Wednesday, February 22, 2017

We're Not Invincible: AOS 4.15

I know I'm not real. I'm all phantom limbs. But that doesn't make the pain less real. You don't have to feel pain. You say you don't anymore. But that pain, that regret... that's what made you a person ... a person I love.
--LMD May


Of all the weeks to miss an episode, it would have been last week.  I mean, I picked up online that some of the agents had been replaced with LMDS, but I had no clue which ones or how many or.... agh!
And the emotional heartache--AGH! Those terrifying, tense moments when Fitzsimmons suspect each other of being LMDs, so Fitz cuts himself (side note, good job both of you at the blood test, but surely there's somewhere less dangerous than wrists that could also expose circuitry). And for a moment, you think it's going to be okay, but then---eeep. I'm very glad I hadn't seen the trailers,  or I would have gone crazy.  My poor Jemma, having to take out that LMD....
And then Skye and the bouquet room (yes, because a bunch of daisies is a bouquet, and I'm still calling her Skye), just EEP room full of crazy. Then she has to fight everybody and... convincing Simmons that she's herself with Quake powers...they needed that hug, and they're going to need a lot more of them.
Just, the whole concept of the base being infiltrated like that, of being hunted down and killed by people you thought you could trust with your lives....Aida may have copied their mannerisms and memories, but she got the whole idea so wrong. The way she saves everyone just eliminates their lives, their choices, their freedom.
And LMD May standing up to LMD Coulson and making her own choice. That is so meta-inducing on its own, the difference between a fraud and a self-aware LMD, when it turns out that she can make her own choices.
Then into the Framework.
But not until April.
MOFFAT!
oops wrong director.

Thursday, February 2, 2017

Oswiu: King of Kings

Oswiu: King of Kings is the conclusion of the Nothumbrian Thrones novels by Edoardo Albert. Oswiu's brother Oswald was recently killed by Penda, king of Mercia, But rumors have spread that the site of Oswald's death has miraculous qualities, healing the sick and injured. His mother Acha urges Oswiu to recover his brother's body, but the new king has few men and little support; wouldn't it be a death mission?
Since this book concludes a trilogy, it is best read after the previous two books, Edwin: High King of Britain , and the sequel  Oswald: Return of the King. Together, the three books provide an intriguing look at British history in the early- and mid-600s, as well as the interaction of paganism and Christianity. The unfamiliar names of tribes and individuals may make this confusing for some people, but the author has thoughtfully provided a list of main characters in the front of the book.
I enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone who likes historical fiction of the Middle Ages, as well as epic fantasy fans.  The author is careful to distinguish between fact and fictional invention in his afterward, as well as citing some of his historical sources.
I received a free copy of this book from Kregel Publications in exchange for an unbiased review.