Stargate Literature

Stargate Literature

Stargate literature comprises the novels and short stories in the Stargate franchise fictional universe (based on either the original Stargate film or the Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis and Stargate Universe television shows) as well as non-fiction devoted to the franchise. Stargate literary works follow no strict continuity with the series or each other, and are often considered to be non-canon. This is evident in the fact that there is a period of roughly a year between the original idea for a novel and the finalised product, causing problems for authors as they are unaware as to how the franchise will develop and change during the writing process. Despite this, the editors of Stargate literature function as the medium between the author and the production company.

There are three series of novels based on the Stargate franchise and short fiction has also been published in the official Stargate Magazine. It becomes difficult to discern what is and what is not canonical because much of the literature is based on the canon, whilst some of even this type of work deviates from the main productions, or is later contradicted. There's no official word from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) about the canonicity of the Stargate written fiction. MGM does, however, approve each stage of novel's production, from initial outline to final draft. It remains up to the fans' discretion whether or not to accept Stargate literature as part of the combined Stargate universe.

Stargate literature centers on the premise of a "Stargate", a ring-shaped alien device that creates a wormhole enabling personal teleportation to complementary devices located cosmic distances away. Under the control of the United States government, the Stargate discovered on Earth is kept a secret from the public. This allows storylines to present no contradiction between depicted events and reality, an effect compounded by setting Stargate in the present day, and depicting Earth accurately, with any unrealistic technology originating solely from alien civilizations. Most of the time, Stargate literature follows SG-1 and the Atlantis flagship team on their journey through different galaxies.