Reviews (336)

Author's reply

Our internet went out as I was writing a reply to you. So apologies for the delay! Thanks so much for reading and pausing long enough to share your thoughts. I really appreciate it. (The rest of this review reply is geeking out about various things... Don't mind me; I'm taking a short break from writing an angsty scene, and contemplating details stemming from or related to Tolkien's sandbox is always diverting.) Interestingly, Butterbur reports only one attack on the town of Bree. (As opposed to multiple assaults on Lothlorien and Thranduil's realm.) But he also mentions robbers hiding in the forest north of Archet, so there is that. Bill's arduous journeys would have honed his muscles; he's also encountered a little wizard magic along the way. So hopefully he hasn't strayed into the territory of "too good to be true" in this chapter. The basis for this part of Bill's story draws from the event that inspired the Iditarod race, along with Pony Express ponies ("small, fast and tough horses" that were "typically smaller than standard cavalry horses", according to the results of a recent web search). They typically galloped over stretches of 9 or 10 miles (according to what I read two decades ago while working out the idea of Merry and Pippin's "Pony Post" – the results I found just now are a little different, saying that riders switched to a fresh horse every 10-15 miles). According to an article from National Geographic, they travelled at speeds between 16 and 40 km/hour (between 10 and 25mph), sustaining the lower speed most of the time but capable of short bursts at the higher speed to escape a threat. Apparently (again, according to several web searches over the years) ponies can travel at similar speeds to many horse breeds, so I'm assuming that Bill's gallop ranges from 10 to 15 or 20mph. The sources I found when trying to determine the distance between Bree and Archet ranged from 3 to 5 miles, meaning Bill would have been able to make the trip in less than an hour, even as little as half an hour. I hope you don't mind my geeking out over the topic. (I have a recurring worry that I've strayed into the territory of being boring.) Horses have fascinated me since my earliest days, and it's always a pleasure to be able to bring them into my current topic of interest – or maybe "absorption" is the better term (mostly YA and middle-grade fiction, along with two decades of taking tea with hobbits).

Author's reply

Looks like your crystal ball is on to something. Thanks! (Slán go fóill!)

Author's reply

"Come listen my children, and I will tell of the dashing ride of Bert and Bill...!" I hadn't thought of that, but in hindsight, making a song out of the incident sounds very likely! Thanks for the food for thought. (I can never seem to get my fill of thinking about hobbits...) (And you're right, it is a tragedy. Sigh.)

Author's reply

Next chapter coming soon! (Tomorrow, I hope, though I usually take Sunday as a rest day for my eyes and leave the laptop closed. Still, I don't want to leave Bill galloping for too long, gallant pony that he is...) Thanks for staying with me!

Author's reply

Thank you so much. I'm sure a lot of it comes from reading oodles of horse and dog books in my youth, written to show the animals' viewpoints as much as the humans'. Maybe I should tackle a story about cats next, considering that their behavior features in my daily entertainment these days. But then, Warrior Cats has probably already got that idea covered, from what I remember of the Wee Hobbits' discussion of some of their favorite book series over the years. (((hugs))) to you, my friend. I'm glad to hear from you.

Author's reply

It's probably a reflection of the constraints affecting the townsfolk; even the smallest details of daily life become magnified when you're "stuck" in a situation and can't see any light at the end of the tunnel, only the same day-in-day-out activities. In fact, they might even count the sameness of their mundane condition as a blessing, considering how much worse things could be (and might still become). Thus, Bill as a minor celebrity becomes a welcome distraction, both from humdrum circumstances and worries about what disaster might be looming just out of sight. Interestingly, the Professor wrote about multiple assaults on Lórien, "long battle under the trees and great ruin of fire" in Thranduil's realm, and an assault on Dale and the Lonely Mountain being besieged before the passing of Sauron and lifting of the Shadow. However, Bree's fate is not included in that passage in the Tale of Years. Along the same lines, Butterbur only mentions the one attack early in the year, and that the Bree-folk had to keep watchers all around the fence and guard the town's Gates at night. Was Bree overlooked in the grand scheme of things, I wonder? Thank you for your lovely review! Thinking about a conspiracy to spoil-while-not-spoiling Bill made me smile.

