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Stargate SG-1 #17
Sunrise
Shortly after the events of season4 episode, Beneath the Surface, SG-1 find themselves on a lifeless world. They discover long-dead bodies frozen in the snow and a clue to a device promising protection from the Goa'uld forever. Following the trail they go in search of the Shield of the Gods, but all is not as it seems and SG-1 find themselves entangled with a people facing annihilation on a drowning world.
320 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 16, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
August 21, 2014
This really . . . was not a great book. It had its moments (mostly in the exploration of the consequences from the fourth season episode "Beneath the Surface", consequences being something Stargate SG-1 wasn't normally interested in). But mostly I just wanted an SG-1 fix, I realized there were in-universe novels, and my library system only had this one and another to check out. So I did. NO REGRETS.
February 16, 2019
It's rare that one of these tie-in novels is decent, let alone great. This was an enjoyable adventure that fit in perfectly with the rest of season 4 - and it even dealt with the consequences of an episode, something the show wasn't very good at doing.
June 29, 2014
3.5 stars. An interesting premise but towards the end, the story started to drag. I loved that they showed the consequences of one of the common episode plots, something we haven't see on the show itself. And I also didn't notice any canon mistakes - that's a thing that really turns me off in tie-in novels, when the writers get basic canon facts wrong. What I liked best about the book was how much the team cared about each other and how in-character they all were, no OOC behavior. More books like that, please.
December 1, 2011
Nice to have a story with roots in Celtic mythology but I was hoping it would explore the link with Earth more and the culture from which the people came. Also was disappointed in not having a Goa'uld antagonist based on a Celtic deity! But it was a good story overall.
February 8, 2015
Solid SG1 adventure
I like it when the story includes characters beyond SG1. A little romance, a lot of tension, and SG1 coming together after a tuff assignment. Solidly written, fun to read.
I like it when the story includes characters beyond SG1. A little romance, a lot of tension, and SG1 coming together after a tuff assignment. Solidly written, fun to read.
July 22, 2015
A little uneven at times but worth the read.
September 20, 2021
This book was worse than it needed to be, and I can only review the first five or six chapters because I abandoned it at that point. Dialogue is just filling space, and far from advancing the plot it only serves as excuses to insert the occasional "for cryin' out loud" or "indeed". The Xbox didn't exist in 2000 (when the SG story that this book builds on was aired) and, even if it did, the joke with Hammond mentioning it is weak. Most of the stuff in the dialogues is simply weird. "MALP telemetry checks out," what kind of acknowledgment is that? That the MALP radio is working? Who cares? What about "God's speed," what's with that old spelling of "Godspeed"? Is there a significance there? "Slicker than Exxon Valdez was Jack's initial reaction", how cringe is that? And what does it even mean?
What about "Welcome to Ierna, I do not need to tell you how your arrival has astonished us" then? That's code for "I, the author, cannot be bothered to tell you how astonishing it was for this people to see that their Sungate actually communicates with other worlds even though it should've been the most important thing in the history of the planet."
And then the aliens -- come on, a civilisation literally focused on media creation but who think that a year 2000 camera is "so small"? After 150 years of doing nothing else but working with cameras?
And a ban on Knowledge, with a capital K? Who designed the TV studios for these people? Their high-end TV screens, the distribution network? How can you do that without Science, with a capital S?
"And here's me without a Bible...", this is definitely something no Stargate writer ever would've put in Jack's mouth.
But the thing that really destroyed it to me was the dictator, Ennis (and his gang). This is NOT what a dictator is like. Dictators don't allow newcomers access to their stuff; in fact there would be no reason to let them live altogether. Dictators can't be challenged in their beliefs, by their daughters or newcomers or consciences. They would simply kill them, or at best banish them away. Dictators don't come down for a chat with the people that they persecute, at least not before they'd been properly tamed. I don't care that "aliens do things differently", it would've been easier to sell that they have three eyes and five legs, rather than this.
Characters behave totally irrationally for very little narrative purpose, to the point where the story becomes simply boring, inconsistent and annoying.
