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Stargate SG-1 #14
Valhalla
Fields of dreams
Upon the legendary fields of Valhalla, the spirits of Viking warriors do eternal battle in service to their god, Odin. By night they feast and toast the fallen, but at dawn the dead are restored to fight until the end of times.
When SG-1 find themselves trapped in this endless battle, prisoners of Odin, they must discover the strange truth about Valhalla before it is too late — and then confront the giant, Surtr, a terrible and immortal enemy bent on revenging himself against his god.
In order to defeat Surtr, Sam Carter suggests using a naquadrium power cell Jonas Quinn has developed on his home world, but when she and Colonel O’Neill arrive on Langara they realize their problems have only just begun…
VALHALLA
“So we’re talking what?” O’Neill said. “A boatload of Vikings who got really lost on their way to pillage Britain?”
“Not exactly,” Daniel said. “As I said, the artifacts contain Norse runes — on the outside. But on the inside of one of the artifacts — specifically, this scabbard — I discovered writing from another language: Asgard.”
Teal’c frowned. “On the inside, Daniel Jackson?”
Daniel leaned back, looking suddenly sheepish. “Yeah, well, when I was examining the scabbard I, uh, sort of dropped it.”
“And let me guess,” O’Neill said. “It sort of broke. Didn’t they teach you not to drop priceless ancient artifacts back in Archaeology 101?”
Daniel pursed his lips in irritation, but he took hold of the scabbard and lifted one side of it away from the other. He held up the split piece and turned the inside toward the others so they could see the runes etched within. “On the inside, written in Asgard, is a gate address — one previously unknown to us. The address is accompanied by a single word: Valhalla.”
Upon the legendary fields of Valhalla, the spirits of Viking warriors do eternal battle in service to their god, Odin. By night they feast and toast the fallen, but at dawn the dead are restored to fight until the end of times.
When SG-1 find themselves trapped in this endless battle, prisoners of Odin, they must discover the strange truth about Valhalla before it is too late — and then confront the giant, Surtr, a terrible and immortal enemy bent on revenging himself against his god.
In order to defeat Surtr, Sam Carter suggests using a naquadrium power cell Jonas Quinn has developed on his home world, but when she and Colonel O’Neill arrive on Langara they realize their problems have only just begun…
VALHALLA
“So we’re talking what?” O’Neill said. “A boatload of Vikings who got really lost on their way to pillage Britain?”
“Not exactly,” Daniel said. “As I said, the artifacts contain Norse runes — on the outside. But on the inside of one of the artifacts — specifically, this scabbard — I discovered writing from another language: Asgard.”
Teal’c frowned. “On the inside, Daniel Jackson?”
Daniel leaned back, looking suddenly sheepish. “Yeah, well, when I was examining the scabbard I, uh, sort of dropped it.”
“And let me guess,” O’Neill said. “It sort of broke. Didn’t they teach you not to drop priceless ancient artifacts back in Archaeology 101?”
Daniel pursed his lips in irritation, but he took hold of the scabbard and lifted one side of it away from the other. He held up the split piece and turned the inside toward the others so they could see the runes etched within. “On the inside, written in Asgard, is a gate address — one previously unknown to us. The address is accompanied by a single word: Valhalla.”
250 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 25, 2009
16 people are currently reading
285 people want to read
About the author
Tim Waggoner
274 books754 followersTim Waggoner's first novel came out in 2001, and since then, he's published over sixty novels and eight collections of short stories. He writes original dark fantasy and horror, as well as media tie-ins. He's written tie-in fiction based on Supernatural, The X-Files, Alien, Doctor Who, Conan the Barbarian, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Grimm, and Transformers, among others, and he's written novelizations for films such as Ti West’s X-Trilogy, Halloween Kills, Terrifier 2 and 3, and Resident Evil: The Final Chapter. He’s also the author of the award-winning guide to horror Writing in the Dark. He’s a four-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award, a one-time winner of the Scribe Award, and he’s been a two-time finalist for the Shirley Jackson Award and a one-time finalist for the Splatterpunk Award. He’s also a full-time tenured professor who teaches creative writing and composition at Sinclair College in Dayton, Ohio.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
November 16, 2018
I was hoping for more Jonas working with SG-1, but his story line was pretty separate from them for most of the book.
