2005 Author Reviews for
Ijemanja

Ijemanja seems to have an affinity for the elemental characters of Middle-earth. Her Goldberry and Shelob are incredible?simple, relentlessly themselves, present, and eerie with the sense that these are powers whose purposes cannot be fully discerned. Yet the fics never feel unfinished, either. Ijemanja knows how to build tension, how to bring about a catharsis that isn't yet a happily ever after, but a sort of purging relief, which I definitely appreciate. She may not lift your spirits with her writing, but Ijemanja's work will leave you with the impression of having encountered some of the wilder spirits of Middle-earth.

Ijemanja takes a very novel approach to the question of what Eowyn would have encouraged her daughters to do. Usually, authors make them shield maidens just as Eowyn was, but in the space of one short drabble, Ijemanja declares that such action would have been cruel on Eowyn's part and explains the reasoning behind it. And this particular reasoning is clearer and more logical than anything I've seen in extended works about Eowyn's children. But perhaps most remarkable of all is the fact that Ijemanja packs the reasoning into one, short sentence: "I will not be so cruel as to bring her up to a life she can never lead." That sentence references Eowyn's childhood, her struggle with Wormtongue her frustration with her uncle and her brothers, her assumption of the name Dernhelm, her falll, and even her change of heart when she realizes she loves Faramir. There's a note of bittersweetness in it but also acceptance, and it's the perfect line to cap the drabble off and bring it to a very thoughtful conclusion. Excellent work on the part of Ijemanja. I'm still amazed at the power that was crammed into a single sentence.

Ijemanja seems to have an affinity for the elemental characters of Middle-earth. Her Goldberry and Shelob are incredible?simple, relentlessly themselves, present, and eerie with the sense that these are powers whose purposes cannot be fully discerned. Yet the fics never feel unfinished, either. Ijemanja knows how to build tension, how to bring about a catharsis that isn't yet a happily ever after, but a sort of purging relief, which I definitely appreciate. She may not lift your spirits with her writing, but Ijemanja's work will leave you with the impression of having encountered some of the wilder spirits of Middle-earth.