News Resources
Login
Become a member
Help
Search
|
|
| About Us News Resources
Login
Become a member
Help
Search
|
|
|
| The Set of the Soul by Nilmandra | 26 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| Gwynhyffar | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 2/26/2007 |
| awww! I'm so glad they convinced you to visit with the Mirkwooders again. I really enjoyed reading this chapter and look forward to the next one. Legolas wondering if it hurt to die was a horrid moment!!! I liked his apology to Thranduil at the end - he really is a good guy despite not thinking about he's doing. typical! :) Author Reply: Forgive my awful manners in taking a year to reply! I am glad you liked the return to Mirkwood, even if I did leave these guys in terrible straits. I hope you like the ending Daw wrote for this story, too. (if we waited for me, it wasn't going to happen...).... | |
| The Karenator | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 2/14/2007 |
| I love the white squirrel. The little rascal did not quite get the fair trade rule. The scene in the grove was well done. I could see all the red eyes popping up and turning Legolas and Emlin from the way they were trying to escape. The action was very visual. Poor Lathron. But he did not go down without a fight. And Legolas did a good job of managing his fear to go back and jump in the fray in an attempt to save his brother. That's even better warrior stuff than trying to hit Lathron with an acorn, which, by the way, I loved Tinánia snatching the little missile from the air before it hit Lathron. Now that Ada has Legolas and Legolas notes his father is rather angry, I can't wait to see what happens. I suspect he'll have a few words of caution for Legolas, but I don't think he'll be the one the king is going to be angry with. Okay, we're ready for the next chapter. When you're ready.... Good tale, Nilmandra. I enjoyed it a lot. Author Reply: Thanks, Karen. I enjoyed getting back to Legolas and his life in the Greenwood. And I think you're right - Legolas is definitely misreading the cause of his father's anger/worry! | |
| JS | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 2/13/2007 |
| I am soooo happy to see you writing about Mirkwood folk again! I love storyline you've created with royal family. I can't wait to read more to this story! Author Reply: Thanks, JS. Glad you enjoyed! | |
| Jay of Lasgalen | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 2/13/2007 |
| As much as I love your twin stories, this return to young Legolas and his family is very welcome. It's good to see how he's grown into a brave and resourceful young elf, and I love the way he protects little Emlin. But poor Lathron! Please don't kill him - Thranduil has already suffered enough sorrow, and Legolas will surely blame himself. I have just one quibble about the story - bats (even when panicked) don't tangle in hair. They're far too smart. Jay Author Reply: Thanks, Jay, it was fun to return to these characters. I should be embarrassed at how much I love this whole group of characters. Thanks for the info on the bats. I know they use echolocation to help avoid hitting objects, but they also run into things like windmills and sheets of plywood put in their caves, so there is speculation that the echolocation utilizes a lot of energy and they rely on memory too. In the Hobbit, Tolkien has the bats swirling about the heads and ears of the elves and men, which is sort of what I was going for. But tangling can easily come out. I wanted to show the bats 'panicked' as well. | |
| Dot | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 2/12/2007 |
| Oh, Nilmandra. What a wonderful surprise this is. It has Lathron! And Legolas! And Bregolas! I saw the story alert in my e-mail first thing this morning and had to wait an agonising twelve hours to settle down and read it but wow, it was worth the wait. I was so delighted to see you back in Mirkwood. You had me smiling at the opening. Legolas has come a long way – even if he is still waiting for a sword! – but patience still seems beyond his grasp. I can relate to that… I laughed when Tinánia caught the acorn. (But don’t tell Legolas I did.) I love how some things are still the same – Legolas is still good-humoured, he’s still learning from Bregolas and is really close to Emlin – but he’s starting to grow up too. I knew he didn’t have a hope with that squirrel. Didn’t Elladan lose a hairclip to a Mirkwood squirrel? But I love that he felt bad enough for losing Emlin’s bead that he went after it. I really enjoyed the negotiation with the squirrel. Having said that, if I’d known what was going to happen I might not have been smiling so approvingly :-) I particularly liked this line: Legolas resumed the chase amidst the laughter of the trees. It suggests such joy and the idea of the trees laughing at the elfling’s predicament is such an elfy one. I’m sure I can’t have been the only one who wanted to yell at him not to go near that gloomy grove. The speed at which the squirrel raced out of there made me nervous. I think my heart might even have missed a beat when Emlin whispered “There is something alive in there.” Eep! But oh wow, I’m so impressed with Legolas. His first concern is for Emlin’s safety and he’s so calm about trying to get her out of there, even while we know that he’s shaking with fear. I actually felt worse for him than her when the other spider appeared because he just shouldn’t have to try and make such a decision as how to keep her safe. Emlin too does so well. I’d have been hysterical by now. It says a lot about the kind of place in which they live but since Legolas says he hasn’t actually seen spiders before, it says even more about the strength