June 10, 2022
Props for including Jonas but taking off a star cause some pages of my book fell out near the end.
January 6, 2020
A little on the short side and there were parts that I wished the author had chosen to flesh out more. Nice to see Jonas Quinn again too.
November 24, 2017
I enjoyed this book more than I otherwise might have, reading it so soon on the heels of watching Thor: Ragnarok in theaters. Any Stargate reading for me is a visit to a world I love, and this was a solid, though not necessarily memorable, entry into the media tie-in offerings for this world.
One of my biggest criteria for media tie-in stories is whether the story would have worked in the constraints of visual storytelling, and unfortunately, I could have easily seen this, special effects totally doable, on screen as a two-part episode. The planet Langara and its all-powerful naquadia resources and rogue Asgard scientists are also already done to death in the realm of Stargate stories.
While I don't understand the hate many people have for Jonas Quinn, he's not my favorite character and always comes across as a little too perfect. He and Sam Carter are the point of view characters for this novel, and both of them are brilliant scientists who can do no wrong. Heroes who are just a tiny bit flawed are much more interesting, and one of the enduring traits of Stargate is that the heroes do have flaws, which seem to be missing here.
Some odd plot holes aside, the writing was well-crafted and this novel had very few of the copy-editing errors that tend to litter the Stargate novels. It was a quick (almost too quick), enjoyable visit with characters I love, even if it wasn't an amazing adventure to accompany them on.
One of my biggest criteria for media tie-in stories is whether the story would have worked in the constraints of visual storytelling, and unfortunately, I could have easily seen this, special effects totally doable, on screen as a two-part episode. The planet Langara and its all-powerful naquadia resources and rogue Asgard scientists are also already done to death in the realm of Stargate stories.
While I don't understand the hate many people have for Jonas Quinn, he's not my favorite character and always comes across as a little too perfect. He and Sam Carter are the point of view characters for this novel, and both of them are brilliant scientists who can do no wrong. Heroes who are just a tiny bit flawed are much more interesting, and one of the enduring traits of Stargate is that the heroes do have flaws, which seem to be missing here.
Some odd plot holes aside, the writing was well-crafted and this novel had very few of the copy-editing errors that tend to litter the Stargate novels. It was a quick (almost too quick), enjoyable visit with characters I love, even if it wasn't an amazing adventure to accompany them on.
December 2, 2018
Pretty good. The main plot is excellently written. A bit weird, though, considering that the legends and myths shouldn't be able to predict the future, just convey what has happened in the past. But overall, pretty solid storytelling
The second plot deserves props for being the only novel to include Jonas, and it isn't too bad on its own either. But it is 95% unrelated to what is happening in the main plot, and I felt like there might have been a few blank spaces along the way, especially close to the end where everything just got resolved in the blink of an eye. It could and should have been a stand-alone story. I did get a bit of a whip-lash whenever the book was transitioning from one plot to another back and forth.
The second plot deserves props for being the only novel to include Jonas, and it isn't too bad on its own either. But it is 95% unrelated to what is happening in the main plot, and I felt like there might have been a few blank spaces along the way, especially close to the end where everything just got resolved in the blink of an eye. It could and should have been a stand-alone story. I did get a bit of a whip-lash whenever the book was transitioning from one plot to another back and forth.
March 18, 2020
I really enjoyed catching up with Jonas in this book. I wish he could have had more time with SG-1, but it took awhile for his story to merge with theirs. I think too much was crammed into this book. There were Asgard, Norsemen, Langarans, Tok'ra, and Replicators. The book was not edited well. There are so many typos they became distracting.
