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| The Prisoner and The Hobbit by Dreamflower | 43 Review(s) |
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| Raksha The Demon | Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 10/19/2011 |
| A correspondence between Bilbo and Sauron in Aman - what an inspired idea! I thought the possibility did exist that Sauron might have survived and could have been intelligent enough to seek redemption, even if it meant humbling himself before the Valar. Whether he can truly repent of his terrible deeds or not is debatable, but Sauron does seem to be making a genuine effort. The bit with Sauron reading Mein Kampf is fascinating and very telling. His reaction to it, and to the knowledge of the Holocaust the book helped spawn, is supremely rational - he sees it as a stupid waste of resources, the waste of people who would have been ideal citizens of Hitler's empire. Of course, on one level the Holocaust was a tremendous and stupid waste of human resources; but that pales before the ghastly horror of all the cruel and unnecessary slaughter of innocents, Sauron cannot empathize with those innocents, or even feel compassion for them. One wonders if he ever will. Is this deficit because the horror of the Holocaust has not happened yet; Sauron has not experienced it? Sauron does seem to feel a certain empathy for Bilbo. His memories of the confrontation with Frodo are interesting. I love Sauron's remembered anger over Frodo's bearing of the Ring and its consequences, what did he think would happen, and 'might as well give a Silmaril to a kitten'. Sauron was right in that the ring was made for him to wear, not a fragile mortal hobbit; but of course, the Ring had to be thrown into the fires of Orodruin and it was not going to walk itself there, so someone had to carry it. It does make sense that Sauron would feel conflicted about this; and not recognize the horrors he had inflicted on the world and the necessity of sacrificing even one's life to stop him; if Sauron had totally repented of everything all at once, it would be too easy. Since Mairon and Olorin had a distant shared past, why is Mairon refusing to tell his real name to his long-ago friend, especially when he acknowledges genuine respect and liking for him? Looking forward to seeing where the story ends up... Author Reply: Thanks! I just could not resist when Pandë made the suggestion! I loved the line 'might as well give a Silmaril to a kitten' myself! I would not have minded a weensy hop into Gandalf's head when Sauron said that-- I'm quite sure at the least he winced; I'm sure he often felt a little guilty over Frodo's sufferings. You are right, the Ring would not walk itself to the Fire, but Frodo was the kitten. And Someone Else had seen to it that he had the Ring. I am looking forward to where it ends up, myself. Since we are both depending upon one another, it's a very organic thing much like a *real* correspondence. I've no idea what Bilbo might say until he gets his letter! (and vice-versa, of course!) | |
| 6336 | Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 10/19/2011 |
| Hi Dreamflower, I have been reading this over on M.P.T.T.and have much enjoyed it, while I enjoy the much lighter aspects of most fan fic sometimes it is good to read something with a bit of meat on its bones, as it were, this fits the bill! One could, almost, feel sorry for Sauron in his captivity and I expect in some ways he was a likeable person, when he wanted to be,after all he did pose as Annatar, Lord of Gifts but the price he demanded for those gifts was prohibativa, total domination of Arda is a little bit out of most peoples reach! I am not sure which bits I like the best, Saurons life or the letters. Huggs, Lynda Author Reply: This one is a good deal of fun to work on. I've collaborated before, but this one is different, as neither of us can plan ahead much. Each chapter depends on what the other character has written! I expect this will have it's share of lighter moments, as well as some very dark moments as well-- which is why I rated it PG-13 as a precaution. Pandë's version of Sauron is masterful. She never glosses over his evil deeds or tries to pretend that he was not utterly consumed by his reach for power; but she does give him motives and a backstory, and reasons (not excuses) for his actions. Not an easy thing to accomplish, but she does! | |
| UTfrog | Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 10/19/2011 |
| I have been reading this wonderful tale on another site. I am so glad that you are posting here so I can review. This is Outstanding Work! Character development is superb. I am very eager to see what we all learn. You authors are among my favorites (with Surgical Steel) for the quality of your universes. Thank you so much. Author Reply: Thanks! I had waited to post here until I was sure it was okay with my co-writer. Pandë was fine with it, so then I had to figure out the formatting. SoA does not support the sorts of fiddling with fonts that we'd done at the other site (and even there it is complicated, so that she had to deal with that!), so I had to figure out a different way to set the letters apart from the rest of the story. My solution was not ideal, but has the virtue of simplicity. I'm so glad that you like our work, and will pass on to my co-author your kind comments. | |