Author's reply

We call that "cooped up" feeling "trail happy" around here. I'm sure the Breelanders have all kinds of explanations as to the Rangers' absence, though I doubt any of them would be able to guess at the real reason for their departure. It's satisfying to think of Bill living in the lap of luxury (so to speak) and recovering from his arduous journeys. Proper rest, good food, pleasant companionship... all of those go a long way. Hopefully his mum raised him to be sensible and appreciative without becoming spoiled (LOL!). It probably helps that he only gets one treat per excursion. Thus, he can expect a daily treat and yet not be looking around for more (or demanding more or expecting more). Thanks!

Author's reply

I've often wondered about that same topic. How likely would it be for Sam to travel to Bree, for that matter, much less Rivendell? Tolkien never mentioned any such trip before Frodo sailed West. In a rare AU (rare for me, I mean), I wrote about Frodo and Sam riding to Rivendell together – and Sam would have been riding Bill at that time – but in that story, Frodo did not sail West. Do you have any fanfics to recommend where Sam goes to Rivendell? (Bill certainly wouldn't go there without him, I should think.) Back to Sam. Would he go to Rivendell, or maybe as far as Bree, in his capacity as Mayor of the Shire? Bill would still be young enough to make such a journey during Sam's first (or maybe second) term as Mayor. I have trouble imagining that hobbit casually traveling such a distance, for some reason that's not quite clear in my mind at the moment. He just seems like a homebody to me (which is probably why I explained to myself his reasons for going to Gondor in S.R. 1442 as having to do with a desperate quest to find healing for gravely-ill Pippin). By the time he and Rose and Elanor travel to Gondor, 21 years after Frodo sailed, Bill would probably be fairly old for a pony, even if he was relatively young at the time of the Quest. And even in the Gamgees' journey to Gondor, in my imagination, their guardsmen escort took them south along the Greenway and did not go through Rivendell. Maybe I'm avoiding thinking about Rivendell after Elrond has departed; that seems the most likely explanation. Bree seems a little more likely destination for a return visit from Bill. In most of my Fourth Age stories, when one or more of the Travellers go to Rohan or Gondor, they take the Greenway south from Bree and don't go through Rivendell. In a couple of my Fourth Age stories, Faramir Took and a Tookish cousin (Ferdi in one story, Everard in another) stop off in Rivendell on their way to somewhere else. I can almost envision Sam riding to Rivendell with Pippin and/or Merry, but there would have to be a compelling reason for him to go that far from hearth and home, I think. Still, the scope for the imagination in Tolkien's world is wide. Sorry, I'm rambling. I've had rather more chocolate today than is good for me. But it was good while it lasted.

Author's reply

I'm glad. I am missing Bill's companions almost as much as he is, I think, which is probably why the young son of a gardener living in Bree popped into my head and joined the Bill-the-Pony Admiration Society. (Poppet Fan Club?) Thanks!

Author's reply

Sweet interludes are very necessary, I find. Angst can be exhausting, even though it adds spice to a story and keeps it from being bland. (There is also the fact that too much sweetness can lead to toothaches! ...don't mind me, I'm in an odd mood today. I think I'll spend at least part of the afternoon sitting in the sun, listening to birdsong, and letting the world go by.) Thank you for your encouraging reviews. May you enjoy sprinkles of sweetness in the coming days – without toothache, of course.

Author's reply

Bill has definitely earned a rest. The story has a few ups and downs in coming chapters, of course, if only to keep people from falling asleep while reading. I am so looking forward to Bill's reunion with his hobbits! Thanks!

Author's reply

Thank you! It must come from all the wonderful stories my mom read to me as a small child, along with all the reading-aloud I did with the wee hobbits over the years. We all still love to listen to stories; thank goodness for audiobooks!

Author's reply

It feels as if they ought to be back soon, but in reality, they didn't leave Gondor until a few weeks after the royal wedding. Even then, they didn't seem to be in a great hurry as they traveled homewards, stopping off in Rohan, for example, and Isengard, and Rivendell, and other places. They passed Saruman on the road, and even though they were mounted and the wizard was on foot, Saruman still managed to beat them to the Shire, and he had time to do quite a bit of damage before they finally arrived. In fact, they were still traveling when Frodo suffered his first "anniversary" illness on October 6. Yes, Bill has a while to wait, but oh! ...the joyful reunion that is to come. It almost makes me want to skip over all the chapters in-between, except they're already written out in draft form, so I might as well polish and post them. Thank you for coming along on Bill's journey!

