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On Solid Ground  by Lindelea 5 Review(s)
Grey WondererReviewed Chapter: 5 on 2/12/2004
Earthquake! Now that is a very big disaster. Weddings never go well do they? I wonder why everyone doesn't just give up and elope. Much easier! Wonder if the quake got Tuckborough as well? Next chapter?

Author Reply: No, previous chapter, actually. That was the part seen through Meliloc Brandybuck's eyes (he was at the Great Smials, which I have chosen to locate near Tuckborough. I don't think JRRT specified, did he?). You'll see more of the Great Smials in chapter 7.

Thanks for reviewing!

shireboundReviewed Chapter: 5 on 2/11/2004
Holy smokes, what have you done to the Great Smials? I'll be anxiously waiting for Chapter 6. (And VERY clever about the black powder, and Gandalf leaving the secret with King Elessar. VERY clever. *Applauds*)

Author Reply: (elvis|hobbit voice) Thankyou, thankyouverymuch!

I cannot imagine Middle-earth without fireworks, can you? I actually used the black powder in an earlier series of stories: FireStorm/Striking Sparks/Flames. Hit on the idea when discussing with a friend how hobbits might have put out wildfires, with the technology they had, and she told me how they'd set firebreaks out West using gunpowder or something very like it.

And in "FireStorm" (before he became Thain) Pippin did mention wishing for a good earthquake to come along... guess you ought to be careful what you wish for...

Thanks for reviewing! Feedback sure helps in writing, doesn't it? (Which reminds me, I need to get back to the puppy story...)

Lyta PadfootReviewed Chapter: 5 on 2/11/2004
About a hundred years ago there was an earthquake that made the Mississippi River flow backwards for a day, it also created an enormous lake. Faramir and Goldilocks definately picked an intersting date for their wedding. Considering what you said in "Merrys" about things going amiss, they are getting all their misfortune out of the way early!

Author Reply: They ought to have the most harmonious marriage in the history of hobbits, I think, considering how much things are going amiss! Thanks for reviewing! Am stoked to write another chapter (working on #7) after reading the reviews for chapter 5.

FantasyFanReviewed Chapter: 5 on 2/11/2004
Berilac knows what's going on, and he's smart enough to put them under the sturdy desk. This is quite an earthquake, if it's that violent in both Tuckborough and Buckland. Some of the poorer hobbits in simple holes are going to have collapses, for sure. And there'll be flooding to deal with once the Brandywine sorts itself out. It's like Merry to think of Pippin right away. He's notifying the Thain, but just like when sickness came over the shire years ago, he doesn't think that other areas may be affected as well. At the Smials, Meliloc is certainly hurt, and the image of bodies tumbling through the air from the upper levels amid shards of glass is very disquieting. Pip's study is up there.

(Hey, maybe you can get rid of the stairs to the main door this way! Nothing like an earthquake to rearrange the architecture. That's a joke, by the way, like the comment about earthquake season. I have to tell people when I'm making a joke, cause I'm not very good at them and nobody ever gets them and then I look stupid.)

Author Reply: You and I fit well together--you say you cannot tell a joke and I am terrible at hearing one (my dh is now in the habit of saying "That was a joke" after telling one... poor dear). But then, he has that dry British humour...

Yes, it was quite an earthquake. The epicentre was between Tuckborough and the Brandywine, rather closer to Tuckborough. I don't think I'm giving away a plot point, saying this...

Berilac knows what is going on, having been trained as an engineer before he was tapped to become steward. I figure any professional delvers among hobbits would at least *know* about earthquakes, as part of their training, even if there had been no perceptible earthquakes in the Shire for hundreds of years.

CuthalionReviewed Chapter: 5 on 2/11/2004
Great story, lindelea! And thrilling - I can't wait to see what happens next! (Do you have any idea how many chapters will follow? I would be more than happy to put this on my long translation-list!

Author Reply: Oh, that would be lovely! It is much easier to practice my German-reading when I'm already familiar with the material!

I have no idea how many chapters, sorry. I have an outline (really more of a timeline) but it is not broken into chapters, simply events. Will let you know once the draft is finished.

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