Fandom: STARGATE ATLANTIS
Pairing: none
Length: 1,577 words
Author on LJ: inocciduous
Author Website: unknown
Why this must be read:

Author's Summary : Senbazuru: a group of one thousand origami paper cranes held together by strings. An ancient Japanese legend promises that anyone who folds a thousand origami cranes will be granted a wish by a crane. It is commonly said that folding 1000 paper origami cranes makes a person's wish come true. They can also be gifted to a new baby for long life and good luck. Hanging a Senbazuru in one's home is thought to be a powerfully lucky and benevolent charm. (Wikipedia)

MIKO KUSANAGI

This is an absolutely beautiful piece on Miko that gives us some backstory on her, a glimpse into her heart and how she remembers, and the sheer love she has for those around her and her adopted city. I was moved to literal tears when Miko released the cranes both times. This fic is loaded with emotion and visual imagery to delight the senses.

Senbazuru

Fandom: STARGATE ATLANTIS
Pairing: none
Length: 1,231 words
Author on LJ: wildcat88
Author Website: Fanfic.net
Why this must be read:

Author's Summary : When Patrick learns John is injured in Afghanistan, he pulls some strings to be with his son.

PATRICK SHEPPARD

This character doesn't get any screen time in canon besides a brief shot of his coffin. We have no face to put to the man, but I think we can all agree on the impact he has had on the character of John Sheppard. He's been a driving force John's entire life, his attitude towards John's life choices and the tension between father and son helping to create the man we know and love.

And yet, we barely know anything about Patrick Sheppard besides the impact he's had on John. We don't know what drives him in his reactions to John nor do we really know his thoughts on John's life. This piece helps bridge the gap of that loss in a moving piece of parental pride and sadness over a son's pain. While he may not agree with the direction John's life has taken, he still feels pride over his accomplishments and tears still spring to Patrick's eyes at the current situation he finds his son in. I really felt for the this father and wish there was more fiction out there exploring him that was this good.

In The Line of Duty

Fandom: STARGATE ATLANTIS
Pairing: none
Length: 1,168 words
Author on LJ: lunabee34
Author Website: Masterlist on LJ
Why this must be read:

Author's Summary : This is a set of five vignettes from the POV of various Genii that focuses on the coping mechanism of fantasy

THE GENII

This fic brings to life the Genii like no other that I've ever read. From the view point of five very distinct characters, this story splashes color and makes us feel for them as they try and find their way in the new lay of things in the Pegasus Galaxy. Idos' passion for his people, Sora's unique understanding, Cowen's lust for power, Kolya's conflicted respect for his enemies, and Ladon's hope for the future all make this very unique culture of the Pegasus Galaxy shine and throb with life.

If You Wish Upon A Star

Fandom: STARGATE ATLANTIS
Pairing: none
Length: 2,700 words
Author on LJ: naye
Author Website: AO3
Why this must be read:

Author's Summary : A young man must take a dark and twisted path to save everything he loves.

JINTO

Everyone remember that bright and energetic boy from the pilot of SGA, that young kid who was so in awe of Shepperd and wanted to learn everything he could about these new friends from Altantis? Well, in this very dark and sorrowful postulation of his ultimate fate, life isn't so innocent or bright anymore. Experimented on by Michael, Jinto is created into something not quite human. He's constantly driven from world to world, trying to find the succor and help that he can never have. By the end, he finds his own way to express his defiance. But it's a very sad and painful journey for our young friend. The author brings to life a character that is in a lot of pain but who will fight to the bitter end the only way he knows how. You'll want to weep for poor Jinto by the end at the same time as you cheer for him.

Shadows Follow Where He Walks

Fandom: STARGATE ATLANTIS
Pairing: none
Length: 1,000 words
Author on LJ: regann
Author Website: AO3
Why this must be read:

Author's Summary : Caldwell learned a few things during the dark days of his captivity. Coda for "Critical Mass".

COLONEL STEVEN CALDWELL

This piece provides a truly moving and horrifying look at being a host from Steven Caldwell's eyes. His ordeal shows something of the man behind the brash military exterior. He's a man who has had several of his dreams in life swept away from him, so many of his ambitions unrealized. All of that is used as ammunition against him for very painful consequences by his invader. He also has to watch as he betrays his people and the city he loves to death and destruction. He finds some peace in defiance as he fights his invader, to finally see it expelled and to have his mind again. This piece really digs into what makes Steven Caldwell tick and shows us the kind of man he can be. He's not just the hard-lined military man; he's a man of honor who cares for his people and does all he can to protect them, even from himself.

