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| The River by Indigo Bunting | 317 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| Grey Wonderer | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 10/17/2005 |
| Bery exciting! I loved all of the teasing and joking with Gandalf getting a laugh on Pippin and Legolas teasing Aragorn. I can't wait to see what happens next. Frodo was very observant to notice the water rising but maybe not in time. Wonderful chapter and I look forward to more! Author Reply: Thank you, Grey Wonderer! That’s a fun name you’ve got there. Thanks for mentioning the bit of teasing. I still have mixed feelings about it, as I’m not much of a humorist, but I think it came out okay. Some people are really, really good at writing funny stories; I have to work at it. | |
| Starfire_Moonlight | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 10/17/2005 |
| *bites nails* Oh crap, they is caught in the river. Don't leave us hangin! Author Reply: Thank you for leaving a note behind! Oh, I’m glad you think it’s suspenseful. I’ve worked hard at that. | |
| shirebound | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 10/17/2005 |
| This is WONDERFUL!! I'll be pacing impatiently until Chapter 2 appears. Author Reply: Thank you so much, shirebound! Your enthusiasm is really heartening for me. I hope you continue to enjoy the story! | |
| Dreamflower | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 10/17/2005 |
| Oh my goodness! This is just wonderful--I love the slow build up to your cliffie, and the nice believable banter between the various members of the Fellowship. Everyone seems to be right in character, as well. I'll be on pins and needles to see what happens next. And by the way, I love your name. That's one of my very favorite of birds! Author Reply: Welcome, Dreamflower, and thank you very much for your review! These “Wow, exciting!” comments are great. :-) I’m so glad you think that everyone in the Fellowship is in character. Some of them are less well defined in Tolkien’s works than others, which give me more to play with. It is my opinion that of all the Nine Walkers, the characters of Legolas and Gimli are the least developed by Tolkien, Legolas even less so than Gimli. It doesn’t really seem to matter, though. All of the characters have certain defining traits that we’ve all come to expect to see, and the rest is all clay in the author’s hands. | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 10/17/2005 |
| Cliffhanger! Cliffhanger! Well written, lovely imagery, and I can certainly see the width of the river and the shallowness where they start to cross, followed by the horror of seeing the flood upon them. Now, was it Aragorn or Boromir who caught Frodo? Most likely Boromir, I think. Author Reply: Hello, Larner, and welcome! The cliffhanger shouldn’t last too long. Chapter 2 ought to be up on Wednesday. Thank you very much for saying that you think the story is well-written; that means the world to me. Hopefully it will continue to be so. As for description, I do enjoy writing it, but it often ends up being more challenging than I think it will. First off, I’ve got to get others to see at least some part of what I see in my mind’s eye. Also, I sometimes find that the details really do matter because they influence the narrative. I find myself spending quite a bit of time mulling over things like how wide the river is, how high the cliffs are, how far the Fellowship can walk in one day, etc. They all affect the timeline and the placement of the characters at every point. As for who snatched up Frodo, I don’t think I ought to say, but chapter 2 answers that question right off. I’m really pleased that people seem to be wondering, though! | |
| daw the minstrel | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 10/17/2005 |
| Nice characterizations of the various Fellowship members. You do Frodo's point of view very well, and through him, give us a nice sense of the others. Scary ending! And where's Legolas? What made the wall of water? Author Reply: Hello, daw, and thank you very much for your review! This story actually contains a roving POV. Sam gets the second chapter, and Legolas will appear soon enough. At least I don’t have to be coy about the question regarding the wall of water, which was a flash flood coming downriver. While they were fishing Frodo and Sam noticed that it was raining upstream, although they never expected it to affect them as it did. | |
| Lamiel | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 10/17/2005 |
| This is a well written and entertaining story. I love tales of the early Fellowship, and although you may be partial to the Hobbits I think you do justice to all the characters. Thank you in particular for treading lightly in regards to Legolas and Gimli's bickering -- they may not like each other, but they're both seasoned warriors with a sense of appropriate time and place. Too often their arguments become almost childish in fanfic, and you avoid that trap by treating them with respect as Tolkien's characters deserve. I trust you won't kill Frodo and Sam at this point, but they are going to be awfully cold and wet and quite possibly lost when they get out. And I'm VERY curious as to what kept Legolas from returning -- perhaps there was something following them after all. I'm looking forward to seeing how things develop. Author Reply: Thank you so much for reviewing, and welcome! I especially appreciate your comments about the story being well-written. I always think that a story has to be that before it can be really entertaining; it’s hard to get absorbed in one if there are too many mistakes to catch the eye. Interestingly enough, I’m not especially partial to writing hobbits. Oh, I like them very well, and I greatly enjoy a skillfully written hobbit story, but they don’t come as naturally to me as Elves, Men, or Dwarves do. Frodo is a little easier than Sam, Merry, and Pippin since he’s older and more world-wise than they are (at least at this point in time). And I agree with you about Legolas and Gimli coming off as childish in some works. While some of them are meant to be over-the-top (the ‘pranks gone mad’ stories come to mind), others sometimes take it too far. I also think it’s important to remember that Legolas and Gimli are both guilty of perpetuating the quarrel between Elves and Dwarves. Sometimes one of them comes across as saintly (we all know which one that usually is) while the other plays the role of the lone aggressor. As for Legolas’ tardiness, that will be explained, but not for a few more chapters. | |