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| Dawn of a New Age: First Age by elliska | 26 Review(s) |
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| ninqwestilmen | Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 5/9/2007 |
| Hello :) Been reading your stories for over a year now, about time I dropped in to say that you're doing a wonderful job. This story in particular is intriguing and wonderfully written. Oropher is such a wonderful character to read about :) and it will only get better when Thranduil shows up. Is this story going to uncover the mysterious saga between Oropher, Dieneryn and Amglaur? Hope you update soon!! | |
| French Pony | Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 5/8/2007 |
| The sun really changed everything, didn't it? Not everyone is so sure this whole sun and moon deal is a good thing, and I like that. It makes sense that their eyes would take some time to adjust, but that the new, eye-poppingly colored world would inspire Elvish artists like nothing else. Especially Elvish artists who aren't distracted by dealing with the baggage of a Kinslaying and an arctic trek. I think it's interesting that, even at this early date, Eöl is already a dark, secretive, somewhat twisted person with no respect for women. The prospect of just throwing him in the clink was intriguing. Thingol may not regret allowing him to leave Doriath, but other people will. What Thingol may ultimately regret is what became of the Sons of Finwë, his friend. What he doesn't know yet. . . | |
| Redheredh | Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 5/7/2007 |
| Yay! So glad to see this!! Dashed home from work right to the pc, I was so anxious to let you know! Didn't even stop for eats! That opening scene was so dryly amusing, and very helpful getting back into the story by reintroducing our main players. And they are such players! Plus, setting up for the next juicy scenes. I really liked getting both sides of the picture, so to speak, concerning the brightness of the sun. I am reminded of Plato's cave analogy every time I read an author's take on whether or not it is a good thing to look directly into the light or stay in the comfortable shade. Your comments about color and paint and Yavanna and spring fit in nicely. Myself, I like that sort of detail. But, anything that damages orcs and drives the enemy away, even for a short respite, was welcomed by most people, I am sure. Hmm, they do seem to be welcoming the Noldor with the same sort of suspicion, though... The other two scenes were great too! What a wonderful, insightful, clever interpretation of Eol and Thingol wrangling over Nan Elmoth! Just brilliant and very entertaining to boot! Eol's attitude was perhaps not that typical, but understandable, I would think, by those who detested the change in the Sindar's way of life. You explain very well how some would feel confined and tormented, ready to throw the blame on anyone. You used these conflicting personalities very nicely in this almost-staged argument. It was like a wrestling match. A real fight, but both knew the rules and when to play to the audience. I especially liked how Thingol's noble kin rallied around him! That as so cool just because they acted in unspoken concert. You did well showing Thingol in all his elven pride, but also exercising his leadership and judgement. I enjoyed his very obliging threat to lock Eol up in a dark cell, if he thought that he was imprisoned already. You used each character's personality to advantage in building other character's personality, as well. It is my personal opinion that a good 50% or more of politics is personality driven. The inserted quote were most helpful in understanding and appreciating this chapter. I will say it again: I love your interpretation of Eol and Thingol and how Eol was got his lease. The King wanted him out of the his way, but also for the dark-elf to learn who is the boss. The insult to Melian was just the motivation he needed to carry through and garner his council's complete approval. You have raised questions in my mind also about the relief of Brithombar and Eglarest! But, I liked your answer. ;) "...the pack that you run with..." Absolutely loved that! However... yes, I have to nitpick about something, don't I... the King is sending them all to Mithrim? Does he want these young turks out of his way too for some reason? Surely, he does not think they will make the best impression on Fingolfin or Maedhros? Are they a test of the Noldor's true temperament? Cellon was right to demand an truthful answer from his son. But, Oropher did volunteer, and setting him down for a wiser choice may not have been all that purposeful for Thingol. I hope some clear orders about not revealing the way into Doriath were issued. Thingol seems to know to be cautious, but does Oropher and company? Now, Celeborn smiling at Oropher's imperceptive remarks and being the level-headed one was fun to read. Oropher wanting to know if the Noldor had really saved the day and had freed the Sindar from their enchanted fortress of a forest made me smile. But, his closing remark made me laugh aloud. :D Good chapter, I liked it anyway and I look forward to the next. As they say, you are making history come alive! | |
| daw the minstrel | Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 5/6/2007 |
| It's interesting to see these events from this POV. And Oropher is a nicely mixed character, adventuresome but still able to be responsible when he has to. I liked Thingol's reference to his "pack." LOL | |
| Atlas | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 3/21/2006 |
| I loved this chapter! It was obviously well researched and very well written. I wish to read more! Author Reply: Thanks! I fell in love with the Silmarillion when I first read it and it spawned a ton of plot bunnies. Real life has gotten in the way recently, but I am trying to get back on track with updates. Hopefully this weekend or next week...but thank you so much for the review. I really appreciate them. :-) | |
| k_lara7 | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 1/27/2006 |
