Author: illeananexry

We are back!

I found the info I was looking for, but I was somewhat wrong about how it went.

What happened on Sateda wasn’t, technically, normal because most of the Wraith had still been hibernating and so, according to Guide, they were able to make an example of the planet since they weren’t as hungry. They had Culled well before destroying it though which makes me think that Ronon may have, in fact, seen Wraith feeding on babies.

Don’t worry ya’ll, we know Guide couldn’t have been there because he was still a prisoner of the Genii. Had been for about ten years at that point I believe. Meeting Alabaster is fantastic because it gave us a better timeline (for those of us that didn’t simply look online for the answer) for how long Guide was a prisoner. Something I’ve been curious about and now have the answer.

Alabaster was trapped on the planet for twenty-one years and Ronon was made a Runner right after the destruction of Sateda and he was a Runner for seven years. Since he was also with the team when Sheppard met Guide for the first time, we know where Guide was and for how long.

Don’t you just love math?

That actually brings us to a good point I didn’t think about until now. If Guide had been involved with Sateda, I highly doubt Sheppard would have spoken up so many times in defense of their alliance. Loyalty is a big thing with our peeps and I can’t see Sheppard being too willing to ally with someone who had taken part in destroying a friends planet.

I’m not sure if this was an intentional bit of math done for this reason, but it is really cool that the math checks out so that our favorite Wraith (and you can’t tell me that the writers didn’t intend for us to fall in love with Guide from the first sassy thing he said) wasn’t part of that horrific incident.

It might also explain why Ronon has been able to set his hatred aside and work with him on occasion.

Ronon is a very complex character and I like these discoveries about him especially because he’s never been a favorite of mine. Sounds weird, I know, but I like Ronon far more in the Legacy series than I did in the TV series because of the insights and growth like this we get to see.

(as an aside- THANK YOU TO THE AUTHORS AND MGM FOR LETTING THE LEGACY SERIES BE A THING AND TO FANDEMONIUM FOR MAKING THEM PRINT-ON-DEMAND THROUGH BARNES & NOBLE!!!)

Moving on!

We know about Hyperion’s weapon, the one that will kill anyone with Wraith DNA, but at this point, the end of the book (but not the posts obviously), I don’t believe Ronon does. The meeting they had after reuniting Guide and Alabaster didn’t mention anyone being present except the higher ups, so I think Ronon is still in the dark about it.

Won’t stay that way for long though, we all know things never go as planned for our peeps.

With that, I shall end the Ronon-centric posts. I think I’ve covered his growth in this book pretty thoroughly already and next week I’ll do something about our secondary characters I haven’t talked about for awhile.

See everyone then!

I kind of feel like I need to talk about Ronon’s reaction from the planet some more.

He had a gun trained on a child.

Obviously, he never would have done that if the child had been human, but it was a Wraith.

Do ya’ll understand how screwed up you have to be to point a weapon at a child?

Here’s the thing. When he’s talking to Alabaster (not that he calls her anything but ‘parasite’) he kind of goes on a rant because of how the others are reacting. Or not reacting, as he sees it.

Before I get to their reactions- Ronon accuses the Wraith of feeding on babies. Of feeding on them while still being held by their parents.

So did he see that happen? It’s a pretty specific thing to mention just out of the blue. It would actually be a really stupid thing for the Wraith to do too because without the young, you won’t get adults. Adults, presumably, have more life to feed on so you’d think they’d want more adults.

I could swear Guide mentioned that what happened on Sateda wasn’t normal and not something the Wraith practiced. I’ll have to try and find the book, but no promises.

We do know that children have been Culled, but it would be interesting to know whether the Wraith fed on them last, in the hopes that they would grow up a little more, or maybe they off loaded them on another planet? Probably they’re just fed on but, again, that seems like bad husbandry.

Anyways, back to reactions (and lack thereof)!

He can’t hear Teyla or Rodney in his head (though they can feel each others surprise and such) and the only thing that probably processed about Sheppard was that he put his gun away in the presence of a Wraith.

As Sheppard thought earlier, no one really understands just how freaked out Ronon is about Rodney being turned into a Wraith. It has put him back a good bit mentally and psychologically. Ronon stopped pointing a gun at Ellia when he was told too, but this time, with a literal child, he refused until Sheppard stood in the way.

He may hate the Wraith, but he has also been able to work with them if only because his team asked him too. His reaction here is a direct result of the whole Rodney/Quicksilver thing. Though I believe he’s working on his reaction to Rodney, so Rodney doesn’t feel worse, he can’t help some of them. Casually talking to a Wraith isn’t normal for him and it’s just too far over the edge.

