Kali's Wrath by Keith R.A. DeCandido

STARGATE SG-1: Kali's Wrath by Keith R.A. DeCandido
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A stargate on a small island surrounded by an frigid ocean is a mystery for SG-7 under orders from the SGC to do a standard recon but the rings nearby offer a chance to explore and so they do. Upon arriving at their destination they immediately come under fire as chaos and carnage erupts and blood is spilt. This Kali's Wrath begins and the pressure on the SGC continues to mount as old and current enemies threaten the Tau'ri, Tok'ra and the free Jaffa with the System Lord Kali at the center of things.
Kali's Wrath offers up some interesting back story to Kali one of the lesser known System Lords (played by Suleka Mathew on the tv series) as well as the activities on a newly conquered Earth when Ra was creating his paradise for his people. The time of change as the Goa'uld adopted the humans hosts and left behind the Unas was fascinating, you can understand how conflict within the System Lords would be triggered by the new concepts being introduced and it never gets old to hear about some of our long dead megalomaniacs way back when they were still full of life and arrogance and were shaping the myths the Tau'ri were raised on.
The novel offers up many opposing viewpoints in terms of the Goa'uld and their Jaffa and it was rewarding to hear a story that showed some benevolence on the part of the younger Kali although a Goa'uld is a Goa'uld as Daniel isn't shy in spelling out despite being captured and exploited (again). Kali was an interesting character to say the least but for me Captain Patel was the stand out addition to the Stargate family, a combat pilot sidelined due to a physical defect who like many grasped the opportunity the SGC provided despite the initial thought that a posting to Cheyenne Mountain was a dead end to their career. Her courage and strength under fire combined with her common sense and intelligence really shone and she was adaptable to some strange events especially when dealing with the First Prime of Kali. It may have been interesting to get a scene with Kali and Patel together if only to explore how Kali may have felt about how her "people" grew after the Goa'uld fled the Earth but there was plenty going on to keep you interested so no complaints.
I enjoyed reading Kali's Wrath, Keith did an excellent job allowing me to appreciate the new characters and the use of existing minor and not so minor characters and well who wouldn't have liked to see an episode of the show featuring Bra'tac and Jacob on an adventure:)

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