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| The Way Home by Lindelea | 4 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| Lady Forlong | Reviewed Chapter: 61 on 4/13/2026 |
| If it's spring, then "his" hobbits ought to be coming back any day now. Or wait a minute -- I just remembered they stayed in Gondor until midsummer, and then I think they hung out in Rivendell for a while after that, so Bill still has a while to wait. But he's going to be so happy to see "his" Sam again. Author Reply: It feels as if they ought to be back soon, but in reality, they didn't leave Gondor until a few weeks after the royal wedding. Even then, they didn't seem to be in a great hurry as they traveled homewards, stopping off in Rohan, for example, and Isengard, and Rivendell, and other places. They passed Saruman on the road, and even though they were mounted and the wizard was on foot, Saruman still managed to beat them to the Shire, and he had time to do quite a bit of damage before they finally arrived. In fact, they were still traveling when Frodo suffered his first "anniversary" illness on October 6. Yes, Bill has a while to wait, but oh! ...the joyful reunion that is to come. It almost makes me want to skip over all the chapters in-between, except they're already written out in draft form, so I might as well polish and post them. Thank you for coming along on Bill's journey! | |
| KathyG | Reviewed Chapter: 61 on 4/12/2026 |
| I get the feeling that Bill misses Bob, and Pansy, too! Are Bob's days of overseeing the stables over for good, or is the bookkeeping meant to give him something to do while he recovers from his injuries? Author Reply: Your feeling would be accurate. Bill has a big heart. At the moment, the idea is to give Bob quiet, not-physically-demanding, gainful employment that keeps him busy enough so that he won't sneak off to the stables to pitch hay or clean stalls or do any of the other heavy labor involved in keeping equines. At least long enough that his body has a chance to heal from his near-fatal injury. Hopefully he won't make himself indispensable as Barliman's record-keeper... Even if he did, I suspect he'd find a way to work both jobs. Thanks! | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 61 on 4/10/2026 |
| At least Bob has employment mete to his abilities and the right to visit the stables he can no longer safely labor in. I feel for Bill, but rejoice that he realizes that living just for the day can be enough. Author Reply: Though the animals of my acquaintance have typically displayed both a capacity for memory and astonishing powers of imagination, it has always seemed to me that, for the most part, they live(d) in the moment. It has been interesting to contemplate the ins and outs of running The Prancing Pony within the framework Tolkien established. I was also influenced by the detailed historical records I've seen (or read about) that have been so helpful to historians trying to put together a picture of how people lived in past times. Somehow, the idea of being able to read such notes and lists as penned by a hobbit of Bree sounds delightful and intriguing to me! Thanks! | |
| shirebound | Reviewed Chapter: 61 on 4/10/2026 |
| my hobbits stayed relatively close together as we travelled. One might have thought they were as much herd-beasts as any pony I continue to love seeing hobbits through Bill's POV. Author Reply: I have long been fascinated by the way that different POVs affect the telling of a story. It has been both absorbing and diverting to try and imagine the Quest through the eyes of a pony! Thanks so much for coming along for the ride. (((hugs))) | |