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Shire: Beginnings  by Lindelea 6 Review(s)
Nienor NinielReviewed Chapter: 17 on 7/30/2006
So Eagles fill up the corners, too? Makes sense.

The second part of the chapter made me cry a little, I have to admit.

I really enjoyed the second meeting with the Elves. It's really difficult to fully grasp the fact that the hobbits meet characters that will still be around in LOTR.

And that Gandalf, of all people, shows them the way is lovely.

All the best, Nienor

Author Reply: LOL! Would you believe I just now saw this review? It's like finding a gem, lost amongst the folds, that somehow dropped without notice and suddenly caught the light.

Thanks so much!

InklingReviewed Chapter: 17 on 2/7/2005
OK, I’ve finally stopped bawling enough to be able to review this chapter…thank you, Lin, for not leaving Thorn fallen against the cliff, trying to draw breath that wouldn’t come. This was a beautiful ending to his part of the Tale, as well as a wonderfully unexpected answer to your hint that the Four Travelers would be making cameo appearances. But I will miss Thorn. It must be hard to kill off a character; I wonder if I could do it…

I know a story has gotten under my skin when I find myself thinking about the characters during the day…I couldn’t wait ‘til tonight to read this part. But now back to work!


Author Reply: You're welcome. It was hard enough to write his demise, much less leave him there. I've had some criticism, people who think that Mandos would have nothing to do with hobbits. But since JRRT never really said what happens to hobbits, I've tried to come up with a logical conclusion that would fit with the hobbits we know and love best.

Thanks for commenting!

DreamflowerReviewed Chapter: 17 on 10/1/2004
Oh how lovely! I'm so glad Thorn got to see his descendants!

ShireDwellerReviewed Chapter: 17 on 1/28/2004
So sad, and yet hopeful. Thorn's vision is a wonderful touch. So sad that he is dying. And that so many other hobbits die to protect the others. And thanks for letting us see my favorite hobbits even in this Shire pre-history fic!

Lyta PadfootReviewed Chapter: 17 on 1/24/2004
Such a beautiful chapter. The Thorn dies and yet he sees what some of the end results his sacrifice are. So is he is the ancestors of Frodo, Merry, Pippin and Sam? Interesting to imagine Sam included, however distantly in the family web, though come to think of it... the Thorn reminds me of what the Gaffer might have been like had be been a Took. Sorry to see him go, but the Fallohides endure.

Author Reply: Yes, Thorn is the ancestor of Frodo, Merry and Pippin. Beechnut is the ancestor of Sam. Yes, Sam does have a little Fallohide in him, though he is more Harfoot than anything else.

It was very difficult to write his death, the deaths of so many hobbits. My only comfort was to make Mandos as warm and welcoming a character as I could. Why else would the doom of Men be called a gift?

FantasyFanReviewed Chapter: 17 on 12/20/2003
I thought for sure that Pick was dead - there was no way he could survive a blizzard and goblins and being separated from the people - but you have rescued him, at least I thinks so, and Thorn has come to his end instead, when I wasn't worried about him at all. I really liked Pick and was sad to think him gone - he reminded me of Pippin even before this chapter. Somehow he's going to have to get back to the others if there are to be those great great great grandchildren. Perhaps he can make friends with an eagle as easily as he seems to make friends with everyone else. He has the imagination to accept and prosper under the new conditions the people will face, and will make a good leader for them when the time comes.

I hadn't been able to decide whether the lady was the Vala Yavanna or if perhaps she was an echo of Melian, mother of Luthien, who also loved the forests. I was tending to discount Yavanna some because it was so long after the ages when the Valar took an active role in managing the affairs of middle-earth: now with the words of Mandos I think the lady must be Yavanna after all. In the Book of Lost Tales, in an early version of The Chaining of Melko, it is written, "Then Palurien Yavanna fared forth from her fruitful gardens to survey the wide lands of her domain, and wandered the dark continents sowing seed and brooding upon hill and dale. Alone in that agelong gloaming she sang songs of the utmost enchantment, and of such deep magic were they that they floated about the rocky places and their echoes lingered for years of time in hill and empty plain, and all the good magics of all later days are whispers of the memories of her echoing song," this is before she covers the area with forest. So I could see her influence lingering long afterwards.

I like that Mandos gives Thorn a last view of what his courage in leading the people away from darkness will make possible. Of course, I recognize Merry and Pippin, Frodo and Sam. But the last scene - is that an older Pippin, with perhaps Faramir and Goldilocks? Am I close?


I think I am getting over my sickness, although I have lost my voice - no Christmas carols this year. In case I don't get to review more before the Christmas business hits, I hope you and your family have a grace-filled holiday.


Author Reply: You are not just close, but right on the money. It is Pippin, with Diamond, and Faramir and Goldilocks and Pip and Di's younger children, and Farry and Goldi's first few little ones... and another on the way.

Of course, it could be Pippin's descendants as well, but I really had Pippin in mind when I wrote the scene.

Sorry to hear you'd been sick. When you mentioned the flu visiting I didn't realise it meant *you*! I was thinking more of a mom taking care of the rest of the family... Glad to hear you're on the mend.

May your holiday be filled with grace, as well.

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