| An interesting begining. As I'm NOT familiar with the Simarilion, I think I'll have to work harder to follow, but that will be a worthwhile challenge. Author Reply: Sorry to be so long in replying--RL has been beating me up recently and I have fallen behind. I am hoping to be caught up now. Thank you so much for the review! I hope that the little quotes I post from the Silm will help people who haven't read it recently. I know most people are not nearly as familiar with it as they are with the Trilogy, so I feel like I ought to do something to help along with that. I thoroughly love the Sindar though, so I hope this story does end up being worth the effort for you. I will be updating it very soon. :-) | |
| J.G.E | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 11/6/2005 |
| Yay, the first chapter is out and the beginning of a great story, woohoo. I love how you got into the scene of battle right from the beginning, it just shows how the elves had a hard time in those days, btw when are you going to update your other story, I am keen on what is going to happen next Author Reply: Hi JGE! I'm glad you liked it. I enjoyed the battles scenes myself. Sometimes I can get into writing those. I had planned to update both stories this last Sunday, but I was really sick. So I am going to aim for Wednesday or Friday at the worst. Depends because I am still sick. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing! | |
| Eruanneth_Luin | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 10/31/2005 |
| How refreshingly delightful! A canon-based tale of the Elves. It is sad to think of the grief this fair folk suffered in their desire to live a peaceful life amid the trees of Beleriand. Defense, not conquest their goal, yet the Marring could not be altered; at best it was held, temporarily, at bay. I do hope that more chapters are forthcoming soon. :) Author Reply: Thank you! I absolutely have fallen in love with the Silm, so I am enjoying the canon too. It is so nice to know other people do as well. And I agree that the history of these folk is really tragic--which makes, of course, great stories. There is just so much in the Silm to expand upon and play with. There is definitely more to come--probably every two weeks until December, then more often after that. I hope you continue to enjoy it and thanks so much for the review--it means a lot to know people are reading and what striles them. :-) | |
| Ellie | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 10/31/2005 |
| This is good! Nice history lesson and details of the battle. Can't wait for more! Author Reply: Thank you! :-) I enjoyed writing the battle and I have enjoyed playing the the canon from the Silm. I will update probably every two weeks until December and then more often. I hope you continue to enjoy it and thanks so much for the review. It is great to know people are reading. :-) | |
| Dot | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 10/30/2005 |
| I was excited to see this! And apologies for the lateness in reviewing… First off, I really appreciate the quotes. I thought it was very helpful in providing a sense of time and place because I will admit that otherwise I would have been a little lost at first!! You did a marvellous job with the battle scene. We’re right in the middle of it immediately and yet we can still see how personal this is to so many. The scale of the battle is clear and yet it’s moments like Cries of ‘For my son, Gwaelon’ or ‘For my father, Tossion’ echoed across the battlefield as Elven swords cleaved Orc flesh. Each name rang in Thingol’s ears more loudly than the sounds of the clanging weapons and pierced his heart more painfully than Orkish blades might that made it most effective for me. Your Oropher is amazing. You’ve filled him with such passion right from the start. And he’s very driven. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cringe when he wanted to charge off towards the Orcs but it was a great character moment! I was glad of a little glimpse of the relationship between Oropher and Engwe and between him and Amglaur. It’s fascinating to see your OCs in a new light. Denethor’s death was done so well. There’s no question of how devastating it was and it really was such a powerful moment. I really liked the creation of the Girdle. It’s wonderfully simple and yet there’s something very magical about it. And I loved the rising of the moon! That must have been truly amazing for them. Their wonder and awe really comes across. Thank heavens Melian was there to reassure them that it’s ok, she knows him ;-) Manarindë glared back at the light coldly Oh look who it is! I’m always happy to see such a warm, good-hearted elleth… Actually, I’m looking forward to getting to know a little more about her. In fact, I’m looking forward to getting to know more about all these people! I’m fascinated already! :-) Author Reply: I'm glad you thought the quote helped--I added them because I figure whereas most people have read the trilogy and the Hobbit tons of times, they have read the Silm once or twice, if at all. So the story will be more interesting if they get a bit of help along the way. :-) And I'm glad you liked the battle scene, especially the parts that make it more personal. I read where Daw said once that she tries to make scenes like this show what the characters are feeling rather than just hack/cut descriptions--I totally agree with that. I think the characters' experience is what is really interesting. I love Oropher. I really do. Almost as much as Thranduil, the more I work with this story. I think he must have been one heck of a character to convince people to follow him across Eriador and then convince the Silvan to make him their king. I had fun with him throughout this story. And I love showing a little of the background of my OCs--but so far I have done a good job keeping the cast list under control for this story! Yeah for me! Denethor--he was a problem for me. When I wrote this part, it made me want to write more Denethor. I hate plot bunnies. ;-) I'm glad the girdle and the moon came off ok. The original version of all that seemed very purple prose to me and got a bit of chopping, then I thought it got too much. *Rolls eyes at self* And Manarinde--I have had an absolute blast writing the details of why she hates the House of Oropher so much. I hope you do continue to enjoy it and thanks so much for the review. :-) | |