Which is why he stalks off.

His conversation with Sheppard is kind of scary because he mentions going back to Sateda and for a second you think that he’s going to leave the team but than he says it wouldn’t be the same. No matter what Radek said about rebuilding and things being different but not bad.

You definitely get the feeling that Ronon is thinking, heavily, about other paths to take. Talking to Sheppard helps, I think, because Sheppard doesn’t try and tell him what to do, he just says some hard truths.

Okay, one last post that’s Ronon-centric and then we shall move on!

For now, I say good-day and good week!

Here we are!

There isn’t too much left Ronon-wise to go. This post and maybe one more, to be honest, for this book anyways. After that I may go onto Jennifer and Rodney’s relationship because…ouch.

I should bring up the other people we haven’t seen in awhile, like Hocken, Cadmen, Radek and such.

We’ll see.

For now!

The peeps have gone to investigate a planet where Teyla believes a ZPM resides. An almost fully charged ZPM at that. Radek was supposed to go along, but Sheppard had already told McKay that when he was cleared for duty he was back on the team.

Carson cleared Rodney and though Teyla makes her position very clear quickly (she is all for Rodney joining them), Ronon is another matter.

It takes a pointed look from Sheppard and a reminder that they had had to trust Ronon again after he’d been addicted to the Wraith enzyme, to get his hackles down enough to get going.

I like how Sheppard handles this situation. He desperately wants his team back and I think he weighs a lot more than just Rodney’s well-being. He can’t leave Rodney behind, that’ll break something that won’t be able to be fixed, and he can’t ignore Ronon’s well-being either. In this situation, there’s no reason why Rodney can’t come along.

What’s interesting, actually, is that Ronon doesn’t seem to be seeing the parallels between himself and Rodney. After being addicted to the Wraith enzyme he had to have been in a bad place mentally about whether his teammates would trust him again or even want him on the team (of course they did, but the fear would be there for a while). Rodney is going through the same thing now and Ronon would be the perfect person to talk to about it.

Except that they can’t because of Ronon’s hatred of the Wraith.

Which makes the next moment we speak of interesting.

Locals send the team to ‘The Shrine of the Bride’ to see if she can help them. She can, actually, because she’s Guide’s daughter, Alabaster.

You know, the dead one?

Turns out she (obviously) didn’t die because her crew sacrificed themselves so she could live. The people of the planet she landed on helped her and have kept her and her son safe for twenty-one years.

Side note!! Darling (Alabaster’s son) looks about five years old. Wraith age REALLY slowly. We knew that of course, but this is a great reminder because we’ve only really seen Ellia as a representative of Wraith children. And she wasn’t really a child since she already had a feeding mouth.

The shock of seeing a child makes everyone react differently.

But we only care about Ronon right now and boy, does he react.

He keeps his gun aimed at the Wraith even after Sheppard and Teyla tell him to back off. He calls them ‘parasites’ and asks how many people Alabaster’s killed.

The answer, is zero.

Not surprising. She is Guide’s daughter after all and not stupid. She later tells Teyla that there are two reasons she hasn’t killed anyone (and Teyla can choose which one she believes) she would be hunted if she had, and how would the years have gone by with only her son as company?

Ronon doesn’t believe her. Sheppard has to stand between the gun and the child before Ronon stalks off.

Sheppard follows, of course, and finds him on the edge of a cliff. Not about to jump, don’t worry, he’s just having a tough time. Understandably.

The best Sheppard can do is tell Ronon that he’ll have to figure out who he wants to be now. He isn’t a Satedan Imperial, a runner or even a Wraith hunter. He’s grown too much and come too far to be any of that now. It’s not easy, never is, but Sheppard is still around because he believes they still need him. Because he believes there are people and places worth staying around for.

Ronon just needs to find his Gate, like O’Neill helped Sheppard find his.

With that, I’m going to leave you until next week because I work in the morning again.

See ya’ll later!

Isn’t character development fantastic?

Here we have our peeps needing each others company while Rodney is in surgery. Sheppard goes to find Ronon and, being the cute awkward guys they are, decide that Teyla needs company during this time.

Teyla is still in the infirmary after being de-Wraithified so they gather around.

Discussing the surgery gives them something to talk about and it’s here that Ronon says (after Teyla says it’s been three hours already which isn’t good news) it’s was probably a good thing that Keller let Rodney feed on her. With his current state and immense risk of infection, had he not fed so recently his chances wouldn’t be as good.

