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| Hobbit Aid by Dreamflower | 20 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| Baggins Babe | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 10/4/2005 |
| I found this a very moving story. Poor Merry's grief and guilt - feeling he should have been able to save everyone - was very distressing and I'm so glad Pip came to him. Both of them will be much greater leaders due to the example set by Aragorn and their experiences on the Quest. I watched a documentary last year about the great flood in 1953 which hit eastern England. One man talked very movingly about how he and his brothers were pushed up onto the rafters while their parents had to stand in the rising water. The power was out and it was pitch black. At one point one of the brothers slipped off the rafter and disappeared into the water. His mother was holding onto the pram which held the youngest child, not realising that the pram was full of water and the baby was drowned. It sounded horrific. This was a beautifully written tale and I am so glad you're safe and sound. Really missed your reviews and stories. Author Reply: Yes, all that they went through prepared them to lead their people with a greater understanding of what leadership meant. It does sound horrific, and is much like some of the things that happened here. Nature is no respecter of persons; young and old, rich and poor, the sick and the healthy--in the face of something so implacable, people are made to realize how helpless they really are. I'm glad I'm safe as well, and am very, very glad to be back reading and reviewing. | |
| Grey Wonderer | Reviewed Chapter: 999999 on 10/4/2005 |
| We love you too and you are most welcome. I am very certain that you would have been there had it been one of us in trouble. As Pippin once said, "We hobbits ought to stick together, and we will..." Author Reply: (((Hugs, GW))) | |
| Grey Wonderer | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 10/4/2005 |
| This is my second time reading through this one. I found it over on LJ first and read it there. I felt so sorry for Merry with all of his guilt and responsibility but I was very proud of the way that he managed to keep going and the way that his family came to his aid. Naturally, my favorite part was his reunion with Pippin, but so much of this story stands out. Merry's reactiobn to the water coming into the smial, his pain at looking at the flooded lands around him, the deaths of the hobbits, Merry's faith that from his friends would come, and that chilling reminder at the end with the mention of the ax. This time I looked for mentions of your other stories and found that they work their way into this one so seamlessly. I'm so glad that you are still here with us and that you chose to share this story with us. Author Reply: I am so glad that you liked the story. I worried a bit about it--I almost never get things beta'd, and I could see some things in it that might could have used some polishing, but this one rather wrote itself, and I really felt that I *needed* to share it sooner rather than later. I'm glad I'm here, too. There are so many reminders around me that show me what *might* could have happened... | |
| Grey Wonderer | Reviewed Chapter: Prologue on 10/4/2005 |
| Even prologues deserve a review and this is a most deserving prologue. I remember that drabble very well. It is so strange how RL can sometimes mirror fiction isn't it? Author Reply: Yes, it is. I had no idea. | |
| Lindelea | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 10/3/2005 |
| Read slowly and thoroughly, yes, this story is just as powerful as I thought it would be. The last line, especially, is haunting... Author Reply: When my husband told me that story, I too found it haunting. Especially thinking of my own friends, similarly trapped if the water had gone up only a little bit more. They tend to make light of the experience now, much like certain hobbits of our acquaintance, but I *know* they had to be truly terrified... | |
| Budgielover | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 10/3/2005 |
| There are so many things I love about this story, I can't began to list them. For all the sad events (the story of the adult hobbits pushing the children through the roof when they themselves drowned was so painful), Merry's strength and determination shines through. I loved the mention of the spyglass from another of your lovely stories, and Pippin's determination, and most of all, how Merry was determined to save his people through sheer strength of will. You capture his desperation and his courage, and the love his people hold for him was simply beautiful. We love him, too, and know he will be all right. Author Reply: I cannot imagine Merry being anything for his people *but* a tower of strength; and we know how dearly he loves his beloved Buckland. He was a leader whose leadership was bred into him, blood and bone, and not someone who had the job because a friend got elected, and not a committee, either. | |
| Connie B. | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 10/3/2005 |
| Wow! I got a cold shiver after reading this. The image of people dying in the flood the same way many did in Katrina was heartbreaking. When I read about Merry and his exhaustion and frustration, I kept seeing the faces of the local leaders in the big towns and small all along the Gulf. Thank goodness the hobbits had the dependable Sam and Pippin to come to their aid instead of having to wait on a big government agency like FEMA. Hope things are looking up a little for everyone where you are. Every time I see pictures on T.V., I want to go and start cleaning up all the debris so that people can start moving forward. I know that it is going to take a LONG time for things to even begin to get back to normal. I'm glad it didn't take so long in your story. I did get a little chuckle out of one thing. You're a step or two ahead of me. I had Merry and Pippin discussing building a bridge at Sarn Ford in 1433. You had it build, distroyed and on its way to being rebuilt by that time.:) Y'all're still in our thoughts and prayers. Take care. Connie B. Author Reply: Yes, I just could not get any of those images out of my head either. But the way of the Shire, pulling together and acting on what needed to be done is the way it ought to be, the way it should be and would be when people are true leaders and not politicians and bureaucrats. Things are moving slowly. Every day there are more signs of the work going on--our debris was finally picked up yesterday. But I ache for others whose rubble and debris are not merely trees and pieces of broken outbuildings, but also everything they possess. *chuckle* That is a coincidence, isn't it? You, too. Thanks. | |
| PIppinfan1988 | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 10/3/2005 |
| Wow...very poignant, heartfelt tale. Makes it all the more sad knowing that you recently went through just this type of disaster. The loss of any life--hobbit or otherwise is tragic. But...I am so glad that you're still here with us! Now for the happier points in this tale! I see that some hobbits have indeed come together--Viola and Berilac, Freddy and Angelica, but it's still going to be so much fun to watch them travel the road that gets them there. I love Newbridge!! And how you have a mixed community there--awesome! I'd say though, that my most favorite moment was Pippin doing everything within his power to get across the river. I absolutely love this line: “Merry, all the hosts of Mordor couldn’t keep us apart. Do you really think I’d let a river stand in my way of getting to you?” Rings of "brotherhood" to me. ;-) Thank you so much for sharing this tale, and your boundless imagination. :-) Pippinfan Author Reply: Yes, I guess you could say there are some tiny spoilers there for Road to Edoras, LOL! Though, really, anyone who's read many of my stories should not be surprised. I'm glad you liked Newbridge. It seemed to me the kind of thing that might grow up at Sarn Ford now that the King had returned--a bridge and a community there. Yes, Merry and Pippin are "brothers at heart", of course. I am glad you liked it, for truly it is a thank you, and you know for what. | |
| harrowcat | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 10/3/2005 |
| Oh Dreamflower what a wonderful story to come out of such a disaster. Be assured that my thoughts and prayers have been and will remain with you. Author Reply: Thank you--good thoughts and prayers are always a comfort in hard times. | |
| Lindelea | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 10/3/2005 |
| Reading this left me shaken, even though I only had time to skim. I'll be coming back to read it later, more slowly, but... what a story. Author Reply: I think it left me shaken when I wrote it. Of course I could not get the images of what happened here, and all along the Coast, out of my mind the whole time I was writing. | |