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In the Deep Places  by Lamiel 6 Review(s)
elliskaReviewed Chapter: 14 on 2/14/2005
Sorry I fell behind in reviews again. It's been hectic (and I'll be honest--I couldn't stand waiting for updates so I snuck over to FF and read the whole thing there. I'd promised myself I'd enjoy the suspense, but then one day I couldn't stand it anymore. But I hate trying to leave reviews there...) Anyway...

This chapter is so rich. Love the 'nettles' problem--you have to wonder how they managed that, don't you. *Giggle* And the waterskin fight was funny too. Only an elf could duck what he couldn't see. Love the whole description of when the take the blindfolds off. And I LOVED the conversation about Mirkwood drinking songs vs children's songs vs tra-la-la down in the valley. Too funny.

But the tension at the end between Legolas and Aragorn. Whew! Good job.

This is an absolutely wonderful story!

Author Reply: Wow, you read the end and you're still taking the time to post such nice and thoughtful reviews here! Aw, thank you so much, Elliska. If you don't care for FF.net (and I don't blame you for that), my current work in progress is also posted at Eternal, if you're interested. Updates tend to be slower there, as they are done when the site manager has time and I have no control over that. But at least the site works consistently. I don't expect the current story to be posted here at SoA because it doesn't fit the restrictions here.

DreamflowerReviewed Chapter: 14 on 2/8/2005
This is a story I have read straight through this afternoon without stopping. It is riveting; my favorite sort of gap-filler--the kind that gets inside the characters' minds.
JRRT did that rarely. He so seldom told us what a character was thinking, that when he did, it had a major impact.
But it left so many fascinating uspoken questions, which we can explore in fanfic. The friendship of Legolas and Gimli is one of those unspoken questions. It was something momentous and profound, yet he told us precious little about how the two went from antagonism to dearest friendship--we get to use our imaginations. And your imagination is so detailed and the depth of your knowledge and research into the history of Elves and Dwarves, that I can easily think of your story as just the way it *did* happen.
You have a lovely grasp not only of your two main characters, but the rest of the Fellowship as well, and as one who is primarily a hobbit-fancier, I have to say that you have done very well by the four of them.
I loved Legolas' perceptiveness of Frodo's abilities, and Gimli's sweet attempt to assuage Pippin's guilt, and I laughed out loud at Legolas' remark about if Haldir let the hobbits go hungry...
I am seeing in this story not only the forging of a lasting friendship between Elf and Dwarf, but in the cementing of the Fellowship as a family.
I definitely look forward to more of this story.
And I think that JRRT would not be ashamed of your attempts to honor him with this exploration of his world.

Author Reply: You read it all in one afternoon? That's dedication!

Thank you so much for your review, Dreamflower, you really made my week. I can't tell you how thrilled I am that you enjoyed this gap-filler, and even more so that you liked it despite the focus on the Big Folk. I love the Hobbits, of course, and I try to treat them with respect. I'm glad you liked their portrayal here.

GalimerilReviewed Chapter: 14 on 2/8/2005
Hehehe! I love that last comment about more tree houses fo Gimli! You can see the characters come alive in this story. Your style of writing is wonderful and I am looking foreward to the next update!

Author Reply: Thank you Galimeril! I try to treat Tolkien's characters with the authenticity that they deserve.

BodkinReviewed Chapter: 14 on 2/8/2005
I love the bond that is growing between Legolas and Gimli. All that's needed now is for them to admit that they like each other. (I wonder if anybody ever told the dwarf about the Mirkwood children's songs, or whether they respected his dignity.)

Author Reply: Well, I for one would not tell Gimli about the children's songs, unless I had a fast horse and a guaranteed half hour head start. It isn't respect for his dignity so much as respect for his axe.

TithenFeredirReviewed Chapter: 14 on 2/7/2005
Well, my bias will stick out a mile, but I have to say I really enjoyed Legolas' teasing Aragorn. That entire comic passage was a great relief from the tension before. Boromir's little problem was a brilliant bit of subtle humor, and the comment about the hands of a king was priceless. So many stories make Legolas out to be overly innocent; it's so refreshing to see him reveal a mildly vulgar sense of humor. Your description of Lothlorien here was very lyrical...beautiful, so evocative of the place and its magic. I loved Legolas' sort of visceral reaction to it, especially in the moment when they removed his blindfold. It was also very fitting to include Sam's comment from the book--that was a lovely touch. The confrontation between Aragorn and Legolas was quite impressive in its intensity,the two formidable powers nearly coming to blows, and in the midst of it an interesting discussion of the seductive pull of the Ring. Great chapter! TF

Author Reply: It was a lot of fun to escape the angst for a bit, wasn't it? And although the main theme of this story is the devoloping friendship between Gimli and Legolas, I'm a huge Legolas/Aragorn friendship fan myself. So I'm very glad that you liked that.

Oh, and Boromir would like it known that there was nothing "little" about his problem.

FaithReviewed Chapter: 14 on 2/7/2005
love it! more please! update soon precioussss! yes precioussssss...we likes updates...yes we do precioussssss....yes we do......yes we do.....




Faith, the slightly obssessed fangirl

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