No comparison AT ALL intended between the warbling Timberlake child and the charismatic King - only in considering the response of fainting females to the objects of desire.
And having said King, I'm now subject to Elvis visions, thank you ver' much, and that is no better.
Author's reply
LOL. I thought not! And you are right--that whole Elvis thing is just painful. Too funny. Good laugh to start the morning with. And so was the image of elflings drawing moustaches on the illustrations in Elrond's books (reply to the review in Reflections from the Paradise of Elves). You really had me rolling this morning. Thanks :)
Oh my, I hope they don't under-estimate the dangers at Amon Lanc. I wouldn't want that charming flirt to be damaged. And Lindomiel would be most annoyed with you if you permitted Thranduil to get in too much trouble.
I hope the scouts discover considerably more before the rest of the troops arrive - they seem to have been making rather a lot of assumptions without too much in the way of solid back-up.
Hallion is right to say that they should get good weapons from the Dwarves - it is purely practical and much more sensible than trying to reinvent the wheel. There are times when prejudice and evil memories have to be buried in the face of a new and greater threat.
The financial aspect seems a little worrying - if they are having trouble equipping the army, how are they going to fund the building of the Stronghold?
Lindomiel has been listening to Amoneth for a long time. Perhaps Amoneth needs to consider some fresh tactics. Or give up. Interesting that Aradunnon can't bear to have her chatting up other elves, but cannot equate that with his appreciative eye. They need to take their bond rather further, I think. Nursing him back to health might help.
Fainting at the sight of the beautiful elf lord seems a bit of an extreme reaction. I can just see all his fans screaming and waving their scarves as they have to be carried off by security. (The Justin Timberlake of Eryn Galen)
Author's reply
Aradunnon has been busy doing his job scouting but even so.... But I can't hurt them too badly yet. It's only the third chapter and this story as nine or ten as it's written now, depending on how I decide to break it up. I need them alive for a little while yet :)
I agree with you and Hallion--be cautious given past grievances, but think about the future. Faced with serious threats, I think a good king would at least investigate all possible options. We'll see how it works out. And yes, I think the financial situation in Mirkwood has to be interesting. Hopefully they got some booty in the war against Sauron. But other than that, where would gold come from? Not their mountains. Not from Lindon with Oropher surely--I doubt refugees from Doriath dragged gold around with them. They'd have to trade for wealth. And despite the fact that it says in UT (I think its that one but I don't have the books with me right now) that Thranduil did not have the help of dwarves to build the stronghold like they had to build Menegroth in Doriath, it still seems to me that such a construction project would require some funds. I find how all these changes took place to be fascinating to contemplate. It had to be difficult.
As for Aradunnon and Amoneth, we will see them in action soon. But Justin Timberlake as Thranduil? Ooooo, yuck. :) Fainting fangirls--it is an extreme reaction, no doubt. Those screaming female fans have always been a mystery to me. I never got that excited over any of the 'hunks' of my time. Liked looking at them, never would have fainted in one's presence. :)
French Pony
· 28 September 2004
· Chapter 2: Darkness crept slowly
So Thranduil and Aradunnon think they're just going to waltz into Amon Lanc and take care of those orcs, huh? Oh, to be naive and optimistic again. I hope Aradunnon told Thranduil what the place looks like now. Thranduil might just have a heart attack on seeing it.
I like all the discussions about finances and supplies and how the Elves are going to pay for what they buy and who they buy it from and whether it's worth it to buy raw materials and transport or finished weapons, all that economic jazz. Mirkwood has always seemed to me to be in an economically tight spot, and, weird as it may seem, I do enjoy reading stories where the Elves do have to do some thinking about where their next meal is coming from.
Thranduil seems quite open-minded about dealing with Dwarves, even to the point of twitting his mother about it (but I'll bet Lindomiel would charm those Dwarves into showering her with "free samples" and other useful swag!). I wonder what happens between now and "The Hobbit," because in that book, he doesn't seem nearly so well inclined towards Dwarves.
Oh, before I forget: I'm studying for an MA in Ethnomusicology. I do Scottish Country Dancing, and that was Saturday's performance. The dancing in "Masque of the King Stag" isn't especially related to that, though country dancing does crop up in another story I wrote. It's not here, though; it's only on ff.n. Perhaps I will move it here.
