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| Shire: Beginnings by Lindelea | 93 Review(s) |
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| Inkling | Reviewed Chapter: 28 on 2/18/2005 |
| A very powerful and disturbing chapter, bringing to mind the atrocities of the Holocaust…another time when men refused to see the humanity in other men though it was right before their eyes. Glorfindel’s unveiling of his power was breathtaking…straight out of one of the great fairy tales. The murk that is briefly dispelled and then regathers raised, for me, the same question about the nature of evil that runs throughout LOTR: whether it resides in the hearts of men, or comes from without…or both. This was definitely one of the high points of the story! Author Reply: Yes, touring one of the infamous death camps has stuck in my memories for more than a score of years. The photographs, the testimonies, the idea of mattresses stuffed with hair... Thanks for the note about Glorfindel's unveiling of power. I gave it long thought and much research, trying to figure exactly what the power of the Elves was, with only tantalising glimpses to work from (like Frodo's glimpse of the Elf-lord at the Ford). I wondered about Thorn being able to see the murk... but then, Sam was able to see a light shining through Frodo, so why not Thorn being able to see the spiritual murk in the great hall? Thanks! | |
| Inkling | Reviewed Chapter: 26 on 2/17/2005 |
| Oh my, I think I needed to get to the Last Homely House as much as the hobbits… All-Around? LOL!! Loved the hobbit-sized table settings, and the Elves sitting in the Hall of Fire holding hobbit children. Sad that, over time, this close relationship with the Elves would not last…and even sadder, perhaps, that while the hobbits would forget, the Elves would remember. The sadness of mortal lands… So the wives follow their husbands in death…the last missing piece of the puzzle as to why there were so few remaining hobbits. And though Violet lives, “she seldom spoke to any, ate little, and wandered the halls like a small, sad wraith.” What a tragic image! And the Thorn’s name was Buckthorn! I’d wondered… “He'd found the hobbits were better able to concentrate with food to nibble.” Elrond is becoming an honorary hobbit! He’s going to miss them, I think. This is a wonderful line: ‘One Elf and one Fallohide,’ Blackthorn answered firmly. ‘How can any stand against us?’ It’s nice to see Black truly becoming The Thorn… | |
| Inkling | Reviewed Chapter: 22 on 2/13/2005 |
| Whew! Thank goodness they’re safe at last…not sure I could have taken much more sadness. The poor hobbits…out of the frying pan into the fire indeed! The men are, if anything, more loathsome than the orcs. I greatly enjoyed the eagle family, especially the mother’s concern with food safety: “Throw it out!” LOL! It was nice to see Radagast; he doesn't show up too often in fanfic (with the notable exception of jodancingtree's stories). Am wondering about “There was another evil that had not yet been made clear to him.” Is this the Necromancer, and is he pursuing the hobbits? Wasn’t there something you said earlier about the orcs: “more than hunger and rage burned in their eyes”… Author Reply: Well, we know that the Crossing was shrouded in the mists of history, and know that hobbits were fleeing what was happening after the Necromancer took up residence in southern Mirkwood, and that Arnor had broken into three kingdoms, one of which was overcome by evil, one of which was wiped out by the former, and the other which lasted for some time before being overcome. So it would stand to reason that it would take a lot to pry such a people from their settled ways. I was hoping the eagles didn't read too "hobbity", but the eagles in The Hobbit didn't seem all that lofty to me. Jodancing tree tops my list of favourite authors. I'm probably heavily influenced by her writing, the first fanfic I ever read! Yes, in answer to your question about "another evil": the Dark Power may have got wind of the fact that the little folk were a part of the Song, perhaps even a part of his anticipated downfall... In any event, he probably figured they were taken care of... or perhaps when Thorn fell, and the direct link to the Valar was broken (Thorn was the last to hear the Lady's voice clearly), he lost interest in them. Thankfully! Thanks so much for the review. I was feeling quite unmotivated, what with being unable to post any new chapters this week, and thus no reviews to grease the writing wheels. | |
| Inkling | Reviewed Chapter: 17 on 2/7/2005 |
