Ashley McConnell (2)

The best media tie-in novels take the world of the television show and enlarge it, making it richer and taking it places the series couldn't go because of time or budget constraints. McConnell has done that brilliantly in this novel with an ingenious Big Bad wrapped in a delicious character-driven plot cooked up to delight any fan of Wesley Wyndam-Price. Wes' characterization is dead-on and runs deep; I could hear Alexis Denisof's voice in my head for each line. This is a story and a villain show more that are particularly Wesley's, and it is wonderful to watch the interactions between him and the rest of the team. McConnell has a deft hand with dialogue and her word snapshots capture the show's visual feel. The story (I hate reviews that describe the plot for me, so go visit the amazon page for the book> /a,draws the reader in, and the result is a very satisfying read. show less

Ashley McConnell’s Stargate SG-1 adapts series co-creators Jonathan Glassner and Brad Wright’s script for the Stargate SG-1 pilot episode, “Children of the Gods.” The story picks up one year after Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin’s film, with the Goa’uld Apophis coming to Earth and abducting an Air Force officer. General Hammond brings Colonel Jack O’Neill to the Cheyenne Mountain Complex to question him on details of his mission to Abydos. O’Neill confirms the death of Ra, show more but admits that he didn’t destroy the gate on the other side. A team composed of O’Neill, Charles Kawalsky, and Louis Ferretti from the original mission, along with Captain Samantha Carter, goes through to investigate and get Daniel Jackson’s assistance. They learn that the stargate can go to thousands of worlds, but the revelation is dampened by Apophis’ arrival and abduction of Daniel’s wife, Sha’re, and her brother Skaara. The team takes Daniel back to Earth, where they plan a mission to Apophis’ world of Chulak. There, they learn that Apophis chose Sha’re as a host for his wife and Skaara as a host for his offspring. The team partners with Teal’c, a Jaffa guard who defects from Apophis, in order to escape from Chulak. Back on Earth, with a new understanding of the threat that faces them, they plan for the future. McConnell’s adaptation faithfully translates the original script to the book medium, adding some insights into character’s perspectives, but without changing as much as Stephen Molstad did in his adaptation of the original film. Fans of the series looking to collect the novels will find this a good start, though many of the books, including those by McConnell, have since gone beyond adaptations of specific episodes. show less

Of all the Quantum Leap spin off books this is the best. Ironically it is the one that they could probably have never filmed as Sam leaps into a little girl of 6. But this story works as Sam has no power at all and it conveys his frustration and fear. I have reread it several times.

Strongly recommended to those familiar with the original TV series.

For any readers who are unfamiliar with the show, this may be of limited interest. It focuses on the set up of the Quantum Leap project, and the difficulties it runs into. It doesn't delve into technical or political details and so is an easy to read, but without any real depth.

The connection between Sam and Al is the best written, with most other characters appearing slightly flat. Nevertheless by getting more of a view into show more the minds of these two leads, fans of the series should enjoy the extra insight. show less