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| When Winter Fell by Lindelea | 193 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 41 on 5/1/2026 |
| Aha! Bilbo has alerted them as to the danger! Bless the Brandybucks, more practical than the Tooks, who are willing to retell stories that could stir fear thought inappriate for children and thus prepare them to recognize dangers when they see them. | |
| Erulissé | Reviewed Chapter: 41 on 4/29/2026 |
| Ahhhhhhhhh!!! Wow! This is so well written! Even though I knew this was coming it still completely surprised me. I was just as scared as Bilbo that they wouldn't hear him. The suspense is killing me! Thanks for the update! Cheers! | |
| shirebound | Reviewed Chapter: 41 on 4/27/2026 |
| Oh my goodness, how brilliant of Bilbo to remember that, and force himself to let loose the whistling alarm. Eeeee, wolves! Author Reply: Yikes! The Professor left such clues as to what his characters (might have) experienced over their lifetimes, but some of them sound terrifying! The Brandybucks were blowing the Horn-call of Buckland, that had not been sounded for a hundred years, not since the white wolves came in the Fell Winter, when the Brandywine was frozen over. The day I looked at the Tale of Years and realized that Bilbo lived through the Fell Winter was the day this story germinated and began to grow... And now all the pieces are coming together: Isengar (who went to sea in his youth but has a recorded death-date, and how would that be unless he'd come back to tell the tale?), the Tooks, the Bagginses, and even the Brandybucks (in Bilbo's memories, if not in person at this point in the story). Along with the White Wolves crossing the frozen-over Brandywine River. (And Fortinbras's journal will pop up again, for his story is not yet finished.) Thanks so much for responding with a review! I feel quite encouraged. (You recently mentioned a couple of your old stories in a review for Larner, if I'm remembering right, so I've been a bit distracted the past few days, but now I'm back to polishing draft chapters of the current WIPs and posting them on (some sort of) schedule. I will do my best to balance reading with writing... I tend to be such an all-or-nothing person, which has some good points as well as bad. For the past few days, I've been reading on my phone, but I'll revisit your stories on my laptop and type in some reviews since I can't seem to resist expressing the thoughts and/or feelings that arise when I'm reading satisfying fanfic.) (Don't mind me, if you please; I think I ate too much chocolate today. But Bill the Pony's next chapter ought to be posted tomorrow sometime. I can only handle so much excitement in one day.) | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 40 on 4/9/2026 |
| Caution is the better part of valor, after all. Now to learn what fate has been decreed for Isen! And just perhaps Isen's walking stick might well be used on Grim for his part in setting this in motion! LOVE the self-justification that Bilbo is creating for himself. Author Reply: Isen's walking stick will come in handy, as things turn out! Ah, Bilbo. I can quite understand why he caught Gandalf's interest as a tween. Just as Tolkien established when writing about Frodo in the barrow, There is a seed of courage hidden (often deeply, it is true) in the heart of the fattest and most timid hobbit, waiting for some final and desperate danger to make it grow. Thanks! | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 39 on 4/9/2026 |
| Hmm. The farm at Whitfurrow, perhaps? I'd never imagined that Gerontius would be so controlling, not as Gandalf's friend. I hope he can track them quickly on such a cold day. I am as affronted as is Bilbo! Author Reply: People can have so many different facets; thus, Gerontius can be controlling with his offspring, especially since he's lived such a long life and accumulated so much experience that he obviously knows what's best for them, even better than they might know themselves. (Sorry, was that too sarcastic?) In real life, I've known quite a few parents who had a great reputation outside the immediate family circle, yet not so much with their own children. I suppose you might say that Gerontius reflects that kind of curious situation. Actually, I've written the Tooks as typically exerting a form of authoritarian parenting, for the most part, in contrast to Bungo's branch of the Baggins family, in particular, and the Brandybucks, in general terms, wherein parents tend to exercise a more authoritative style (balanced boundaries and warmth), as described in modern terms. Thus, Bungo's chosen and applied style of parenting deeply influenced Bilbo's outcome, just as Bilbo's parenting of Frodo (with some early influence from Drogo and Primula) helped shape Frodo into "the best hobbit in the Shire" in Gandalf's and Bilbo's eyes, according to JRRT. As I've heard it said, "That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it." Thanks for stopping to share your thoughts and impressions. I do appreciate it. | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 38 on 4/9/2026 |
| Aha! Has Uncle Grim been doing his best to trip Isen up in one way or another? Sounds as if Bella and Bungo are concerned for the safety of her youngest brother. Bilbo will weasel it out, I suspect. He is, after all, a clever lad. | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 37 on 4/9/2026 |
| The idea of Isengar finding himself caught in a gilded cage is frightening even to me. I, too, hope he can hold out against Grim's antagonism. | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 36 on 4/9/2026 |
| I find myself glad that Bungo is conspiring to keep Bilbo's book-borrowing secret, and that Bilbo felt he'd learned from his great-grandfather's own journal. A delightful look at Bilbo's growing maturity. Author Reply: I confess that the concept of character growth fascinates me. This story has allowed me to indulge myself quite extensively. I'm very glad to hear you are also enjoying seeing Bilbo grow and learn. Thanks! | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 35 on 4/9/2026 |
| I find I am not warming to Grim, whose temper matches his dear-name. Smarmy fellow if I've ever seen one. Glad that Isen is able to support his mother first, and that she is so glad to see him full of life and in his glory. Author Reply: Grim is not the most sympathetic character I've ever written, true. He may or may not improve. We shall see. Thanks! | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 34 on 4/9/2026 |
| To be on the cusp of maturity is proving an irritant and a glory for this tween. May he find steadiness. But we know in time his Took side will shine out for him, and so many will consider him Mad Baggins when he is truly at the height of his abilities. Author Reply: Bilbo is growing up. Not only that, but Isen's sojourn with the Bagginses of Bag End, along with other events to come, will help the process along. Isn't it ironic that his heroism and self-sacrifice, along with flexibility and willingness to learn new ways, were associated with madness in the eyes of his fellow Shire-folk? To my mind, they would have benefited from allowing even a little such madness into their lives and attitudes. Thanks! | |