Product Description

Through the underworld, millennia ago, at the height of his power, the System Lord Ra decreed that any Goa'uld wishing to serve him must endure a great trial. Victory meant power and prestige, defeat brought banishment and death. On a routine expedition to an abandoned Goa'uld world, SG-1 inadvertently initiates Ra's ancient trial -- and once begun, the trial cannot be halted. Relying on Dr. Daniel Jackson's vast wealth of knowledge, Colonel O'Neill must lead his team from planet to planet, completing each task in the allotted time. There is no rest, no respite. To stop means being trapped forever in the farthest reaches of the galaxy, and to fail means death. Victory is their only option in this terrible test of endurance -- an ordeal that will try their will, their ingenuity, and above all their bonds of friendship.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #82779 in Books
• Published on: 2008-01-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 320 pages

Customer Reviews

Great team story!
I received an advance copy of the book, Stargate SG1: The Barque of Heaven and just recently finished reading it. I am very pleased to say that this story hearkens back to the good old team adventure days. There's something for everyone to do, some really nice team and character moments, with a bit more emphasis on Daniel & Jack. This book reminds me WHY SG1 is the team that I love; they aren't just a team, they are a family and in the story it shows. I wish I could go into further detail as there is just so much that I would like to discuss, but unfortunately that would require spoiling the story. Suffice to say that I recommend this story to anyone who is a team `gen' fan who enjoys the team embark on an (mis)adventure

Great team story - Stargate back to its roots
While various of these new SG-1 books haven't really been up to scratch character and plot-wise, Barque of Heaven has broken the pattern. This is a story from the old days of classic SG-1, with Jack, Daniel, Sam and Teal'c acting like a real team. There are challenges for each member of the team to face - personal, intellectual and physical - some together, some individually, but always interesting and often surprising. This is a quest in the classic sense of Joseph Campbell, with the prize being escape and survival.

In terms of writing, the characterisation is spot on, plot goes at a cracking pace, and the worlds visited by the team are so widely varied it's obvious the author had a great time creating them. The editing isn't perfect (it never is in these books), though there are far fewer mistakes this time around - something this reader appreciated in particular. Well worth the purchase.

Entertaining Team Adventure
Having some mixed feelings about TV tie-ins, I was relieved to find this novel delivered exactly what the blurb described and that the author is clearly someone familiar with the series, its history, and its characters. The novel is a thoroughly entertaining action story, with the team having to undergo a series of trials which test their intelligence, their courage, their determination and, at times, their bond of friendship with one another. There were some very pleasant surprises along the way, most notably mentions of events from the Stargate movie. The author manages to weave together both series and movie canon to offer explanations for differences between the two, notably the origin of Ra. The series' universe is treated with respect, while being added to in ways that enrich it, with the author creating worlds and races and a history that fit right in with what we know of the series.

This is an adventure that would fit right into the series itself. The characters are spot on, always true to their series selves, and all have chances to shine. The team and teamwork is solid, with each member contributing their unique skills, while maintaining a strong sense of friendship and a unity so strong that, as Jack thinks to himself, secretly he'd always believed that the four of them together could handle anything the universe could throw at them.

If you are looking for a story that offers a team of strongly bonded friends, an adventure that grips and makes you believe this could have been an episode of the series itself, then this book is one I think you'll enjoy.