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| Brethren by Ecthelion of the fountain | 22 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| Fimbrethil | Reviewed Chapter: Epilogue 2 on 6/10/2025 |
| Oh my. What feelings...and it was Fate that Éomer married and probably loved the same and only maiden whom Théodred had seen and perhaps fallen in love with. --Even if she was about 20 years younger than Théodred. | |
| Lindelea | Reviewed Chapter: Epilogue 2 on 6/5/2025 |
| p.s. I just now remembered that a couple decades ago, I wrote my own Boromir "ghost story", starting immediately after the battle before the Black Gate and finishing in Ithilien. Here's the link if you might be interested: http://www.storiesofarda.com/chapterview.asp?sid=3065&cid=13460 | |
| Lindelea | Reviewed Chapter: Epilogue 2 on 6/5/2025 |
| The changes, though seeming subtle compared to my memory of the original chapter, do the trick. You've given just enough space to separate the Pelennor temporally from the events that took place on Mount Doom. I'm curious about your other Rohan-centric story, to be sure. However, for my part, if it is set too far in the past (by "too far" I mean beyond reach of the late-Third Age characters I'm familiar with), I might have trouble reading it. I should expect you'd have other readers, though, who share your interests! I've found your writing quite enjoyable. Time constraints over the past two-and-a-half decades have kept me reading and writing pretty much in the Fourth Age and the last few centuries of the Third Age, with a few rare exceptions, such as Fiondil's Elf Academy series. In my current story about Bill the Pony, I mentioned Eorl in passing, but I really know little about him or his culture. In my story about driving the Witch King out of Angmar, I've done a lot of searching for the "princes of Rhovanion" to be able to include them in the Army of the West, but I haven't found much in the way of historical detail to hang my hat on. Another difficulty would be if Gríma features heavily. Even the bare mention of his name (like my writing the name just now) makes me queasy. Actually, that's why I haven't read the other stories you've posted, in case you wondered. The names of the characters in the story summaries mean about as much to me as the names of historical figures I was forced to memorize in school, just names with little context or meaning. I recognize many of them as coming out of the Silmarillon. I know there are quite a few fanfic authors and readers who find inspiration there! More power to them, I say, even as I have no inclination to dip into the Kinslayings or various rebellions. For my part, I read the Sil decades ago (probably in the 1970s) and was never tempted to revisit it as a whole, though I have read a few parts here and there in isolation. I found many of the themes depressing rather than inspiring, but then so much of JRRT's inspiration was based on epics filled with blood and gore and betrayal and tragedy, and not much about triumph or uplifting thoughts to lighten the content. (Believe me, I had my fill of epics in my literature studies. In one class, we read Beowulf in the original language. Fascinating, but I'm glad to have left that story behind.) I even find the tale of Beren and Lúthien depressing, though it has its high points. Added to the time constraints I mentioned earlier, the fact that I've found a haven of sorts in fanfic over the years is another reason that has limited my subject matter area of interest. In JRRT's legendarium, I can't remember much in the way of happy endings. Shoot, even his unfinished snippet set in the Fourth Age after Elessar's death is depressing, and I'm actually glad he didn't write more about the return of Shadow. I think that's probably what keeps me stuck in the late Third Age (I know who's going to win) and the early Fourth Age (such a time of joy and promise and growth and relief, that it might be described as "the calm after the storm"). Maybe it sounds trite, but "happy" (or satisfying or, at worst, bittersweet) endings are what I need in my reading material these days. I'll stop ranting now. Hopefully none of what I've said here will be taken as criticizing others' preferences. Tolkien's world is so broad and deep and rich, there's room for all sorts of us. | |
| Lindelea | Reviewed Chapter: Epilogue 2 on 5/31/2025 |