What about "Welcome to Ierna, I do not need to tell you how your arrival has astonished us" then? That's code for "I, the author, cannot be bothered to tell you how astonishing it was for this people to see that their Sungate actually communicates with other worlds even though it should've been the most important thing in the history of the planet."
And then the aliens -- come on, a civilisation literally focused on media creation but who think that a year 2000 camera is "so small"? After 150 years of doing nothing else but working with cameras?
And a ban on Knowledge, with a capital K? Who designed the TV studios for these people? Their high-end TV screens, the distribution network? How can you do that without Science, with a capital S?
"And here's me without a Bible...", this is definitely something no Stargate writer ever would've put in Jack's mouth.
But the thing that really destroyed it to me was the dictator, Ennis (and his gang). This is NOT what a dictator is like. Dictators don't allow newcomers access to their stuff; in fact there would be no reason to let them live altogether. Dictators can't be challenged in their beliefs, by their daughters or newcomers or consciences. They would simply kill them, or at best banish them away. Dictators don't come down for a chat with the people that they persecute, at least not before they'd been properly tamed. I don't care that "aliens do things differently", it would've been easier to sell that they have three eyes and five legs, rather than this.
Characters behave totally irrationally for very little narrative purpose, to the point where the story becomes simply boring, inconsistent and annoying.
July 6, 2021
Overall I enjoyed the book.
I found it dragged on a bit towards the end, which I think could have been avoided by reducing the times we got the point of view of the locals rather than staying on SG-1. It's SG-1 we know, are reading about, connect to. Having the point of view of the locals added little and felt a bit odd in the context of an SG-1 book as that is not how it would be on screen. At times, I felt the story was trying to bite off more than it could chew by putting together all these ideas and conflicts and situations to solve within a 300-page book.
That's my main complaint and I'm only formulating it as one because I think when it comes down to it, it's just the manifestations of one single big issue rather than different things.
Otherwise, I enjoyed the balanced attention on all of SG-1 and how their continued recovery from P3R-118 was dealt with, not as something incapacitating or something unsurmountable but something that they are dealing with. We rarely if ever get to witness the consequences of the episodes on SG-1, despite them physically, psychologically, and emotionally going through some pretty intense and traumatising stuff. So it was really great to get to explore that aspect for once.
I found it dragged on a bit towards the end, which I think could have been avoided by reducing the times we got the point of view of the locals rather than staying on SG-1. It's SG-1 we know, are reading about, connect to. Having the point of view of the locals added little and felt a bit odd in the context of an SG-1 book as that is not how it would be on screen. At times, I felt the story was trying to bite off more than it could chew by putting together all these ideas and conflicts and situations to solve within a 300-page book.
That's my main complaint and I'm only formulating it as one because I think when it comes down to it, it's just the manifestations of one single big issue rather than different things.
Otherwise, I enjoyed the balanced attention on all of SG-1 and how their continued recovery from P3R-118 was dealt with, not as something incapacitating or something unsurmountable but something that they are dealing with. We rarely if ever get to witness the consequences of the episodes on SG-1, despite them physically, psychologically, and emotionally going through some pretty intense and traumatising stuff. So it was really great to get to explore that aspect for once.
August 7, 2023
what about the crate with English on it?
I was disappointed that there was no more mention of the crate Jack saw on the ship when he was hiding. What the hell was it doing there? Did it indicate that SG teams had been there before? Was it supposed to lead into some revelation but the author forgot all about it? What?
We’ll, at least this book wasn’t filled with typos and other editing mishaps like most of the other books in the series. Just the mystery about that crate.
I was disappointed that there was no more mention of the crate Jack saw on the ship when he was hiding. What the hell was it doing there? Did it indicate that SG teams had been there before? Was it supposed to lead into some revelation but the author forgot all about it? What?
We’ll, at least this book wasn’t filled with typos and other editing mishaps like most of the other books in the series. Just the mystery about that crate.
July 18, 2018
Good fun, if a bit... familiar
It's odd that the authors chose to set this story immediately following an episode from which they consciously echo the plot. I imagine they were going for contrast, but the device is not used to great effect. That said, the story was good fun and it's an enjoyable read. I recommend it to fans of the series.