This is a huge step for Ronon. Letting Rodney and Jennifer go through with the feeding was so bad that he couldn’t even watch. His talk with Sheppard helped get his head in a better place then it was and I think that this moment, and the realization, helped even more.

That he was willing to say something like that out loud tells you how much he trusts his family. They’ve proven themselves to him over the years and he feels safe enough verbalizing something like that. Something that is deeply traumatic for him personally.

Not so intense for Ronon, is a moment on Sateda that comes up soon after Rodney is out of the woods with his surgery.

Ronon takes a team to meet with Genii who want a Lantean to activate a crystal for their Alteran ship. When Radek realizes the crystal is for a weapons array and not a simple navigational crystal as the Genii say, he tells Ronon.

It’s up to Ronon to decide whether or not to let Mel Hocken activate the crystal for the Genii.

On the one hand, it’s for weapons and the Genii haven’t been what you’d call the most reliable or trustworthy allies to this point.

On the other hand, chances are the Genii are more likely to use it against Death then Atlantis in the near future. With the crystal damaged it’s entirely possible that they won’t even survive an attempt to use it.

I think he made the right choice having Hocken activate it. It made the Genii owe them one and gave them a possible hand with Queen Death.

Mr. Woolsey agrees, by the way, and leaves Ronon almost speechless when he tells him so.

Until this point Ronon has really been portrayed as the muscle of the team. Which isn’t a bad thing at all, but it does leave people with the expectation that he’s not the brightest. We know that’s not true because we’ve gotten to see some of his conversations where he talks about his younger years and his quite impressive education.

Ronon isn’t stupid, but his years as a Satedan soldier and a runner left him with a pretty narrow view of things. Shooting and blowing things up is certainly a way to get things done, but not the only way. Here, he has to make the decision without input from a higher up.

He IS the higher up and this is a turning point, small, but a turning point.

I’ll leave it there for now and see everyone next week!

Yay Ronon!

So much growth for the little Satedan baby.

Seriously, the next book shows just how much he’s changed since the first episode. Fact is, even though he has every right to hate the Wraith, he started changing in the TV series first.

Remember Ellia?

He could have easily killed her. Or killed Guide on multiple occasions.

He chose, every time, not to. Some of that is because he didn’t want to cause problems with his new family and some of it was that he could see there were advantages to leaving the Wraith alive. Which seems cold, but it is a step forward from simply pulling the trigger.

Not that he agreed with the decisions, but I think that one of the reasons Ronon trusts and loves his Atlantis family so much is because they can treat enemies like people. Outside of how they treated him and welcomed him, the people of Earth have a tendency to want to help people.

Even after they’ve been betrayed or hurt.

One of our best qualities.

It’s a spoiler so I won’t be getting into what he does next book, but it makes a huge change for our peeps!

Moving forward!

After arriving back in Atlantis, Sheppard tells Ronon they need to debrief.

Why?

Cause Ronon isn’t looking so hot. He looks a lot like how he did when he first arrived on Atlantis and Sheppard knows that can’t be good.

Ronon tells him about Rodney feeding on Jennifer and how he should have stopped it from happening. He also talks about knowing what it feels like and asks Sheppard what he would have done. If he would have fed on the woman he loved.

I like that Sheppard thinks about it. He doesn’t just throw something out there to try and make Ronon feel better. In fact, Sheppard’s words aren’t reassuring really, considering both he and Ronon have been fed on multiple times.

He tells Ronon that he’d let any of them feed on him if they needed to. He’d give his life, literally, for them if need be.

Ronon is unsure, I think, about how to feel about that. Disgusted, sure, and upset about it being a possibility (seeing as the Wraith can turn humans Wraith it’s more fact than anything), but I think it was the best thing Sheppard could have told him. Any other answer would have made things worse because Sheppard doesn’t lie when it comes to things like this.

It would be worse than a nightmare for Ronon if he were turned into a Wraith. It’s one thing for Rodney, because of the circumstances he never fed on anyone other than Keller, but for Ronon the circumstances could (and most likely would) be far different.

The psychological toll it would take on him would be immense.

It doesn’t happen though, I won’t make such a comment and leave it there. The point is though, is that Ronon is trying to keep his friend in mind when he’s around Rodney, but his history of being hunted by the Wraith is devastating. Rodney simply walking around causes Ronon to shudder in fear and loathing.

Safe to say, Ronon has a ways to go and he keeps getting hit with things in this book and the next.

Until next time!

We’re back!

And so are our peeps!

