Reviews (43)

Al · 8 June 2026 · Chapter 9: Revelation and Reaction

I am re-reading this for the 10th time (at least), and enjoying it just as much as before! I've re-read your other stories, as well, fairly recently. Once again, thank you! I do wish that there was a continuation of this one, especially. I'd dearly love to know how various hints turn out!

Al · 28 March 2026 · Chapter 4: Of Rings

I'm rereading this story for maybe the 6th time. I do enjoy it each time, so I have it bookmarked. I was just trying to follow some of the links to your other works, which I have read and enjoyed many of, and I keep finding the links broken.Do you have any idea why? Some of the stories are ones I've read in the past, but can no longer find.

Halrohir Haladanion · 26 December 2017 · Chapter 11: Lord of Gifts

Dearest Dreamflower: I sit here, having finished the entirety of your story in one sitting. I am profoundly affected by the effort and detail, and the craftsmanship you have put into this composition (though "work of the heart" might be a closer rendering in the Common Speech). If your work is any indication of the level of writing excellence this site demands, I shall be honored and humbled to approach yours. With Admiration, I Remain HALROHIR

Talullah · 17 February 2015 · Chapter 11: Lord of Gifts

Awww! I read everything so far in one afternoon, only to find out it has stopped being updated. I was really loving this, both sides, the human Sauron, with all his issues, and the spot on Bilbo. It was a lovely story and I will probably read Ancestress and stories from the Pandë!verse as soon as I have cleared a bit my to read list. I hope you gals return to this story sometime. It is really interesting and captivating.

AleiTheLeaf · 23 September 2012 · Chapter 11: Lord of Gifts

I'm with Kaylee and must SQUEE at this new chapter! I've been wondering when a new one would come! So happy! Anyway, I love pretty much everything about this chapter, from Sauron and Finrod's interaction to Frodo answering Sauron and everything! Awaiting more with bated breath! Yours, ~AleitheLeaf

Raksha The Demon · 21 September 2012 · Chapter 11: Lord of Gifts

A great chapter! Loved the Finrod/Sauron interaction and would like to see more of it, the way Finrod gets under Sauron's skin in the nicest way possible. And Bilbo's reaction is so honest and hugely happy, it brought smiles to my face. Frodo's response was also quite moving. The hobbits certainly had a memorable birthday!

Larner · 21 September 2012 · Chapter 11: Lord of Gifts

Yes, only a typical mortal, after all! Love the insistence the former DL use his original name. Mairon, I believe?

Kaylee Arafinwiel · 20 September 2012 · Chapter 11: Lord of Gifts

NEW CHAPTER OMIGOSH!!!!!!!!!!!! *squee* There, now that's out of the way :D I really loved this! Especially Frodo's thank-you note, and there was this: "Re-write it, but sign it with your other name." "What? Gorthaur?" "No, and not Annatar either, although that would be accurate enough. Your first name." "You have a lot of nerve!" "So I do, and I have also enough nerve to tell you it is no good to keep up with this self-flagellation by insisting that you are called by a name that you hated." Finrod pointed to the golf clubs neatly arranged in their bags, propped up in the grass. "Besides, this is a generous and admirable act on your part. Worthy of the name you were first known by. Rewrite it and sign it...properly this time." Sauron extracted another piece of vellum, duplicated his words, and signed as Finrod demanded. He caught the approving smile that Olórin shot toward the elf-man. He gritted his teeth, and the shackles warmed. Both wizard and elf were incorrigible. Ha! And so they are. I love Finrod here, and you know how I love Olorin! Well done, both of you! I look forward to seeing more of Bilbo and D.L. *Mairon* in the future! Kaylee Arafinwiel

