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| Elf Academy 3: The Enemy Within by Fiondil | 17 Review(s) |
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| Kitty | Reviewed Chapter: 55 on 11/8/2014 |
| While I am not certain Farrell would try that rather unsubtle approach and shot Alex from the roof, it is still worrying that they can't really avoid such an incident in this room. Having Alex work with Beowulf is rather fitting, knowing that the Professor did spend so much time on it, too :) This literature analysis started out so well and interesting, and then went downhill so fast. Poor Alex. He still is not over that horrible experience at the Tarn. Thank God Valandur was there to help him. Author Reply: I love that passage from Beowulf. It's so evocative and I thought it fit well with the Tarn, which is why I chose it for Alex to analyze. No, he's not over that particular experience and probably never will be, and Valandur was the best person to be there for him. Thanks, Kitty. I appreciate the review. | |
| obsidianj | Reviewed Chapter: 55 on 7/14/2014 |
| I love the discussion about the poems although poems just don't give me anything. Poor Alex. That was a bad flashback. Felicity is a trooper. She doesn't ask too many questions and goes with the flow. When I think about it she is remarkably calm about the whole situation. One nit pick: in the German phrase "Guten Tag..." Tag should be capitalized. It is a noun. Author Reply: Thanks for pointing out the error, obsidianj. I knew that but wasn't paying attention when I was writing. Anyway, I'm glad you liked the discussion about the poems even if poetry's not your thing. It isn't everyone's. And yes, that's a nasty flashback. Felicity is a good friend for Alex to have right now, especially when Derek's not around. And she had her own history that might explain why she's so calm in this sort of situation. We may learn of it someday. Thanks for reviewing. I appreciate it. | |
| Dreamflower | Reviewed Chapter: 55 on 7/14/2014 |
| Oh dear! I sure wasn't expecting THIS. I'd nearly forgotten the tarn! Poor Alex! Now, I want to say how much I am liking Felicity. First of all, she doesn't freak out completely when she hears the notion that there might be a sniper on the adjacent roof, she doesn't bolt, she doesn't blame. While she shows reasonable concern, she's not quivering in fear, and also she's right there when Alex has his own breakdown. That description from Beowulf really is very creepy, even without the memories it invokes in Alex! Add those in, and it's no surprise the way it affects Alex! *brrrr*shudder* Author Reply: I think a lot of people have forgotten about the tarn and what happened to Alex as that all happened in EA2 and that was a while ago for most readers. Felicity is a cool gal and we'll see just how cool later. And that passage from Beowulf is creepy and just perfect for reminding Alex of a certain tarn and what lies within. Thanks for leaving a review, Dreamflower. I appreciate it very much. | |
| FV_Whisper | Reviewed Chapter: 55 on 7/11/2014 |
| And Valandur is enjoying himself even more at the academy. He seems to be quite good at settling in at the moment. And once the spymaster, always the spymaster it seems. My German is still up to par as well it seems based on these quotes. I used to have some German friends, we spake half Dutch, half German and half English to each other and that worked perfectly lol I loved it how you included Beowulf in the story, seeing how much the Professor liked this work as well. It reminded me how I still want to have a copy of his own translation, now that it is out. And oh Alex, that's no good! And will not be good for a while too... Well, I guess I'm caught up again! Author Reply: Well, seeing as how Dutch, German and English are all part of the same linguistic family, it stands to reason that there would be some mutual understanding between them. I couldn't not include Beowulf here, especially since the description of the mere fits in perfectly with Winterdark tarn, at least to Alex's mind. I have Tolkien's translation as well as Heaney's and hope to find the time to compare the two translations. Thanks for reviewing, FV_Whisper. I really appreciate it. | |
| someone | Reviewed Chapter: 55 on 7/11/2014 |
| For a few chapters, it seems that the elves have been in the charm-mortal-women mode, with all the hand kissing! "We were discussing rearranging the furniture to make it less difficult for someone on the roof over there to take a shot at anyone here" is not a sentence most people would want to hear. It is amusing how the elves can say just about anything and sound natural. That tarn! Always trouble, even when people are far away from it. Author Reply: No, that is not a sentence on usually hears in everyday conversation. LOL! And yes, it is interesting that they can make even the most outré utterances sound perfectly normal and expected. And yes, that tarn is indeed trouble as we will see in a later chapter. Thanks for leaving a review, someone. I appreciate it. | |
| Sunny | Reviewed Chapter: 55 on 7/8/2014 |
| Val has had a looooong time to perfect his absentminded professorial persona. And then, when everybody around him have completely dismissed his presence, believing that his mind is flating somewhere among the clouds, then bam! he serves up ha comment that shows he knows very well what is going on. And I suspect he just loves pulling the wool over people's eyes, too! This chapter made me start reread vbal's story again! ;-) Author Reply: He would say the absentminded professorial persona was camouflage. *grin* I just finished re-reading Val's story myself, Sunny. It's still a lot of fun to read. Enjoy! | |
| SashaHoneypalm | Reviewed Chapter: 55 on 7/7/2014 |
