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Author: Bill McCay
Format: Mass Market Paperback, 298pp.
ISBN: 0451455029
Publisher: ROC
Pub. Date: September  1995

the good
I'm always a little skeptical when reading expanded universe novels that are based on popular movies or television shows.  Since these novels are almost never written by the people who created the original movie or tv show that they are based upon, you never know what kind of quality story you're going to get.  I must say that I was pleasantly surprised after reading "Stargate: Rebellion".  I was not expecting as mature of a novel as Bill McCay has crafted.  It is this maturity in the form of politics and corporate shenanigans that made this novel an interesting read.  We are treated to a more revealing glimpse of Ra's empire and it's political structure as it is reeling from the sun god's death.  All of the political maneuvering and backstabbing (literally!) amongst the divided factions of the empire is a lot of fun to watch unfold.  The characters that McCay introduces from Ra's empire are inspired by Egyptian mythology, an area that I have always been fascinated with.  We see characters such as Hathor, Thoth, Sebek and Ptah, just to name a few.  Hathor, especially, is a worthy successor to take over the role of chief antagonist from Ra.  She has all of the essential qualities of a bad guy -- er, girl -- which is of great importance in any story.  Her meteoric rise to power with cocky confidence was evil at its best.  Most of the characters on the protagonist side of things are simply re-hashed from the movie, with regular appearances by Colonel Jack O'Neil, Daniel Jackson, Sha'uri, Skaara, Kasuf and Kawalski.  The new characters that McCay brings to the Stargate universe are mostly from the corporation simply known as UMC, who are intent on mining the strange quartzite material from Abydos with their main concern being to keep an eye on their bottom line.   The slimy corporate policies imposed upon the naive residents of Nagada eventually lead to infighting amongst the protagonists which adds another element of tension to the story aside from Hathor's impending arrival on Abydos.  The ending was also very well done, especially how McCay leaves things wide open for a sequel with Jackson and Hathor finally confronting each other face to face and Hathor swearing that she will return despite her bitter defeat.  It made me want to jump right into the next novel, "Stargate: Retaliation"!

the bad
I really don't have too much to complain about this novel.  As stated above, I really enjoyed what Bill McCay has done with the Stargate universe.  But, as required by this section's heading, I'll nitpick on a couple of minor points.  First of all, the novel took a long time to develop its intensity.  Most of the plot centered on Hathor's rise to power within Ra's empire and the greedy infiltration of the UMC corporation into the lives of the people of Abydos.  Both of these events took place separately from each other and both took up approximately 80% of the novel.  This really doesn't take away from one's interest to keep reading the book because McCay does a good job of making this enjoyable to read even though there is no conflict currently going on.  He does this by effectively throwing in bits of foreshadowing which hint at greater things to come.   In essence, "Stargate: Rebellion", much like the movie "Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace", is merely the first act in a larger story.   Usually, first acts are a slower-paced setup for the following acts.  As with Stephen Molstad's novel, "Independence Day: War In The Desert", there were several typographical errors -- I counted 6 that I noticed.  Again, this does not reflect on Bill McCay, but rather it exposes the baffling incompetence of the proof readers who work for the publisher.  All of the other books combined that I've read in my entire lifetime did not have as many typographical errors as "War In The Desert" and "Rebellion" do.  Very unprofessional.  One last nitpick is something that is difficult to admit for anyone who is trying to look intelligent.  I've read many novels in my lifetime and I must congratulate Bill McCay for stumping me on several occasions with words that I had never seen or heard before.  McCay's writing style is very fluid and intelligent, but sometimes too intelligent.  He often slips in an obscure word that you need to look up in the dictionary.  Most times, you can decipher the meaning of the word simply by looking at it in context, but this didn't always work with "Rebellion".  While McCay's mastery of the English language is impressive, it was sometimes frustrating.

the verdict
Overall, Bill McCay has taken the Stargate universe to another level with a mature and intelligent plot laden with political and business chicanery in addition to the traditional adventurous fun that you would expect from anything bearing the name "Stargate".  Throw in a diabolically worthy successor to Ra in the form of Hathor as the newly crowned nemesis to our heroes and you've got a thoroughly enjoyable page-turner that's guaranteed to keep you up all night.

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