Stories of Arda Home Page
About Us News Resources Login Become a member Help Search

Land of Light and Shadows  by Thundera Tiger 1 Review(s)
fadagaskiReviewed Chapter: 5 on 3/24/2005
Hoom hoom!

Yes, well ...

Apparently, Legolas is an excellent character to open with, though lord knows why. The description of the sea from his perspective was breath-taking, and it was made all the more poignant because of his shortened temper; who would've thought Legolas could snap at King Elessar? As ever, Gimli played an excellent subrole in this section, emphasising just how much of Legolas is being lost and what a tenacious but still uncertain hold he has on life in Middle-Earth.

Again, you did the Gondor/Rohan comparison! The Rohirrim are so fatalistic. *loffs them* It's interesting that Aragorn should be undecided whether he follows the fatalistic or opportunistic life philosophy, but then he has an equal grasp on both, I think. Also, his section where he reflects on his friendship with Legolas and Gimli was very reassuring to the reader, but with hindsight I can see that his need for the two of them to be close for the long journey is OMG FORESHADOWING.

Legolas' perception of Dashnir ... *shudder* They're all so very close to the truth, yet all blinded to it. Heehee.

Author Reply: The Gondor/Rohan comparison is something I kicked around for a while, and I'm glad you like it. I figured that since Gondor defied Mordor for a long time and essentially made their own luck, they would probably take a very dim view of fate. Denethor gave in to fatalism in the end, and it drove him mad. The rest of Gondor couldn't afford to do that. The Rohirrim, though, as a wandering people were very dependent upon fortune and fate, so they were more likely to trust it. At least, that's what I think.

And yes, our heroes like to skirt the truth and then back away. Very frustrating at times, actually. In fact, that was one of my favorite things to do. I like seeing just how close we could get to the truth without actually finding it.

Return to Chapter List