| So I reread the original tarn scene in EA2, and the comments/replies, and at the time you said "Unfortunately, I have no more idea than anyone what lies in the tarn." Have you more or less figured it out by now? (Also, Val should have no trouble with Shakespeare, given that that was type of English the Newbie Elves were prepped with when they showed up). Author Reply: Hi Sasha. No. I still don't know what lies in the tarn and frankly I hope I never find out. And you're right that Val shouldn't have any trouble with Shakespeare. He appears to be already familiar with the Bard, since he was surprised that Alex wasn't (presumably) studying one of Shakespeare's sonnets. Thanks for leaving a review. I appreciate it. | |
| Sarah | Reviewed Chapter: 55 on 7/7/2014 |
| What a lovely little interlude with our language nerds, though I am sad to see that Alex is still shaking off some ghosts. I apologize for the lateness and shortness of this review, we've had some uncharacteristically ah...blustery...weather in my area in the past 24 hours, the result of an itty bitty baby tornado, which did a number on some power lines about half a mile in every direction from my house. Should be in good shape to catch the resolution to this little crisis come Friday. I look forward to it bright and early Friday morning. Author Reply: Hi Sarah. I'm glad you survived your baby tornado and I'm glad you enjoyed this chapter with the language nerds. Alex still has a lot of baggage to get through, but the Elves are nothing but supportive and in their long existence they've suffered greatly, so they are probably the best to help him deal with his particular ghosts. Thanks for taking the time to leave a review. I appreciate it. | |
| Kevana | Reviewed Chapter: 55 on 7/7/2014 |
| For a minute there I forgot what they had discussed about arranging the office for safety reasons, and was wondering if the Elves had developed their own version of Feng Shui! Felicity rocks. Not many people would be so calm about possibly having somebody shooting into your office. I think I'd be hassling the administration for my own office space and possibly hazard pay. Love how Valandur is getting used to modern culture so quickly. He really is brilliant. His insight into Alex's assignment is wonderful. Oof, good foreshadowing, you had me thinking about that darn lake and its accompanying That-Which-Should-Not-Be-Named before it was even brought up. Great connection. Except for poor Alex! This is a good reminder of the timeline and how this is just a few months after his near-Námo experience. It should never waken, which means it's going to, LOL. Ugh, I would pack that tarn full to the brim with C-4, stand on a reasonably distant mountain peak, and push the button - resulting avalanche and/or earthquake be damned. Knowing that thing is just sitting there, waiting, would drive me crazy. Kill it with fire and extreme prejudice, man. But then it would probably turn out to be Grendel, and mama would show up, and...whoops. :P On the plus side, maybe Felicity will get to see more of the Elves now! Love the chapter, thanks for the update! Hope you have a marvelous week and not too much catching up to do from the holiday weekend. -Kevana Author Reply: Hi Kevana. Felicity is pretty cool and I'm slowly getting to know her better and teasing out some of her history. We probably won't learn everything about her but enough to keep her intriguing I hope. Val rocks too and he is lightyears ahead of everyone else in the smarts department. Alex's encounter with Námo was less than six months ago, storywise. That's not too long for something like that and he really hasn't had the time to process the experience. Anyway, we'll see how the Elves help Alex out in dealing with all this over the next couple of chapters. Thanks for reviewing. I appreciate it. | |
| rikki | Reviewed Chapter: 55 on 7/7/2014 |
| Small town, everyone knows everything. That was what I was thinking about Felicity when she met Val, not freaking out that he was an elf, and then listening to Alex as he was explaining about the roof across the way and moving desks around. She is very accepting in what the men are saying, no hysterics or lots of questions. Which is good or is she too blase? Just saying I would have been asking a lot more questions about the situation. Hehe. I enjoyed Val's and Alex's discussion about the poems. Val's way of interpreting the reason the teacher chose those poems was interesting. A combination of linguistics and analysis of the personal choices that the teacher made. Unfortunately, the Dark Tarn still has quite a hold on Alex. His flashback was scary and it was good that Val was there to take charge. Felicity is a good friend to offer to take them to Ron. I hope that Ron can do something about the flashbacks without affecting Alex's ability to cope with watching out for Farrell. Now is not the time to have a breakdown. Maybe Alex needs a ring like Glorfindel's so he doesn't have a psychic break. Laughing, or a maia on speed dial. More clues to think about until Friday. It is very hot here in Georgia, the Cliff House should have a nice breeze up there and I think I will spend some time there enjoying the company of others. Have a good week! Author Reply: That's true, rikki. Having grown up in a small town, I know just how that is. Felicity has been in Wiseman long enough to be familiar with the Elves even if she's not had any real dealings with them, and her attitude reflects this. I'm glad you enjoyed the discussion about the poems. Val is first and foremost a linguist and he sees deeper than most where language usage is concerned. He is able to see the genealogy of the poems and deal with them organically rather than as discrete entities with no connection between them, which is how Alex was looking at them. Alex certainly doesn't need a breakdown right now, but his concern over Farrell isn't helping him. Hopefully the Elves will do what they can to help him to deal with all this. Thanks for leaving a comment. I appreciate it very much. Enjoy the Cliff House while you're waiting for Friday. | |