of these two young elves. I had that same horrible thought that something must have disturbed the bats just before Legolas did. For a moment there I was really wondering how they were going to get out of this. Such relief when Lathron and Tinánia arrived! I was so glad to see them. But no! It couldn’t be that easy! I did take time out from my worry to have a fangirly moment at the image of Lathron battling spiders… but when that spider pounced on him I nearly fell off my seat. Nilmandra! What have you done to him??? And I was so torn between cheering Legolas on in his bravery and wanting him to just get out of there. Thank heavens for Bregolas. He’s such a solid lump of comfort even when he must have been horrified at seeing his two brothers like that. The ending really startled me. Roll on the next chapter! I loved this. It’s such a delight to be re-acquainted with old friends, and you did an incredible job in showing the mixture of joy and darkness that is Mirkwood. And we get to see a glimpse of the type of person that Legolas is to become in this child who is just a child, but a courageous and selfless one who can act for others even when he is certain he faces death. Thank you so much, Nilmandra. You’ve made me so happy :-) Author Reply: I am glad you like it! I figured if I started posting now, by the real birthdays, maybe I'll have the other chapters done. Having one done always seems to inspire me to write more. Believe you me when I say that I loved the vision my head saw of Lathron whacking spiders around. Happy (early) Birthday! | |
| Bodkin | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 2/12/2007 |
| It all started so delightfully - innocent children teasing adult siblings and romantically-linked adults strolling by the river. Beautiful woods and kleptomaniac white squirrels ... but it couldn't last! The dark grove and the ricketty flet were ominous enough on their own, but as soon as the red eyes began to appear, Legolas and Emlin were clearly in for trouble! It was such a relief to have Bregolas - and Sadron (I do like Sadron) - turn up to snatch his brothers from danger ... but I hope he didn't arrive just a few minutes too late. Spider bites can be nasty! I just hope Tinania managed to get Emlin to safety. Legolas is showing his (sorry) quality - he's too young, too inexperience and too ill-equipped to do a truly professional job of spider-fighting, but he's doing his best. I love the way he dives on Emlin to shield her - and turns back to defend Lathron. And his worry that Lathron will shout at him and his father be cross with him for doing it are just so typical of a child's reaction. (Actually, he should probably worry more about Tathiel. Mother-substitutes are the ones who flip when their nestlings put themselves in danger.) Gorgeous story. Loving it. These characters have such charm - and I'm thrilled to see them again. Author Reply: Thanks, Bodkin. Yes indeed, Legolas did show his quality, though he will learn valour usually costs something. Of course, knowing him, he will simply use this as a reason to try to convince his ada he needs a bigger bow and reals word NOW. :D | |
| Radbooks | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 2/12/2007 |
| Oh, it was good to read another young Legolas story of yours again. It was thrilling to go from a nice innocent scene of him and Emlin playing in the trees, to chasing the squirrel, to suddenly being chased by spiders themselves! I'm trying to decide if that white squirrel deliberately drew them to that place since he left the bead and the white stone in such an obvious location and then ran away. Maybe he just got scared too. Legolas was very brave to run back and help Lathron... I hope neither of them are too badly injured but I imagine nightmares might be in store for Legolas at least. Can't wait for the next chapter! Author Reply: Poor elflings - how traumatic to have big spiders think you're a perfect snack. A tasty morsel for their young. Ick! Legolas was brave though. He was supposed to go for help, but he ended up surprising me. | |
| erunyauve | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 2/11/2007 |
| I'm so pleased to see you writing these characters again! It seems as if no one is writing anything but suffering-Frodo stories, so it's such a welcome surprise to see a well-written Mirkwood story pop up. Author Reply: LOL, I do feel sorry for Frodo sometimes! All that h/c must get tiring. Glad you were pleased to see this, though. | |
| French Pony | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 2/11/2007 |
| This shows wonderfully how dangerous Mirkwood is, how it can go in an instant from being a cheerful place full of courting Elves and thieving squirrels to a place of deadly danger. I love the image of Legolas chasing the squirrel through the trees. Squirrels are so funny and so evil at the same time, and so much fun to watch as they chase each other, that watching a young Elf chase a squirrel must be a sight to see. And the trees seem to be enjoying themselves, too. But those spiders! What a nasty surprise. At least Legolas did the right thing, running away to get help and warn others. Author Reply: Well, Legolas started out doing the right thing... but then it is hard to say what the outcome would have been if he had not gone back to help. Poor elfling. Innocence has fled and shadow has come too close. | |
| LOTRFaith | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 2/11/2007 |
| Oh Horray! I am glad you are back with little Legolas... I have just reread your stories and was saddened when I finished them... But no longer :-D Author Reply: LOL, glad I was able to fulfill a need! I missed little Legolas too. He is such a joy to write. | |