Everything goes pretty much how it usually does. They land (crash, technically, but who’s keeping track?) and have to walk to the Gate. It’s about 31 miles. They use kilometers though so I had to convert since I’m American, but Ronon had to convert too because he’s Satedan (it’s faerings, for those who’d like to know).

Not a problem right?

Except that Rodney hasn’t fed in too long, he’s healing injuries still, and the fact that they have to keep walking isn’t helping. Before they can make it to the Gate, Rodney literally can’t go any farther without feeding.

Jennifer insists he feed on her.

Now. For those paying attention, you’ll remember that Keller took the retrovirus and it didn’t work.

Except, it did. It just took a bit to actually work.

At this point though she doesn’t actually know that but theorizes. And tells Rodney to feed on her.

Ronon, who has done his best to keep Keller and Rodney away from each other because he knew this might happen, can’t watch. He does what he can to persuade Keller not to allow Rodney to feed, but Jennifer is adamant and neither one of them succeed.

Please remember that it was insinuated in the tv series that Keller and Ronon dated for a bit or at least had some kind of relationship before Keller and Rodney became a thing. He might still have feelings for her outside of the usual ‘teammate’ feels.

Don’t get me wrong, they are not right for each other in my opinion, but that doesn’t stop Ronon from having the feelings and now having to deal with his friend feeding on another friend.

To continue – Ronon walks away for a bit and Rodney feeds.

Keller doesn’t die, but does pass out.

We’ll have to do some posts about Keller and Rodney’s relationship after Ronon because boy are things strained!

I mean, the feeding on and being fed on thing isn’t exactly helpful, but the issue actually started when Keller saw Rodney as Quicksilver. She can see the man he was, but who he is now isn’t who she knows.

Things get tense ya’ll, and I feel completely bad for Rodney because he literally had no choice or say in what’s happened to him and Keller kind of acts like a jerk not soon after this…

But, we shall talk about that later.

What you need to know, is that Ronon is having more trouble seeing his friend through the Wraith and blames Rodney for Keller’s condition even though Rodney blames himself too.

They do make it to the Gate without further problems (with the exception of Keller having cramps that I think was an electrolyte problem) and split up with Ronon being the only one not headed to the infirmary.

Okay, next week we’ll go back to Ronon being the main focus. I know I said the first few would be about him, but certain information is needed to understand how he’s growing. Especially cause he hasn’t had too much focus on his development since I think book 2.

Here we are onto book 5 already!

This ones a doozy (as if the others weren’t) and I can’t wait to really get into the relationships and upheavals.

First! We’re going to spend some time looking at Ronon because I haven’t for a bit and he’s truly an interesting person that the authors have continued to grow in the series.

Ronon wakes in the Wraith lifepod with Keller and McKay. McKay wakes up soon after but Keller is pretty much out for the count with whatever put her down in the first place keeping her there.

Ronon isn’t too happy about McKays new look. It sounds and acts like McKay but is definitely Wraith looking.

The author’s (Jo Graham and Melissa Scott) did a great job reminding people of the episode where Rodney had superpowers and healed Ronon’s scars. It’s a very brief mention but the fact that they brought it up here is fabulous writing!

If you haven’t seen the episode in awhile you need to because it adds a depth to this book and what Ronon is going through.

Ronon is hit the hardest by the new Rodney because of his hatred of the Wraith (with good reason) but love for his friend.

Seeing Teyla decked out as a Wraith Queen isn’t new to him, been there seen that, but her and Shepherd’s new ease with the Wraith and even friendship is making him rethink things.

Add in Keller’s eagerness to help Guide with the retrovirus and Ronon is definitely feeling like the odd man out.

The Wraith are the enemy. They’ve always been the enemy.

Right?

Poor Ronon! I honestly feel bad for everything he’s gone through and will go through. However! The authors of the Legacy series really did a fantastic job in writing these characters and Ronon’s reactions will definitely be on point for who he was in the tv series while also letting his character grow!

I close with that to tantalize, and I’ll see y’all next week as we make planet fall where Ronon, Rodney and Keller have to survive making it to the Gate with a hungry Wraith!

Did I say this week was the last post for The Furies?

…just kidding! It really is the last post this go around so buckle up!

The interaction between Ronon and Laura Cadman on the Hammond when they’re going to save Rodney (again) is awesome!

I love the fact that there’s something about her that can make Ronon happy, even if for a moment. He literally thinks about how when she smiles it’s like the sun coming out!

And he just likes to hear her talk.

My little romantic heart ships these two quite a bit because (pretty sure I’ve mentioned somewhere) she won’t back down just because Ronon is scary and he could definitely use a good bit of light in his life.

Onto the next peeps for this last review!

