2006 Author Reviews for
Elena Tiriel

Elena Tiriel Elena Tiriel is one of the finest drabblists writing in the Tolkien fandom, and my main regret about her work is that she\'s not more prolific. She always demonstrates great facility with her choice of words, searching for and selecting the perfect expression, while her drabbles may be considered prose poems, thanks to her musical ear, her understanding of the importance of structure in even such short pieces, never failing to deliver a powerful punchline, and her appreciation of the value and impact of what is left unsaid as well as what is made explicit. In her series of drabbles about Isildur, she shows her delight in obscure corners of canon, in making connections between different areas of Tolkien\'s work, and in intelligent and convincng extrapolation from a throwaway sentence or two tucked away in one of the texts.. The series also includes two drabbles which show her particular gift for writing from the perspective of Dark characters, making them all the more frightening by making them unnervingly accessible. Elena Tiriel\'s work is always powerful and beautufully expressed. I just wish we saw more of it!

I think Elena Tiriel is one of the best drabblists in the fandom. She certainly knows the canon well enough to include details just as Tolkien wrote them. She also has an ability to get a lot of details in a very few words, without it feeling rushed. Equally important, it never feels like a single word is there as a \"filler\" -- hitting exactly one hundred words can be a real skill, and Elena Tiriel makes every word worthwhile, just like it seems like every necessary skill is there. But what I probably love most about her drabbles is the way they are self-contained scenes, imaginatively chosen to hint at the larger story. This is a style of plotting that is not always easy. By choosing small enough moments the drabbles can be very effective, but they are also large enough to feel like she\'s said something of note. I always like her drabbles and appreciate the amount of work she has obviously put into them.

Elena Tiriel is one of the finest drabblists writing in the Tolkien fandom, and my main regret about her work is that she\'s not more prolific. She always demonstrates great facility with her choice of words, searching for and selecting the perfect expression, while her drabbles may be considered prose poems, thanks to her musical ear, her understanding of the importance of structure in even such short pieces, never failing to deliver a powerful punchline, and her appreciation of the value and impact of what is left unsaid as well as what is made explicit. She has a particular gift for writing from the perspective of Dark characters, making them all the more frightening by making them unnervingly accessible. In these two drabbles, she shows her delight in obscure corners of canon, in making connections between different areas of Tolkien\'s work, and in intelligent and convincng extrapolation from a throwaway sentence or two tucked away in one of the texts. Elena Tiriel\'s work is always powerful and beautufully expressed. I just wish we saw more of it!

I think Elena Tiriel is one of the best drabblists in the fandom. She certainly knows the canon well enough to include details just as Tolkien wrote them. She also has an ability to get a lot of details in a very few words, without it feeling rushed. Equally important, it never feels like a single word is there as a \"filler\" -- hitting exactly one hundred words can be a real skill, and Elena Tiriel makes every word worthwhile, just like it seems like every necessary skill is there. But what I probably love most about her drabbles is the way they are self-contained scenes, imaginatively chosen to hint at the larger story. This is a style of plotting that is not always easy. By choosing small enough moments the drabbles can be very effective, but they are also large enough to feel like she\'s said something of note. I always like her drabbles and appreciate the amount of work she has obviously put into them.

Elena Tiriel is one of the finest drabblists writing in the Tolkien fandom, and my main regret about her work is that she\'s not more prolific. She always demonstrates great facility with her choice of words, searching for and selecting the perfect expression, while her drabbles may be considered prose poems, thanks to her musical ear, her understanding of the importance of structure in even such short pieces, never failing to deliver a powerful punchline, and her appreciation of the value and impact of what is left unsaid as well as what is made explicit. She has a particular gift for writing from the perspective of Dark characters, making them all the more frightening by making them unnervingly accessible. In this drabble, she shows her delight in obscure corners of canon, in making connections between different areas of Tolkien\'s work, and in intelligent and convincng extrapolation from a throwaway sentence or two tucked away in one of the texts. Elena Tiriel\'s work is always powerful and beautufully expressed. I just wish we saw more of it!

I think Elena Tiriel is one of the best drabblists in the fandom. She certainly knows the canon well enough to include details just as Tolkien wrote them. She also has an ability to get a lot of details in a very few words, without it feeling rushed. Equally important, it never feels like a single word is there as a \"filler\" -- hitting exactly one hundred words can be a real skill, and Elena Tiriel makes every word worthwhile, just like it seems like every necessary skill is there. But what I probably love most about her drabbles is the way they are self-contained scenes, imaginatively chosen to hint at the larger story. This is a style of plotting that is not always easy. By choosing small enough moments the drabbles can be very effective, but they are also large enough to feel like she\'s said something of note. I always like her drabbles and appreciate the amount of work she has obviously put into them.