Peace of Mind

Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Pairing: John Sheppard/Rodney McKy
Rating: R
Word Count: 40,119
Author's LJ: indybaggins
Author's Summary: Epiphany tag. The one where Rodney gets sucked in and John… follows. Featuring a quirky John, Rodney in orange robes, crazy Ancient-worship, sheep milking and jumpers that aren't broken but need to be fixed anyway.

Why This Must Be Read: I've always wondered how the episode would have gone if John hadn't been alone; luckily, there's fic for that! Because this follows John and Rodney's lives in the Cloister, the fic is quiet. I don't mean that it has no plot or is uninteresting, but it explores the life John and Rodney live while trapped, which means there are no wraith battles or races against time. There are some truly hilarious moments and the growth of John and Rodney's relationship is lovely. You get to know Hedda (the little girl from the episode) much better, and she's a likable character. Rodney doesn't give up on finding a way out of the Sanctuary - of course not - and his presence there creates some small changes. This fic is fun, and if when you're in the mood for a good read that isn't terribly angsty or dramatic, this is a great fic. Sometimes you just want a quiet read.

( Cut for tiny snippet )

Zen and the Art of Jumper Maintenance

Fandom: Tongues of Men and Angels
Pairing: John Sheppard/Rodney McKay
Length: 58,523 words
Author on LJ: mad_maudlin
Author Website: AO3
Author Summary: When SG-4 is ambushed offworld, an injured Major John Sheppard must put his trust in a Tok'ra agent named McKay to survive. But what secrets is McKay keeping about his mission, the planet, and his own motives for helping John?

Why this must be read: This fic has a unique, fun premise that keeps you reading. John is severely injured offworld and left in the care of a tok'ra. While John recovers, he must mourn the loss of his team and attempt to figure out exactly what the secretive McKay is up to. There's also the matter of John's strange dreams... mad_maudlin really makes them feel like John and Rodney despite the different experiences they've had. The plot is engaging and moves the fic right along, and you come to care about the OC's (who are well-written and fully fleshed out).

Tongues of Men and Angels

Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Pairing: John Sheppard/Rodney McKay
Length: 67,906 words
Author on LJ: lavvyan
Author Website: AO3 / Wraithbait
Author's Summary: When Rodney is culled, John suddenly has to deal with the loss of his best friend. As for Rodney, things go downhill from there. Set somewhere after The Hive, spoilers up to that episode.

Why this must be read: It's heartbreaking and fun and has a happy ending. When Rodney is culled, John has to deal with the loss of his friend and the sudden realization about the depth of his feelings. John's struggle to let Rodney go will make you ache for him - several scenes never fail to make me tear up. Meanwhile, Rodney must survive while stranded on a culled world, fighting an infection and the perils of loneliness. I love presumed dead fics, and this is one that I've re-read countless times.

But Never The Nights

Fandom: Stargate: Atlantis
Pairing: John Sheppard/Rodney McKay
Length: 65,374 words
Author on LJ: issaro
Author Website: Issaro on AO3
Why this must be read:

Author's Summary: The world is ending and there's nothing John can do about it except listen to it pass by on his small radio. The world has ended and there was nothing left for Rodney to do except hope that when he got where he was going, someone else would be there as well. John just wants to keep his sanity but might have to give up on being human in the process. Rodney just wants to find some answers provided he can make it there in one piece. It's the end of the world and only the wolves will survive.

This actually covers two fics - a series. The first is labeled gen, but the second is very much John/Rodney. It combines two of my favorite tropes - apocalypse and werewolves. Rodney is following a beacon, making his way by foot through forests and around cities. In one of these forests, he comes across a trapped wolf and sets about freeing it. Once free, the wolf takes to following him, stealing his food and keeping him safe. But this is no ordinary wolf, as Rodney discovers. The fic is very true to their characters, though they've been understandably damaged by the apocalypse. As always, I love John and Rodney's relationship, which is very well done. An engaging read - once I start it, I can never stop until I've read it all. There is some end of world imagery that may bother readers, however.

Traveling With Wolves

And this should be it for my month of Stargate recs. Hope that readers found something they enjoyed or an old familiar read.
It seems my time here continues on next month in different fandoms, so see you around!

