Eordemaeg
· 4 June 2015
· Chapter 15: 15: Souls Passing West
I had been meaning to write a review of the past chapters, but often neglected to do so every time, since my habitual instinct upon reaching the end of one chapter was to get on to the next, particularly when the writing is unusually good. But allow me to say now that more than once have I been reduced to tears by this story, most especially this chapter. More than that I cannot say; if perhaps I can wring words from tears, I would have a decent length written out in praise of this piece.
Author's reply
Thank you so very much for such kind words. This is the culmination of my own trilogy that I most wanted to write--The Acceptable Sacrifice, Reconciliation, and Reunion, the latter two being far shorter than the first. To know that I've been able to move people with my writing I find most satisfying. Thank you so for letting me know!
whisperer
· 2 October 2013
· Chapter 1: 1: Seek Him Out
I read this story for a forth time.. and i still love this..
Well, I'm back! And glad to be so, though I do feel as if I had three homes now-North Carolina, Colorado, and Heaven. It's just so odd not to rise at six, rush to get ready, and then literally run to catch the seven o'clock bus, and be packed in among people and canes till everyone is careful of their ankles, only the lucky ones get seats (the others have to stand and cling to poles or whatever), and everyone feels like sardines in a can. :) Oh dear, what ridiculous dramas can take place on an overcrowded bus or in a rush to catch a lightrail! We had one student-in the adult program, mind, and not a new one either-who was terrible at keeping a grip on his cane. He was one to whine and groan about every little thing, and he'd always drop the confounded thing on the way to catch the lightrail. And when he did, he'd just stop right in the middle of the sidewalk and yell, "Hey, I need twenty-twenty!" As if we could just give it to him! Honestly! Now that kind of behaviour, to me, might be pardonable if he'd just lost his sight, or if he was new, but neither applied to him, and he didn't have an excuse except what I call just plain being bratty. And at his age, too! I'd stop when I could and try to help him out of human kindness, but it was so hard not to laugh outright or say, "If you've dropped your cane, then stop wailing about it and get down on your own knees and look for it!" Now I can sit here and laugh all I want to without hurting his feelings, and it's such a relief, I must confess. The past eight weeks have been some of the most trying and--educational I've ever known, and also the happiest. It *was* marvellous.
But it was so wonderful to sit down and relax and enjoy an excellent story as I haven't done in for ever. I almost had to bend the rules in order to get any internet time at the CCB. I love the sharing of memories, the loving messages and beautiful pictures and sculptures, the general happiness, the long-awaited revelation to Frodo and Sam of what might have been, and the peaceful depiction of life on the Lonely Isle. Marvellous, as always. And I feel that in this story we've come to know Livwen much better. I just love her. And I also enjoyed your descriptions of Aragorn's children. Each one is so individual, something I very much admire, as it's always been hard for me to achieve. We've had glimpses of Frodo and Sam's daily life on Tol Eressea before, but you've shown it more fully here, and it seems much more real and comprehensible, if you will. I'm still captivated and moved by Frodo's "Elvish mortality" and Sam's irresistible Hobbit sense, humour, and "mother henning". :) I have to agree with Frodo: the Creator does have an interesting sense of humour. I used to doubt it, but learned it the hard way very recently.
You led up to the passing in what I thought was a realistic way-Frodo rubbing at his shoulder in the old way, not from pain but because he was being reminded that he was not immortal, and so on. And the end, with them joining the feast, and Saradoc's "Come now, or I'll have Esme and your mother come and have a word with you" left me laughing, just for the sheer joy in it. All the readjusting back to "normal" life, and fighting with "normality" to keep what I learned this summer is rather stressful, and this tale was so refreshing! Thank you for that.
Hope you and Tribbals get things worked out, and I can't wait for the next one! :)
God bless,
Galadriel
P.S. Can also say I've heard a computer speech synthasizer sing, beautifully, "A Bicycle Built for Two." :)
Author's reply
Tribbals is caught on my Toshiba laptop, whose power intake has decided to go wonky. Am now writing on a Dell laptop, but it doesn't have a 3.5 inch disk drive, and I haven't yet figured out the R-W drive. Then the Dell desktop got hacked, as I indicated in Ernil i Pheriannath. So am borrowing the son-in-law's computer till I find the restore disk for the Dell desktop.
