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| Truth by Lindelea | 47 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| FantasyFan | Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 9/3/2003 |
| Yippee! Frodo-lad's got Daisy Burrows to distract him from being over-protective of his sisters. I've been waiting for Frodo to gain some personal experience of the trials of young love, as his concern (meddlings) with his sisters' love-lives has been to the point of annoyance at times; but now I hope nothing bad will happen while he's not there to watch out. He's so cute, all dressed fine and slicked up. Things aren't going to run perfectly smooth for him, are they? That wouldn't be fun enough! This is a wonderful, light-hearted interlude, full of honest hobbit goodness. But it does show that Sam's family is more homey and down-to-earth than the great families at the Smials or Buckland. Too bad Goldi isn't benefiting from the change in mood. Just because her cloth is homespun, it doesn't mean it wouldn't blend with the finer weaves. I know true love will win out in the end, but she's so sad! Sam sees his children are growing up, and he wants to put everything in place. Sam's got a very traditional mindset here. I'm sure he always assumed that Elanor would marry and his son would carry on the tradition of having a Frodo, if not a Baggins, as master of Bag End. He won't ever let Frodo be forgotten, and I love him for it. His passing on of the inheritance, so to speak, to Frodo-lad is going to make the youngster think even harder about settling down. I wouldn't mind being a guest at another hobbit wedding, sometime in the future. Looking forward to the next update. Author Reply: Another hobbit wedding? Hmmmm, interesting idea... | |
| FantasyFan | Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 9/2/2003 |
| Pippin is saved from making a grave mistake by Ferdi's refusal to take things at their surface level. He can't see, but he recognizes the paralysis of shock in the lad's refusal to speak. He hasn't made up his mind beforehand to accept the worst, and so sees truer than those who aren't looking - even the boys' parents. This is quite an intersting interlude, following as it does on the heels of Goldi's words about justice in the previous chapter. What have we learned? The first lesson is, when in doubt ask Ferdi - he's truly amazing. Also, don't be quick to quarrel with those you love, or take your time with them for granted. More importantly, things are not always what they seem - you can't tell the truth from surface appearances. Passing judgement is a slippery and difficult thing. Sometimes even those closest can misjudge you horribly. And, the responsibility of judgement that comes with the Thain's signet is a very heavy burden. His decisions have not the power of life or death, but certainly have the power to impose misery or comfort, to pull a family together or destroy it utterly, to impose either punishment or mercy. I think when we throw out phrases like "no justice," what we really mean is "no mercy." One of the main strengths of the hobbit character is their understanding of pity, mercy, humility, selflessness, the triumph of the small and the joy of the simple. It takes a pretty special hobbit to handle the power and responsibility of the Thainship: Pippin is magnificent at it and Ferdi, for all his amazing qualities, wouldn't be as good. I'm interested to see what Pippin is thinking about on his ride. | |
| Miriel | Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 9/2/2003 |
| Thank goodness for Pippin that he has Ferdibrand there to keep him from making such horrid mistakes! I am a bit confused about one thing though: when did Ferdibrand go blind? Is there a particular story of yours that I need to read to see when this happened? (He was fine in "Flames" and in "Firstborn".) Anyway, I can hardly wait to see what happens to Faramir and Goldi. Cheers! (And please update soon!) Author Reply: Thanks for the review! Ferdi's encounter with ruffians happened in "Where the Merlin Cries", which is posted in pre-beta form on fanfiction.net. I am slowly adding chapters here at SoA as I incorporate beta comments. I hope you get the chance to read it, and look forward to your comments. | |
| FanstasyFan | Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 8/30/2003 |
| The Sandyman family is trouble no matter what genereation it seems. I'm afraid Frodo has irritated Hodge to the point where something nasty may result. And poor Frodo-lad needs to find himself a girl of his own really quick, so he can be too busy to go running after his sisters (although in this case it was probably nice for Goldi to be rescued). Here I thought Faramir was going to get in trouble for seeking out Goldi, and it is Goldi who catches it for being seen with Faramir. Should have figured it, as Sam's family was certainly much more against the match than Pippin was: or perhaps we'll see Tolly's report and the other side of the coin in the next chapter. I'm also assuming a deliberate nod to Singe's Blindfold in the opening part of this story - am I right? I think it's wonderful when bits of other writers' worlds come into stories. We all read them all, and the best things ought to be shared. See you tomorrow! Author Reply: Have I mentioned lately how helpful your reviews are? Well, they are. As usual, you've hit the nail on the head, except for the last part. I haven't read Singe's Blindfold; the guessing game comes out of a childhood game, where you sneak up behind someone, put your hands over their eyes, and say in a silly voice, "Guess who!" and wait for the silly guesses to start. Children seem to love this game... Of course, it wasn't so nice when it was Hodge teasing Goldi... Look forward to seeing you on the morrow! | |