Fandom: STARGATE ATLANTIS
Pairing: Ronon/Teyla
Length: 20k+
Author on LJ: hth_the_first
Author Website:
Why this must be read:
The recruiting sergeants came through Ronon’s town when he was a month short of sixteen, but it didn’t bother him to lie on his application, putting his birthday a few weeks into his past instead of his future. They gave him two days to put his life in order and be at the pick-up site and told him not to bring anything but a shaving kit and one change of clothes – something sturdy, nothing fancy. Beyond that, he didn’t know what to expect, and he didn’t ask.

Ronon's backstory, looking at his life in the Satedan military with his old friends, juxtaposed against Ronon's place on Atlantis with his new teammates. It's a great look at one version of Ronon's past that shapes his actions and relationships in his new home. Teyla is a fantastic character here as well and her presence and familiarity in the unfamiliar environment of Atlantis sets the mood in a lovely balance.

Steadfast, Loyal, and True

Fandom: STARGATE ATLANTIS
Pairing: Sheppard/Dex
Length: 4390
Author on LJ: jendavis
Author Website: Ao3
Why this must be read:
It always starts the same way, and almost always ends the same way, too.

Groundhog-day fic with Ronon as the trapped party fighting again and again to save Atlantis from exploding. The SG-1 episode is referenced, and it’s similar in structure in that the only one who’s aware of what’s going on doesn’t have the technical knowledge to fix it. And he’s having a lot of trouble convincing the people around him to not react to threats the way they’re trained to.

I'd Do It Again If I Could

Fandom: SG-1, STARGATE ATLANTIS
Pairing: Sheppard/Mitchell
Length: 65+
Author on LJ: forestgreen
Author Website:
Why this must be read:
John opened the closed record that Stargate Command had on him and skipped over its content: "Dr John Sheppard, Civilian Consultant to the U.S. Air Force, member of SG-1, PhD in Applied Mathematics and PhD in Computer Science, gifted mathematician with a penchant for stealing, trustworthy." A small, satisfied smirk crooked John's lips. He struck the last part out and added a correction in red: "Gifted thief with a penchant for mathematics, not to trust." He saved the document and erased all traces of his presence in the system. It'd take a while for McKay to figure out that John had found yet another weakness in the SGC network. He ordered pizza and waited for the rest of the SG-1 to arrive. It was Mitchell's turn to pick the movie.

AU- John Sheppard as a chaotic neutral(ish) mathematician genius criminal. Who ends up working for the SGC as Rodney’s math assistant and catches SG-1’s attention, mostly in a friendly way.
It’s an interesting and different take on John Sheppard, one who’s putting all his talents to use and is used to coming out on top. He have to be a little more on his toes when he’s spending time with a mountain fill of geniuses/highly competent people. And Sheppard is mostly in it for the thrills and the payday until he starts making some real friends. Fantastic General O'Neil in this fic as well.


No Good Deed
Ao3 link

Fandom: SGA
Pairing: Gen
Length: 17k+
Author on LJ: copperbadge
Author Website: DW, Ao3
Why this must be read:
Ronon's friendship with Chuck, the head Gate Tech of the Atlantis mission, leads him to discover the strange and alien ways of Canadians and helps him lay his past to rest.

I checked back through the posting here and was surprised to see that this had never been recced. So, just in case there are people unfamiliar with his fic, I had to gush about this a little.
It’s the ‘Ronon befriends Chuck (that gate-tech)’ fic. It’s the Ronon learns poetry and English and about Canada fic. It’s Ronon putting Sateda to rest in his past and looking for a new home and maybe finding that in Canada.

Also, the podfic version is fantastic if you're into that.

My Home and Native Land

Fandom: STARGATE ATLANTIS, SG-1
Pairing: Lorne/Parrish, Sheppard/Mitchell
Length: 16k+
Author on LJ: somehowunbroken, clwilson2006,
Author Website:
Why this must be read:
Someone is assassinating everyone ever associated with the Stargate program. It’s not just a small number: dozens are dead before the alert even goes up. It’s up to those left to figure out who’s behind the murders and stop them before Earth’s line of defense against invasion is nothing more than a distant memory.