For Frodo, Sam's coming must have felt like being allowed a piece of home again, for here is Hobbit love at its basic. The two of them would have so much to share--Sam from the Shire and the united realm; Frodo from Tol Eressea. Frodo has found the true reason for what he knew as the Shadow Realm and is now not trapped but instead fulfilled even more by his visits there (it's always wonderful to speculate on what had been meant by the processes and artifacts Sauron twisted to his own uses).
Now we see more of the people who have come to mean the most to Frodo in his new life, and they get fleshed out a bit more.
Thank you for your characterization of the realization the end is coming as realistic--as with Aragorn in Light on the Way, Frodo is being told by his body that the time has come and he may go when he wishes.
As for the feast--I had to put Lindelea's feast in there, I had to! It begged for inclusion! And I know what you mean about how this reflects your own return to "normal" life.
Anyway, again, glad to see you home! Hope to get some more stories posted soon. Have one multi-chapter story going, but it's caught also on the Toshiba. I hate when computers decide to die on one! I have to get these stories off of the hard disk for the laptop if I can.
Laurelin
· 7 August 2006
· Chapter 999999: Author's Notes
Aha, here you are :) . This would explain why you didn't update at fanfiction.net, I've been missing your writing. Very good story as always, I hope to read more from you soon.
L.
Author's reply
Curse the hackers! We hates them, we does! Curse them and let them have to deal with one another instead of us poor working writers having always to deal with them!
When I can get the problems dealt with in the Dell, I can get back with the email and back on FanFiction.net, which unfortunately is the source of many of the trojans that conflict with my satellite modem system. I live in the back of beyond, and only the satellite system offers me any hope of broadband downloads out here.
Am so very glad you like how the story ends. This one was a joy to write.
Linda Hoyland
· 25 July 2006
· Chapter 17: Epilogue
This was just so beautiful and moving.Frodo and Sam must have been so delighted to see their loved ones again.A very uplifting chapter.
I hope your computer problems are soon solved.You are much missed.
Author's reply
No, not solved yet. And am glad you like the epilogue and find it uplifting.
If I can ever get anything back on an even keel I think I'll fall over from lack of adrenaline. I've lived through nothing but crises for weeks, it feels like. Never become a landlord--I don't think it's worth it.
Lindelea
· 25 July 2006
· Chapter 17: Epilogue
Wonderful! I love the sense of timelessness, and of no need to hurry anywhere, and of course I love the Feast!
To answer your previous reply to my review of the Author's notes, I differ slightly in how I see Tol E. (can't remember how to spell it). After all, it has been changed so that there is no more a straight "road" to get there; a regular ship would never find it. I forget what JRRT called it. It is, however, separated from M-e, and Mandos, if I remember right, is on the far side of the Island. And then the land of the Valar beyond? Don't remember, exactly, but that is the dim remembering that I have, without looking it up. And so, with that separation of sorts, it makes sense to me that the same sense of timelessness would be found over the whole island, and not just where the departed spirits were to be found. Not even that time runs differently there, perhaps, but may only be experienced differently. Time is such a strange and fluid concept. Hours can fly by (goodness, *years* can fly by!), or they can creep, and in a crisis it can seem as if the world is moving in slow motion.
But I do appreciate your explanation of how you worked things out, and I like the way you've extrapolated (if that is the right word) from JRRT's beliefs to his writings and the world(s) he created.
Author's reply
In choosing to keep a sense of time in the Undying Lands I was following through on the obvious time sense of the stories set there in the Silmarillion. Tol Eressea was also once part of the mortal lands, and so I see it as possibly more tied to the time of Middle Earth than perhaps the rest of Aman, allowing Frodo and later Sam to realize their bodies are yet vulnerable to the effects of a flowing of time they cannot truly appreciate, not having been born among the immortals. But this is only one possibility, while yours is another. None can be considered definitive, as Tolkien never set that out.
However, once one has made the transition between the created world of Arda, whether in the mortal or immortal lands, and the realm set aside for the departed spirits of mortals where they hope to meet the Creator face to face, then true timelessness would be, I think, to be expected.
And you know how much what you and others have written has managed to inspire me, and how I tend to write elements of other people's stories into my own. So glad you appreciated the inclusion of the Feast here, and hope you appreciated the reference to it in The Acceptable Sacrifice as well. I can't see Hobbits being confined to a feast in what they might see as a stuffy hall when there is a garden to set it in, so I see Frodo and Sam not entering in to leave their memories there, but not being allowed to bypass their own places in the Feast.
And am so glad you appreciate my explanations of how I come to write what I do. Thank you so for the feedback, and love to the girls and your spouse.
Radbooks
· 24 July 2006
· Chapter 17: Epilogue
Oh, this was a nice ending, to see Frodo and Sam in the Presence like this. I like the idea of Timelessness - it must be like that. I was thrilled at the end to see Elrond there with Elros, that was a wonderful touch. You just know that the One would not keep his children apart forever. I agreed with Frodo, I, too, would want to hurry on into the garden and into the Presence, I think.
Glad to see you back online! I've been worried about you. :)
Author's reply
Well, am still having to borrow time on the computer at work to get online at all, but that's neither here nor there. I suspect if I ever run out of crises at the moment I'll die of adrenaline deprivation. It's been one problem after another for months until I begin to wonder if I'll ever have time to myself again.
Am so very glad you appreciated this epilogue. Decided to put it here rather than in Moments in Time, and am glad I did in the end.
Hope to be back online soon, but am uncertain when at this point. Money is a big problem at the moment.
Kitty
· 24 July 2006
· Chapter 17: Epilogue
Oh Larner, that was a wonderful addition to the story! I was a bit surprised to see it pop up here again, but this was exact the chapter that I missed before a bit. To see Merry and Pippin, Rosie, their parents and all the others again is another reunion for Sam and Frodo, after all.
The concept of timelessness in the Presence in connection with Tolkien's universe I encountered the first time in one of Bodkin's stories, and I always thought it the perfect solution, as men, hobbits and elves could be together. So I am very happy you saw it the same way. It was so wonderful to see them all happy together again! And of course the hobbits had to sit at a feast table - I always thought it had to be exactly *that* for them :) Another thing I loved was to have Aragorn there, too - I was never entirely happy with his decision not even himself to enter the Shire, as I'd loved to see such a visit.
Thank you for this chapter! And I hope your bad luck with computers and all has *finally* run out!!
Author's reply
Am so glad this was exactly what you wanted to see. It's abstract enough I fear it will put off some, but am glad those whose feedback I appreciate most have appreciated it. I, too, felt that in excluding himself from the Shire Aragorn in a way managed to deprive it and himself of much joy.
This chapter has been inspired equally by Bodkin, Lindelea, and C.S. Lewis, and I must give credit to all of them. The Feast was most inspired by Lindelea, and the reunions in the presence of so many different races from Arda was definitely inspired by Bodkin, and I'm grateful to both of them. That each race would develop its own hall within the Halls of Mandos (or in its gardens) is my own idea, and is an extrapolation of ideas written into Light on the Way.
No, computer bad luck isn't over yet. Am beginning to wonder if it will ever do so. Am SO tired of computer problems.
Anonymous
· 24 July 2006
· Chapter 17: Epilogue
Oh, lovely! So much joy and just plain gladness.
“First time I saw him as King, there at the Brandywine Bridge, I recognized one who’d ridden through the Shire years earlier on his great horse, leading his Men along the Road, seeking out the quickest way to come against enemies to the west to protect us all.
Have you written this story? I'd like to read it!
Author's reply
I'd begun writing it, but now the Toshiba laptop's internal power supply where power comes from the adaptor is giving fits. Each time I'm reasonably certain perhaps I'll be able to get back online another glitch hits. Am SO tired of glitches!
Am so glad you liked this story.
Anonymous
· 24 July 2006
· Chapter 17: Epilogue
They stood at the beginning of the Way. There’d been no need to pause at the Gates, no need to cross even the meadow of flowers both had seen before. Before them stood the wonder of the Halls of Mandos, not that he who’d been Frodo Baggins gave the great edifice more than a cursory look. His attention instead was fixed on the shining path that led through the gardens and beyond to the deeper Gardens--the ones beyond the bounds of Arda. Oh, he was ready now to go there, across the silver bridge.
He who’d been Sam looked up at the building, smiling in recognition. We’ve been nearly here before, Master.
His fellow turned and looked at him seriously. I’m not your Master, not now, and not here. I’ve not been for decades, even. Let us use the proper term for one another--brother.
Brother. Yes, you’re right, as usual. All right, brother it is. Do you wish to go in?
Whatever for? Do you feel you need to go in?
No, but it might hearten some if they found reminders of us here.
He who’d been Frodo gave a snort. Those who know and love us--truly know and love us--will know I, at least, will want to go on. He took a step down the Way through the gardens, and he smiled broadly as the shining form that had awaited them reached out to embrace him at last. Oh, Bilbo, I’m ready to go on--to go on now, and not wait.
Of course, my boy. However, you will find that time is an illusion.
Nonsense! I’ve waited over sixty years....
Oh, have you, now? But what is sixty years in Arda compared to the eternity you will rejoice in within the Presence? So saying, he who’d been known as Bilbo Baggins but who certainly didn’t look anything like he’d appeared during his lifetime in the Shire and Rivendell and on Tol Eressëa, turned to accompany them along the Way.
Such lovely descriptions! I saw in a catalogue once "I've always imagined paradise to be a sort of library" which would fit me very nicely, but a garden would definitely fit hobbits. Love it and of course, the part about brothers and Bilbo being there and Olorin. Very nice!
Namarie, God bless, Antane :)
Author's reply
Am so very glad, Antane, that you appreciated it. Yes, for Hobbits it would be a delightful feast in a garden! And of course Aragorn and Arwen would be part of it for Frodo's sake.
But the greatest gift would be to go further, to find indeed time was an illusion, and that all are reunited as they come together in the presence!
And here the brothers and all they love come together at the last!
Andrea
· 24 July 2006
· Chapter 17: Epilogue
I don’t wish to stay....
She laughed. “Not stay? But you won’t have to stay! It’s but the memory! And what will the Feast be without your sweet voice adding to the singing and without you joining in the dancing? And how can our Lord Elessar join us without you?”
Wonderful, Larner! The concept of timelessness is fascinating. It took me some time (LOL!), though, to understand. We are too much depending on time, it seems.
To be everywhere you want to be, at the same moment, because there is no time - that's great!
Of course, Frodo Baggins belongs to the Feast. And I hope, there'll be much singing and dancing. After all, they have an eternity to celebrate :)
And what Olorin said to Bilbo was a perfect conclusion:
Well, my beloved friend, we’ve managed to bring them through.
Author's reply
What is time but the defining aspect of this creation. And to be able to be all places at least in memory while rejoicing to enter the Presence with those one loves--the greatest blessing of all!
So glad you love the conclusion! Thanks for the feedback.
shirebound
· 24 July 2006
· Chapter 17: Epilogue
no edicts here save to rejoice
How lovely.
Author's reply
So very glad you approve, Shirebound. But I think that would be the only edict in such a place and situation, don't you agree?
Thanks for the feedback.
harrowcat
· 24 July 2006
· Chapter 17: Epilogue
Oh my dear Larner this is so, so perfect! What an ending/timeless beginning. I can hardly see to type.
The way that you have handled the timelessness is wonderful. I am speechless!
Author's reply
Am so glad you appreciate it, Harrowcat. What would time be like there in the Presence? It's part of why I've written as I have in other stories of the memories of various characters left in the particular halls within Mandos's great House they've had ties to--that they aren't tied to time but there is yet a reflection of it there. But as Frodo did live as a Hobbit of the Shire, I think he truly belongs at the Feast, and am glad of those like Lindelea that have made it part of Hobbit expectations for the afterlife, and hope they appreciate my appropriation of it for this story. Hope that Bodkin appreciates it as well.
Lindelea
· 21 July 2006
· Chapter 999999: Author's Notes
After glancing over your author's notes I am very much looking forward to reading the story! (But it'll have to be next week; I'm out of time for today.)
