2005 Author Reviews for
EdorasLass

EdorasLass offered, in my opinion, was one of the few stories to really catch the spirit and vision of what an AU can be. AUs can be light-hearted and entertaining, certainly, but the AUs that stay with a reader are those that look at the turning points when fate teetered from one side to another and push the plot in another direction. Galadriel's temptation was definitely one such turning point, and giving the Ring to her would have changed everything. It's a highly ambitious idea, and EdorasLass pulls it off brilliantly. She keeps it focused, moving from one character to the next, and some of her most profound moments are the shortest. Legolas's section, in particular, jolted me. Fantastic writing, great pacing, and a wonderful example of how to do a stunning AU. Thank you, EdorasLass.

One of the difficult things about writing an AU is trying to find the right starting place. You can't just decree that X shall no longer be the case, and Y shall; arbitrariness is the bane of a good AU because that just unmoors it from its necessary roots in the story as it is given. EdorasLass finds the right moment where the story could have gone otherwise and exploits it; she finds the proper moment and crafts an alternate persona for each affected Fellowship member (among others) that is plausible given their different personalities and desires and weaknesses that responds to the altered situation she's put them in. In so doing, she gives a lesson (in a brief vignette) about how to write a good AU. Keep up the fine work, EdorasLass!