6336 · 9 June 2012 · Chapter 10: An Unexpected Visitor

Well had to go back and reread the last chapter to figure out what had upset Bilbo so much. There are paralells to Annatar's love of his wife and daughter in R.L. also to his expectation of their loyalty to him. There are plenty of children out there who would wish they could divorce themselves from their parents, especially their fathers. It smacks a bit of they're mine so they will do what I tell them. Eonwe does seem to come across as a bit of a prig, also a little two faced, do as I say not as I do, with regard to begetting children! I don't however, think that having a child made Sauron any less evil. Having a child does not make you a saint. The saying 'Any Man can be a father but it takes someone special to be a dad.' is very true. History is always being rewritten to suit the notions of the present generation, look at the number of people who claim the Holocaust never happened. I did enjoy this chapter, though I only seem to have commented on certain aspects of it, Sauron seems to be something of a traditionalist when it comes to golf clubs, though I do believe they are using carbon fibre shafts now. Huggs, Lynda

pandemonium_213 · 9 June 2012 · Chapter 10: An Unexpected Visitor

Thanks so much, Sunny, Raksha (who, whenever we take our perambulations, asks "When will we see the next chapter?" :^D), Larner, Kaylee, and Alei, for having a read and for the comments. Very much appreciated. Eönwë might have a priggish streak, but he's more than that, I think. Larner nailed it with the exasperation he feels toward someone he might regard as "family." Both of these fellows (Sauron and Eönwë) have a lot of pride that gets in their way. On eagles - bear in mind they are also noble symbols of other nations and empires, some of which we hold in honor. Eönwë's activities as a raptor might give a nod to Zeus' proclivities, but at least Eönwë monogamously sticks to his own species per his fana du jour. ;^) Kaylee and Alei, please allow me to SQUEE that you picked up on the identity of the patriot/Kinslayer/slaveowner. That's the point of my whole conceit of this alternative branch to "the line of Lúthien." These descendants are brilliant, inventive people, but they often have a dark side and/or have brought forth ideas that shake the status quo and are not received well by all. Bilbo's response is fascinating (I thoroughly enjoyed reading of his history) and has certainly piqued the Dark Muse's interest in a big way ("Belladonna Took? Who is this Belladonna Took?"). Now as far as responding goes, his gaoler (that would be me) tends to get terribly preoccupied with work-related writing, not to mention the DM's proclivities that have resulted in about a gazillion WIPs. Hence, the time between chapters may be longish. That said, Dreamflower and I have discussed just what we want to do over the next couple of chapters or so, and this may align with "Ancestress." Thanks again!

AleiTheLeaf · 9 June 2012 · Chapter 10: An Unexpected Visitor

I've been waiting for the next chapter! So happy the story is still going on! And I liked the reintroduction of Eonwe, I remember his characterization from Pande's other stories and think of his character as an interesting adversary to Sauron's mindset. They aren't really foils to one another, but their way of thinking and approaching situations definitely varies (and almost makes Sauron seem more subtle and direct at the same time, if that's even possible). Anyway, I really like how Sauron is making golf clubs for the hobbits, it seems like an apology of sorts. The parallels between Sauron telling about his life and Bilbo then telling Sauron about his was an interesting type of juxtaposition and definitely gave more weight to their correspondence. This, along with the opposing meanings of Sauron's former and current name, almost seem like a puzzle for Bilbo (I liked his reaction to discovery that as well). In a way, Sauron and Bilbo are foils to one another but alike in their search for knowledge. It's cool. ^^ And I knew it was Thomas Jefferson! (just looked up the quote and guessed correctly) Yours, ~AleiTheLeaf p.s. sorry if that didn't entirely make sense, I just enjoyed a lot of this chapter and don't always know how to fit it all in.

Kaylee Arafinwiel · 9 June 2012 · Chapter 10: An Unexpected Visitor

"History, or the future", indeed...talk about time paradoxes! Well, I suppose being 'not of this world' but rather outside it...somewhat more literally as Aman was removed when the world was bent...they can't know, can they? Heh! Interesting, if disturbing, that Eonwe's descendants would be associated with the Third Reich. And then there was the unnamed 'Kinslayer' who 'incited rebellion against the king'...well, it was very clever to leave only a quote I hadn't learned as a hint to his identity, I must say. I found myself hating the unidentified man for the association with Feanaro and Sauron, the slave-owning, the horrific quality of the words, and then...well, I could have slapped myself when I actually Googled the quote and found the identity of the speaker. One of our greatest patriots indeed, and one of my father's heroes! What a tangled web this is, lol! Very "It Makes Sense In Context" here, to quote an oft-used phrase on TVTropes. Well done ladies, and I bow to your crafting of this brilliant chapter! Kaylee Arafinwiel

Larner · 8 June 2012 · Chapter 10: An Unexpected Visitor

Had to reread the last chapter to bring myself back up to speed on this. So, both are having to realign their thoughts to keep the correspondence going. And the experience with Eonwe sounds--disturbing. I can certainly empathize with the Herald's frustrations, as I feel them toward too many of my own family menbers. Hope the next chapter is soon forthcoming!

Raksha The Demon · 7 June 2012 · Chapter 10: An Unexpected Visitor

Eönwë leaned back against the cushions and took a long drink. "As for your family? You had absolutely no business becoming so intimate with the Firstborn. You might have spared yourself and others a good deal of trouble if you had kept your vië tucked safely away in your trousers." "Such excellent advice, seeing as how it comes from one whom a number of eaglets in the Misty Mountains could call 'Papa.'" You made me laugh here! Eonwe absolutely had that coming to him! He seems like a self-satisfied prig, but at least has some ability to reflect and regret. Another excellent chapter. I can see why Sauron's revelations that he actually loved a woman and made a child with her, like any other denizen of Middle-earth even elves, men and hobbits, would be something of a shock to Bilbo, particularly when Sauron revealed that his wife died during Sauron's conquest of Ost-en-Edhil. Sauron's memories of his torture of poor Celebrimbor, and the elf's death, are particularly chilling; Sauron is getting the hang of regret, but it is hard for him to admit guilt. And Sauron's antipathy for Frodo shows that regret and repentance are not the same thing; and the latter is still a long way off for Sauron, at least on the subject of his great accomplishments in Middle-earth. More soon, I hope!

Sunny · 7 June 2012 · Chapter 10: An Unexpected Visitor

It has been a longish time to wait for the continuation of the story, but the chapter was certainly worth waiting for! Some people seem to just instinctively detest each other, and Sauron and Eönwë here in this fic certainly seem to be two such. I rather like Sauron - he is such an _interesting_ and complicated character - but I haven't really decided about Eönwë yet. He seems to be something of a prig, IMO. Sauron quite honorably marrying a woman and having a daughter with her he sees as deeply unsuitable, but considers his own large flock of eagle chicklets to be perfectly all right. Oh all right - Eönwë is going to have to work for it to get on my good side again! ;-) It seems that both Bilbo and Sauron could give stones lessons in stubbornness. I think they deserve each other!

AleiTheLeaf · 29 April 2012 · Chapter 9: Revelation and Reaction

I would just like you to know that I am eagerly anticipating more of this story. I love the connections both of you make and the way you flesh out your characters. Yours, ~AleitheLeaf ^^

Aiwen · 10 March 2012 · Chapter 9: Revelation and Reaction

I like the idea of a petty-dwarf ancestor. The petty dwarves were treated so badly by everyone else, and I'd like to think that something of them survived.

Spiced Wine · 23 February 2012 · Chapter 9: Revelation and Reaction

Hi Pandë and Dreamflower, I thought I would pop on here to leave you a review. I don't read on this site, (save for one long abandoned story) but seeing your 'verse posted, had to come and review. This is such an unlikely correspondence on first thinking about it, but it has become so fascinating. Of course you know how much I admire your 'verse, your Sauron and Mélamiré, who is a remarkable and vivid character, alone she could make people eat the obnoxious remarks about OFC's within the Tolkien fandom. Little wonder Bilbo was stunned on hearing that she had met Sauron's daughter. Bilbo is a wonderful character in this too, most endearing, but not at all 'twee.' It seems strange that I've never read a story written by a dyed-in-the-wool Valar apologist where the Aratar have a tenth of the sheer personality and charisma of your Sauron. Your exploration of his character throughout your 'verse has made him far more fascinating than all the Valar put together, although I certainly look forward to an as yet unwritten fic with Aulë. d;-)