January 20, 2019
This felt like two books in one, given how separate the dual storylines were. I wish they'd meshed better. That aside, both "books" were great fun and captured the spirit of the show. I particularly enjoyed catching up with Jonas again.
April 4, 2024
Holographic Viking warriors battle all day only to be restored to life the next day. The SG-1 team encounters an Asgard behind this strange world. Meanwhile, Jonas Quinn is working on a defense system for his world and things do not go well.
December 3, 2024
I rate this book as one of the best Stargate novels I've read to date; it was so cool to see Jonas back in action :-) There were noticeable editing errors (spelling, extra words, etc.) throughout, but overall, it was a very engaging, thrilling story from start to finish!
September 13, 2018
Not a favorite
The story wasn't bad, but the characterization was off. The language of the characters' thoughts and speech was overly formal and awkward.
The story wasn't bad, but the characterization was off. The language of the characters' thoughts and speech was overly formal and awkward.
January 18, 2024
Happy because I got to read a good Stargate novel that features Jonas. Sad because it's the only one. 🙃
December 29, 2010
A good read, the plot engaging enough for me not to mind too much the chopping between the two story lines featuring Jonas dealing with issues on his home planet and SG-1 in Valhalla, a world created by Odin, one of the Asgard. As I will freely admit, normally I like one story better and skim the one I'm not so bothered about to get to the next chapter about the one I do!
I also liked having Jonas back, as I do like him as a character (but not as a replacement for Daniel!) although the relationship between him and Kianna was a bit cheesy. I did wonder how such disparate plot lines were going to come together but it was neatly done and the ending rounds everything up nicely. Like I said at the beginning, a good read.
I also liked having Jonas back, as I do like him as a character (but not as a replacement for Daniel!) although the relationship between him and Kianna was a bit cheesy. I did wonder how such disparate plot lines were going to come together but it was neatly done and the ending rounds everything up nicely. Like I said at the beginning, a good read.
July 2, 2011
This was an easier read than Hydra as there was a lot less technobabble. Basically there were two different stories, much like the episodes an A and a B which wound up together at the end. The team visits a world with Viking warriors doing an eternal battle, while Jonas (remember him from season 6?) is working on his planet to develop a planetary defense system. Throw in a renegade Asgard, a Tok'ra and some of the galaxy's greatest scourge and it makes for an interesting adventure for our heroes.
Great line - O"Neill: "Make it so..........What? I heard it on a TV show once and thought I'd try it out".
Great line - O"Neill: "Make it so..........What? I heard it on a TV show once and thought I'd try it out".
February 7, 2013
It was like a bad episode of SG-1, only it's like a bad episode of SG-1 with Jonas Quinn in it, so it's even worse. This book combines a nonsensical a-plot involving holographic vikings and yet another rogue Asgard scientist with a completely worthless Jonas Quinn b-plot (three guesses about what super awesome yet unstable material it revolves around.)
This has little in the way of redeeming features and like most of the SG-1 tie-in books reads like fan-fic.
This has little in the way of redeeming features and like most of the SG-1 tie-in books reads like fan-fic.
Read
December 2, 2013Books started out pretty slow, but got a lot better in the second half. It made me realize how much I miss the show. For what is worth, I actually prefer the show over the novelizations. Usually it is the other way around. But such is life.
October 26, 2009
Not bad or anything, simply the story failed to really interest me and the characters, while not radically out of character, were not very accurately or intently drawn.
July 19, 2010
Good to have a book with Jonas. I miss the guy.
However... the back cover description is wrong in one of the plotpoints. That's a bit of an oops!
However... the back cover description is wrong in one of the plotpoints. That's a bit of an oops!
March 23, 2012
I was never much of a fan of the television show, but this is a very nice story set in its chronology. I enjoyed the Norse mythology references.
June 25, 2015
Poorly written book. With this book it is one of the rare times that I will say the show is better than the book.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews