Althea · 3 October 2006 · Chapter 12: We elect to leave the dell
You have taught me to truly love Bill.
Author's reply
Thank you.
The Tenth Walker by Lindelea
Reviews (840)
Dreamflower · 3 October 2006 · Chapter 12: We elect to leave the dell
Oh sweet brave Bill! He will try his best to take good care of Frodo. I really like the way Frodo is striving through his pain to put a good face on things for the others, and how Merry is trying to downplay the trouble (probably also for the sake of the others) and how Pippin is being very serious now--also for the sake of the others. And Sam is worried to death, of course. This is marvelous!
Author's reply
At long last Bill has something more to say, and so I thank you for your patience and encouraging words!
shirebound · 3 October 2006 · Chapter 12: We elect to leave the dell
I love thinking about things in a new way -- such as how the athelas affected Bill! Nicely done.
Author's reply
I had the hardest time figuring out what happened to Bill. He was there when it was time to leave, obviously, but JRRT doesn't say anything about the terror affecting him, though it must have, seeing the effect it had on the horses and ponise in Bree. And since I had him trip on his hobbles and fall and knock himself out, it made sense that athelas might help his aching head, poor fellow... (I just had to have him fall close enough to the fire! *g*)
Larner · 3 October 2006 · Chapter 12: We elect to leave the dell
A terrifying aftermath. And the idea of Bill fainting is fascinating. Good Bill--realizing this is one burden he'll not let fall if he can help it. I love the relationships between the Pony and the Hobbits, and his growing trust of Strider as well. Lovely writing.
Author's reply
Well, I didn't quite mean that he fainted, although if a pony had any reason to, Bill certainly did, and it could be read that way. (Now you have me wondering... do ponies faint? Will have to ask my horse expert. LOL!) What happened was he tried to run, and tripped on his hobbles. He might well have broken his neck, or taken a fatal blow to the head as he went down... thankfully he didn't!
harrowcat · 3 October 2006 · Chapter 12: We elect to leave the dell
The description of Bill trying to move as smoothly as a cat stalking a mouse is wonderful. And so is the rest of it, too of course. I liked the way that the athelas brought brught back happy memories of foal-hood for Bill.
Author's reply
Thanks! It seems as if an intelligent creature like Bill ought to have some reaction to athelas.
Bodkin · 25 September 2006 · Chapter 11: We are overcome on Weathertop
Bill is lucky that the Nazgul's attention is elsewhere. It's always easier to shoot the horse.
Author's reply
Yikes! Well, I suppose horses make larger targets. Good thing Frodo wasn't riding Bill at the time, I guess.
Althea · 24 September 2006 · Chapter 11: We are overcome on Weathertop
How terrifying. You've captured the fear and the horror of the events on Weathertop most chillingly.
Author's reply
Thanks!
harrowcat · 23 September 2006 · Chapter 11: We are overcome on Weathertop
Oh, oh Lindelea what a place to leave it! This is so vividly described from poor Bill's POV that I wanted to release his hobbles myself and run with him. And the thought of him being stuck when the Riders came through Bree made me shiver. BTW I found that I had to re-read the Book after I had seen the films to get the true topography staight in my mind. I hadn't realised that they weren't actually attacked right on top of Weathertop until then. There is so much lovely description of scenary that it is hard to keep it clear. And I so totally agree with you about replacing Glorfindel with Arwen. Although I can see why he did it I didn't like it and neither did my Dad, (another Tolkien nut). I think that that was the point in the film when he began muttering loud enough to be heard three rows back!
Author's reply
I'm certainly glad he was hobbled and not able to run off. How would they ever have got Frodo to Rivendell without his help? Whew. You're right, I had to re-read the Weathertop section of the book several times, so affected was I by the visuals in the movie. Your Dad sounds like *our* reaction when we saw the movie! (We very nearly walked out!)
cookiefleck · 23 September 2006 · Chapter 11: We are overcome on Weathertop
Love how you built up the suspense in this chapter. Always interesting to view the events through Bill's senses.
Author's reply
Yes, I've found it an interesting challenge to get inside a pony's skin and try to imagine events from his perspective.
Queen Galadriel · 23 September 2006 · Chapter 11: We are overcome on Weathertop
*shivers* Ooo! A cliff-hanger! Love the way you did this; the fear was so palpable! More soon, pleeease! :) God bless, Galadriel
Author's reply
More just posted. Thanks!
Claudia · 22 September 2006 · Chapter 11: We are overcome on Weathertop
Wow,this was truly amazing! I really loved how flawlessly you kept this POV and it seemed so REAL. Nice job!
Author's reply
Thanks!
Inkling · 22 September 2006 · Chapter 11: We are overcome on Weathertop
Finally had a chance to catch up with this story and am continuing to enjoy it immensely! I wonder what Bill would make of the Black Riders' horses...would he feel only terror, or pity as well? They are, after all, victims of their own "miseries." Wasn't there a moment in The Two Towers, at Minas Morgul, when a horse is neighing in terror and rage? The only glimpse Tolkien gives us, IIRC, of the feelings of the beasts pressed into service by the forces of darkness.
Author's reply
Now there's a good speculation, one that hadn't occurred to me. I'll have to give it some thought.
Jay of Lasgalen · 22 September 2006 · Chapter 11: We are overcome on Weathertop
Oh, poor Bill! I know he'll be all right in the end, but the poor pony is terrified. Lovely atmospheric building up of tension in this chapter as the shadows grow. Jay
Author's reply
Thanks, that's just how it was supposed to work.
Larner · 22 September 2006 · Chapter 11: We are overcome on Weathertop
The view of that terrible moment from Bill's point of view is fascinating, and I can truly feel the terror the pony must have felt.
Author's reply
Yes, considering that ponies can be easily frightened at such trivial things as a sheet of blowing paper, I can only imagine how terrified he must have been.
Larner · 22 September 2006 · Chapter 10: We take a bite and consider
And well-woven at that. Dear Pippin, I love him as you portray him in this story, and I love Bill's reaction to each of the party.
Author's reply
Ah, thank you. I have a fond spot in my heart for Pippin, and for Bill too I find.
Dreamflower · 22 September 2006 · Chapter 11: We are overcome on Weathertop
Oh, poor Bill! He sensed the trouble long before any of them, but couldn't give any warning. Reading this from his POV, I could feel the fear and tension as though I were reading it in canon for the first time. And now Bill's real work begins, poor dear!
Author's reply
Thanks for the encouraging note!
shirebound · 22 September 2006 · Chapter 11: We are overcome on Weathertop
How lovely that Bill was eating a bit to keep the hobbits company, and that Strider stroked him as he told his tale. But now... oh no, the dread moment has arrived! :(
Author's reply
O yes, and it's bound to be difficult from this point on, until they reach Rivendell.
Bodkin · 15 September 2006 · Chapter 10: We take a bite and consider
It feels more like a trap than a refuge to me That's one wise pony. Combine it with the shiver over 'riders' and he should clearly be the one leading the party!
Author's reply
LOL, Bill would probably lead the party back to Bree, poor thing, with his unreasoning pony instincts.
Queen Galadriel · 15 September 2006 · Chapter 10: We take a bite and consider
You really capture the feeling of uneasiness here, showing how each one expresses or deals with it. Wonderful! But poor Bill, those riders are going to frighten him half to death, and Sam will be busy and worried enough after all *that* as it is. God bless, Galadriel
Author's reply
Oh, yes, frighten him more than half to death, I shouldn't wonder! Poor Bill.
cookiefleck · 14 September 2006 · Chapter 10: We take a bite and consider
Great suspense. Love Bill; love seeing Sam through Bill's eyes. Sam giving Bill the treats: awwww.
Author's reply
Thanks!
Althea · 14 September 2006 · Chapter 10: We take a bite and consider
I've been greedily reading this for the last little while, not even stopping to comment on each chapter as I read. I coundn't make myself stop because I was in such a hurry to find out what would happen next. Not that I don't know the story; it's just such a treat to have the story told through Bill's perspective. What an amazing little pony he is. I get a kick out of the names he has given the Hobbits. Apples and mischief (aka marsh and mischief) and not-so-Merry are great. I love how Bill refers to Sam as My Sam. Sam is such a caring soul. How could any animal fail to respond to him? I am so much enjoying getting to know Bill and the others through his impressions of them. I'm looking foward to reading more.
Author's reply
Well, glad you stopped to comment! It is always a treat to hear the reader's impressions and opinions.
harrowcat · 14 September 2006 · Chapter 10: We take a bite and consider
Your assumption about where they were attacked has probably been coloured by PJ's film which shows the hobbits stumbling into the circle of stone. I like the way that you are interweaving the text into your work.
Author's reply
Oh, so *that's* what it is! I think I did not form a clear impression of happenings on Weathertop when reading, and so the movie had a greater influence. However, I *still* do not see Arwen substituting for Glorfindel...
demeter d · 13 September 2006 · Chapter 10: We take a bite and consider
"...there is a solid feeling about him, if you take my meaning..." Does Bill sound like Sam, or does Sam possess so much solid 'horse sense' that he sounds like Bill? Either way, they sound like kindred spirits. Interesting how Aragorn disposed of the marsh-soaked clothes, so they would not be found by unwanted folks. The tension mounts!
Author's reply
I *do* see Bill and Sam as kindred spirits, somehow. Sam seems very ponyish to me at times.
Dreamflower · 13 September 2006 · Chapter 10: We take a bite and consider
Again you make all the familiar scenes seem fresh seen from Bill's POV. I am loving how his apprehension is making itself felt. And soon enough--Weathertop. I do look forward to seeing that from Bill's POV--I am quite sure he had to have been terrified!
Author's reply
Yea, verily. Just posted Weathertop, and um, at a lack for words. Want to say "good riddance" but that's not quite the phrase to express relief at getting past that point. And now the long, wet, cold journey, where Bill first tugged at my heart with his care for Frodo...
shirebound · 13 September 2006 · Chapter 10: We take a bite and consider
Awwww... my Sam draws me as if I were bound to him with stout rope. I can't wait until Bill (and the others) reach the refuge of Rivendell.
Author's reply
I am really looking forward to Rivendell--it's half-written already!