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| Moments in Time by Larner | 12 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| SurgicalSteel | Reviewed Chapter: 48 on 1/2/2008 |
| I overall very much enjoyed this - I like the story of Lilith, and how she wasn't motivated to escape for herself but for someone else. I like that she was able to make a life for herself, and I like that she and Frodo were able to take comfort in comforting one another. My only quibble is with the manner in which complex cancer surgery is described by Aragorn. It frankly made me hit the back button, although I returned to read the remainder of the story. It's just not that simple, and wasn't though of as that simple even going back to the 1700s and 1800s. The most common belief was that cancer spread by direct extension and if it came back in other places, it was because the original surgeon hadn't removed enough normal looking tissue around the cancer. Most cancers don't have anything that looks like a neat 'sac' around them. Re-connecting blood vessels wasn't done sucessfully until the mid-20th century, and is only rarely done in cancer operations. And operations as complex resecting a large tumor and re-attaching blood vessels would be complex enough to require at least two skilled people to complete. That being said: I enjoyed every other part of the story very much. Author Reply: I'm sorry, SS, to be apparently making a resection appear simpler than it is. I do rely on Aragorn having been trained by Elrond, who was at the time the greatest healer in Middle Earth, and would probably have had a far greater appreciation of what tumors are and how cancers spread than anyone else within Middle Earth. I don't think you've had the chance to read "Lesser Ring" as yet; in it Aragorn does do such a resection. I'm aware I simplified both the tumor and the resection of it too much--I only hope you can forgive me--this is, after all, a fantasy story. I doubt the tumor Lilith sported was all that large when it was first removed; the probabilibity parts of it were missed is likely. That once the realm of Gondor faded knowledge of how to properly remove tumors should be lost just seems very likely. The actual tumor was based on my great aunt, who had a tumor removed once at the Mayo Clinic, but who refused to go back after a year, having realized it was coming back and knowing that they'd indicated that if they had to go back in they'd have to cut the vagus nerve, which would cause one side of her face to droop. The cancer itself did the job only a few months after she should have been there again for the surgery; and she died some years later. I fear I speeded up what happens to Mistress Lilith somewhat compared to what Aunt Ethel knew. I am very relieved, however, that you appreciated the story in spite of this anachronism. Thanks so much for the feedback. | |
| shirebound | Reviewed Chapter: 48 on 1/2/2008 |
| I read this at the LOTR Yahoo group, and was so impressed. You really show how people of quality and good heart can come together to enhance one another's lives. Author Reply: Thank you, Shirebound. Yes, people DO manage to enhance one another's lives, when we are generous with ourselves. Thank you so much! | |