pandemonium_213 · 6 February 2012 · Chapter 9: Revelation and Reaction

Thanks so much, Sunny, Lynda, and Bonnie for the reviews and comments! Very much appreciated. Dreamflower captures Bilbo's voice and personality so well throughout the epistolary, and his reaction is spot-on here in Chapter 9. I love the fact that Bilbo often turns to food when discomfited. Seems very hobbity to me! I thoroughly enjoy having a look at how Dreamflower sees Frodo and Bilbo's life in Aman, which remains truly hobbitish. As Dreamflower says, our respective visions of Aman vary a bit in our respective 'verses. I had never given much thought to Aman until I wrote "Flame of the Desert" and "A Rose By Any Other Name" in response to challenges. I've had great fun visiting Aman, and hope to continue. I'd like to think that kind Master Elrond and Celebrían shelter Frodo and Bilbo from the weirder aspects of the Blessed Lands. ;^) @Sunny, thanks so much for the kind words on the Pande!verse. Really glad you have enjoyed my stuff. Before I started writing fan fic, I was a contributor to a science blog (this was in addition to my work-related writing at that time, which focused on peer-reviewed articles and my parts of patent applications, very dry stuff). I tried to convey complex, abstract scientific concepts as metaphor to make these more accessible to the layman. I try to do the same in my fan fic, that is, try to make the science "poetic" and a bit veiled. I'm not always successful at that, but I try! :^D Hmmmm. Could be an apple with a bite taken out of it (who knows, maybe the late Steve Jobs of the Pande!verse harbored the same "eldritch alleles" that Oppenheimer and Watson did). Could be an Eye. ;^) @Lynda. You're exactly right on the trust issues. I gather you've read Light Over the Mountain. Hope to add some more to that this year. Both "Chosen" and "Ulmo's WIfe" tie into "Light Over..." When I read the bit in Parma Eldalmaberon 17 in which Tolkien noted that "Mairon" was Sauron's "original" name, I was a bit puzzled. "Mairon" is Quenya, not Valarin. So I figured his *original* name was buried. I'm hoping Mairëa will make an appearance, too. From what I know of her, she strikes me as a magnanimous sort of person and is circumspect about passing judgment on others. As for Sauron's cruising the 'Net (heh), I suspect Aulë's firewalls are second to none. :^D @Larner. Yep, I'd say there is a stark contrast to how you and I see the Ainur, and I'm well aware that mine is unconventional. In the Pande!verse, the Ainur (both Valar and Maiar) are not "divine, angelic" beings that were sung into existence by a Supreme Being (Tolkien's Valar and Maiar are *far* too fallible for me to buy into them as "divine"), but thanks to their considerable powers and talents, they appear to be so to the Eruhini. In the Pande!verse, both the Valar and Maiar have physical, organic origins, albeit quite remote in their past, much more remote for the Valar of Arda than for the Maiar. It's a more deistic 'verse, too. The Valar of the Pande!verse claim the ability to commune directly with The One, but for all others, Eru Iluvatar is an Article of Faith, not one of proof or evidence. On Melamire's rejection of using power as her father did...when I realized I needed to conceive of an original character to account for the eldritch alleles that Oppenheimer and Watson of "Trinity" claim, I did a bit of research. First, I decided to go for an OFC rather than an OMC as a means to challenge the conventional wisdom that I saw so often a few years back that "OFCs in Tolkien are badly developed characters written by young writers, and they are all Mary Sues." Well, OK then. That was throwing down the gauntlet as far as I was (and am) concerned. For grins, I did a search for "daughter of Sauron." Quite a controversial topic, which was another reason I decided to take it on. Heh. I won't belabor what I found, but one in particular amused me to no end: basically a queen of darkness who follows in her father's footsteps. Right. The individual who came up with the scenario likely was (is) not a parent. In RL, our kids may look like us, and they may have some strong elements of our personalities, but by golly, they are their very own selves. And they do not always do what we think they should. :^) Sometimes a kid follows in a parent's footsteps. Other times, they surely do not. So there's actually something very prosaic going on between Mel and both her parents, esp. her controlling papa, that we, both as kids (once) ourselves and as parents might recognize. But I'll eventually get to that. :^) Again, thanks all, for having a read, for the kind words, and for tolerating my interminable yammering! :^D

