2007 TV tie-in science fiction. The Stargate team from Atlantis
finds an enigmatic artefact…
We're into season two of the Atlantis continuity now, but for
inspiration Wells reaches back to SG-1 and its episodes "There But for
the Grace of God" and "Point of View". Rather than giving us parallel
versions of the main cast as those did, here the huge and unstable
quantum mirror found by the Atlantis team has connected to a reality
full of Wraith… or is that really what they are?
Wells manages the trick of having clearly absorbed enough of the show
that these versions of Sheppard, McKay and the rest of the team come
over as the same people one's seen on screen; but at the same time
she's competent to write prose, at novel length, without leaving gaps
for someone else's acting and visual effects.
At the same time, there's room for a certain amount of not judging a
book by its cover (but at the same time not ignoring that cover),
and plenty of action that manages to give an impression of what's
happening where without coming over as mere notes for the TV
adaptation. (Not to mention little details that wouldn't end up on TV,
like an unbreathable atmosphere that requires the team to wear air
tanks and masks—a visual production can't afford to cover up the
actors' faces for too long, while a book can make it a recurring plot
consideration.)
I mean, it's no Murderbot. Like Reliquary, it will probably have
more appeal to a fan of everything Stargate: Atlantis than to a fan
of everything Martha Wells. But I still had a good time reading it.