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Don't Panic!  by Boz4PM 11 Review(s)
KathyGReviewed Chapter: 3 on 2/21/2021
One thing is clear--your depiction of your modern-day O.C. is very realistic! I would not want to be in Penny's shoes (or should I say pajamas?=)) for a million dollars! Or whatever currency was called in Middle-earth. Not likely they had paper money as we do! =)

At any rate, you set out to avoid making Penny a Mary Sue, and you did an excellent job. I was reading the reviews for this chapter, and I came across the comments that one of your reviewers made about Penny not being a Mary Sue, so I just had to add my own two-cents' worth. Well, Dreamflower and I have long been in the process of developing and posting our own "falling-into-Middle-earth" story; we started posting it back in the summer of 2018. And hopefully, we're succeeding in keeping our O.C.s from becoming Mary Sues! We're trying, anyway. It's posted here on SoA and several other Web sites. Hey, Penny, if you're still interested in Tolkien fanfiction, and if you still frequent Stories of Arda, I'd love it if you stopped by and read our story! If nothing else, you could tell us if we're being successful in our aim. It's set in LOTR, and yes, our characters become extra walkers, but we've given our story a different feel and some different twists from the average such story, as you'll discover if you pay ours a visit. Just come by my story page, and you'll find it; it's right at the top of my list of stories. It's titled "An Unexpected Adventure".

Nienor NinielReviewed Chapter: 3 on 2/21/2006
Oh, priceless! They are disturbed and disgusted about each other by exactly the same things.

You are destroying all my images of Middle-earth. Not idyllic, just smelly? Sad thing is that you are certainly right.

So will she get her bath? And what will she say about not having hair conditioner?

I'll read one chapter more tonight, I think.

Nienor

Pearl TookReviewed Chapter: 3 on 12/10/2005
"He thought he was a bloody Ranger. My God. Historical reconstructionists were bad enough. She of all people should know. But reconstructing a world that never existed...!

She roared with laughter at him and Halbarad just stared at her in disbelief."

Wonderful!! This is very theraputic :)

phoenix23531Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 12/6/2005
Hah! The realisation hits and hits hard. I loved this chapter. Everything from her prudish jaunt into the bushes to her sneezing fits. Poor old Halbarad! Though I wonder what she's going to think of medieval toilet cloths or baths (brrrr). And is Halbarad going to be in for a rude awakening if he's with her for more than a month. If he thinks she's crabby now...
Moving on to the next chapter...

meckinockReviewed Chapter: 3 on 12/5/2005
I can't remember when I've had more fun reading a story. This one just plasters a big fat grin on my face. I can't decide whose POV I enjoy more - and of course the answer is both equally! Penny remarking on horse shit and Ranger B.O. and Halbarad musing on the twin horrors of Nazgul and incomprehensible women!

daw the minstrelReviewed Chapter: 3 on 12/5/2005
This was hilarious! And authentic too. The mutual horror of Penny and Halbarad was very entertaining.

TithenFeredirReviewed Chapter: 3 on 12/5/2005
Oh no, talk about worst case scenario. Penny has landed in a nest of Tolkien freaks!! Priceless! ~TF

KittyReviewed Chapter: 3 on 12/5/2005
*grin* Somehow I doubt combs are really that heavy and big one couldn’t take one out in the wilds! Our dear Halbarad is a bit too spartan, isn’t he?

Bree is going to be a shock to Penny – dwarves and hobbits! And the state of the town! Odd reconstruction play, really! No wonder she is so confused.

DaynawaynaReviewed Chapter: 3 on 12/5/2005
Wow! This is just amazing Boz! Very well done so far! I'm glad they let you post this... it's VERY enjoyable and entertaining... and educational. You really thought this out and it shows... I never even considered that a Ranger would smell... but of course, he would! And the sights and smells of the town are right, too; especially the 'sewer'.

I'm very impressed and can't wait for more. And just wondering... this isn't a Mary-Sue because she's not going to "fall in love/get someone to fall for her, etc." and such, correct?

Author Reply: this isn't a Mary-Sue because she's not going to "fall in love/get someone to fall for her, etc." and such, correct?
Well, I am not going to say 'never' nor am I going to say 'definitely' - if only because the story is on-going in a sequel at the moment and this is one of the two major questions coming from the readers: namely, does Penny stay in Middle-earth and (if she does) will she find romance? So forgive me if I don't answer that at all, one way or the other - wait and see, is all I can say. ;)

However, she will not fall for the Fellowship nor they for her, she will not become a 'tenth walker', she will not try and save people, she is not a superb fighter or angst-ridden and thus in need of 'healing' from Legolas or anyone else, she will not fight in battles, she is not some long-lost relative of a major canon character, etc, etc. She is an ordinary English woman in an extraordinary situation, that is all. I hope I have managed to convey that in this fic. The ultimate goal of this fic was realism - in all its (sometimes bitter, but hopefully often funny) glory. Some have thought it was 'non-Mary-Sue' first, but that's not quite the case. By realism it automatically becomes the opposite of a Mary-Sue, and when I go for realism, if I can also make a point of deliberately doing something 'un-Sueish' as well, then that's a definite bonus in helping me make plot decisions.

Hope that all makes some kind of sense. :) Glad you like it so far - and thanks for taking the time to read it, let alone review.

LindeleaReviewed Chapter: 3 on 12/5/2005
That had been ill news indeed that Gildor had brought him: the Nine riding once more. He shook his head. And now strange incomprehensible women appearing from nowhere. *snork*

This is proceeding nicely! I, unlike Bodkin, have not read this elsewhere, so I am all the more looking forward to the next update.

The only jarring note is that I doubt that water from a water-skin would taste all that fresh and sweet. To my recollection, there would be a tang of leathery taste, and the water would not taste "cool and fresh", no matter how delectable the spring he filled the skin from was.

Having "roughed it" in my youth am finding this story a blast. (As I sit in my heated home with a cup of steaming tea at my elbow, anticipating hot breakfast)

Author Reply: Thank you for that comment - as and when I get a chance to edit (I am in the throes of the sequel at the moment and have limited computer time), I will change that bit. :) Glad you are enjoying it so far.

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