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Fear No Darkness  by Thundera Tiger 2 Review(s)
TithenFeredirReviewed Chapter: 25 on 3/15/2005
Oooo, where do I begin? It was neat the way you had the Mouth of Sauron sort of tenderly smooth the creases from Legolas' brow, the only outward evidence of his inwardly chaotic and traumatized state. The comparison of elvish complexity and a hobbit's simple toughness was intriguing, as was the way their strengths were in the end used to defeat them. I can't wait to see to what use the MoS puts them. BTW, I admire the way you juggled your various terms for the Mouth of Sauron. That had to be difficult, but it worked well. Too bad he didn't have a regular name like Bob or Fred or something, LOL!

Orophin's internal dialogue was simultaneously sad and frightening, to see how the darkness wove into his grief to create such delusional thinking. Then to have him and Haldir exchange such hurtful words, Orophin in his grieving rage and Haldir trying to snap him out of it. It was an excellent emotional crescendo before you broke the dam and let them grieve together. Powerful stuff! TF

Author Reply: Well, Bob/Fred/Man-Who-Was-Not-Quite-A-Man definitely made narrative work a challenge. He taught me that it was okay to fall back on pronouns now and again, something I've never been very comfortable doing. As for Legolas and Merry, it was stated several times in LotR just how different hobbits were from the rest of the group, and I thought I'd drag that in here, too. It's going to affect how Merry and Legolas ultimately get over this, because they'll have very different reactions and motivations once they get back to Rivendell.

As for Orophin and Haldir, I'm glad you liked that scene as it was one of the most difficult I've ever had to write. Orophin proved harder to provoke than I first anticipated, and both Haldir and I seemed reluctant to push him. It was an interesting section, but I'm very grateful that you enjoyed it. Thanks for the review!

FaerieQueenReviewed Chapter: 25 on 12/6/2003
I don't have much to say because I can clearly see that the story is now winding to a close. Go Merry and Hobbit innocence! Perhpas the Mouth of Sauron has met his match in a little hobbit? Very nice. I'm glad everyone is fighting the shadow, and joining together. Thank you, Orophin really needed to cry. Since this story is coming to the end, I will nag you (again) to update. If I ever come up with a story to post on Stories of Arda, you will receive the position of Official Nagger. This position enables you to annoy me in the same way that I'm doing to you. And with that, I await the next chapter to any fic you choose to update! Great story.

Author Reply: Gyah! I hit reply before I was finished. Sorry. We're continuing the reply off of this review. Hope you don't mind.

Anyway, I just had to say THANK YOU for all the reviews you sent. I was literally blown away. Amazing! And I'm so glad that you've been enjoying this story. It really makes my day, and the reviews were a wonderful source of encouragement while I struggled against writer's block. It was one of the things that got me through. Thank you again and I hope you continue to enjoy!!!

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