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Stargate novels are based in the Stargate franchise fictional universe (based on either the original Stargate film or the Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis and Stargate Universe television shows). There are three series of novels based on the Stargate franchise and short fiction has also been published in the official Stargate Magazine. There's no official word from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) about the canonicity of the Stargate written fiction. MGM does, however, approve each stage of novel's production, from initial outline to final draft. It remains up to the fans' discretion whether or not to accept Stargate literature as part of the combined Stargate universe.
Stargate literature centers on the premise of a "Stargate", a ring-shaped alien device that creates a wormhole enabling personal teleportation to complementary devices located cosmic distances away. Under the control of the United States government, the Stargate discovered on Earth is kept a secret from the public. This allows storylines to present no contradiction between depicted events and reality, an effect compounded by setting Stargate in the present day, and depicting Earth accurately, with any unrealistic technology originating solely from alien civilizations. Most of the time, Stargate literature follows SG-1 and the Atlantis flagship team on their journey through different galaxies.
Movie Novelization[]
Written by the movie creators, Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich, the novelization of the original film, Stargate was published by Signet Books, an imprint of Penguin Books, in December 1994. A series of five novels written by Bill McCay were published from 1996 to 1999, based on the story of the 1994 film, Stargate. Each book was also produced as a book on tape read by David Fox. These were produced by consulting the original notes made by film director Roland Emmerich, in an attempt to envision where the film "would have gone". Neither party has commented on whether McCay's interpretation was correct. The film's producer, Dean Devlin, had his own ideas, but he did not bring them to light until interviewed much later, after the publication of all the novels. The subsequent television series Stargate SG-1 was an entirely independent development, making no attempt to reconcile with the plot line of the books. This marked the first major branching of the franchise.
The story continues immediately after the events of the film, with the United States armed forces interested in the mineral that is mined for Ra by the Abydans. As conflict arises in many forms on the planet of Abydos, a new threat comes when other gods from Ra's pantheon (namely Hathor) come looking. Bits of the Ancient Egyptian myth, The Destruction of Mankind, is acknowledged in the novel's construction.
The first three books form one complete storyline:
Stargate: Rebellion (October, 1995) Stargate: Retaliation (September, 1996) Stargate: Retribution (October, 1997)
The last two continue after the events in the first three books, but move the story forwards by dealing with the Abydonians and the events which happen at the climax of the trilogy.
Stargate: Reconnaissance (May, 1998) Stargate: Resistance (October, 1999)
The book canon of the franchise has been plagued with many differences with the television series Stargate SG-1. In the books, Ra is the last of his race, and all of his lieutenants (such as Hathor and Ptah) are actually loyal humans who pose as the other Egyptian gods created by Ra to enslave the populace. The movie version of Ra inhabits a human body by possessing the human with his soul, rather than as the parasitic snake as seen in Stargate SG-1.
The books focus more on politics, with budget issues and human rights considerations playing a large role. The book's version of O'Neil is much more of a straight soldier, while Jackson remains the idealistic maverick scientist. The quartz-like mineral (called Naqahdah in Stargate SG-1) remains unnamed. The city that Kasuf and Sha'uri live in is called Nagada and more cities on Abydos are shown. While the first three books focus on the plight of the Abydan (called Abydonian in Stargate SG-1) people and the war between Ra's humans and the humans from Earth, the last two books introduce other worlds and other races. Other releases
Others[]
ROC published four Stargate SG-1 novels written by Ashley McConnell from 1998 to 2001. These novels were available only in the United States. The United Kingdom-based publisher Fandemonium specializes in Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis, publishing the first book in 2005. The Stargate SG-1 novels were originally only available in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa because the company did not hold a license to distribute them in North America but the Stargate Atlantis books are available worldwide. The company's license was later extended to North America in June 2006. All books are written as canon; that is, they try to recreate the show. MGM reads and approves all the novels.
The company held an open submissions policy in November 2004, inviting fans to submit proposals for a Stargate SG-1 novel. This proved very popular, and the aim was to find good fanfiction writers who would be able to write professional novels. Fandemonium's company runner and chief editor, Sally Malcolm, started out as a fanfic writer herself. Several future books are works of authors found through this policy. Stargate Atlantis novels continue to be written only by professional authors. Development
Authors interested in writing a Stargate book need to send a manuscript to the e-mail address of the official Stargate literature webpage. Known writers need to send their publishing history and a short synopsis of their planned plot behind the book.