News Resources
Login
Become a member
Help
Search
|
|
| About Us News Resources
Login
Become a member
Help
Search
|
|
|
| The Tenth Walker by Lindelea | 6 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| Virtuella | Reviewed Chapter: 70 on 4/5/2025 |
| nutmeats - something like a modern protein bar, I guess? [he has an answer to each and every one, though he often pauses, as if to ponder, before offering a reply. I marvel at his wisdom] You know, I used to find Sam quite irritating, so subservient and needy, but on my last reread I gave him a different voice in my head and suddenly, he was this young but capable hobbit with his head screwed on right. Lovely to see this sweet interaction with Boromir! Author Reply: I'm tired today, so this reply is rather rambling and thinking aloud. Disregard as you wish, or feel free to discuss! I love pondering details of Tolkien's world-building, and it's always fun to gain additional food for thought to chew on. Pretty much like a protein bar! Or maybe trail mix. Concentrated calories for hiking, anyhow. I'm glad to hear you came to see Sam in a new light. I've always seen him as a product of his environment. Maybe because I read a lot of Dickens and Victorian children's stories and watched "Upstairs Downstairs" and "The Duchess of Duke Street" (or something like that) with my mom as a kid before I encountered Tolkien? And then before I started writing fanfic, I read all of Dorothy Sayers' "Lord Peter" books and encountered Bunter, Lord Peters batman (I think?) in WWI. If I'm remembering right, he pulled Peter out of a collapsed trench, and then when Peter was invalided home, basically nonfunctional from shell shock (he couldn't even give orders to his parents' servants because he'd been traumatized by ordering men to their deaths), "Sergeant Bunter" showed up on the doorstep of the mansion and just naturally stepped into the role of Peter's manservant (which included taking photographs of crime scenes and running an organization of informants, if I'm remembering right). He is never portrayed as "less than" – but he is "different", and he may be deferential, but he's never subservient, if I'm making sense. Thus, in my Shire, I've built on Tolkien's hints of class distinctions, but I don't structure it in an oppressive way. Rather, hobbits are creatures of habit. If you're interested, here are a couple places where I explored the idea as part of the dialogue (feel free to read or bypass as you will): http://www.storiesofarda.com/chapterview.asp?sid=796&cid=3472 (Freddy and Frodo separately explain the concept of "place" to Estella from a "gentry" viewpoint: One of the things Freddy says about Sam is Just because he’s of a lower class does not mean he is actually lower—why, I believe he has more influence over Frodo than I do, and I’m Frodo’s kin!) http://www.storiesofarda.com/chapterview.asp?sid=796&cid=3799 (A healer's explanation to Samwise from the "common hobbit" viewpoint: Among the points he makes are Fancy dress and fancy talk don’t cut any ice with Farmer Cotton! Not from a common hobbit, anyhow. He puts up with it from the gentry, for it’s what he’d expect, so long as they don’t look down their noses at him for being a hobbit of honest labour and But rolled-up sleeves and plain talk, they don’t cut any ice with the gentry, you see? If I, as a healer, want them to mind my words, I’ve got to get them to do more than half-listen to me. I have to talk their talk, but if I’m looking plain and speaking fancy it makes them uncomfortable, so I take pains with my appearance so as to make it easier for them to listen. Poor souls, they don’t know any better, and so I make the effort.) | |
| MlleGigi | Reviewed Chapter: 70 on 2/9/2015 |
| I'm very happy to see that you're still committed to this story, despite the fact that it's been quite a few years in the making...thank you. I can think of man fanfic writers who have been abandoned by the muse or who have simply given up and lost interest within shorter (sometimes much shorter) periods of time. I love this chapter, for the stories that we hear about Boromir after his death (most of them from Faramir) paint a picture of a very generous and kind-hearted as well as very brave man...and yet unfortunately, Tolkien does not allow us to see much of this while he is alive. Yes, we are given glimpses of a man who bears the weight of many cares and concerns even before being tempted by the Ring...but I find it difficult to believe that Elrond would have agreed to make him part of the Fellowship if he had not perceived Boromir to have a truly noble soul. I'm glad that you chose him to be the one to feed Bill and give him appreciation. Bill is already friends with the hobbits and Aragorn and Gandalf, but it's nice to see the other members of the Fellowship showing him kindness. Author Reply: Thank you for the encouraging words. I'm actually hoping to finish this story before its tenth anniversary (sad, but true). Glimpses is right, and even a bit of reading between the lines at times. And yet, the Professor's world is so very rich and deep, with so many possibilities... | |
| KathyG | Reviewed Chapter: 70 on 2/7/2015 |
| In this chapter, I like how Boromir sought to help Sam take care of Bill, and I also like how Frodo sought to take care of Sam. Author Reply: I think Elrond chose the Walkers with great care. I don't know if he foresaw Boromir's trouble, or not, but Boromir's actions at the breaking of the Fellowship probably, in an uncanny way, saved the Quest by forcing Frodo to the decision he made. That said, I think all in the Fellowship would have been committed to making things work, and beyond that, Boromir has genuine regard for the pony (for reasons that will come out later, I hope, and if not in this story, perhaps in another), and I love the turnabout of Frodo watching out for Sam. Thanks! | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 70 on 2/7/2015 |
| Dear Bill! Love that he's realizing that Boromir has a good heart, and that Sam is able to accept that he has allies in his love for the doughty pony. And I, too, see Frodo as being convinced to help others so as to make him rest. Love this! Author Reply: It is good to see this side of Boromir. Didn't JRRT call him a noble man? I can't remember, but this early in the journey, he was still completely self-possessed. I think that once Sam saw Boromir's care, and Bill's response, he was able to relax and, yes, accept Boromir as an ally in Bill's care. (Strider is very... um, sneaky, here... but for that matter, Merry really was shivering cold. So it worked out for the best, for both Merry and Frodo, as it turned out.) Thanks! | |
| Dreamflower | Reviewed Chapter: 70 on 2/7/2015 |
| Awww! Such a sweet chapter; even grumpy, the hobbits still take care of one another. And it's good to see Boromir looking out for poor Bill. I'm glad the pony didn't have to eat bitter tree bark for his supper-breakfast (or was it breakfast-supper? I get the two confused.) Author Reply: I get them confused, too, to tell the truth. But I think this is Supper-breakfast simply because they've been walking all night, and this is the end of their day (thus "supper"), but they're eating at breakfast-time. Perhaps there is actually some meal reflecting that concept in hobbit society already, sensibly named "supper-at-breakfast" and partaken of by those who must work through the night, like nurses or midwives or a farmer watching over a prized cow giving birth. One thing that hobbits are astonishingly precise about (besides genealogies, that is), and that would be mealtimes. Thanks! | |
| shirebound | Reviewed Chapter: 70 on 2/7/2015 |
| My heart was breaking for poor hungry Bill until Boromir came to him. What a gentle, lovely encounter between them. Author Reply: Thank you! It seemed likely that Bill would have to carry grain as well as rations for the two-legged Walkers, at least while they were walking through the winter landscape. After all, he has to keep up his strength! | |