2005 Author Reviews for
Bejai

Bejai's writing is difficult to describe. Part of the problem is that I'm always so blown away by it that I'm rendered speechless, but another reason might be the fact that Bejai manages to touch on nameless things. Things that we can't really understand or feel because they don't belong to our world. Bejai writes elves the way elves ought to be written. They're beyond our grasp, and Bejai keeps them that way but also makes them accessible enough that we as readers realize just how different they are. It's a fantastic balance blended with brilliant metaphor and events, and I would dearly love to know how Bejai pulls it off. Simply put, it's poetry, but it's poetry on an ageless, timeless scale that brushes eternity and gives us a glimpse of what it means to be elven.

Where do I start on Bejai? Well, to begin with she deserves credit for helping me get through my fear of Silmarillion-centric stories. Before her, anything before the Quest for Erebor, certainly those part involving Elves, was a mystery to me. Now I've become something of a Celeborn fangirl, and I think she deserves at least as much credit for this as does Marnie -- and Tolkien ;-). What's really great about Bejai is the way she writes elves in a way that makes them seem very elven. I love them, but I don't feel like they're as accessible as I would imagine humans to be -- yet they're not also so inaccessible I can't relate to them at all. It's a balancing act that comes off very well. Beyond that, her situations are always original and believable, her writing superb, her characterisations fresh, her themes poignant and well-developed... honestly, there's not much that's not to love about this author. Whenever I see a new story by her, that's always a Good Thing.

Where do I start on Bejai? Well, to begin with she deserves credit for helping me get through my fear of Silmarillion-centric stories. Before her, anything before the Quest for Erebor, certainly those part involving Elves, was a mystery to me. Now I've become something of a Celeborn fangirl, and I think she deserves at least as much credit for this as does Marnie -- and Tolkien ;-). What's really great about Bejai is the way she writes elves in a way that makes them seem very elven. I love them, but I don't feel like they're as accessible as I would imagine humans to be -- yet they're not also so inaccessible I can't relate to them at all. It's a balancing act that comes off very well. Beyond that, her situations are always original and believable, her writing superb, her characterisations fresh, her themes poignant and well-developed... honestly, there's not much that's not to love about this author. Whenever I see a new story by her, that's always a Good Thing.

Where do I start on Bejai? Well, to begin with she deserves credit for helping me get through my fear of Silmarillion-centric stories. Before her, anything before the Quest for Erebor, certainly those part involving Elves, was a mystery to me. Now I've become something of a Celeborn fangirl, and I think she deserves at least as much credit for this as does Marnie -- and Tolkien ;-). What's really great about Bejai is the way she writes elves in a way that makes them seem very elven. I love them, but I don't feel like they're as accessible as I would imagine humans to be -- yet they're not also so inaccessible I can't relate to them at all. It's a balancing act that comes off very well. Beyond that, her situations are always original and believable, her writing superb, her characterisations fresh, her themes poignant and well-developed... honestly, there's not much that's not to love about this author. Whenever I see a new story by her, that's always a Good Thing.

There are several things that make Bejai brilliant as an author. First: characterization. Bejai's characters are the characters seen in canon, only enhanced and broadened. And those characters portrayed younger than what was seen in the Silm or LotR have the seeds of the elves they will later become. In action, word, and deed, these are Tolkien's elves. Second: Bejai takes multiple threads running through canon and ties them so tightly together that a reader is left wondering why this wasn't seen before. The story "Sapphire Aurae" is particularly good at that. Third: Bejai enhances and explains a lot of areas that Tolkien left vague, such as the Rings or the feelings of the Teleri who stayed in Middle-earth. And last: Bejai takes all of this work from the first three, boils it down, and pushes it into the characters until it becomes their conflict. Everything is handled on a very personal level. The big events are never forgotten, but they're seen from the eyes of those struggling to deal with them. It's a powerful and difficult way of portraying large events, and Bejai pulls it off in both "Marred Stars" and "Sapphire Aurae." Fantastic writing.

Where do I start on Bejai? Well, to begin with she deserves credit for helping me get through my fear of Silmarillion-centric stories. Before her, anything before the Quest for Erebor, certainly those part involving Elves, was a mystery to me. Now I've become something of a Celeborn fangirl, and I think she deserves at least as much credit for this as does Marnie -- and Tolkien ;-). What's really great about Bejai is the way she writes elves in a way that makes them seem very elven. I love them, but I don't feel like they're as accessible as I would imagine humans to be -- yet they're not also so inaccessible I can't relate to them at all. It's a balancing act that comes off very well. Beyond that, her situations are always original and believable, her writing superb, her characterisations fresh, her themes poignant and well-developed... honestly, there's not much that's not to love about this author. Whenever I see a new story by her, that's always a Good Thing.