| OK, I’ve finally stopped bawling enough to be able to review this chapter…thank you, Lin, for not leaving Thorn fallen against the cliff, trying to draw breath that wouldn’t come. This was a beautiful ending to his part of the Tale, as well as a wonderfully unexpected answer to your hint that the Four Travelers would be making cameo appearances. But I will miss Thorn. It must be hard to kill off a character; I wonder if I could do it… I know a story has gotten under my skin when I find myself thinking about the characters during the day…I couldn’t wait ‘til tonight to read this part. But now back to work! Author Reply: You're welcome. It was hard enough to write his demise, much less leave him there. I've had some criticism, people who think that Mandos would have nothing to do with hobbits. But since JRRT never really said what happens to hobbits, I've tried to come up with a logical conclusion that would fit with the hobbits we know and love best. Thanks for commenting! | |
| Inkling | Reviewed Chapter: 16 on 2/7/2005 |
| Hi Lin, here are my random musings on Chapters 11-16: "And if there are no more sips in the cup for me, who am I to complain? All I can do is make the best use of the time I have, Beech." Very moving, Thorn’s humble fatalism…and a nice twist on Gandalf’s words to Frodo. Just read your chronological and geographical notes…thank you, very useful. BTW also looked up the birth of Elrond’s sons: 130 T.A. So they were about 900 years old at the time of your story…still wet behind the ears, for Elves! ;) A question: Where are all these orcs coming from? So the hobbits’ woodcraft seems better than the Elves’…interesting and a bit surprising, though I must remember that these are not, after all, Wood Elves…perhaps the High Elves of Rivendell are, relatively speaking, “city folk”? “It is time for us to assume the cloak of adulthood.” This was such a touching moment, as the hobbits weep knowing they must leave the Lady behind at last. Well either Gran-dad’s confused or I am…at the end of chapter 12 it says “It took them more than a day to reach the open fields leading to the ford, what with the need for caution.” Then chapter 13 opens with “After ten days of travel the wandering hobbits came to the edge of the wood, looking out over a grassy plain that sloped downwards towards a distant sparkle—the River!” Can both these statements be true? “brother in love” is a beautiful phrase… C. 16 – Oh, this is heartbreaking…Thorn reminds me a little of Frodo, so brave and noble, and with the gift of foresight that Frodo reveals in his speech at the end of LOTR. I was afraid we were going to lost Thorn sooner, but I know this is it. And Another has spoken to him! Who, I wonder? You know, somehow I thought we hadn’t seen the last of Pick…mistaken for a rabbit, eh? So Bilbo wasn’t the first, hehe… | |
| Inkling | Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 2/4/2005 |
| I love these hobbits! Sharkey’s ruffians would have had a hard time pushing THEM around! Brave, smart, selfless, generous, resourceful, pragmatic, adaptable. No self-pity, resentment, vengefulness. (Why can’t people be more like hobbits?) Now, granted, these are Fallohides, and Fallohides in their pure, undiluted form at that, so a pretty special breed. But still, makes me wonder about the first Harfoots and Stoors. They must have been pretty tough, too, to make the great “a-journey.” Some bits in chapters 5-10 I especially liked: We’ll make it into a song,’ her brother said soothingly. ‘Then it won’t seem so unnatural.’ Ah, the Fallohides’ love of song, that survived all the way to Bilbo’s time! Would be fun to hear the song they made… “…for Thorn seemed to know what to do, and Beech seemed to know where to go.” That’s as good a definition of a leader as I’ve heard! “…a wrong decision would fill the pot with hobbits. That would never do.” That sort of dry understatement and morbid humor are so very hobbity! “No thanks are needed, Grand-alf.” This IS like ‘The Just So Stories’: “How Gandalf Got His Name.” Very clever! And set up so naturally and logically, starting with the hobbits’ attempt to say elf coming out alf! I really enjoy your attention to language, and the origins of words and names…very much in the spirit of Tolkien! What a lovely idea that the Lady of the Woods is, perhaps a Vala (Yavanna?) who once walked in ME…and what a sweet, touching moment when the hobbits all kneel before Arwen thinking she is the Lady. Looking forward to more! Author Reply: Thanks for hitting the high points! You're right, Fallohides are pretty special. I've had a reviewer or two tell me that my hobbits are "unhobbity", but I don't know about that, seeing what the Travellers accomplished. And Samwise wasn't even a Fallohide, so far as I can tell. It was fun to give Gandalf his name--we were playing with Just So Stories at the time and making up our own stories. I did a lot of research though, to make sure I wasn't stepping out of canon. Couldn't find any provenance for the Wizard's name, though, so as far as I know this *could* be the way Gandalf got his name... LOL | |
