Ashley McConnell’s Stargate SG-1 adapts series co-creators Jonathan Glassner and Brad Wright’s script for the Stargate SG-1 pilot episode, “Children of the Gods.” The story picks up one year after Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin’s film, with the Goa’uld Apophis coming to Earth and abducting an Air Force officer. General Hammond brings Colonel Jack O’Neill to the Cheyenne Mountain Complex to question him on details of his mission to Abydos. O’Neill confirms the death of Ra, but admits that he didn’t destroy the gate on the other side. A team composed of O’Neill, Charles Kawalsky, and Louis Ferretti from the original mission, along with Captain Samantha Carter, goes through to investigate and get Daniel Jackson’s assistance. They learn that the stargate can go to thousands of worlds, but the revelation is dampened by Apophis’ arrival and abduction of Daniel’s wife, Sha’re, and her brother Skaara. The team takes Daniel back to Earth, where they plan a mission to Apophis’ world of Chulak. There, they learn that Apophis chose Sha’re as a host for his wife and Skaara as a host for his offspring. The team partners with Teal’c, a Jaffa guard who defects from Apophis, in order to escape from Chulak. Back on Earth, with a new understanding of the threat that faces them, they plan for the future. McConnell’s adaptation faithfully translates the original script to the book medium, adding some insights into character’s perspectives, but without changing as much as Stephen Molstad did in his adaptation of the original film. Fans of the series looking to collect the novels will find this a good start, though many of the books, including those by McConnell, have since gone beyond adaptations of specific episodes. ( )