Jennifer and Ronon go after Rodney, and find him, but with the ship being fired on by Death’s cronies, escape gets questionable.

Ronon is able to get an unconscious Keller and Rodney into a life pod and sent off for the nearest planet. I’m pretty sure the next books starts with them but we’ll find out next week.

Teyla, for some reason, claims that Cadman is Carter’s heir! Not sure what she’s setting up but clever of her to do so.

Guide, always being clever, has figured out how to get a transport beam to work on a Hiveship and saves Sheppard and his people (again) before the Hive blows up.

The ZPM with it, unfortunately.

And that is where we end this short review. I need sleep because I work a couple days at both jobs and one of those days I also have a Dr. appointment so no nap between for me!

See y’all next week for Legacy 5: Secrets!!

Hello!

Next week should be the last post for ‘The Furies’, but this week is going to be short because of things.

I have vacation time coming up and in an effort to get things done before hand (to keep me from procrastinating) I’m spending the next few days to two weeks working on little things.

I am really going to try and get some writing done and since places are opening now, I can actually go and write. Because we all know that really doesn’t happen at home.

The list is rather long but if I do a little each day it should be doable.

One of the things on that list is scheduling more posts so these kinds stop having to happen because I was too busy to do a Legacy review.

Anyways, I’ll let y’all get back to your week’ and I’ll see you next week with the final entry for ‘The Furies’!

See ya!

Stargate Atlantis Legacy: The Furies

SGA #19

ISBN: 9781905586578

Wraith relationships, take 2!

…actually, I may have to go back and see what number this is because it’s probably more than a ‘take 2’ situation.

Anyways!

We’re just going to jump right in.

Guide and Teyla have a long talk that starts off not so good.

Teyla needs sleep, but isn’t keen on letting her guard down on a ship full of Wraith, so Guide says he’ll keep watch while she gets some rest.

Teyla’s fear that she’ll wake up with him on top of her leaks through and his reaction is of total revulsion and abhorrence, though it takes a bit to convince her of that enough to let him stay.

Apparently, to force yourself on a Wraith Queen is something so evil amongst the Wraith that any who would dare would be cast out and never allowed on a Hive again.

A death sentence, but longer and worse because they don’t do well alone.

Now, Guide likens humans to animals because of this (he does that quite a bit in this book actually), but when Teyla asks if rape is unheard of in their culture, he has to admit that amongst blades it does happen.

First thing – because of other books we know that not all Wraith females are Queen’s (though that was in a much earlier book that was read between the episodes so it’s possible they were still working on canon and decided later that didn’t fit so ignored it, but I like to think not all Wraith females are Queen’s because it would make more sense) so you’d think it would beg the question whether it wasn’t as much of a ‘sin’ if a non-Queen female, or a male, were raped.

The answer would be no.

Guide admits that it happens, but he isn’t happy about it. It could be because he doesn’t want to admit that the Wraith could act in such a ‘bestial’ manner as humans or it could be because he’s repulsed by the idea altogether.

Either way, it’s one more way Wraith and humans are alike. A not so good comparison this time, but I think a needed one. So far, they’ve each been able to see how they are alike but in an almost case by case basis as if to keep themselves distant from the realization as long as possible.

Guide even thinks about how he doesn’t feel like feeding on Keller and how it’s no doubt due to ‘knowing her name’. Once something has a name, it’s hard to put it back into a box of ‘insignificant’.

Second – Teyla points out that Guide desires her despite his protest to the contrary. Constantly reading his thoughts has let her in on that little nugget often enough.

Thing is, it’s not necessarily her as a person.

Guide explains that the Queen’s are special. Born different. Above. They are what the Wraith sacrifice for and happily. It’s most likely bred into them and as it’s such a part of their culture, definitely not something easily, if ever, broken free of.

Except for Guide.

Teyla wonders how it is that Guide is able to resist Death’s allure seemingly easily. His response is that Death isn’t his Queen. Since Teyla isn’t either (technically) and she points this out, he tells her of Snow.

Teyla can’t help but feel how much he loved Snow and admits to not knowing if she believes they actually can feel those emotions. (this scene is kind of ridiculous to me because you literally just felt it from the man himself!? How can you still be unsure about the Wraith having those kinds of feelings!)

Moving on, I wonder if Teyla knows about Alabaster? If it’s something she’s seen in his mind before?

I want to say no. I feel like that’s something he keeps buried very deep for his own peace of mind.

Having said all that, I really need to get going because this is even longer than last weeks.

We may continue next week, but I’m not quite sure what I want to talk about so we shall see.