICE, and BAM, he's perfectly fine on the next page. And what of the Gordi plot line?

Some dodgy sounding sentences:
Page 268: "...His right arm was pinned under the upended seat; his left lay broken & useless next to what was left of the radio." just made it look like the left arm was completely unattached. which *may* have been the case, but still... and there was one instance where Rodney "threw up his arm" , you can guess the first image that entered my mind.

This book felt like some really bad fan fiction, and it probably would've been if there was a three-some sex scene between Rebbeca, Daniel Jackson and John Sheppard.

I *did* like a few nods to the SGC, Siler and his huge wrench cameo for instance, but those tiny shootouts are nowhere near enough to safe the book. It could've been about anything other than Stargate Atlantis. I"m not likely to read this one again.

[AnnaM · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well-written, heavily researched, full of action. I liked the dialogue, and thought the characters sounded like themselves.

I read some reviews on Amazon AFTER reading this that called it horrible, said the OC was a Mary Sue and Rodney a cowardly shadow of himself. Hmm. Maybe I'm just a bit more relaxed or "go with the flow"? I didn't think Larance was a Mary Sue, though she was in the book a lot and had a lot of abilities. They did say she was pretty--but that could be in the eyes of the pov character and not the whole world. She did play an important role near the end and the explanations of who the succubi chose and why, did include her. Rodney? I didn't think he came across badly. Course, he's not my favorite character so maybe I missed the nuances. He seemed fine to me. And Sheppard Kirking throughout? Huh? I saw him trying to be polite to a female shrink who'd dissected his psyche years ago and who freaked him out a little. Actually, I thought he seemed to be uncomfortable around all the women in the story except for Teyla and Weir.

As an SGA book...well, it's very heavily SG1. Despite the SGA characters having more "screen time" I felt like they were guest stars in an SG1 book. Why? Most of the backstory on the plot, bad guys, and "reasons why" everything happened were rooted in SG1 episodes I didn't see.

Did I like it as a mostly SGA fan? Yes. But if you don't like SG1 or are looking for an SGA Team story, you might not like this one. If you like both shows or are more open to not completely understanding the history of what's going on, then you should like it.

There's Shep whump, Rodney snark that sometimes made me laugh out loud, action, mythology, Daniel Jackson, Lorne, Ronon, Weir and a unique use of Teyla near the end.

And I don't remember a single typo in this one.

[Jeane · Rating 4 out of 5]

So this was my first ever StarGate book! (StarGate being my favorite Scifi franchise, not that I don't love StarTrek and StarWars also) So I was a little leery if the authors would get it right, after all I have just read the worst Hellboy novelization of all time this past year as well as a Wolverine: Weapon X novel that was most appalling. So I can definitely say that I was very very very please with this book. First of all the authors got the characters dead on! The dialogue was perfect and uniquely different to match each character! ("If a lemon has been anywhere near that fryer, my resulting anaphylactic reaction will be spectacular and probably worth taking legal action" -Rodney McKay). the story was also incredibly interesting, but a bit long, I love that Daniel Jackson was in it because of course I love him! There were some things that did drag on, and I even wish they could have made the dinosaur part much longer and suspenseful, but over all a good first impression indeed!

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a solid TV tie in. In any tie in I expect the characters to be accurate. This book did fairly well. Rodney especially seemed spot on and the banter between the team felt right though there wasn't very much of it since the team split up through much of the book. It was fun to have the team back on Earth and have Daniel Jackson involved in the story. The actual plot seemed to veer more into the feel of an SG-1 episode, however. There were lots of ancient Gods and clay tablets mixed into the wraith storyline. At times I got lost in the explanations and the different incarnations of Lilith. It did seem to stall toward the end and it seemed unsure of where it wanted to go. Other than that it was a fun, quick moving story and worth picking up if you enjoy tie in books, and especially if you're missing your favorite Atlantis characters.

[Kati · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before I even started it, I had come across some not so positive reviews for this book - and I'm glad that I didn't listen to them. The book is really good, you get the usually bickering and team-feeling, everybody's reaction to Carson's death and some exciting space exploration - yes, non-human aliens! A major part of this book takes place on Earth though which was kind of unusual in a SGA book.

The reason why I didn't give it five stars? Dr. Larance was just a barely disguised Mary-Sue. I mean, I love outsider's POV, so I didn't mind the addition of an original character, but did she really have to be Miss Perfect?

Other than that, a really, really, really good book! *nods*

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first few chapters felt a little disjointed and the pacing was a little off, but as the story progresses the plot really comes into it's own. I wasn't too keen on the events that happened in the Pegasus Galaxy, but the story on Earth had me hooked. It all nicely linked everything into the current established mythos, while adding more elements to it. The characters were well written, plenty of tension between them which was fitting with the events of the series during that time in the aftermath of Carson's death. I did feel that there was plenty more to tell with this story, and some of the characters were underused, but overall it was an enjoyable read.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wraith-like beings are attacking humans on Earth, so the Atlantis team is called to help Daniel Jackson eliminate the threat. Meanwhile a team goes to a planet with dinosaurs. Yes, this has dinosaurs and that is always fun. The main story does seem a bit longwinded, but all the characters act like they should. There's some nice ideas here, only they don't gel enough to give this 4 stars. A good read.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was a bit too heavy on the mythology for my taste (gotta admit, I got bored with that part halfway through the book at the latest), but I always love an SGA/SG-1 mash-up and the characterizations were mostly accurate as well. Set late in season 3, the book also takes some time to see the characters deal with Carson's death which was a nice touch that I was missing a bit in the show post-"Sunday".

[Soph · Rating 3 out of 5]

What was a rather average book as far as Atlantis plotlines go, was made more exciting for me to discover that it was partly set in my homestate. The book seemed to pick up and leave off in weird places, which made me feel like I must have skipped reading a bit. If you want an SGA fix, you're better off watching an episode.

[Wontfor · Rating 1 out of 5]

Brother bought this for me for Christmas about two years ago? I got about 40 pages in before I had to quit. The character voices were wrong (McKay's especially, and since he's my favorite, it's an unforgivable crime) and the plot was not grabbing me at all. I don't really have anything good to say about it.