I had speculated on Frodo's time as well, and the possibilities of his being lonely, but I took a slightly different tack. I was remembering a conversation about heaven between an adult and a small child. I don't remember the context, but I remember this bit: The child asks if their mutual loved one will "be lonely there" and the adult answers, no, for there is no time there. And then there was something about "a few moments" in one place being like "an eternity" in another. Putting those together I had Faramir Took spending the time it took him to draw a few breaths, in conversation with Frodo, in Another place, while several days elapsed in Middle-earth.
Don't know if it's a plausible solution, but it spared Frodo loneliness before Sam's arrival. (OTOH, I think I read a story where Bilbo "stayed" until Sam arrived. Something to do with what JRRT said, that mortals are not immortal There, but that they have the ability to lay down their lives when they are ready to move on.
Anyhow, all this is just to say I'm looking forward to your take on the matter.
Author's reply
As the Undying Lands are part of Arda in spite of physically being somewhat removed from the rest of the world since the breaking of it and the foundering of Numenor, I saw it as still being under the restrictions of Time somewhat, and so have Bilbo realizing his own time was come to go on early on, but remaining just long enough to be certain Frodo will remain on Tol Eressea until he is joined by Sam. But in all three cases they gave over their lives gladly enough when they felt it was indeed time to go on.
I finally have the chance to add the small epilogue chapter. I hope others appreciate it, for you will find your own described scenario echoed in it, I think.
Tenants are FINALLY out, although we will be cleaning up after them for months, I fear. I cannot believe what they have done to my property. Satellite dish is still out, also. Hopefully in another week or so....
cookiefleck
· 4 July 2006
· Chapter 999999: Author's Notes
Meant to stop by sooner to say thanks one last time for the story, and to let you know that I enjoyed the author's notes.
I happened to be just finishing Tolkien's letters this week and it was interesting to run across the passage you alluded to in your notes. "Their sojourn was a 'purgatory,' but one of peace and healing and they would eventually pass away (die at their own desire and of free will) to destinations of which the Elves knew nothing."
In my heart, I am sure that Sam, too, went over the sea, even if Tolkien didn't connect all the dots quite as neatly as some of us would have liked. Because when Sam sets out to do something, it gets done, after all.
Author's reply
Am so glad you enjoyed it, Cookiefleck. Once again am having problems with the home system, for this time the satellite dish itself has gone wonky. It's such a comedy of errors; and once again I steal a few minutes at work to write replies.
Am looking forward eventually to getting my own copy of the letters, but haven't had the money for some time.
And I agree--what Sam sets out to do gets done. He's just that kind of person, isn't he?
Thanks so much for the reviews, and the patience with the responses.
Andrea
· 2 July 2006
· Chapter 999999: Author's Notes
Thank *you*, Larner for this wonderful story!
I’ve seen many depictions of Frodo’s death on Tol Eressëa.[...]
In one I read Sam arrived only just in time to wish Frodo goodbye as he died a most painful death. I can’t see Frodo, after sixty-one years of blessed life on the island, being reduced to such straits.
I totally agree with you! Since I have read Tolkien's letter about the "purgatory experience" I think, or better I believe that he was given time to find his peace again and to understand and accept the role the Creator had given him in the quest. After that he would be given the grace to die in peace.
And that's exactly how you see it!
I'm taken with your idea that the "shadowy realm" was only temporarily a frightening and dark place, but became again what it was originally intended to be, after Sauron's death - a place of light instead of darkness, creativity instead of standstill. (Is this the right word? I really hope so ;-))
I'm looking forward to reading new Larner stories :)
Author's reply
Oh, I am so looking forward eventually to reading the entire Letters myself when I can afford to get a copy!
It's fun to imagine just what kinds of things Sauron sought to twist to evil purposes. Am so glad you appear to have appreciated just what the Shadow Realm may have been intended to be originally. And for Frodo to be allowed to enter it properly and at will seems so right, somehow.
Thanks so very much for the feedback.
Am working on several stories at the moment, but when I'll actually be able to start posing one I'm not yet certain. The satellite dish itself is now out, so it'll be another week at the earliest before I can afford to get it fixed. I've been having to use all my spare cash lately trying to get my tenants evicted. It's been a real pain in the behind.
Elemmírë
· 1 July 2006
· Chapter 16: 16: Benediction
This entire story was just absolutely beautiful, Larner, most especially the last two chapters. I really liked how you explored Frodo and Sam's views of mortality as compared with the Elven children who do not understand what death is, why it occurs, or how the hobbits can be so pragmatic about it. It often reminded me of a terminally ill patient sees the end of life as compared with those around them.
I say again, Larner, just beautiful, poignant, sad and yet uplifting as well.
Well done and I look forward to whatever you pen next.
Author's reply
Thank you, Elemmire. For mortals such as Frodo and Sam who've been granted the grace to survive to fulfillment when they'd come so very close to dying, to come to the end of this life at last and be allowed to offer it back gently must have been seen as quite a grace. They've been allowed to finally know peace and joy after long stress; now it is their time to rest.
I know my mother-in-law was ready when her time came; it was more difficult for my husband, who was really too young to go as yet, but he was glad for the end of the constant pain and diminishment, I know.
Anyway, I'm sorry I didn't respond earlier. Now the satellite dish is malfunctioning, and I don't have the money to have it fixed for another couple weeks. If it's not one thing it's three others, I swear.
Linda Hoyland
· 1 July 2006
· Chapter 999999: Author's Notes
This was most interesting.I think we have similiar ideas in weaving our stories into a connected whole.I think one gains far more that way.You stay true to Tolkien's world,while at the same time creating your own sub universe with some memorable OCs.
Author's reply
Am so glad you appreciated it, Linda. And am so very glad you like my OCs as well as the disposition I give our favorites from Tolkien's own pen.
Haven't been able to get back online at home, and must leave my office shortly, so won't be able to read any here, either. May not have time to respond to all the reviews. I hate technology when it is intent on not working.
Fiondil
· 30 June 2006
· Chapter 999999: Author's Notes
As always, Larner, you tell a great tale. It's actually interesting to read the same events from different viewpoints. I'm not sure what all the fuss about fireflies might be. Growing up in central New York, catching fireflies was the highlight of the summer as a child. Never stopped to think that other places in the world wouldn't have them.
The last chapter sort of threw me because it took me a while to realize that this was some years later, because previously Aragorn was in the North when Frodo and Sam finally bid adieu to Arda. The fact that Aragorn was now whitehaired should have been a clue (duh!). Anyway, once I realized "when" it all fell into place. I look forward to reading more of your stories, but please, let's see more of the rest of the Fellowship besides Frodo and Sam, especially more about Aragorn and *his* family. Why *do* the Umbarians fear Eldarion? Enquiring minds want to know.
Author's reply
Hopefully I'll have a new story started once the satellite dish is repaired. It's been a piece of technology at a time for months, it seems, and now it's the dish. Living in the wilderness has its drawbacks!
I remember as a small child making firefly lanterns by imprisoning a number of the insects in a mason jar with holes in the lid, and how Mom would make us let them go. I truly missed them when we moved to the west coast, believe me.
Sorry the last section threw you a bit, for I'd tried to make it clear that this was very near the end of Aragorn's reign, although for those who haven't read "Light on the Way" the fact that Valandil is attending audiences with his father and the arrival of Faramir Took to retire to Aragorn's court would perhaps not be as significant as if they had.
And I just MIGHT go into why the Umbarians fear Eldarion one day. I love having such a culture that will do its best to seek to circumvent the best interests of Gondor and Arnor, after all.
Thanks so much for the feedback.
harrowcat
· 30 June 2006
· Chapter 999999: Author's Notes
Masterly Larner. As always, Larner, I enjoy your notes almost as much as your tale. It is great to see some of your thought process and I am constantly in awe of how deeply you think about the Prof's work and keep to Canon with enough latitude for variation. Reading your tale always feels like slipping on a well-worn and familiar jacket. It isn't repetitive as you always vary and add detail.
If you want an opinion then if you have an extra, one-off, chapter then I, personally, would like to see it on the end of this tale.
P.S. I have seen fireflies down in Cornwell but never in the Shire Counties of England so I didn't 'bat an eyebrow' at their inclusion. I did once dare to raise them at the inclusion of Racoons in one Author's story and suggested squirrals instead. We are only just beginning to appreciate how much the Gulf Stream protects this country from a climate like Labrador.
Author's reply
I'm very glad you appreciated the author's notes, although they strike me as a bit scattered this time. Maybe I'll eventually reedit them again.
