Stargate Atlantis: Casualties of War (Stargate Atlantis)

RRP £6.99 Lowest New Price £2.30

Fandemonium Ltd Number of pages: 336 Language: English (Original Language) Language: English (Unknown) Language: English (Published)

RRP: £6.99
Familiar pattern but a good story
Review date: 2007-10-29 Rating: 8 out of 10

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!