Larner · 1 February 2012 · Chapter 9: Revelation and Reaction

We tend to see the Maiar rather differently, Pande, or so I find. But I do appreciate seeing a more--human--side to Sauron, and as you note it makes the evil he did that much the worse in the end. And I rejoice his daughter has rejected the kind of power he took to himself. I do love Bilbo's response to the letter, and appreciate his decision not to twist the knife further by commenting on Faramir's reaction to the Ring. The idea that the Stoors might have had the blood of the lesser Dwarves is interesting, although as the Harfoots are said to have often lived in a symbiotic relationship with Dwarf colonies I personally would think to find that branch of the family with Dwarf blood rather than the Stoors. Tolkien indicated that the Stoors were the ones most likely to show a tendency toward facial hair and that they wove nets and such, that they tended to be the most muscular and strongest of the Hobbit lines; I'd always imagined them to most likely develop relationships with Men, and to watch and imitate Men's crafts more than the Harfoots or Fallohides did. Anyway, love the descriptions written herein, and look forward to seeing the tale continued as the two of you can get to it. Meanwhile, my Panda and Brendi are looking to Dance with Underwear rather than wolves, and I must go rescue laundry from two small pomeranians.

Larner · 1 February 2012 · Chapter 8: Distant Kindred

Nice to think that Sauron wishes to please Frodo and Bilbo, and is willing to enlist others to create a golf course and clubs for our two Ringbearer Hobbits. And perhaps I might find that backstory for the pepper pot! Heh! Now, setting plotbunnies loose on others like that isn't necessarily nice!

6336 · 31 January 2012 · Chapter 9: Revelation and Reaction

Hi, sorry I haven't reviewed in a while, but, I have been reading. This is turning into a very entertaining story, very thought provoking. I do have a thought on why Sauron will not give his own name to any body, the only one who knows is his sister and she ain't telling! If all you have and are is stripped away and all you have left is your name, as young as he and his sister were at the time of their parents death, it makes sense that he would not give it up, he wasn't even sure if these strange beings who had 'rescued' him were not going to turn on him and distroy him the way his parents were. I do like the use of e-readers and now Aule has upgraded both he and Olorin to tablets with all that implies, I do hope Aule has some good security measures in place on Saurons or he will be off surfing the web, or as much of a web as the Valar have in place! I do hope Sauron is able to have a visit from his sister, it would be an interesting scene to watch and listen to, I wonder just what his sister will say to himm knowing what he has done! The interludes with Bilbo are interesting in the contrasts with Saurons life and how normal Bilbo's is even in Aman, it is very like the way he lived when he was still in Middle Earth. His responses to Saurons questions are very insiteful(sp?). Well off to find breakfast and get ready for work, Huggs, Lynda

Sunny · 31 January 2012 · Chapter 9: Revelation and Reaction

I really like this story. Actually, I really like the Pandëverse stories in general, and this interpretation of Sauron. He is such an _interesting_ character! Not a comfortable or entirely pleasant one, but definitely fascinating, and with a charm that is quite his own. The Pandëvere stories are definitely well written, and given that the setting isn't quite the standard medieval milieu (imagine that - adding _science_ and _technological thinking_ to Tolkien's Middle earth!) the "modern" elements are grafted onto the world with great skill. Which make the stories well worth reading. I wonder a bit about Sauron's tablet - is there by any chance a small picture of an apple with a bit bitten off on the backside? In any case, I rather enjoy seeing Sauron reading e-books - I really like e-books myself! ;-)

Larner · 31 January 2012 · Chapter 6: Of Marbles and Golf

Aha! You managed to make this a recipe fic, Dreamflower! Heh! Bilbo is so much a Hobbit ever, and who would have ever imagined him sharing recipes with someone like Sauron? And they are sharing so much more of their former lives now. The description of his willingness to destroy those he'd known as children is indeed chilling, and I appreciate just how disturbing Bilbo would find this.

Larner · 31 January 2012 · Chapter 5: The Years of the Trees/Riddles in the Dark

An interesting interchange, and particularly the idea that Sauron had a true sister. And love the idea that Pippin was the spitting image of the Old Took!