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The Eagles are Coming  by Thundera Tiger 14 Review(s)
Estel_Mi_OlorReviewed Chapter: 1 on 11/9/2012
*Wow* you weren't kidding when you said dark! And it was dark and despairing as only you can make it. I am very glad this did not happen. It seems almost shocking to read about the deaths (fake deaths) of so many characters in only 1500 words. I am glad for the sake of Middle Earth that you do not write AU's very often... ; )

mistry89Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 9/14/2008
Really effective - I've always mourned that the elves were leaving and that the victory of the Ring War meant that their time in ME was not only short, it was all but gone .... this story made me rethink it, and consider how much worse it could have been.
Thank you (in a sad and sniffly way).

Author Reply: ::offers tissue:: Thank you so much for the review! I'm glad you thought it was effective, and my apologies for the sniffles. I guess one way to look at it is if you have a bad situation, it can always get worse. Thanks again!

LarnerReviewed Chapter: 1 on 9/6/2008
Oh, dark indeed! And all ended up sacrificing themselves in the end, even young Estel. Alas.

Author Reply: Thank you so much for the review, Larner! It's good to hear that you felt the story was dark and not melodramatic. I worried about that. Thanks again!

Agape4GondorReviewed Chapter: 1 on 9/5/2008
Needless to say, I was delighted to see the cry go up that the eagles were coming... and remembering that spot in the Hobbit...

Though you put a disclaimer there... I was unprepared (to say the least) for what transpired after that....

Very well written, plausible, heart-rending, and depressing. I think I'll take a pill or two of the offered prozac.

Also - my mind now is wondering what happened to Gondor??? This means no Boromir nor Faramir born.... Yikes. Gondor must have been the first to fall.

Very sad tale, but well written! Congrats!

Author Reply: Thank you so much for your very kind review! I'm glad you felt that it was indeed a dark tale. ::offers up Docmon's prozac:: And yes, Gondor would have definitely been among the first to fall, but no one escaped from that region to tell Rivendell, so they didn't hear about it. Same with the Shire, Bree, Rohan, etc. I could only fit so many cameos into the end of the world. :) Thanks again!

SilkleafReviewed Chapter: 1 on 9/5/2008
"Dark"? "AU"? *Shivers* yes, it's all that! And now for another chapter of "Bolg's Diary: There and Back Again" Sorry about that one, it's just that this AU change of perspective made me think of other possibilities! Poor Elves, and poor Estel! Very well done!

Author Reply: "Bolg's Diary: There and Back Again"? ::shivers:: That would read quite a bit differently than Bilbo's account. Much darker, I expect. Many thanks for the review!

Elena TirielReviewed Chapter: 1 on 9/5/2008
Oh, Thundera, this is just so unrelentingly chilling. *shivers*

I wrote an AU drabble earlier this year about Círdan as the Corsairs of Umbar overwhelm the Grey Havens... and I cried all during the writing. Then I wrote author's notes mentioning that that would be the end of the Elves in Middle-earth, and I cried some more. And then I wrote another drabble about the last Avari fading, and cried some more. Your story draws together all those dark elements and much more, and it is gut-wrenching.

But I would never have dared to write of the fall of Rivendell... it is just too depressing. How did you manage to keep your equilibrium?

Your scenario is dark, but so believable... my heart was in my throat the whole time I was reading it.

I love that your starting point is the Battle of Five Armies from The Hobbit, and the disposition of the Ring so seamlessly fits in with canon... the difference is slight, but the implications are profound indeed.

No more sun, moon or stars... not even Gil-Estel, for there is truly no hope left. And no safe refuge anywhere, even for a child named Estel.

And you tied it all in with mentions of Eärendil and the Doom of the Noldor from The Silmarillion... a fitting concept, perfect for the Elves who lived those events and remember them so clearly.

And to turn the cry "The Eagles are coming!" on its head — from a glad shout of salvation, to a death knell tolling the last battle before oblivion — is brilliant.

If you wanted your story to be an emotional wrench for the readers, you surely succeeded! Well done, and pardon me while I search for a dry hankie....

- Barbara *sniffle*



Author Reply: Wow! Big review. Thank you so much! Regarding keeping my equilibrium while writing this story, let's just say I can be completely heartless when I get it into my head to write angst. That helped. Erestor having the POV was the other thing that helped, because I made him somewhat detached. At the point we get to him, he's going through the motions more than anything else, and that made it much easier to write. And thanks for your comments about this being a believable possibility. I've often wondered why the Ring stuck with Bilbo for as long as it did. Or with Gollum, for that matter. It seems to me that it would have made more headway back to Sauron if it had done a bit more swapping of Bearers.

I'm glad you liked the Silm references, too. They seemed a fitting way to herald the end of Middle-earth since the Silm was where it all began anyway. Thanks against for the review! ::offers up dry hankie::

Raksha The DemonReviewed Chapter: 1 on 9/5/2008
A brilliantly plotted and written AU. I really liked tha way you turned the cry of "The Eagles are coming" from the triumphal note of The Hobbit to a chilling harbinger of despair and death. And the cameo of little Estel is sad and effective.

Author Reply: Thank you so much for the review! I'm glad you liked the tone reversal of the phrase "The Eagles are coming." That phrase was one of the driving forces of the story, and I really wanted to turn it on its head. This is the result, and I'm thrilled you felt it worked. Thank you again!

LaikwâlassêReviewed Chapter: 1 on 9/5/2008
dark is not the right word for this. It´s...it´s horrible and at the same time fascinating what a small change in fate could do. As wounderful as this story is written, I´m really glad that our hereos had not to endure this. Nonetheless I love this very much. For me a story can not be dark enough *grin*. Thank you. Lai.

Author Reply: Thank you so much for the review, Lai! I'm glad you enjoyed the fact that it was dark and also I'm glad that it felt dark. It was supposed to be, but sometimes I struggle with finding the balance between dark and melodramatic. Anyway, thanks again!

NalediReviewed Chapter: 1 on 9/5/2008
Oh boy - when you say dark, you really mean dark! This is the kind of AU I love - showing how such a tiny shift in events at one point can have such far reaching effects.

I need some chocolate now, to cheer me up.

Author Reply: ::offers virtual chocolate:: The virtual stuff isn't the same as the real stuff, but it's the best I can do. Hope it helps. And many thanks for the review! I'm glad you enjoyed the tiny shift equaling big consequences. A lot in Tolkien seems to hinge on things like that. Thanks again!

AdrianneReviewed Chapter: 1 on 9/4/2008
This was absolutely bone chilling. The picture you presented of young Estel (Hope) trailing behind the Brothers as they supported a broken Legolas was heart piercing. Elrond dead. Thranduil dead. The Wizards missing. The realms of Lothlorien and Mirkwood destroyed. The Elves last stand in Imladris, this was just a brilliant bit of storytelling. And all it took was the ring slipping from Bilbo's finger at just the right moment. What telling ripples even the smallest stone can cause.

Makes you stop and wonder what seemingly insignificant things might separate us from disaster.

Another amazing tale masterfully written.

Adrianne

PS: Just wanting you to know that I'm still patiently waiting for the next chapter of "Land of Light and Shadows". The last chapter left me breathless.

Author Reply: Hey Adrianne,

Thank you so much for the review, and I'm glad you enjoyed it. It is indeed such a little thing that made everything else go horribly wrong. Regarding LLS...I hope you're good at that patient waiting thing. Which is a horrible thing to say, but I've recently been swamped at work, there's no real end in sight, and my muses are tied up in a couple of other WIPs. But it isn't abandoned. It's just...waiting. Sorry about that!

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