Product Description

Burden of command...It's a dark time for Atlantis. Following the first Asuran clashes, Colonel Sheppard is buckling under the strain of command. When his team discovers Ancient technology which can defeat the Asuran menace, he is determined that Atlantis must possess it - at all costs. But the involvement of Atlantis heightens local suspicions and brings two peoples to the point of war. Elizabeth Weir believes only her negotiating skills can hope to prevent the carnage, but when her diplomatic mission is attacked - and two of Sheppard's team are lost - both Weir and Sheppard must question their decisions. And their abilities to command. As the first shots are fired, the Atlantis team must find a way to end the conflict - or live with the blood of innocents on their hands...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #94684 in Books
• Published on: 2007-09-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 336 pages

Customer Reviews

Familiar pattern but a good story
This book has the number 7 and by now I was hoping for something else than another variation of the theme "Stargate Atlantis meets more humanoids at odds with each other on some planet, things get stirred up and it is up to our heroes to bring both sides together so that they can find a way to live in peace." Really, as much as I like this book, this pattern is getting tiresome. Stargate Atlantis has so much more to offer than this!

Nevertheless, I enjoyed reading this book because it uses that plot well. How the conflict is solved was not really that interesting to me. Not that it was not well written but the pattern was a bit too familiar to me by now so that it didn`t offer any surprises. To me, the conflict between the natives on the planet was more background of what was actually really interesting, namely the characterizations of the main characters.

I think this is the first SG Atlantis book in which Weir was allowed to shine. It was rare enough that her skills as a negotiator were shown on TV. In this book I had reason to respect her dedication, her skills and also her bravery combined with a stubbornness I also would have liked to see much more often in the series.

What I also found interesting that I could see her caring and fighting for her people but there has never been a strong, familiar bond between Weir and anybody she worked with, also not with Sheppard. It was very much in character that Sheppard took Weir`s arguments to heart but afterwards discussed the much more personal aspects of his decision not to quit after all with Ronon.

Sheppard was certainly more vulnerable in this book than usual because of his inner struggle if he should resign when he was having doubts because of recent actions and decisions he made. I could understand where he comes from and I could very much feel with him. He was nevertheless the leading character of the book as he is usually in the series. I liked that combination.

I have always been a Ronon fan and the few Ronon episodes are among my favourites. He plays a very important part in this book, not only as an impressive heroic figure but also as a three dimensional person. This is definitely another main reason why I enjoyed this book.

Teyla and Rodney play good parts, too, but they are not the most important characters in this book. I am actually grateful that this book is not as Rodney-heavy as it is usually the case. I prefer it when books focus on some characters than trying to cram something for everybody into a story.

I found "Casualties of War" to be an enjoyable read. Just, please, what about more variety in storytelling!

A gripping, team-centred story...
Having read all the Fandemonium Stargate: Atlantis novels so far, this one definitely rates in my top three. Elizabeth Christensen builds up a complex picture of a society that is fractured seemingly beyond repair... and whose descent into chaos is precipitated by the arrival of the Atlantis team. As well as detailed world-building and credible, life-like original characters, she also brings the reader a perfectly-pitched portrayal of the Atlantis team; from the core members of Sheppard's gate team, to Drs Weir and Beckett, to recurring characters such as Major Lorne and Dr Zelenka, every "voice" is perfectly captured, both in their speech and their internal monologue and motivations. The banter between the core gate team in particular is beautifully translated from the screen onto the page and, perhaps more importantly, Christensen manages to show us another side of the characters - Weir and Sheppard in particular - and the pressures and fears they live with, without making them out of character.

The overall storyline is gripping and if I did manage to work out a couple of the twists in the tale before they were revealed, I feel that was probably the authors intent... and indeed added to the sense of frustration, and of the implacable, hopeless descent into war and chaos, as I railed helplessly at the characters on the page to work it out too! :) I found the book enjoyable and absorbing - so much so that I read it in one day! The plot was detailed and complex and tension-filled, but the joy of the book, for me, was the pitch-perfect depiction of the characters I enjoy from the TV show... and getting a glimpse inside those characters thoughts, at the fears and the doubts that we rarely get to see portrayed on the show.

Definitely a book I will want to re-read... probably several times! :)

Casualties of war
Good to get a chance to see into the characters thoughts more. Makes them all seem more human and fallible.I found Rodneys thought about the prospect of losing Sheppard particulary interesting. Beth Christiansen captures the essence of all the characters perfectly.