Members of both SG-1 and Atlantis are scrambling to find their friends and loved ones as it seems like one by one, they are all being hunted down and killed. A murder mystery with the cast of the entire rest of the universe as a possibility for the villain, and it seems like the whole world gets thrown into chaos. There are character death of more than just minor characters.
This is an interestingly done genre fic that feels familiar in a comfortable way- cold open, drama, conflict, resolution- you might not get every twist that happens, but the fic takes what works in the medium and uses it.


Fish In A Barrel

Fandom: STARGATE ATLANTIS, SG-1
Pairing: Sheppard/Mitchell, Emmagan/Kanaan, Brown/McKay
Length: 72k+
Author on LJ: bluflamingo
Author Website:
Why this must be read:
Atlantis wasn't Cam's first choice for reassignment; he probably wasn't Atlantis' first choice for the new expedition leader either. Sometimes you work with what you've got anyway, even if what you've got includes seers, ill-advised rescue missions, replicators, wraith in the city and John Sheppard.

AU where season 4 of SGA takes place with Cam as commander on Atlantis instead of Sam Carter. It's mostly from Cam's POV, who feels entirely out of place and is trying to find his footing at first in a city where is distinctly an outsider to the community that existed there for the 3 years. Cam doesn't have the 10 years of experience at the SGC like Sam did, and his relationship with McKay and Sheppard are different from what her's would have been (McKay especially, who hasn't entirely gotten over the lemon incident), so his approach to action differs from Sam's. Where the differences between events here and in canon are subtle at first, but the developing relationships between all the characters and their slightly different approaches to events lead to different outcomes.

There is an interesting mix of familiar and unfamiliar in this season 4, and there's a a slow building Sheppard/Mitchell here that introduced me to and sold me on the pairing. The writing style really made reading through this fic go a lot faster than I anticipated which is to say that it's great and worked at least for me and hopefully for you.

Never As Bad As Anticipated (Until It Is)

Fandom: SGA & GENERATION KILL
Pairing: Gen
Length: 140k+
Author on LJ:
Author Website: Ao3
Why this must be read:
"You want to recruit me for what? You want me to go where?"
Sgt. Brad Colbert has been on a lot of strange missions, but this promises to be his most out there yet: Atlantis


Considering the tone of the two shows, this crossover seems like a strange and unlikely fit, but it manages to work if you look at it as borrowing one characters from one universe to better explore and explain another.

( Considering how long this fic is, it may need some explanation. )

Rock Happy

Fandom: STARGATE ATLANTIS
Pairing: Sheppard/Dex
Length: 3173
Author on LJ:
Author Website:Rheanna’s Ao3, busaikko’s Ao3
Why this must be read:
Ronon starts his e-mail correspondence with Sheppard's brother more or less by mistake.

Fieldwork is a remix of 'Homework' (which is from Dave's POV) so I included the 2nd link. They don't have to be read together, but they do give the other an interesting perspective.

This is a fic where Ronon accidentally starts to fix John and Dave's relationship by email with John being unaware for most of the fic. It's a study in characters with communication issues (Dave and John being Sheppards, Ronon not being fluent in English) somehow stumbling towards coherency with each other all while Ronon does his homework. And maybe there's a little punch in the gut at the end, but it all seems to meoving towards a place where characters can have functional relationships.

Fieldwork
&
Homework

Fandom: STARGATE ATLANTIS, SG-1
Pairing: Gen, Sheppard/Mitchell
Length: 9493, 9570
Author on LJ: minervacat
Author Website:
Why this must be read:
In which John Sheppard hates cricket and accidentally starts an intramural soccer league, and Cameron Mitchell thinks McKay's sister sucks.
&
In which: John is appalled by SG-1, Cameron is relentlessly cheerful, Jack drinks beer, Teal'c roots for Florida, Sam flirts with Wisconsin fans, Vala tries to show her breasts to basketball players, and Daniel is mostly oblivious to all of it.

Basically, the 2 fics (the 2nd being the sequel) boil down to 'John Sheppard and Cam Mitchell bond over sports'. No actual knowledge of sports seems necessary considering it's pretty much a foreign language for me and it wasn't a bar to enjoying the story. The first part is mostly gen while the sequel comes with the pairing.