Good old Amoneth. High school flirting never dies, does it. Lindomiel seems very happy in her assurance that, while Thranduil may look, she has his heart. I suppose that's one advantage of the soul-bonding thing that Elves have going. When their husbands look at pretty girls, they know for sure that said husbands are faithful. Human women just don't have that assurance.
I think I would have loved to see Thranduil's face when the human woman fainted upon seeing him. That must have been absolutely priceless!
Author's reply
Thranduil is not going to be a very happy elf when he finally arrives at Amon Lanc. It is a strange thing for the readers to know the future, isn't it? We know good deal more about how these things are going to turn out in the long run than the characters do right now. It kind of makes parts of this sad to me. But it is interesting to me too. When I wrote this, I had to sit and wonder--how did Dol Guldur develop. Did the elves just discover one day that something built a fortification there? How would you miss that? Did the Shadow just drop over Greenwood one night and never rise? Its possible, it's Sauron, after all. Or did things slowly go from bad to worse? It's interesting to think about. I've read a lot of fictions on this topic, so this is my take.
I agree with you. Part of what makes medieval lit interesting is seeing portrayed how they did basic things, so I tend to enjoy stories that deal with practical problems too. And one of the things that interests me is how Mirkwood would finance a two thousand year war against Dol Guldur. I mean, sure they can hunt some for food, but they'd have to have other supplies or they'd drop like flies out there. Swords aren't free and I read somewhere (too lazy to look up the reference right now) that the mountains in Mirkwood are mineral poor. A forest that vast would have to have things growing in it that would be valuable to someone--question is who can pay and with what?
As Thranduil said, he is willing to consider the deal with the dwarves. We will see how this relationship with dwarves develops and it would be a long one, I think. He doesn't love the dwarves in the Hobbit, but they aren't exactly shining examples of courteous behavior either--crashing a party three times and then refusing to answer questions.
Yes, it would be nice to know you completely have your husband's heart. I kind of laughed myself writing that line about the woman fainting--picture fangirls meeting Orlando Bloom. Sad but I was in LA for a business trip once and I saw some girl pass out over her dinner because somebody famous walked in the restaurant--I didn't even recognize the dude. Whatever. But Aradunnon will interact with Amoneth here soon.
I knew you had to be doing grad work. Your classes sound just too cool. And Ethnomusicology sounds very interesting assuming you have a good program, which it sounds like you do. I'm very jealous. I miss that type of things in the dry world of technology (today I am installing a new SQL database for auto-inventorying computer hardware and software...Oh goody, can I?)
daw the minstrel
· 28 September 2004
· Chapter 2: Darkness crept slowly
This is getting scary. It sounds as if you're building to quite a battle.
Lindomiel and Amoneth's discussion of Aradrunnon was interesting. It sounds as if he's looking to have his cake and eat it too!
Author's reply
Thanks for the review. Yes, it will get scary--I hope :)
Aradunnon probably does not get everything he should get (I work with one guy who is similarly clueless and watching him go through girlfriends serves as entertainment for all of us 'older ladies' at work. It's really funny). But Aradunnon will get his own two cents here soon too.
French Pony
· 26 September 2004
· Chapter 1: Stirrings
Yay, more story!
Sorry I didn't get to this earlier. I had a dance performance last night, and massive rehearsal leading up to that. But it's all over now, we danced beautifully, I looked just like a hobbit. . . but I digress. . .
I liked the device of having Lindomiel stay flat in the boat and not being able to see the battle. It's so hard to write battles convincingly, and they're kind of like sex scenes -- too many of them, and they all start to sound alike. But if you do something different, like concentrate on a character who is only getting the vaguest impressions of what's going on, that makes it much more powerful. Especially when the guards are getting shot right in the boat. It's good to see that Miss Lindomiel has learned to obey the guards when they tell her to do something.
There were a couple of odd moments here. Fresh fish roasting over a fire smell appetizing, but "pungent" is probably not a word I'd use to describe it. If fish smell "pungent," then they are at least a week old, and you don't want to be eating them. And the rowers must be pretty good to maneuver the boat from its moorings. I've been rowing since I was nine, and I worked on a riverboat for a summer, and it was my impression that you loose the moorings before you start rowing. Rowers can push a boat away from a dock (and if you're in a crew shell, it is a mildly tricky maneuver that you have to practice), or they can slip a mooring line by hand, but maneuvering the boat out of a line by rowing power alone just doesn't work.