It's odd that the authors chose to set this story immediately following an episode from which they consciously echo the plot. I imagine they were going for contrast, but the device is not used to great effect. That said, the story was good fun and it's an enjoyable read. I recommend it to fans of the series.
February 16, 2020
The strongest part of this book is the world-building. I would read a prequel about the Time Before or sequel set a few years later to see how the people of Ierna worked out their differences (or didn't). I don't usually care too much about original worlds and characters, but these were interesting. The plot echoed the episode "Beneath the Surface" a little too closely.
April 15, 2021
Very solid SG-1 novel. I enjoyed reading this and had fun exploring this world, but I would have liked some more background on it. Also enjoyed that this picks up after Beneath the Surface and refers to it, though it felt a bit superficial still. All in all an interesting mission with decent side characters too.
August 29, 2021
Not my favourite. That's why I left it for so long before finishing.
August 20, 2024
It's not the greatest Stargate novel ever, but I would qualify this as a solid and compelling read! The beginning was a bit slow, but once they arrive on the main planet, the story takes off and keeps the action/story rolling to a VERY satisfying finish :-)
January 11, 2016
Sunrise is a companion book to the popular TV series Stargate SG-1 (toggle the book cover above if my review doesn't match the book description, there seems to be an upload error)
This is another mission for SG-1 as seen by the book authors. I found it very authentic, the character nuances, language and mannerisms fitted my images of the on-screen characters. Jack's wise-cracks, Daniel's peace-making, Teal'c's no-nonsense straight observations and Samantha's technical know-how, even General Hammond's gruffness all made me re-live the episodes on TV.
In this mission Jack and the team have found reference to a "Shield of the Gods" found on an abandoned planet which appears to be a research outpost. Jack is reluctant to take on the mission to travel to the home world of these new people, but General Hammond has the final say.
The team arrive on Ierna and are met by Ennis Channon, he is Pastor of the Ark, these people speak a Gaelic based dialect. They have a religious TV channel which daily speaks of the "Message of our Lord". Their history only goes back 150 years, but when Daniel asks about the Sciath De', he is met with an uncomfortable silence. These people obviously have secrets.
Ennis's rebellious daughter Rhionna, makes contact and offers SG-1 some answers, she takes them outside of the Ark into the Badlands where outcasts live in poverty and at the mercy of a severe sun. Here lies a trail of answers and more questions. People from the sea-faring Seachrani arrive to trade and worn of a great storm pending. Soldiers from the Ark come and there is a stand-off, Daniel is Kidnapped, Sam and Teal'c arrested and Jack becomes a stowaway.
I enjoyed this mission and read on way into the night to finish the book as I immersed myself in the world of SG-1.
This is another mission for SG-1 as seen by the book authors. I found it very authentic, the character nuances, language and mannerisms fitted my images of the on-screen characters. Jack's wise-cracks, Daniel's peace-making, Teal'c's no-nonsense straight observations and Samantha's technical know-how, even General Hammond's gruffness all made me re-live the episodes on TV.
In this mission Jack and the team have found reference to a "Shield of the Gods" found on an abandoned planet which appears to be a research outpost. Jack is reluctant to take on the mission to travel to the home world of these new people, but General Hammond has the final say.
The team arrive on Ierna and are met by Ennis Channon, he is Pastor of the Ark, these people speak a Gaelic based dialect. They have a religious TV channel which daily speaks of the "Message of our Lord". Their history only goes back 150 years, but when Daniel asks about the Sciath De', he is met with an uncomfortable silence. These people obviously have secrets.
Ennis's rebellious daughter Rhionna, makes contact and offers SG-1 some answers, she takes them outside of the Ark into the Badlands where outcasts live in poverty and at the mercy of a severe sun. Here lies a trail of answers and more questions. People from the sea-faring Seachrani arrive to trade and worn of a great storm pending. Soldiers from the Ark come and there is a stand-off, Daniel is Kidnapped, Sam and Teal'c arrested and Jack becomes a stowaway.
I enjoyed this mission and read on way into the night to finish the book as I immersed myself in the world of SG-1.