'The Towers...' takes place on Atlantic and works really well as a long-distance friendship fic where John finds one of the things he strangely misses most about Earth is access to ESPN. John ends up email-ing back and forth with Cam about college football mostly, but their interactions involve mocking teams and each other, sports news, bitching about soccer, and somehow becoming friends while John sulks about Cam's team stealing John's team's coach. Meanwhile, we get to see a community building in Pegasus that goes beyond the explore+survive nature of the show. It's a nice chance to see characters making Atlantis feel a little more like home and John connecting with someone over non-Atlantis related topics.

The sequel involved John on earth going to games with the entirety of SG-1. There is some hilarious SG-1 team bonding and mocking, a lot of drinking, and a really comfortable dynamic between John and Cam that works for the actual laid back sides of their personality that comes through.


The Towers On The Heights Reach To Heav'n's Own Blue
Steal The Thunder From The Sky

Fandom: STARGATE ATLANTIS (& SG-1)
Pairing: Laura Cadman/Alison Porter, Dusty Mehra/Ronon Dex (background Sheppard/Mitchell)
Length: 23k+
Author on LJ:
Author Website: Ao3
Why this must be read:
The McKay Foundation is holding their first ever Innovative Engine competition. Anne Teldy and her team have set their sights on winning but a few things get in their way. The good thing about the whole mess is that they find out who they really are.

This is an AU that I don't think exists in the Stargate universe of alternate realities? The closest I can think of is the one in where Sam Carter used to be married to McKay, but this universe isn't a dystopia(Cam Mitchell is the only SG-1 character that really make and appearance which is why I put it in parentheses.) But there is something that still feels like Stargate about this fic- probably all the geniuses gathering in the middle of action-plots.

This is a fic that mainly features background of 1-off characters from SGA with appearances- mainly Anne Teldy's all female gate team + Laura Cadman at the forefront- being awesomely smart scientists competing in a building contest while they're all housed in a giant McKay building. There's all the conflict that comes with contests, but the main problem everyone is facing is that someone seems to be trying to sabotage the competition- creating a security threat, blowing up projects, and killing a few people along the way. Most of AR-1 (and Cam) are pretty much background characters which makes it seem like it could have been an episode of SGA from the pov of the scientists.

The mystery plot is well carried through the entire fic and the world building is pretty great.

Innovation is Our Middle Name

Fandom: STARGATE ATLANTIS
Pairing: Gen
Length: 1888
Author on LJ: minervacat
Author Website:
Why this must be read:
the past is beautiful like the darkness between the fireflies.

One thing I felt like the show could have done more of is Ronon exploration, and here is a fic that does that kind of beautifully. Here is a Ronon trying to make sense of the people and the world around him in the context of what he remembers from Sateda and a bit of the mindset of the Runner he was for years. It's a picture of someone who'd utterly unsure of what the future holds but is willing to wake up in the morning to see what it holds.

i woke up before you in the total darkness

Hello! I'll be running the Stargate puddlejumper warship van this month. Some of you may have seen me around last month- I'll be driving 1 fandom this time instead of 3 so it feels a little more manageable this time around. :)
I want to say on the outset that it is unlikely that I will be rec-ing any McShep this month- partly because I doubt I could bring much originality to the recs, and partly because while I do read it, it is not my premier ship. I hope I can bring up a few things that some of you can enjoy.

Fandom: SG-1 (& SGA)
Pairing: Gen
Length: 1k+
Author on LJ: tsuki_no_bara
Author Website: staranise’s Ao3, tsukinobara’s Ao3
Why this must be read:
Not all the SGC's psychologists are stupid.

If the Stargate program is throwing everything the sciences know about the work on its head, why should psychology be any different? For one psychologist working under Cheyenne Mountain, her days involve dealing with patients run into issues of “DID” (goa'uld infestation), exposure to mind altering substances (sex pollen) and breakdowns in public by servicemen. Her shopping list really says it all.

This fic is made up of mostly OC’s (with a brief mention of a Dr. Keller), and manages to work a lot of world building into so little space- mainly emails, letters, and session notes. Plus, it’s pretty hilarious.

There is also a fantastically deadpan podfic version of the fic at the top of the link that works just as well if not better than the text version. It's mostly because of the inflections.

We're All Mad Here

Fandom: STARGATE ATLANTIS
Pairing: none
Length: ~ 2,400 words
Author on LJ: daughtershade
Author Website: AO3
Why this must be read:

I love how this five things fic shows us hidden sides to Marshall Sumner's character that we never get to see in canon. He's a dedicated commander, a Western lover, and a humorous guy. He knows how to face death gracefully when it's his time. He's a man any Marine or Air Force Major would be honored to follow. And even though this fic explores five ways in which he dies, I still enjoyed the way this fic is a character study. You'll definitely be jonesing for more of Sumner after this fic.