| FantasyFan | Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 8/28/2003 |
| Oh, I love Goldi-Mouldi and Harry-Farry! All by itself this sums up easy familiarity of long acquaintance and affectionate acceptance. But this is a time of life when old relationships get re-evaluated, and of necessity change into one thing or another entirely. Goldi and Farry have just started the questioning, and anything could happen. And here we have evidence of another conspiracy. Either Sam or Pip could have started it, but it's likely they both have their fingers into the stopping of mail. Did they really think they could get away with something like this without being caught? Were they actually naive enough to think if their kids didn't write for a summer they would just forget each other? Didn't they know the surest way to drive two people together is to try to keep them apart? Today they're both being thick! I also liked Goldi's sense of responsibility when she thought Farry had slipped his escort. After all, it's a Tookish thing to do! But I wonder about Tolly here. Did he not suspect Goldi would be in the vicinity of Bag End, and did he not think Faramir might go looking for her? Will he be in trouble for allowing the meeting, and a chance for the secret to come out, or does he have an inner sympathy for the yougsters? He doesn't say much, so it's hard to tell. Another brilliant appearance by Ferdi. He's heightened his senses of hearing to make up for the lack of seeing, and now he's not only Pip's memory, he's his lie detector as well. He's not sensitive to the unknowing offhand remark from Linden about blindness, but he catches a little at the sentence of shunning, even for only two months. The memory of old hurts is more damaging than his current disability. I bet the lie-detector mode comes in handy when questioning children about pranks - perhaps that will come into play here? Is it true this story is only to be nine chapters long? I feel cheated, somehow! | |
| FantasyFan | Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 8/27/2003 |
| As with the other current story, Truth, you probably have missed reviews for this one too. I don't mind if you don't want to bother replying here, as I may very well read on ff.n still, but I'm not going to trust any more reviews there for a while. First of all, the version on storiesofarda has some formatting problems you might want to fix - everything is in one bolded paragraph, which is I know not how you intend it to look. It is interesting that there are rooms kept ready for the Mayor and his family, yet it does not appear from other things said that they visit that frequently. Or is it just that Ferdi does not dine with them often? It is also interesting how well Elanor has fit into residence at the Smials with her family. She is clearly comfortable and at ease. Pippin spoils her baby (not a surprise) and she has a minder for him. Will Sam and Rosie think she is getting above herself? Is it so big a step to think of Goldie there as well? Poor Goldie, she's so sad Faramir has been sent away to Buckland. And whose idea was that? Is Pippin trying to avoid confrontation, or did Sam enlist Merry's aid? I'm sure there'll be a bit of trouble and heartache for them before the end, but I trust you to finish it to canon. I'm an incurable romantic, so I'm mostly eager for the course of true love to run smooth, while at the same time I'm looking forward to seeing your solution to the pickle you've set up for them. It is welcome to see Ferdi and Nell at ease. I knew Ferdi would retain his handicap, from what you had written before, yet he also retains his good humor and equanimity. I think dealing with his Da for so many years taught him to see beyond the externals (yes, I did mean it that way) and it has served him well in his own adventures. I hope he'll play a part in this story too. Looking forward to tomorrow, FantasyFan Author Reply: So glad to see you over here, I've missed you! Thanks for alerting me to the problem with chapter 2. | |
| Hai | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 8/24/2003 |
| I like this story! I'm glad to find out now what happens to Goldilocks and Faramir! Surely there will be lots to tell ;) Usually I don't come here but ff.net is running REALLY slow and is suppose to be down tomorrow so I thought I would catch up on some stuff here. Looking forward to more! Author Reply: Glad you made it over here, Hai. Thanks for the review. | |