Since June 2004 Fandemonium Books has brought Stargate fans original novels set in the worlds of SG-1 and Atlantis. The publishing industry has experienced tremendous change in that time, and the soaring popularity of ebooks and ebook readers like the Amazon Kindle and the Barnes and Noble Nook promise more drastic change to come. Now the Stargate novelizations have entered the world of digital publishing.
“The ebook is the new paperback and we’re really excited about what it means for the future of Stargate novels,” Fandemonium publishers Tom and Sally Malcolm told GateWorld in a recent conversation. “Over the last twelve months, the uptake of ebooks has really been astonishing — driven, no doubt, by the price-drop in ebook readers. In the current economic climate, it makes financial sense for avid readers to invest in an ebook reader and then download books for far less than they’d have to pay for a hard copy.”
More than a dozen titles from the series are currently available as ebooks from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk, perfect for that new Kindle
But fear not, readers who prefer paperback copies over their electronic companions. While Fandemonium is transitioning to an ebook-centric business model, paper versions of their titles will still be made available via print-on-demand technology. “From a business point of view this is actually much simpler,” the two said. “When books are sold through usual distribution channels (i.e. bookstores) we don’t see any income for six to twelve months after sale, which is very problematic in terms of cash-flow. In fact, the entire book distribution system has been geared in favor of the bookstores and the distributors and to the disadvantage of the publisher — so if we can bypass that system, it will make our business stronger.
“In addition, distributing new titles as ebooks and P.O.D. will give us much more control over our publishing schedule. We hope to be able to get more books out, faster — and it’s now economically viable to make all of our back catalogue available. At the moment, only Stargate SG-1: Transitions and Stargate Atlantis: Allegiance are available as print-on-demand, but we’re working on getting P.O.D. facilities available for all our out of print titles, and maybe the option of buying our books in hard back.”
“These are only talks at this point, and would need approval by MGM, but it’s the kind of thing that the economics of ebook publishing will make possible. For us, that’s a really exciting prospect!”
The new Stargate ebooks are currently priced at just $4.99, making them about 40 percent less expensive than the traditional mass market price and 50 percent lower than the price of the new print-on-demand titles (Transitions and Allegiance). All told, by embracing ebooks, Fandemonium will provide more titles at more affordable pricing and ensure that Stargate titles never go out of print.
Finally, we wanted to know a little about Fandemonium’s two most recent titles:
“Stargate SG-1: Transitions is a fantastic book!” the publishers rave. “It’s Sabine C. Bauer’s fourth Stargate novel (after Trial By Fire, Survival of the Fittest, and Mirror, Mirror) and she brings her usual meticulous plotting to a story that spans both our galaxy and Pegasus. Although an SG-1 novel, it features a whole field of action taking place on Atlantis, and Sabine ties both stories together with the flare fans have come to expect from her writing. The finale of the book is totally kick-ass — fans of both SG-1 and SGA will love it because it brings all our favourite characters together for a really thrilling ending.
“And we now have another new book out: SGA Allegiance, Book Three of the Legacy series. This one picks up right where Stargate Atlantis: The Lost left off — so for those readers who’ve been waiting to find out what happens next, the wait is over!
“The Legacy series is proving hugely popular, and we are not surprised at all because it’s beautifully written by a fantastic group of authors who genuinely love the characters, know them inside out, and are really deepening our understanding of the Pegasus Galaxy and all its inhabitants. The way they’re exploring Wraith culture is phenomenal.”
To stay up-to-date with Fandemonium’s new titles (and the re-releases of the currently out-of-print catalog), subscribe to their newsletter and follow them on Twitter. And keep your browser locked on GateWorld and our Books section for updates!
Five Stargate ship models are available now, with the next three announced and more to…
BlueBrixx's new LEGO-compatible Stargate construction sets are here. So how are they?
"T.J." actress Alaina Huffman reveals the other role she auditioned for, and why she fought…
Actor David Nykl looks back on Stargate Atlantis, being part of the fan community, and…
EXCLUSIVE: A classic Atlantis ship is now in the works from Master Replicas – one…
Fans in and around Vancouver, B.C. can attend a live recording of YVR Screen Scene…
View Comments
I'm happy to see so much info about the Stargate books. I've read almost all of them by now and am patiently(?) waiting for new ones to come out.
