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And Then There Were None  by Estel_Mi_Olor 5 Review(s)
mystarlightReviewed Chapter: 6 on 8/26/2018
Troubles appeared when Thranduil has left. Sons of Thranduil have got a great sense of duty. Love the story of the sword and possible consequences that run through the king's mind. Wonderful story!

Agape4GondorReviewed Chapter: 6 on 3/19/2013
I don't know why the stars have such a profound effect on some of us. I have lain in the wet grass, of a fall evening, waiting for the meteor showers to light up the sky. I have watched for space junk with awe. I have tracked the North Star and the Milky Way with awe and delight.

I love that you gave Thranduil the stars. He REALLY needed them!

And like father like son. So the boys have found their fathers harbor and startle the bejeebies out of each other. *g* I'm glad Girithron found some solace and a lessening of his fear and guilt. Elbereth makes such pretty stars!

And then - the land is marred and voices raised in song are raised in lamentation. *shudders*



Author Reply: Thanks for the review! And, like you, I LOVE stars. I hate it when the night is overcast or when (because of light pollution from the city) I can't see the stars at all. I can only imagine how beautiful the night sky must be in an isolated rural setting in which there are no obstructions on a clear night. *sigh* Beautiful. I am happy to give the elves a glimpse of the stars whenever possible. They really do need, being people of the stars. Glad the final song proved meaningful!

LarnerReviewed Chapter: 6 on 2/16/2013
At least the stars have given each of them hope, and now Legolas's patrol has an idea as to what they face, even if they aren't sure as yet where they will meet the enemy. And those six are properly buried.

Author Reply: Thanks for the review Larner! I'm glad you liked the star theme. I did a bit of research into elven burial customs for this chapter, but I didn't find much information. I hope that what I gleaned was plausible.

obsidianjReviewed Chapter: 6 on 2/9/2013
Just found this story today. Interesting family dynamic between Legolas and his brothers. This rescue mission seems somehow doomed (or I'm also affected by the
Shadow). I love the little glimpses of the stars that lift up the spirit of the characters so much. In all the doom and gloom of Mirkwood it is a welcome reminder that there is hope out there.

Author Reply: Thank you for the review! You'll have to wait and see for the full result of this rescue mission, but let's say it won't be all sunshine and roses. I'm glad you liked the stars! I was afraid it might get repetitive, but I really wanted to connect all the characters in some way.

As for the family dynamic, I really appreciate your thoughts. I'll admit it was a rather interesting choice to give Thranduil so many children since it's not in canon. I'm not sure why I picked the particular sibling assortment that I did, but they have definitely proven harder to write than I originally anticipated. I didn't want them to steal too much spotlight from the canon characters, but I find the relationships really develop the canon characters in interesting ways. More coming soon!

FiondilReviewed Chapter: 6 on 2/9/2013
Like Thranduil, I, too, have taken solace from the stars in all their glory.

Loved the interaction between the two princes and Legolas is so very young still to take his brother's words about the Shadow so literally as he did, but I'm glad he finally realized that the Sahdow did not rule his heart completely.

This rescue mission sounds like it will end in disaster for all concerned. Hope not. I hope they find and rescue the remaining elves and that there are few casualties among the rescuers.

Now, as for your question about the character list, there are many ways to approach it. If you continue putting the list at the beginning of the chapter, perhaps you only need list any new characters for that particular chapter and anyone mentioned in earlier chapters need not be listed; readers could just go back to previous chapters if they're unsure who a particular character is. Another alternative is to have a separate character list at the end of the story. This can either be put up once the story is completed in case you don't want to give the game away, so to speak, or you would just make it an on-going list and people can consult it as they need to.

Whenever I've used a character list for my stories, I put it at the end of the story and usually (though not always) wait until the story is finished because sometimes such a list might contain plot spoilers, but in two instances, I did put up the list early on and simply added to it as I needed to, mainly because readers requested the list in order to keep track of who was who.

Ultimately, the way to go is up to you and what is easier for you to do. Let's face it, most actual books have no character lists and we as readers simply keep mental track of the characters and if we need to, we just go back to earlier chapters to remind ourselves about a certain character. Why should it be any different with our own stories?

Anyway, I'm eagerly looking forward to the next chapter.

Author Reply: Hi Fiondil!

Well better late than never on this reply... Thank you so much for your continued support of this story. I'm am happy to hear that you enjoyed this chapter!

I love stars (like you couldn't tell right?). Ah, the tough question about Legolas's age. Well, as you can see, I tried to give him the youthful innocence he seems to possess in LotR while still having the elven wisdom of having lived in Arda for hundreds of years. The more I write elves, the more fascinating I find it trying to imagine life from an immortal perspective. It's quite the thought experiment!

As for the rescue mission...well, you're seeing how that's working out!

Thank you for your thoughts about the OC list. And you're write, the real books we read don't have character lists and we handle ourselves. Excellent point. With that in mind, I decided to put my OC list at the end of the chapter. I mean, I think I say this in some notes somewhere, but in my story, you can just assume that every OC is a warrior and you're good!

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