| Inkling | Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 2/1/2005 |
| Kids now in bed so back to your story (am already thinking my kids would like this story)…This gave me quite a chuckle: “pulling them as smooth as boys who must make their beds before breakfast are wont to do.” Oh, do I know what that’s like…sometimes I think my boys’ beds look better BEFORE they make them! You turn a nice phrase, Lin…I especially liked this one: “it was no fur off his feet!” And “gobble-uns” was very clever as a logical corruption of goblins. Also liked how you worked in the old superstitions about the “little people” souring milk and blighting crops. I’m really enjoying how the tale is unfolding so far…the Thorn family is delightful, and it’s fun to see so many familiar characters pop up. So “young” Elladan is something of a hothead, eh? How old is he in this story? (I’d go check the Tale of Years, but I’m too lazy). There’s a lot of thought behind this story that shows in the well-observed small details, such as the fact that foxes and owls, though small to us, would indeed be threats to a hobbit child. Despite the whimsical tone of much of this, it’s really rather grim, isn’t it? But then, so were most of the great old fairy tales… Author Reply: Ah yes, I remember the shock it was to read the old fairy tales, so much different from the modern sanitized versions. Two of the three little pigs were eaten, as I recall... I don't remember how old Elladan was, but I do seem to recall that this story is set before Elrond's wife was taken by Orcs in the mountains. Someone else remarked on reading this aloud to their children. Don't know if they read all the way to the end or not! But it was fun to hear the young ones' impressions. Thanks! | |
| Inkling | Reviewed Chapter: Prologue on 1/31/2005 |
| Lin! I have finally seen my way clear to starting this story, and just had to drop you a quick line to say how excited I am, and how much I love it already! It took less than 12 words for me to know it was my kind of tale…when I got to "Ah, best beloved," you had me! I’ve always been a huge fan of "The Just So Stories" and still have the ancient battered copy that was my mother’s—in which, unfortunately, at some tender age I decided to color half the illustrations with markers. But I digress…this is a wonderful beginning, and I’m already wondering just who this old gaffer is who has such a great store of knowledge, and who is the young ‘un he’s talking to. I’ll bet before this is over you tell us… Author Reply: Glad you dropped me a quick line! O yes, "best beloved" -- wondered if anyone would pick up on that little tribute to a great storyteller. If you don't guess who the Gran-dad and young'un are by the end, drop me another line and I'll tell you who I imagined them to be! And of course, it'll be lovely to hear any comments you might have during the story itself... Thanks for taking the time to write! | |
| Dana | Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 1/6/2005 |
| Ack. How terribly ominous. And poor Pick -- poor Pick's mum, too, and his brothers and his sisters. What an awful thing to have happened to the Leaf family, as well. And this: 'Aye,' his mother said. 'And there's somewhat wrong with the stream, as well, the water's fouled somehow, black and unwholesome. 'Tis a good thing we get our water from a spring, but your da wonders if that water will go off, next?' 'Is that why the pig drinks the first bucketful every morning?' Black asked in astonishment. His mother nodded slowly. 'If the water goes off, he'd rather lose a pig than a hobbit.' Made my heart hurt, it did. | |
| Dana | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 1/6/2005 |
| 'But I want to go,' Pickthorn wailed. Hawthorn bent to talk to his little brother face-to-face. 'You stay around here, Pick,' he said. 'Don't go wandering off. Wouldn't want the gobble-uns to get you!' 'Gobble, gobble!' Applethorn crept up behind the littlest brother, his fingers wiggling and clutching like claws. 'Mum!' Pickthorn shrieked, even as Hawthorn swept him up from the floor into the safety of his arms. 'Don't tease him so,' he said sharply. 'It's not funny.' How very, very adorable. The lads are all charming, in their own lad-like way -- and Pick is precious and adorable and I want to scoop him up and cuddle him. And the ending - the poor dear lad. What a shock that would have been. Love how cheery they are, though, as they're talking about eating him up. Added something, it did. *grin* | |