McConnell's first original novel was 'The Price You Pay'. The general idea is good, a typical trip to a planet that gives up people for hosts so they won't be destroyed by the Gou'ald. Some good dialogue. Nice descriptions of settings. Jack in his top sarcastic form. The main problems are how short the book is - making the pace rather rushed and the end rather unsatisfying - and the somewhat lumpy characterization and technical plot holes. Both of those can probably be explained by how early in the series the book was written, but they're still... painful.