It's Monday! What Are You Reading? - Aug. 24

It's Monday! What Are You Reading is kindly hosted each week by J. Kaye of J. Kaye's Book Blog. Now that I've participated for a few weeks, I'm finding that the meme is not only fun, it helps me set out some goals for the week.

Last week I thought I was being far too ambitious when I set out the list. It turns out that I wasn't so out of line after all.

Books I completed:

Nefertiti by Michelle Moran.
Historical fiction, the story of Nefertiti, her husband and the mysterious Amarna period in Egyptian history. I liked the book a lot.

City of the Gods by Sonny Whitelaw.
One of a number of Stargate SG1 novels I've bought. Not bad, and makes for a nice change of pace after the longer books I've been reading lately.

The Barque Of Heaven by Suzanne Wood.
My favorite of the Stargate novels I've read so far.

Defenders of the Faith by James Reston Jr.
Non Fiction. A good overview of the years between 1520 and 1536 from both the European perspective and that of the Ottoman Empire.

Currently, I'm reading Chalice by Robin McKinley, so I've met all of last week's goals.

This week I want to get Curse of the Tahiera by Wendy Gillissen read. I'm also skimming a Dictionary of Mythology that I bought yesterday. Beyond that, I have no set goals for the week.

Stargate SG1 City of the Gods - Sonny Whitelaw

Stargate SG1 City Of The Gods
Sonny Whitelaw
Fandemonium
Copyright Date: 2005
9780954734336
The jacket description:

My Enemy's enemy...

When a Crystal Skull is discovered beneath the Pyramid of the Sun in Mexico, it ignites a cataclysmic series of events that maroons SG1 on a dying world.

Xalotcan is a brutal society, steeped in death and sacrifice, where the bloody gods of the Aztecs demand tribute from a fearful and superstitious population. But that's the leat of Colonel Jack O'Neill's problems. With Xalotcan on the brink of catastrophe, Dr Daniel Jackson insists that O'Neill must fulfill an ancient prophecy and lead its people to salvation. But with the world tearing itself apart, can anyone survive?

As fear and despair plunge Xalotcan into chaos, SG1 find themselves with ringside seats at the end of the world...

Asheley McConnell's novel The First Amendment got me hooked on the Stargate novels so I went out and bought more of them. This was the second one I read. It was good, but not my favorite. I think it's because I didn't have as much of the background for the story this time around.

City of the Gods is set within the Aztec/Mayan cultures of Mexico/Central America, which I found quite interesting. The story links with the little I know about the region/period well, although I'm sure that the story would drive anyone who really knows the cultures crazy (as have some stories set in the periods and areas I'm more familiar with).

All of the characters seem to be in character, so far as I can tell. However, I'm still watching the first season of the TV series, and I think that City of the Gods is set near the end of the third season, or even into the fourth or later.

The Stargate novels are making a nice change of pace: they're quick reads, taking no more than a day or so each, and they're science-fiction, something I haven't read a lot of in recent weeks.