News Resources
Login
Become a member
Help
Search
|
|
| About Us News Resources
Login
Become a member
Help
Search
|
|
|
| Necessity and Desire by Gwynnyd | 16 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| Rose Sared | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 9/15/2005 |
| Oo,oo, oo! - Rose hops up and down in her seat squealing with delight - this was sooo good, so Tolkeinish - filled in gaps and answered questions I didn't even know I needed the answers too. Did I mention it was truly well written and that the the characters sang with authenticity. Should have. Great, great stuff. Well done and thanks. Rose Author Reply: Gwynnyd hops and down and squeals along! I'm so glad you like it. I do enjoy thinking up quirky solutions to the gaps JRRT left in his universe, and it is very nice to know that they are read and appreciated. Thank you. | |
| Bodkin | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 9/15/2005 |
| This is a lovely complex weaving of all the different elements. I'm not sure about Arwen putting Aragorn in mail - but I'm glad to see he is putty in her hands. There are just so many delights - Boromir and his first meeting with the twins, Arwen and Aragorn together, the wooden Arathorn figure, the detail of Aragorn's elven/human room, Elrohir tidying up behind him - the discussion. The whole paragraph starting, 'It was a familiar exercise . . .' is just perfect - I loved it so much I read it about five times. And Arwen and Aragorn's closeness and willingness to let her brothers see it. The line 'Arwen had obviously heard the stories before, as she tilted her head up and smiled just before he told amusing parts,' shows affectionate intimacy so perfectly. 'Aragorn looked up and a smile also lit his face. “It is time for the sword to be reforged. If I am to go to Gondor and confront the forces of Mordor, I prefer to wield a weapon, not a symbol.” ' For this discussion, it would seem acceptable for Aragorn to miss Frodo's feast. Although Elrond is unlikely to be delighted by an absence that might seem . . . '“Rude? Unforgivable?” Elrohir suggested.' (He has a gift for finding the right word.) But Elrond might be slightly more manageable than his daughter - who had invested a lot of effort into making that awkward feast go off smoothly. 'Arwen will not be best pleased.' A master of understatement. Author Reply: The mail! Oh yes. But I had to account for this canon moment. Aragorn stood beside her; his dark cloak was thrown back, and he seemed to be clad in elven-mail, and a star shone on his breast. When did he put this on? and why? I assumed that he would not have to be wearing it for protection around Rivendell and wasn't out patrolling or anything because Elrond, at least, had expected him to be at the feast. And, Hollywood aside, no one actually wore armor to dinner! I rather glossed over how the heck he would get the star (fastened how? if it was the star he usually wore on other garments - pinned? glued? hanging on a ribbon/chain?) onto the mail, because it seemeed like one detail too many. He would probably pin Arwen with his devastating smile and say, "Duty.", and she would understand. And while I'm sure Elrond did understand why he didn't show up, there must have been one awkward moment where Aragorn felt eight years old again, shuffling his feet and mumbling, "but, ada... it wasn't my fault. It was Elrohir's idea!". Thank you! | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 9/14/2005 |
| Masterful; superb use of language and imagery. Devious indeed--as devious as any elf, having been raised by them! Superb story, my lady. Author Reply: Thank you! Devious, persistent, smart... or he would not have survived so long. I'm glad you enjoyed the story. | |
| harrowcat | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 9/14/2005 |
| A lovely piece of writing Gwynnyd. Your characters rang true to life for me. Except the bit about Arwen understanding why he was late for the feast better than Elrond! Really? I think that I would rather face Elrond! Author Reply: Oh no! Arwen must be used to him being called off by duty at the last minute and would assume that he wouldn't stay away from anything but necessity, but Elrond would be 'disappointed' that his protege was so careless of the diplomatic necessities that he could not juggle ten things at once and still be where he supposed to be. I'm glad you found the characters, mostly, believable! Thank you. | |
| Lamiel | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 9/14/2005 |
| This is a fascinating gap filler, and I think it is the writing that makes it so. The language, characters, and descriptions are so close to Tolkien's writing that I could imagine I was reading a lost passage from LOTR. The professor intended to give some background and explain that confusing dinner scene, but the manuscript was lost along the way, or perhaps abandoned due to his need to tell all things from the perspective of the Hobbits. In any case, you have breathed real life into Tolkien's characters here, and I imagine that your Aragorn really is just as Tolkien would have him. That's an incredible accomplishment, I think, because I never found Aragorn very approachable or even likeable in the books. I liked him much better after seeing the movies' portrayal. But here you've stayed true to Tolkien's creation, and yet also give light to the real depths and conflicting fears and desires that Aragorn has. And I need not add that this is even more true for your characterization of Arwen. You make it clear that it is NOT automatically assumed that the smart thing to do would be to accompany Frodo and the Ring, and the reasons Aragorn has to go to Gondor are very real and compelling, as are his fears of doing so. Very well done. Author Reply: Oh my | |
| daw the minstrel | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 9/14/2005 |
| This was an interesting gap filler. It explains a lot of what went on in that 24-hour-period and does so very plausibly. The arguments about the attack on Rivendell and what Aragorn should do were convincing in their horrible possibilities and complications. I also liked the picture of the comfortable love between Aragorn and Arwen. Author Reply: Thank you! I had a lot of fun and tried to put a lot of thought into what might have happened. As a professional conference and meeting planner, I've put togeher a lot of head tables in my time, and the one at Frodo's feast always felt very wrong to me. I had most fun figurin gout a plausible why. | |