| Oh, my. You've managed to take a story with a sad ending and add a smile as the last thing the reader will remember when thinking back on the tale. Well done. Author Reply: Thank you! When I first wrote the epilogue, I was so heartbroken by it that I ended up adding an extra chapter—just to soften the blow a little. And it seems it did the trick! 😄 | |
| Lindelea | Reviewed Chapter: Epilogue 2 on 5/31/2025 |
| Your summary of the last part of the War of the Ring is stately, as if one is reading the historical record. I have one small quibble: the flow of the narrative (without any timing clues) makes the charge of the Rohirrim on the Pelennor sound as if it happened at the same time as the Ring going into the Fire. Reading from one paragraph to the next feels a little like missing the last step when walking down a staircase or stepping off a curb you didn't realize was there as you were walking. I love the description of rebuilt Osgiliath, along with Éomer's perceptions (I can relate to his "stifled" feeling). Hearing that Éowyn anticipates bringing a new life into the world adds a nice note of joy. And hurrah! Éothain survived all the battles that lay between my last glimpse of him and the Black Gate! hahaha, his happiness in love motivating him to push his king in the same direction is so true to life. Lothíriel! I was right! Ah, yes, I will always think of that as Théoden's song, even though Aragorn said it was about Eorl the Young. It feels especially poignant, woven into the narrative here. I found myself tearful as I read from there to the end of the chapter, thinking of too many cut off much too young. And the losses continue to mount in our world. The last line feels fitting, like a proper tribute. Author Reply: Thanks, as always! I agree the transition needed work—I made a small update and wonder if it reads more smoothly now. 😄 I’m totally open to rephrasing or enriching the description further if it still feels abrupt. And yes, it was Lothíriel! It was implied in the ghost story, but never outright stated. That said, it’s hardly love though—more a moment of recognition. He saw in her what he had once glimpsed in his youth; there was no romantic involvement between them in any real sense. And the losses continue to mount in our world. —That's the saddest part. 😢 For the fanfic, since I’ve written the ghost story, I hope it offers some solace—a second chance, at least in fiction. But in the real world, there is little we can do. :( Author Reply: Also—I’m wondering if there might be interest in my other Rohirrim-centered fic, Dark Horse. It’s a bit longer than this one, so translating it would be another month’s work or so. :) | |
| Lindelea | Reviewed Chapter: 8 on 5/30/2025 |
| Though obviously canon, this was a difficult chapter to read. *sigh* Author Reply: Yeah I know 😭 | |
| Lindelea | Reviewed Chapter: 7 on 5/27/2025 |
| others whispered that he was no mere dealer in fireworks, but a mighty wizard, akin to Saruman of Isengard. ...and these, it sounds like, are the wiser and more perceptive heads in the region. While I know Mithrandir deferred to Saruman as the head of the Order (if I'm remembering right; this is off the top of my head), I wonder: was Gandalf always the greater but merely hid his power? (The question arises in my mind because Círdan gave him one of the Three instead of giving it to Saruman.) Or was Saruman the greater until he was corrupted? (Which still raises the question: Why give Narya to Gandalf? I suppose it would be appropriate to give the Ring of Fire to one who is a Servant of the Secret Fire, but I really don't know. I'm not even sure Saruman knew exactly who held the Three, and I'm too tired to go searching for information today.) I regret that Théodred didn't slay Gríma then and there. Things might have been so different. Author Reply: Ah—that is an interesting question: why did Círdan bestow the Ring of Fire upon Gandalf, and not upon Saruman? My understanding has ever been that the wizards had their own specialties: Gandalf was most skilled in the arts of fire, Radagast in dealings with beasts and birds, and Saruman in crafts and lore. UT further suggests that Círdan’s gift was born of foresight and deep insight, such as the Elves often possess—that Gandalf, in time, would prove the most faithful to his charge. It also notes that Saruman later discovered who bore the Three, and his jealousy of Gandalf was part of the bitter result of that knowledge. As for why none of the faithful men in Rohan struck down Gríma, I believe it is the result—regrettable though it may be—of their honour and decency. Their hands were bound by a sense of justice: to kill without rightful cause or decree would be to fall into the very darkness they strove against. It is the same even in our own days: the good ones are constrained by their own conscience—and that is the very thing which makes them good. | |