Author's reply

Your feeling would be accurate. Bill has a big heart. At the moment, the idea is to give Bob quiet, not-physically-demanding, gainful employment that keeps him busy enough so that he won't sneak off to the stables to pitch hay or clean stalls or do any of the other heavy labor involved in keeping equines. At least long enough that his body has a chance to heal from his near-fatal injury. Hopefully he won't make himself indispensable as Barliman's record-keeper... Even if he did, I suspect he'd find a way to work both jobs. Thanks!

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Though the animals of my acquaintance have typically displayed both a capacity for memory and astonishing powers of imagination, it has always seemed to me that, for the most part, they live(d) in the moment. It has been interesting to contemplate the ins and outs of running The Prancing Pony within the framework Tolkien established. I was also influenced by the detailed historical records I've seen (or read about) that have been so helpful to historians trying to put together a picture of how people lived in past times. Somehow, the idea of being able to read such notes and lists as penned by a hobbit of Bree sounds delightful and intriguing to me! Thanks!

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I have long been fascinated by the way that different POVs affect the telling of a story. It has been both absorbing and diverting to try and imagine the Quest through the eyes of a pony! Thanks so much for coming along for the ride. (((hugs)))

Author's reply

Good job! What a marathon! I cannot thank you enough for the lovely reviews; they are so heartening. It was good to see you the other day, and I'm glad to see your new story. I'm looking forward to reading it, probably tomorrow, when I can savor it at my leisure. (I've been subject to interruptions today.) Poor Bob. Hobbits tend to heal at an astonishing rate, or so it seems, and yet they can also suffer from lingering injury, as Frodo revealed. Still, here's hoping for slow but steady progress over the months to come. Perhaps he'll be fully restored now that the King has come back?

Author's reply

I love celebrations! That's probably why I find hobbits such good company. They know how to enjoy and celebrate life with food and drink, laughter, dancing, singing, storytelling, and more... I'm glad it makes sense that Barliman Butterbur is a pillar of the community. Come to think of it, Gandalf had high praise for him (something about being able to think his way through a brick wall in time, if I remember right?) and trusted him with that letter to Frodo, even though he was unfortunately belated in delivering it.

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I couldn't stand the thought of Bill being lonely as he waited for his Sam to return. Violet's friendship gives him someone to love and care for rather than "putting his life on hold" (there's probably a more hobbity idiom than that, considering that hobbits didn't have telephones, but I can't think of any at the moment).

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Thinking of the dog and his new life makes me smile. Ham will take excellent care of him, and they are already becoming inseparable. It's interesting to contemplate Bree with the bad elements gone – run out of town, as you said. The Breeland was already unusual in that Hobbits and Men live in harmony there. Now that the less savory characters have been winnowed out, it might be a nice place to live, though undersize at the moment, and somewhat parochial in nature (remembering Butterbur's reaction to being told that the King had come back).

Author's reply

I debated with myself as to whether the Voices would return with Gandalf. I'm still wondering if Bill retains the Voices after Gandalf sails to the West? I haven't quite worked that out yet. Since Tolkien never said anything more, and I'm holding the reins, I'm all for Bob having a happy outcome despite his frustratingly slow recovery. (As may appear in an Epilogue to the story, though that particular draft chapter does not exist yet. One reviewer suggested that Sam might visit Bree in later years, which would allow Bill to be reunited with "his" hobbits there, and I found the idea intriguing. Here's hoping...)

Author's reply

You know how much I hate character deaths. In this case, I didn't have much choice in the matter but had to work within the Professor's constraints: five townsfolk dead, "good fellows all", and all of them still missed almost a year after the battle. Sigh. And of course Barliman's too modest to mention his own part in the battle to the returning Travellers. Bless the man. Or, as you say, bless them all.

Author's reply

Bill has been honed and sharpened by fire and fury, wolves and Black Riders, not to mention the influence of Elves and Rangers and Wizards and Hobbits and a Dwarf! I don't think Ferny had a clue as to what he was letting himself in for. His comeuppance was a pleasure to describe.

Author's reply

Well, Tolkien never said Bob had a wife and child, but then he never said Bob didn't have them, either. All he said was "his folks" – who could mean anyone! Bob might even be unmarried and still living with his parents, for all anyone knows. ...but Bill badly needed a friend to keep him occupied and diverted during those long months of waiting for Sam. So the best solution seemed to be a wife and a winsome child who's as horse-crazy as he is, so to speak. (But I'm beginning to ramble and need to seek out some protein, I suspect. I will happily resume my immersion in Middle-earth tomorrow, including replying to your generous reviews. Of course, you already know how much I Iove to discuss and contemplate all details of Tolkien's creation! Blessings to you and yours.)