Title:
Stargate: Reconnaissance
Author:
Bill McCay
Publisher:
Roc, 1998
ISBN
0-451-45663-7

I've been watching the books of the Stargate series accumulate on the library shelf: Rebellion, Retribution, Retaliation, and now, the latest Reconnaissance. My friends who also like science fiction tell me that "the TV series is better than the movie!" I finally see the movie, more or less by accident, as it premiers on TV. That's what it took to convince me to try these books.

My sales resistance to Stargate is as high as it is not just because I tend to avoid derivative book series, but because of its utterly absurd premise, that Egyptologists are all entirely wrong, and that the clamoring throng of pyramidiots who ascribe the Egyptian civilization to space aliens are actually right. The movie centers around a thoroughly uninspiring set of heroes, but the plot is exciting enough. The three book sequels mentioned above follow the movie's plot with reasonable fidelity.

Reconnaissance, the fourth book sequel, tries to deal with a quandry. The previous books have pretty much established the tone for the series, which revolves around the perennial science fiction theme of woefully backward humanity facing insuperable odds and defeating the condescending superior space aliens because we are so incredibly stubborn (and the space aliens are also incredibly stupid, in the bargain). Now the series has to create a hook for the continuing Stargate adventures, without spinning out just another remake of one encounter with sneering Egyptian deities after another.

I think Reconnaissance accomplishes this quite nicely. The old characters are back, with further developments in their personal lives. The obvious problems created in the past sequels have to be dealt with, and new problems are created. Couldn't be better for an open ended series, right? The book is short, entertaining, and readable.