| Lindelea | Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 5/26/2025 |
| Strange, then, that the sickness came with such sudden force. Strange indeed. It sounds like a case of acute poisoning, followed by the application of a remedy and then a course of slow poisoning with an occasional respite. Or perhaps I have read too much Agatha Christie or Roman history. Was it Lothíriel, by chance? This glimpse of Gondor and Boromir through the Riders' eyes was intriguing. *sigh* Théodred's understanding of Éowyn makes his upcoming loss all the more grievous. Author Reply: As for the initial onset of the illness, I hold no firm opinion—after all, people do fall ill without warning. But I do believe that the lingering malady which followed was the result of slow poisoning, as UT suggests. And, as ever, no spoilers from me :D | |
| Lindelea | Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 5/23/2025 |
| “Lord Éomer—have you heard? Gríma the leech has returned.” Ew. Not a promising beginning. And where has he been these past two years? I have an uneasy feeling. But Éothain sounds like a valuable asset. astride her grey steed, clad as a Rider and wearing a helm in a vain attempt at disguise—yet unmistakable Hmmm. How is she going to manage to fool people as Dernhelm? It sounds like she needs to work a bit more on the art of disguise. and now your sister, grown into one who will surely outshine all her peers. Truer words were never spoken. Théodred's musings at the end of the chapter brought to mind, oddly enough, Beth from Little Women who did not talk about her dreams and ambitions as her sisters did and later mused to her sister Jo that maybe she was always fated to die at home with her parents rather than marrying or making her way in the world. Perhaps Théodred's lack of interest has something to do with his fate, even though he does not know it? (Don't mind me and my ramblings; it's late, and I'm almost too tired to see straight, much less think straight.) Author Reply: “And where has he been these past two years? I have an uneasy feeling.” – Yes, that’s exactly the question I intended readers to ask. Where was he? Whom did he meet? How did he spend his time? Ultimately, it points to his falling under Saruman’s influence—but that part won’t be narrated here, since Éomer and Théodred themselves wouldn’t have known. “How is she going to manage to fool people as Dernhelm?” – That’s actually told in my earlier story, Steelsheen, where the same events are told from Éowyn’s perspective. :) “Perhaps Théodred’s lack of interest has something to do with his fate, even though he does not know it?” – That’s a really interesting thought! In my stories, he’s come to believe it had something to do with an encounter he once had with Elves in his youth (a tale to be told in Dark Horse), but I think your suggestion makes a lot of sense too—as a mix of foreboding and unnamed longing. I’ll definitely keep that in mind if I write more Théodred-centric stories! | |
| Lindelea | Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 5/21/2025 |
| The feeling of slow-growing danger is well done. I'm thinking (this is off the top of my head) that the Uruk are larger than Orcs, and they can also function in daylight, which tends to make Orcs wobbly, if I'm remembering right. Théodred is both a promising heir and an intelligent, effective leader. I also love the humour that breaks through at times. The thought of Éowyn being left behind in Edoras without her two champions is troubling. The scene built around the knighting works well, showing Théodred's wisdom and understanding of tactics, along with Éomer's ability to learn from the past (and understand sound tactics), while also highlighting Éomer's youth. ("I'm taller than you!") Here Théodred was all ready to listen to Éomer discuss how much he still has to learn and how far he still has to go before he can even think about being a Marshal, I should imagine. Author Reply: Thanks! “The thought of Éowyn being left behind in Edoras without her two champions is troubling.” – At this point in time, Gríma had not yet become a presence in the King’s hall. But yeah, later, it did come to that. :( Fortunately, this story doesn’t dwell too much on that part. “Here Théodred was all ready to listen to Éomer discuss—” – Exactly! He already regarded Éomer as one worthy of counsel. :) | |