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A Time to Hope  by PipMer 4 Review(s)
Grey WondererReviewed Chapter: 1 on 7/31/2007
Poor Merry. You have written this so very well. I like the use of the movie verse here with both Merry and Pippin at the battle and then the return to the book with Pippin killing the troll. This is very, very, good.

Author Reply: Why, thank you, GW! I appreciate the kind words. The angst was just dripping out of me when I wrote this!

elanor winterflowersReviewed Chapter: 1 on 7/14/2007
I so loved Gandalf here! Thank you so much for that.

It has always been interesting to me that the Professor skirted dealing with all these physical injuries and various characters' reactions to them. Did he simply not have the heart, after WWI, or were grief and injury in detail just not a part of his vision? Or are we modern folk more concerned with such things for the sake of realism? Certainly those of us who are deeply engaged with his characters cannot seem to avoid wondering about it all.

Merry is nicely drawn here--passionate and vigorous in the struggle, and just as passionately bereft in the aftermath. I always think of him as a hobbit of so many feelings he can barely contain them. You've done a good job of that here!

Author Reply: Thank you so much, Elanor! Sometimes, Gandalf is hard for me to write; I struggle with his manner of speech at times. It's a fine line between grumpy old man and wise Maiar! But he didn't have any speech here, so it was easier for me.

I wonder about that too, with the injuries. I just think it wasn't really part of his vision... other things were more important to the story for him than the recovering hobbits. Barely a word is said about Pippin's injuries...only that he had spent quite a bit of time in bed, and that he was somewhat injured. I chose to add to his injuries here.

Thank you so much for reading and commenting!

LarnerReviewed Chapter: 1 on 7/14/2007
Ah, full of angst. And reason indeed for Merry to be worried, of course.

Author Reply: Thank you for commenting, Larner. Yes, poor Merry doesn't really know what to feel, I'm afraid. I'm sure it's like this for anyone who has sat in a hospital waiting room wondering about the condition of a loved one.

shireboundReviewed Chapter: 1 on 7/14/2007
Ohhh, poor Merry! What an agonizing time of waiting and despair and almost-hope this must have been for him. How lovely of Gandalf to be so tender and understanding. I'm eagerly looking forward to the next chapter!

Author Reply: Thank you for reading and commenting, shirebound! I tried to imagine what it must have been like, to be the healthy one when all of your friends are so badly hurt. And the struggle between the need for hope and the tendency toward despair is realistic, I think.

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