They have fireflies in Cornwall? (Or is it indeed Cornwell?) I've not been in Cornwall in the summer, although I've been there in the spring; but I've been through much of England proper in all months of the summer and hadn't seen fireflies anywhere there. We don't have them in Washington, Oregon, or California in my experience. But as a small child in Oklahoma and a teen visiting Arkansas and Kansas or a grad student in Michigan I certainly used to love them.
I'll see about perhaps adding the last chapter into this story, then, once the satellite dish is repaired. I am SO tired of technical difficulties and having to borrow time at the office after work in order to get online.
Happy Summer!
Raksha The Demon
· 29 June 2006
· Chapter 999999: Author's Notes
I've always felt no doubt that Sam really did sail to the Blessed Land, as the last of the Ringbearers, to reunite with Frodo. I concur that Frodo would have been somewhat lonely without him, after Bilbo's death.
Excellent research, which has helped make this story readable. And thanx for the explanation of the elements common to your various stories.
Author's reply
For Frodo to begin and end his time on Tol Eressea with someone who cared deeply for him and who shared his own mortality I feel would have been seen as a necessary part of his time there.
And am so glad you appreciated seeing how this story fits into the others. Haven't done that before in my author's notes.
Kitty
· 29 June 2006
· Chapter 999999: Author's Notes
Interesting as always, Larner, to know more about how you see Tolkien's work and how you relate it to your own stories. There is not much to comment upon for me save that I agree wholeheartedly with you and the way you are seeing the original. And that I love the way you are filling the gaps or elaborating all the things Tolkien did only touch shortly. It seems very in keeping with Tolkien's ideas.
Oh, and you don't need to apologize about your updating schedule. Even with the gaps due to your technical problems, you're updating much faster than most others. But I know very well how frustrating it must have been for you, even more so as I had problems myself for weeks, as you know. So I hope your computers now behave themselves as they should and people stop troubling you and you are soon able to write and post again as it pleases you.
Thank you for another beautiful story, and - as always - I look forward to whatever you're writing next!
Author's reply
The computers are now behaving--now it's the satellite dish itself. I can't believe it! And I find myself wondering if some of the problems aren't manmade. My current situation is pretty difficult, you see.
Am so glad you feel that my work fits into Tolkien's own work so well. That is the greatest compliment of all, to be told you find it adds to his work.
Once I get the satellite dish fixed, I'll start posting the next one. May take a couple weeks, though. I hate technical difficulties.
shirebound
· 29 June 2006
· Chapter 999999: Author's Notes
The idea that Frodo’s physical being has been converted increasingly to the Light of Being is simply one possible outcome of Gandalf’s realization that Frodo is becoming somewhat transparent, and the famous awareness that the Hobbit in time might come to be like a vessel of glass, filled with light for eyes to see that can
That's a marvelous concept, and it's been a pleasure reading this lovely tale.
Author's reply
Am so very glad you appreciate it, Shirebound. And thanks so very much for the feedback all through this story and my others. I hope to begin the next story as soon as the satellite dish is repaired.
Antane
· 29 June 2006
· Chapter 999999: Author's Notes
Looking forward to your next masterpiece! Don't worry that you are being repetitive! :)
Namarie, God bless, Antane
Author's reply
Thank you, Antane.
Am once again offline--now the satellite dish itself. I can't believe my luck! Or maybe it was damaged purposely--who knows at this point? Am just sick and tired of problems.
The next story I'll start posting once the satellite dish is repaired--probably in the next couple weeks.
Linda Hoyland
· 26 June 2006
· Chapter 16: 16: Benediction
What a beautiful way of saying "goodbye".I loved the way you link with your other stories too and the poem had me blinking,it was so touching.
Author's reply
Thank you, Linda. I loved the "dribble" poetry Dreamflower indulged in a time ago, and decided to try my own hand at it, although this isn't a straight "dribble." I like to think Frodo wasn't as into rhyming poetry as his Uncle Bilbo--that he'd try other forms. And I'm so glad you liked it.
I'm not going to read tonight, I fear--I'm dripping sweat, as summer has hit like a sledge here in the Pacific Northwest. Need to go downstairs and cool off. But hope to catch up with your story soon.