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| The Way Home by Lindelea | 71 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 18 on 7/25/2025 |
| Oh, but I can appreciate his fears. The memory of the Nine passing them in pursuit of Frodo and Asfaloth would definitely spring to mind at the idea of a ford. I am glad Shadowfax is with him at this time. Love the description of the remaining ruins of the city. Author Reply: Shadowfax is a definite asset. I was reminded recently that he was able to keep his wits about him in the presence of the Nazgûl. Whenever I read about ruins, I want to explore them and know more about them! (Writing about them is not much different.) Thanks so much for reading and taking the time to share your thoughts! | |
| KathyG | Reviewed Chapter: 18 on 7/23/2025 |
| I am not afraid, I say defiantly, raising my head, even though I am, rather. I am merely remembering a different ford. What is to be found on the far side of this ford, I wonder? Hmm. Is Bill trying to convince Shadowfax or himself? Author Reply: That's an interesting question. I think Bill is quite a truthful creature overall. His trembling really does come from remembering that other ford and the Black Riders. He might well be wondering if the Black Riders will pop up as they start to cross this ford, for example, but he doesn't quite have enough information yet to be afraid of this ford with any specificity. One of the horses I used to know had a negative association with puddles. I have no idea how it started, but it was well-established by the time we were introduced. What might have happened to him the first time he encountered a puddle (or perhaps another time, not the first time, and yet forging a strong enough memory that he approached puddles with suspicion and downright fear by the time I knew him)? I'll never know. Perhaps the first time he came to a puddle and balked to try and figure out what it was, his rider hit and kicked and shouted to force him through it, confirming his suspicions that puddles were hazardous. Alternatively, some other frightening occurrence might have happened at the same time as that earlier puddle encounter, such as an attacking dog or a blowing sheet. Author Reply: p.s. Thanks for reading and taking the time to share your thoughts! Your question made me think more deeply on Bill's reactions, which I find very helpful in turning draft chapters into finished chapters. | |
| Lady Forlong | Reviewed Chapter: 18 on 7/22/2025 |
| Souds like Bill has a little bit of PTSD associated with fords. Not that I blame him. Author Reply: I think you're right. I've based Bill's memory mechanism as tied to his emotions, and the incidents where the Black Riders crossed his path were most likely connected to strong emotions that left deep impressions. That fits well with PTSD, I should think. Thanks for coming along for the journey and pausing long enough to share your thoughts! | |
| shirebound | Reviewed Chapter: 18 on 7/22/2025 |
| What an interesting journey to take... for Bill and also for me. You're unfolding each step through this landscape as thoroughly as the Professor did. :) Author Reply: It has been fascinating to do the research for this one, to try and bring it as closely as possible into line with the Professor's original vision. And even so, I probably diverge in places without meaning to do so. But like Bill, I am doing my best... Thanks for reading and taking the time to share your thoughts, my friend. | |
| KathyG | Reviewed Chapter: 17 on 7/20/2025 |
| Aww, so Bill gives his thanks to the stream they have followed, I see. So, the Mearas are capable of understanding human speech. Interesting! I wonder where Bill and Shadowfax will stop for the night. Author Reply: Part of the fun of putting this story together was reading everything I could find on Shadowfax and the Mearas! I'm not sure if all Mearas can understand human speech, but it may be so. Éomer says at one point, For the sire of their race was the great horse of Eorl that knew the speech of Men. In Appendix A, Tolkien tells the story of Léod, "a tamer of wild horses", his son Eorl, who became the first King of the Mark, and the great horse Felaróf, the first of the mearas to be tamed. Here, too, Felaróf is described as understanding the speech of Men, and he and his descendants are said to be as long-lived as Men and that they would bear no rider save the King of the Mark or his sons. From Gandalf's interactions with Shadowfax, the horse appears to be highly intelligent and seems to understand human speech like his forebear. According to the Tolkien Gateway website (apparently summarized from a list of sources): Shadowfax was described to have a silvery-grey coat which was only visible by day, and seldomly visible by night. He was capable of understanding human speech. As chief of the Mearas, and by extension all horses, he possessed unrivaled speed, strength, intelligence, and endurance, capable of running faster than the wind in comparison to all other steeds, outrunning the Nazgul's horses and equaling the speeds of the winged Fell Beasts, as well as outrun an arrow in flight, and travel over great distances almost entirely without need for rest, and as mentioned above, he had immensely strong willpower and courageousness, enough so to stand up to The Witch-King of Angmar before the gate of Minas Tirith. (https://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Shadowfax) (I am astonished at his being able to "outrun an arrow in flight" and would love to know what source that bit of information came from!) | |
| Lady Forlong | Reviewed Chapter: 17 on 7/20/2025 |
| "Pick up your blessings after you've tripped over them." I'm going to have to remember that one. And I get the feeling that Bill is going to need to remember it too, maybe more than once on this journey. Author Reply: Sometimes life just seems to work that way. Pippin has the right of it, in remembering to count his blessings even in the midst of troubles. And as you have observed, Bill still has a long way to go. Thanks so much for reading and taking the time to share your thoughts! | |
| shirebound | Reviewed Chapter: 17 on 7/19/2025 |
| For the first time, it occurs to me that a Wizard might be capable of feeling loneliness at times. Is that part of the reason why he took pity on me and gave me the Voices That's a wonderful insight. Ohhh, Bill is going to need such a thorough brushing at journey's end. What a marvelous experience that will be. Author Reply: I love the idea of a thorough brushing! He will definitely need one, being shaggy as an old dog on his arrival in Bree. Thanks! | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 17 on 7/19/2025 |
| Bill does well to listen and learn from Shadowfax while they are together. Love the farewell to the Gate Stream. Author Reply: I'm glad Bill's farewell to the stream worked. He is definitely a product of the company he keeps/has kept. (Even belonging to Bill Ferny provided many valuable lessons, such as patience and perseverance and problem-solving; that said, I firmly believe that people like Ferny shouldn't be allowed to own animals.) Thanks! | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 16 on 7/18/2025 |
| A passing use of a common aphorism by Pippin becomes the trigger for a confusing conversation amongst the four Hobbits, leading Strider to laugh and yet not explain the confusion. A good idea to contemplate as he travels west toward home. Author Reply: I was also thinking of Merry's 'We are horribly afraid – but we are coming with you; or following you like hounds.' That's definitely a thought worth contemplating! Thanks so much for reading and pausing to share your thoughts! I am devoting tomorrow (Saturday) to fanfic-reading. What fun! | |
| Lady Forlong | Reviewed Chapter: 16 on 7/17/2025 |
| No one seems to realize that Pippin didn't actually say there WAS a dog following them. He said it was LIKE a dog. Maybe Aragorn gets it, but he's not telling. Curiouser and Curiouser. Author Reply: Bingo. You got it. Pippin saw the Road winding along in the same direction as the Travellers, and his brain made the connection to a dog following behind. Rather like Lop, the sheepdog and his frequent companion in his earlier years, who followed him everywhere and, when scolded, followed him anyhow but kept out of sight to avoid more scolding. Thanks so much for reading and taking the time to share your thoughts. | |