However, given that all these authors are Stargate fans and have watched the series, it would be really nice if they could get their facts correct. Unless, of course, they are changing them to suit themselves. I've come across numerous errors in all the books about things that happened throughout the series, and I see no reason for them having been changed.
For instance, in one book Cassie is remembering the first time she saw Teal'c. The book says it was on Hanka and Teal'c was wearing an orange hazmat suit. Huh? Incorrect. Teal'c wasn't wearing a hazmat suit, since he didn't need one due to his symbiote. It's little annoying things like this (and many others) that are distracting and could be readily fixed if the author was paying attention to the history as much as they are paying attention to their story.
Another I can only blame on the fact that the author is not American. In "Roswell", she refers to the "Grassy knoll in Houston" where JFK was shot. Anyone know what's wrong with that? Being a writer from another country doesn't excuse this kind of mistake.
Additional titles listed for the Kindle on Amazon:
Stargate SG-1
Do No Harm
Hydra
Valhalla
The Power Behind the Throne
Four Dragons
Sunrise
Stargate Atlantis
Reliquary
Rising
The Chosen
Angelus
Nightfall
Entanglement
Casualties of War
Blood Ties
Mirror, Mirror
Dead End
Hunt and Run
Death Game
Brimstone
Homecoming (Book 1 of the Legacy Series)
The Lost (Book 2 of the Legacy Series)
Allegiance (Book 3 of the Legacy Series)
The Stargate Atlantis Legacy series Book One starts off with Atlantis in San Francisco bay. It starts where the series left off. Each of the books do the same. I think there is to be a total of 5 when the series is completed.
Most of the Stargate e-books are pretty good to very good. There are a few clunkers. The reviews on Amazon are pretty accurate.
Many of the books cost only $4.99 or $6.36; and if you are a Amazon Prime member free 2 day shipping. So if you need a a Stargate fix here is an inexpensive way to get it. :-)
Roswell (SG1) and Exogenesis (Atlantis) are both a great read! I recommend them, as it was easy to see the former as an unused film script, and the latter a two part special of that series, in novel form!
Are there any books that specifically focus on Carson Beckett at all, or have him central to the main plot of the story?
Thunderbird2 - Carson has a fair bit in "Transitions", which is a combination of SG1 and SGA. I believe he had a small part in "The Chosen". None of the others specifically focus on him, though.
nice
The quality of Transitions can not be trumpeted enough. It fills in the nigh-inexcusable gap between SG-1 Seasons 8 and 9 absolutely masterfully, to the point where even a dork like me will just ignore the minor timeline inconsistencies to enjoy a great story.
I'm really happy about this, especially since I got an e-reader for my birthday.
I loved most of the Atlantis books, but I'm not too much of a fan of the legacy series, because as agatha said, there seems to have been very little study of the show for it, and the geeky details it needs isn't there, especially on the wraith parts.
There is also massive focus on Teyla and Sheppard as a couple, which in my sense has no room in an official book.
So if you are not a fan of this couple or couples in general, I wouldn't recommend the new series. I for one will stay away from the series now on.
However since all books come on e-reader I'm going to be very excited about reading the SG-1books as well!
Just to clarify something from "missflesh's" comment. I said nothing about the "Legacy" series in my first post. In fact, I wasn't referring to anything in the Legacy series, which I have greatly enjoyed and am looking forward to the rest of the series. The comments I made were in reference to a couple of SG1 books, not to any SGA books.
Oh, my bad agatha, I apologise for misunderstanding.
I have been reading the novels since last year. I never thought when I started watching Stargate SG-1 in January 2010, I would ever get sucked into everything else (spin-offs, novels, compilation books). Now I watch Stargate Atlantis avidly and have read six novels (First Do No Harm, Sacrifice Moon, Survival of the Fittest, City of the Gods, The Power Behind the Throne, and Transitions) since March 2011, and am now reading my seventh, Trial by Fire, with two more in waiting on my iPad's Nook app (Barque of Heaven and Siren Song) and am anxiously awaiting Ocean of Dust. I plan to read all of the available ebooks, hopefully by the end of the year.
For anyone looking to get into the novels, they are wonderful reads - I generally don't read fiction, and Do No Harm was my first fictional read in quite a few years. I hope everyone has the same positive experience I have had with the novels!