I did like the way the Elves reacted to the danger. Suddenly, everyone goes in an instant from being carefree and chattering to silent and alert. Just like a herd of deer or a bunch of squirrels will do. That seems very Elvish to me, to be able to do that.
She's been married nine hundred years and still she cries when she leaves her parents? What a tender heart. No wonder Thranduil loves her. A little sentimental for my tastes, though.
Author's reply
Congrats on your dance performance. That sounds like a lot of fun. I used to be involved in stuff like that when I taught and I miss it so much. I'm jealous. At some point you are going to have to mention what it is you are studying (for what degree--you've mentioned a bunch of your classes). I am so jealous. It sounds like a great program.
I definitely agree with you about battle/sex scenes (I was actually saying exactly that to someone else yesterday in an IM and thinking about your comments about the epilogue in the last story when I was--funny). That's why I did this that way. There are a couple of them in this story and I had to play with ways to describe them to make it not repetitive.
I am not fond of fish. I will eat it but do NOT cook it in my house. It simply smells 'pungent' to me. :) I didn't intend it when I wrote that scene but somebody asked me if the smell of the fish attracted the orcs--I bet it could have, you can smell that stuff cooking a mile away. The neighbors cook their catch on their grill every weekend--not pleasant. Thanks for pointing that out about 'moorings.' I canoe but nothing else. All we do is take our canoe off our car and push it in the intercoastal. I will be the first to admit I know very little about boating (its a disgrace since I live in Florida). I will change some wording there so it will make more sense.
I can't see anyone crying to get away from Amglaur. :) But some people are like this. It kind of bugs me too. Everytime I go with my husband to visit my in-laws (and they are very nice) his mother cries when we leave and his father stands there and shakes my husband's hand for what seems like twenty minutes. It drives me insane. :)
Thanks for the review. We are watching transformers blow along the main street near my house. So we expect electricity to go soon but still hoping for the best because this is the longest we've gone and kept electricity. At any rate, I'm glad I got to see this review before we loose power.
Bodkin
· 25 September 2004
· Chapter 1: Stirrings
Excellent start - very dramatic. I'm glad I'm not in a boat having orcs fire arrows at me!
So it's been a millennium already. I suppose that means they're not newly weds any more. And the tensions between Amglaur and Thranduil still exist!
Aradunnon had better get round to being serious with Amoneth soon - she had exhibited extreme patience and deserves to be rewarded.
Looking forward to more. Hope Jeanne proves less dangerous than the previous hurricanes. And 40 is a good age - mature, confident, but well before decrepitude. Enjoy it.
Author's reply
I'm glad that the tension came across. I wasn't sure how that scene would work in the reader's mind since you didn't actually see the battle. But sometimes what you don't see is scarier. Amglaur's attitude is better, as you will see, but they are not great friends :) Aradunnon will get a lot of opportunity to be serious in many ways in this story. I hope you continue to enjoy and as always I very much appreciate the reviews!
Decrepitude! LOL! I'll just keep telling myself that its a good age. I know it is, seriously. But still--its the age my teenage friends and I joked life ended at and I still think of myself as a college student. What's up with that?! :)
daw the minstrel
· 25 September 2004
· Chapter 1: Stirrings
That battle scene from Lindomiel's pov was terrifying even though she saw very little of it. Well done!
I don't blame Thranduil for being angry, but I'm glad I'm not the one who has to deal with him. I think you said we'd see more of Aradunnon in this story. I'm looking forward to that.
Author's reply
That opening scene was actually what I wrote last for this particular story. There are quite a few battle scenes in this so to make them different, they get seen a number of different ways. I had a little fun playing with that. Sometimes what you don't see and can only imagine is scarier than what you actually see. I imagine that she has not seen a battle, having been born in the Third Age. Even Greenwood was relatively safe then. Since she'd never seen one, I thought I wanted that first battle to be seen from her perspective.
No, I would not want to deal with Thranduil if I was on watch when nasty things started moving into his forest. It could not be good. :) Aradunnon plays a good role here, poor thing. Thanks for the review. I love them, as you know.