September 13, 2014
This book gives us a lot of inner thoughts for Sam and Jack about their relationship (mostly Sam if
i recall correctly but I read it so long ago) so I should have been deliriously out of my mind happy, but... the adventure theteam went on started out so well as far as a unique premise that the citizens of the world the team visited gets only one channel of, i think it was, a soap opera. But that is never dealt with as far as - is the government sending subliminal messages? Are they being kept from hearing real news? Is it brain washing the citizens? What?
Then the ending is so similar to other SG-1 books which i could have excused because being on the run with the threat of some natural disaster and Daniel talking compromise to stubborn citizens is, after all, what SG-1 is about. But I suppose, because the title of the book is "Sunrise" which is the name of the soap opera (only tv show) the residents have, I expected something more of that plotwise.
i recall correctly but I read it so long ago) so I should have been deliriously out of my mind happy, but... the adventure theteam went on started out so well as far as a unique premise that the citizens of the world the team visited gets only one channel of, i think it was, a soap opera. But that is never dealt with as far as - is the government sending subliminal messages? Are they being kept from hearing real news? Is it brain washing the citizens? What?
Then the ending is so similar to other SG-1 books which i could have excused because being on the run with the threat of some natural disaster and Daniel talking compromise to stubborn citizens is, after all, what SG-1 is about. But I suppose, because the title of the book is "Sunrise" which is the name of the soap opera (only tv show) the residents have, I expected something more of that plotwise.
April 20, 2015
Its a book of religious vs. technology debate. Similar to some scientist vs. religious aspects of reality. Except the twist is the tech' came first and religious came after and instead of a bible book, all their "scriptures" are scripted into giant billboards to living room size televisions of two actors acting out the message of the day. And repeated several times a day.
Great tie-in to the season 4 series. Excellent capture of the personalities of them mixing in with misidentifying one self and shaking off that husk.
Makes me wish they did more sea-faring stories in the t.v. series. Tealc', Carter, and O'Neal are wing baring soldiers not oceanic. It would be cool to see them deal with harsh sea storms on a ship. Excellent job to the writers.
Great tie-in to the season 4 series. Excellent capture of the personalities of them mixing in with misidentifying one self and shaking off that husk.
Makes me wish they did more sea-faring stories in the t.v. series. Tealc', Carter, and O'Neal are wing baring soldiers not oceanic. It would be cool to see them deal with harsh sea storms on a ship. Excellent job to the writers.
July 7, 2015
This was my first read of a book based on a TV show, that I can recall anyway. I thought that it was well done, the characters were captured well and the repercussions from a previous traumatic episode were explored which is something not often seen in the show. I love the show and the storyline seemed a good fit to something that could have been on the show. I liked that we got to see a bit into each main character and even into the "guest star" characters.
August 9, 2012
This wasn't the most engrossing SG-1 story. The plot seemed a bit too similar to some of the actual television episodes. The characters themselves were well written but I never got the sense that they were in any real danger. It could also have benefited from more proofreading, as the text was littered with typos and missing words.
May 27, 2013
SG1 go to a planet to get a shield for their planet. They inhabitants worship a daytime soap and don't like anyone who does not share their faith. This is a fun read, with all the characters acting like they should. A good read.
August 2, 2016
A good solid SG1 adventure. Would like to have had more background on the planet this book takes place on, but that fact did not detract from the story at all. Just Curious.
May 2, 2017
Las novelas de Stargate de Fandemonium suelen tener bastante calidad y esta no es la excepción. Una historia sólida, con muchas referencias directas a la cuarta temporada de la serie y firmemente establecida en la continuidad de la misma. Los personajes hablan y se comportan como deberían y cada uno de ellos tiene su propia voz diferenciada, algo que no siempre se consigue en este tipo de tie-ins. ¿El argumento? El SG-1 llega a un planeta inundado por una gran catástrofe climática en el que una casta de privilegiados vive alojados en una gigantesca cúpula, mientras que los parias y los desfavorecidos deben enfrentarse al ardiente sol del exterior. Como no podía ser de otra forma, O'Neill y compañía se las arreglan para solucionarlo todo mientras buscan una mítica tecnología que puede servir de ayuda contra los go'auld. Si te gusta la serie Stargate, sin duda te gustará este libro.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews