Defender of the Realm

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Sting of the Scorpion" featured music by Psykosonik and Sister Machine Gun in addition to the regular score composed by Jonathan Sloate.

This is a magnificent conclusion to the life of Winston Churchill. It covers the period from May 1940 to when he died in January of 1965. It is the last volume of William Manchester’s trilogy on the life of this really oversized personality. This book just shines with so many stirring passages of the events of the era – Dunkirk, the air battles that saved England, El Alamein... His interaction and conflicts with those surrounding him, like Alan Brooke (Chief of the Imperial General Staff) and Harriman (America’s Lend-Lease representative), are well rendered. On his attitude on his buddy Lord Beaverbrook, whom he tapped to get aircraft production up by hook or by crook: The Cybernetic Units are commanded by Sektor and Cyrax by Mind Control, since Kurtis Stryker called them "Mindless Cybernetics" in one scene, and Cyrax said "Annihilate Them!" whilst pointing with his right hand, to which all the Cybernetic Units obeyed him like Mindless Drones, and this implies that the Cybernetic Units have a CPU brain instead of a human brain. The two main characters, Alfie and Hayley couldn't be more different but the friendship they form is completely believable. Add to that the contrasting personalities of Brian and LC and you have scenarios and dialogue that are both funny and moving. The animated show does not depict any Fatalities due to being aimed at a younger audience, but there are still a few deaths, albeit bloodless. Sub-Zero kills a Kahn Guard and a Tarkatan (in two different episodes) by freezing them and then breaking their ice-covered bodies. Another death was Jax lifting a Guard up by his head and then (offscreen) smashing him into pieces on the ground, after which he says "Rest in Peace. Or should I say, Pieces!"The book is lucidly written although in its length it flags in places. In its history, it taught me much about the world in which I have lived. I also learned a great deal about the dauntless figure of Winston Churchill. The authors portray him, and properly so, as the seminal figure of the 20th Century. This lengthy, thoughtful book will be worth the attention of readers who wish to understand the 20th Century and one of the few true 20th Century heroes. In those such as Churchill, history, by way of imagination and discipline, becomes part of personal memory, no less so than childhood recollections of the first swim in the ocean or the first day of school. Churchill did not simply observe the historical continuum; he made himself part of it. Classical venues, and Churchill’s “memory” of them—from the Pillars of Hercules and on around the Mediterranean …--informed his identity in much the same way his memories of his ancestral home, Blenheim Place, did …He may have been born a Victorian, but he had turned himself into a Classical man. He did not live in the past; the past lived on in him. Harry Hopkins, who came to know Churchill well, noted the mystical relationship he had with the past, especially the military past: “He was involved not only in the battles of the current war, but of the whole past from Cannae to Gallipoli.” Alexander the Great, Boudicca, Hadrian, King Harold, Prince Hal, Pitt, and of course his luminous ancestor Marlborough had all played their parts in earlier scenes of the same play and upon the same stage that Churchill and his enemies now played their parts. Winston Churchill was prepared now to step forward as England’s master and commander, and its drummer. But were his King and countrymen ready for him? Would Britons join him when the Hun arrived, and fight alongside him to the end? Were they prepared, each and all, to die in defense of family, home, King, and country? Churchill was. He had readied himself for this moment during every hour of every day for six decades, when he first sent his toy armies charging across the floors of his father’s London town house.

In the episode "Acid Tongue", none of the Reptilian warriors is explicitly referred to as Reptile, though all of them share the same looks (moreover the green ninja uniforms). Their apparent leader is called Komodai. The characters are complex, likeable, and unique. Some chapters are from Alfie’s perspective, others from Hayley’s, and that really balances things out. They are both protagonists in this story, equal in importance. And you get to see both of them develop this way.

This was a long read, but well worth the time. While this book is the last in a trilogy by William Manchester on the life of Winston Churchill, it covers World War II from the British perspective. Paul Reid was selected by Manchester to complete this this volume using Manchester’s research notes. The writing style is very readable. While reading this biography, I always felt compelled to keep reading, not just to finish a long read, but to understand this man without whom the world today would be completely different. Winterhalter, Ryan (July 8, 2010). "Five truly horrendous TV shows based on videogames". GamesRadar . Retrieved June 8, 2014. The Convoluted, Blood-Spattered History of Mortal Kombat (Infographic)". GameFront. 2011-04-15 . Retrieved 2014-02-05.

Alfie as a main character is intriguing. Flawed, in over his head, but doing his best through circumstances he can't control is my favorite type of hero. I would have liked to see more of Hayley as a narrator, but at its core, this is Alfie's story. The story of World War II and Churchill's role is well told. So, too, is the stunning fall from power after Germany's defeat, Churchill's years in the wilderness, and his reaccession as Prime Minister )PM). His age was a burden in his second time serving as PM, but he persevered.But DEFENDER is much more than a war story. Equally fascinating is the character study focusing on the relationships between Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin. Having saved western civilization from Nazism, Churchill was ill used by Roosevelt. Churchill and Roosevelt then were ill used by Stalin who emerges as the most Machiavellian of the three. The war (1940-1945) takes up more than three quarters of this book which extends until Churchill's death in 1965. In 1945 Labour wins the election and Churchill leaves the Potsdam Conference, though his influence continued to be felt. You'll remember his famous speech in Fulton, Missouri (to which Truman had invited him to speak at the Commencement ceremonies of Westminster College) he warned that "From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent." A strange energy emission in New Guinea leads the Earth Warriors to Rain, Kitana's ex-fiancé who was thought to be long dead, sparking jealousy in Liu Kang. Rain, unmasked throughout the entire episode, informs them that Shao Kahn is seeking a powerful scimitar hidden in a sacred temple. The Earth Warriors ready for battle before it's too late, only to discover later that Rain is a traitor and has abducted Kitana. Liu Kang confronts Rain in his castle, but after freeing Kitana, Kitana decides to battle Rain herself to defend her honor. As the battle comes to a close, the castle starts to fall apart, and Rain flees while Liu Kang and Kitana return to safety with Rayden's help before the castle collapses entirely. Without question Churchill was a genius and a great natural leader. He was not what we call a nice person, however, because of his self-centered megalomania. He was uninterested in other people, but adored his family to a fault. He spoiled his only son Randolph rotten, which more or less ruined his son. Churchill, the author points out, was not a 20th century man. He was a 19th century man who worked hard through the war to preserve the British Empire. Roosevelt was dead by the time Stalin’s post-war strategy began to unfold in Eastern Europe and Churchill recognized it only after he was out of office. But once he saw Stalin’s strategy for what it was, Churchill became one of the West’s most insightful and savage critics of Soviet expansionism.

At the right time we get on the world stage a man who had reason to call World War 2 the “Unnecessary War.” Warning about and standing up to Hitler had been Churchill’s clarion call for nearly ten years while on the sidelines of government, a period wonderfully covered in Manchester’s Volume 2 of “The Last Lion.” The rounds of appeasement in agreements with the Nazi government carried out by Baldwin and then Chamberlain at the helm shamefully failed in stages, as first Austria was declared a Germany’s, then Czechoslovakia was crushed, and finally Poland was invaded and divided with Russia. The French and British commitment to Poland brought them both into the war. A crisis of confidence in Chamberlain led to formation of a coalition government and entry for Churchill to join the cabinet as naval minister. For over six months there was plenty of preparation but almost no fighting save for a botched campaign to fortify Norway with British forces. The period led to some to call the situation the “Phoney War.” It was not so phoney to the Poles who experienced must slaughter of their citizenry and early imprisonment and enslavement of its Jews. Churchill was in a helpless position as he witnessed the French army make only a minor salient into Poland. Finally, with the invasion of France and Chamberlain forced to step down, Churchill’s rise to Prime Minister put him in the position to lead the war effort. The Old Man relaxed with a fury, and always with a quotient of wit and good cheer in inverse proportion to what might fairly be expected from a man who had just suffered a terrible week. Mortal Kombat | Mortal Kombat II | Mortal Kombat 3 | Mortal Kombat 4 | Deadly Alliance | Deception | Armageddon | MK vs. DCU | Mortal Kombat (2011) | Mortal Kombat X | Mortal Kombat 11 | Mortal Kombat 1 There were a lot of things this book tried to be, some that worked, some that fell horribly flat. As far as storytelling goes, this was supposed to be a YA book, but ended up reading more like a middle grade story. I ask the question 'who is this book for' a lot when reading, and this is the first time I really couldn't tell. The characters were high schoolers who read like middle schoolers throughout except for in one or two key moments. This book took itself more seriously than it needed to, but not seriously enough at the same time. The book boasted two main characters, but only one of them read like a protagonist. The other reads like another side character who occasionally gets to tell you what's going on in her head.

I read the first two volumes years ago and was awaiting the third, but as Manchester got older and older I was afraid he would never finish it. Evidently he was afraid too and finally enlisted journalist Paul Reid to finish it. Manchester had done most of the research. The book finally came out last fall. Churchill is here a great man. But he is wrong fully half the time, whether by the philosophy of the reader or the actual verdict of events as told by our narrator. He is painted both prescient and naive. It must have been exhausting to have dined with him. Arenas | Artifacts | DC Storyline | Fatalities | Glossary | Main Storyline | Minor Characters | Realms | Secret Characters | Species | Unplayable Characters | Weapons