Five Ways Marshall Sumner Died

Fandom: STARGATE SG-1 AND STARGATE ATLANTIS
Pairing: Daniel Jackson / Elizabeth Weir
Length: 3,160 words
Author on LJ: sagittaron
Author Website: Masterlist on LJ
Why this must be read:

Author's Summary: they pass each other notes in mandarin. she's always thought of him as a smarter version of indiana jones

I really liked how mature and laughter-filled the author portrayed this pairing. It was the first fic I read with this pairing, and it made me search for more like crazy. Both Daniel and Elizabeth are portrayed as fully rounded individuals who view the universe with awe, gusto, and lots of humor. They seem to get each other on a very basic level and bring so much to each others lives. The author breathes life into them as people and into the relationship.

Like a Moon on the Tides

EDIT: Link to story fixed. Boy, I feel like a little stupid... XD Sorry, guys!

Fandom: STARGATE SGA AND STARGATE SG-1
Pairing: none
Length: ~1100 words
Author on LJ: penknife
Author Website: AO3
Why this must be read:
Author's Summary : Twelve episode tags Penknife never wrote for SG-1 and SGA.

I adore these twelve tags to different SG-1 and SGA episodes. They're short, sweet, and hilarious as all hell. They contain the important lessons of Stargate like never trusting past lovers and the IOA really needs to allocate some hugs for the SGA crew. You'll giggle your way through these and enjoy every short exchange. A nice light fare for the weekend.

In Short

Fandom: STARGATE ATLANTIS
Pairing: Rodney/Jennifer
Length: 600 words
Author on LJ: siriaeve
Author Website: AO3
Why this must be read:

Author's Summary: For winslow_arizona, who wanted Jennifer/Rodney to the prompt "this was not your dream, but you always believed in me"

I like what siriaeve did with Rodney's and Jennifer's relationship here. It's mature and loving without losing any of the flavor of our characters. Rodney's still the abrasive and condescending character we know and love; yet, he's also the supportive and proud spouse. Jennifer shines in her moment of glory and the reader just really gets a sense of the deep sense of commitment and caring between these two. Not many people can balance all these elements in the Rodney/Jennifer pairing, but siriaeve has that skill licked with wonderful results.

pay off

Fandom: STARGATE ATLANTIS
Pairing: none
Length: 920 words
Author on LJ: stringertheory
Author Website: Masterlist on LJ
Why this must be read:

Author's Summary: Teyla reflects on the people of Earth.

I really liked seeing Teyla through this author's eyes and how she sees the world. She's the strong and determined leader we know and love, ready to face whatever the Pegasus galaxy wishes to sling her way right alongside her people. How she compares the Atlantians and her own people are insightful and thought-provoking. It's interesting to see how different circumstances have shaped the two cultures as they both look into a future together. Whatever may come, the courageous Teyla will be there to lead the way.

A Fruit Tree in Winter

Fandom: STARGATE ATLANTIS
Pairing: McKay/Sheppard
Length: ~7,600 words
Author on LJ: kitt
Author Website: mistokitt (fic journal) ; Wraithbait
Why this must be read:

Warnings: temporary character death
Author's Summary: It looked ordinary enough to John, somewhat like a keychain used to lock and unlock car doors. John's fingers itched to touch it. To take it from Rodney and toss it into the vast ocean, so that he couldn't hit the buttons anymore. Which was odd, because John couldn't recall ever having seen it before, much less having seen Rodney hit any of the buttons.

This fic is just incredible. Haunting, desperate, and suspenseful, it really digs into how far an individual will go to save a friend or loved one and how fleeting, yet everlasting, memory really is. kitt keeps her readers engaged from start to finish, from a saddening death scene in the beginning to that desperate hug at the end. She also captures her character's essences while keeping the intense storytelling barreling forward. John's growing urge to remember, remember, remember through each cycle... And Rodney's expanding desperation as he tries to save everyone and fails again, again, and again... They are both so true to character and yet are almost original in this very unique tale. At least at the end we have our happy ending, and yet there still remains that lasting hint of what could have been in the very last line.

Iteration