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| The Annals of the West by Dreamflower | 19 Review(s) |
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| Andrea | Reviewed Chapter: Epilogue on 1/14/2011 |
| The Professor would like Merry's fascination with words and languages! Merry did a great job with his Annals of the West and taking into account that there will be many weddings in his family, there will also be grandchildren who will read those books themselves some day and pass them on afterwards. So, Merry's work will live on! Frodo would indeed be proud! Author Reply: I think that the Professor gave Merry that fascination, LOL! I am sure that's exactly what he had in mind when he took the task on. He does not want that history to be forgotten! | |
| Virtuella | Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 1/13/2011 |
| It must be said, Bilbo and Frodo had a way of making history way more interesting than those dry annals! ;-) However, had all the history of Middle-earth been written in such a leisurely style, then it would indeed take several lifetimes to read it! Author Reply: You are absolutely right! Still, the dry Annals are at least useful, if not interesting! | |
| Andrea | Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 1/13/2011 |
| And one day, after he began to wonder if all there was to find were boring lists of Dunedain kings *Grins* That's exactly what I thought! Well, I must say that I found the first mention of hobbits as thrilling as Merry and Estella. They bring colour into the lists, so to speak. What I enjoyed most in this chapter was the "conspiracy" by Pippin and Sam. If not for them, Merry would have had difficulties to leave those fascinating books alone! Author Reply: Yes, it was a bit dry. But hobbits did make them more interesting! And I agree-- it would probably have been very hard for Estella to drag him away on her own! Conspiracies by friends are often useful! | |
| Virtuella | Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 1/11/2011 |
| So The Forsaken Inn has become The King’s Rest? That's nice. If they stopped as often for meals as Estella would like, they'd take twice as long to get there, lol. I wouldn't at all mind having an enormous bed! Lovely touch about the Elven song and about the Hobbit guest quarters. Author Reply: Yes it has! I am sure it was not nearly so forsaken once the King had returned. You know, possibly Bilbo and the Dwarves *did* stop that often for meals-- that could explain why their journey took so long! The idea of the song kind of goes along with my ideas of how Bilbo, er, adjusted, his story. When he made his journey, he spoke no other languages than the Common Speech-- so how did he know what Elves or Goblins for that matter, were speaking? I think he just made up the words based on what he *thought* they meant. | |
| Virtuella | Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 1/11/2011 |
| Elves for Yule, what a delightful surprise! I liked how you had Celebrons write "now of Imladris" and "formerly of Lothlórien " - that was a touching detail. And what a wonderful prospect. I'd like to be invited to Rivendell to do a research project in their library! I'm a little disappointed, though, that Merry didn't ask Celandine to accompany him. Perhaps in the next chapter... Author Reply: I thought it would be fun to have Elves show up for Yule! I consulted pandemonium_213 about Celeborn's letter to see what she thought of it, and the "formerly of Lothlórien " part was her idea! (I'm not much of an Elf expert, so her perspective was quite useful!) | |
| Virtuella | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 1/11/2011 |
| "Of course, they'd learned the hard way that time and long telling had rubbed the harder edges off Bilbo's story." That is an excellent story-internal explanation for the differences between The Hobbit and LOTR. It's great to see a story on research, book-making and calligraphy. :) The difference in style of letter between Merry and Pippin was very well done. And may I suggest that what the Shire really needs is a standardised curriculum? :P Author Reply: It's long been my own story-internal explanation for the differences between the two. I am sure that over the years, Bilbo bowdlerized the story to make it suitable for the children to whom he told it-- and perhaps, also to make it easier for himself to remember, by glossing over the harsher details of what happened. LOL! I seriously doubt a standardized curriculum could ever happen in a place where education is considered strictly a family affair! Every family would have their own ideas about the things that were most important for a child to learn. | |
| Antane | Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 1/8/2011 |
| What a loving thing to have a memorial left on Weathertop of a very grim event but also a celebration of the grace-filled fortitude that was within Frodo to withstand such a wound. I wonder how many other memorials are strewn along that terrible path to Mordor? It would be a moving pilgrimage to make. Namarie, God bless, Antane :) Author Reply: I am sure you have read Larner's "Passover and Pilgrimage" which deals with that very idea? And it just seemed appropriate to me, that rebuilding the watchtower in that very place, they'd commemorate the event which happened there and made it possible. | |
| Andrea | Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 1/7/2011 |
| She smiled. “Tea! Glorious tea!” Wonderful! I like this story very much, from the copying of the Red Book, the questions Merimas asked while reading it, Merry's wish to make the "background story" available to the hobbits, to Estella's excitement about the round door in Rivendell! I'm looking forward to reading more! Author Reply: I'm very glad you are enjoying it! I had a good deal of fun writing it! I've often wondered about that quote in the Prologue about Merry, and Celeritas' request was just perfect for exploring that. | |
| Antane | Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 1/5/2011 |
| I love the first chapter with the desire and need that Frodo and the whole tale be remembered. Dear me, Frodo ninety already! Love the surety that Sam and Merry have that he is still alive. Namarie, God bless, Antane :) Author Reply: I think that Merry (and Pippin and Sam) would always feel the need to make sure Frodo was remembered and validated. This is year 37 of the Fourth Age-- 40 years after the Quest began when Frodo was 50. 90 is really not so great an age for a hobbit, but it's going to seem a dreadfully long time to his friends who said good-bye to him so long ago. Somehow, I think Sam would rarely have any doubts, but I think that Merry might have them a little more often. He's an optimist (as all the travellers were) but somehow I think he is also not quite as confident in that as Sam and Pippin are. But most of the time he'd still have faith, and on those occasions he falters, both Sam and Pippin would buck him up. | |