Sonny Whitelaw

Exogenesis is simply a wonderful book for fans of Stargate Atlantis. The story is huge and layered, with each member of the cast having great moments. There is excitement and drama, loads of action, and fun interactions. Yet Exogenesis retains the human element so prevalent in Stargate Atlantis, in both its humor and its warmth. The characters are pitch-perfect in this big but fast-flowing narrative, each personality exactly as we came to know them through the five seasons — far too few show more for fans. Also present is the Ancients and the mythology of that. And the Wraith…maybe…

Exogenesis is a sprawling story, with pockets of characters in different locations, working toward a single goal, which is to save Atlantis and another world from a device that comes into play when two Ancients are discovered beneath Atlantis’s new home. In essence, this was like a tremendously well-written entry in the actual series, so big and emotional, so action packed that it surely would have been a two-parter — perhaps even a three episode arc. Because of all it entails, Exogenesis most certainly would have been one of the most remembered story-lines in the series had it been filmed.

Exogenesis is fun and action-packed, but there is tenderness here as well. Rodney’s story-line about love and loss and beauty being in the mind of the beholder — quite literally — is poignant and moving, particularly memorable. You feel like you’ve read more than a series novel based on a television series by the final page of this one; you feel like you’ve read a terrific science fiction adventure, period.

Sonny Whitelaw and Elizabeth Christensen have written something very special in the Stargate Atlantis franchise, a book that is as memorable as it is enjoyable. Big in page count and scope, yet somehow intimate and satisfying. A lovely and nostalgic read which is highly recommended for fans. show less

In essence, The Rhesus Factor is an eco-thriller. Set in the near future when the Gulf Stream has stopped, climate change is decidedly noticeable and drug-resistant epidemics are sweeping the Earth. Since it was written about ten years ago, some of the technology of our very near future isn't quite here (no space planes to hop across the pacific in a matter of hours, not even for the US Airforce) but some of her predictions are eerily true. There was a throwaway paragraph that included show more severe bushfires in southern Australia and Brisbane flooding, for example. Granted, those aren't exactly outlandish predictions, and the Gulf Stream is still with us, but still, some of the crazy weather Whitelaw describes doesn't feel like it's as outlandish as it would have been ten years ago.

The Rhesus Factor follows a handful of characters through dramatic climate change, the discovery of a virus which is on track to sterilising 99% of humanity, terrorist attacks, and assorted other emergencies. Some of the characters are clearly there to demonstrate consequences to ordinary folk, but most of them play some sort of governmental role (including scientific research) in mitigating the damage. A nice touch, I thought, was that almost all of the characters were quite competent and none of the disasters were because of any one person stuffing up. They were all just sort of inevitable.

My favourite character, and the one I felt was the most developed, was Kristin: an Australian marine engineer, initially based in Vanuatu, who has the unfortunate luck to be present for almost all the on-page explosions. (There are a lot of explosions.) Her back story, complete with an ex-boyfriend who has the emotional intelligence of a wet rag, is well drawn and she's not one of the people who knows everything up front, so it was nice to discover some of what was going on as she did. She also had a strong "Australian, no-nonsense" pragmatism which helped keep up the pace of the book (not that it was ever in any danger of dragging).

Another enjoyable character to read was the Australian Prime Minister. I suspect half the reason I liked him is because the world would be a better place if we had more political leaders that cut through bullshit and did what needed to be done. The other half is that his scenes — particularly some of the comments he makes when not in front of the press — were some of the most amusing and did a good job of diffusing some of the inherent doom of the novel. The most unbelievable aspect of both his character and the US President is that, before becoming politicians, both were scientists with ecology-related (I forget the specifics) PhDs. I just don't really buy that they got elected, especially the President, but it's a good thing for their world that they did.

I also enjoyed Australia being so central to many of the events taking place. Other prominent settings were Vanuatu and the US, but while the US was obligatory (greatest impact of Gulf Stream failure, powerful government), the Australian scenes were more lovingly carved. From the outback, down to Kristin complaining about Canberran weather.

The Rhesus Factor is a fast-paced, thriller crammed with one disaster after another. Set in the near future in a world a little bit more disease-ridden, with a slightly more altered climate than ours, it will keep you flipping/tapping the pages to find out what happens next. I should warn you though, Whitelaw set out to present a realistic picture of the near future. The only fabricated factor is, as the title will tell you, the Rhesus factor which acts as a catalyst for some disasters and an also-ran for others. There is no quick-fix offered in the novel and the ending isn't exactly a happy one — though it is somewhat hopeful. show less

This is one of the better TV tie-in books I've read. The plot was nice and meaty, with several twists that changed the landscape of the story significantly when they occurred, and the stakes were high enough that I found myself seriously wondering how they could possibly get the situation back to the tie-in-mandated status quo. The Atlantis characters were all written well - no one felt OOC in any major way, and they captured things like Sheppard's understated snark or Rodney and Zelenka's show more bickering very nicely. show less

This is a very expensive book to get hold of as a print copy. An ebook can be got cheaply but print is expensive so I was lucky to get a copy at a sensible price.
I enjoyed it too - Stargate books are my cheer me up books when life is getting depressing and this did cheer me up.
I got a bit lost with the running around at the end - much easier to follow that sort of thing on TV.
But the authors had mostly nailed the characters - as they were at the end of Season 1 anyway, before the group had show more cohesion and trust in each others abilities.
Yes Rodney complains a lot but he's still the most interesting character in the series. And as usual saves the day but gets some arrogance knocked off too. show less