2005 Author Reviews for
Kielle

What's wonderful about Kielle's work is her willingness to get downright vicious with the canon when it's warranted. There are authors who like to shock, and I'm not automatically against that, but Kielle knows how to make that sense of shock stick and how to give it a thoughtful dimension that you can't just ignore. Whether it's metafic or her unerring ability to find the particular point of view that forces you to reconsider what you thought you knew, Kielle goes straight for the jugular. Sometimes she leaves you laughing, other times she leaves you chilled, and sometimes she speaks to that frustrated reader in you who was just dying to see point X made painfully clear. She's not afraid to tackle subject matter that is, to say the least, unstable and hard to handle?the metaphysical and moral implications of elven reproduction in all its gendered ugliness hidden behind a fair exterior, for example, or fandom clich?s or the precise nature of Galadriel's penance and guilt. She'll exploit the innocent for the sake of the perverse if it opens a new view of a particular canonical scene and she'll do it with style. One may not always find Kielle's work appealing for its conclusions, but it's worth the read every time.

The first time I read Kielle?s work was when I got assigned to her as her liaison. Telling myself just to take a glance, I found myself reading her nominated stories and enjoying them a lot. I promised myself I would review them later on. When I read them for a second time, I was yet again amazed on how Kielle takes just a simple canon statement, or maybe one extra and spins a great story from it in a very enjoyable and engaging style. No matter which time period, age of the character, race, or topic: with so much enthusiasm and love for writing, she simply went for it. Kielle lets the characters talk to the readers through her words. Th?oden was special to her, but so was Nerdanel or Isildur or Denethor or? you hopefully get the idea. Almost every story included a lovely author note, which gave the reader a small glimpse on how much joy writing gave her and that now will be a great joy for every reader. A gem of a writer.

What's wonderful about Kielle's work is her willingness to get downright vicious with the canon when it's warranted. There are authors who like to shock, and I'm not automatically against that, but Kielle knows how to make that sense of shock stick and how to give it a thoughtful dimension that you can't just ignore. Whether it's metafic or her unerring ability to find the particular point of view that forces you to reconsider what you thought you knew, Kielle goes straight for the jugular. Sometimes she leaves you laughing, other times she leaves you chilled, and sometimes she speaks to that frustrated reader in you who was just dying to see point X made painfully clear. She's not afraid to tackle subject matter that is, to say the least, unstable and hard to handle?the metaphysical and moral implications of elven reproduction in all its gendered ugliness hidden behind a fair exterior, for example, or fandom clich?s or the precise nature of Galadriel's penance and guilt. She'll exploit the innocent for the sake of the perverse if it opens a new view of a particular canonical scene and she'll do it with style. One may not always find Kielle's work appealing for its conclusions, but it's worth the read every time.

Kielle's gift was that of presenting the familiar in fresh and even unexpected ways. Nothing she wrote was ever "just like" anyone else's work. No story she penned echoed another writer. No idea or premise was ever borrowed from another fic writer, and often she delved beyond what Tolkien gave us to the sinew and bone beneath. In "Seven for a Secret" she touches us with the bitter chill of regret; in "Wreath of Steel and Silver" she draws us close to Galadriel's silent guilt and slides the blade of horror between our ribs as we watch. In "Blood and Warm Blankets" the tone drastically changes, to the absurd, the merrily tongue-in-cheek, to gleeful mocking that invites even those it aims at to join in and laugh 'til our ribs hurt. "Weregild" haunts us. "Green Seas" charms us even as it saddens us. "For Another Time Should Be" chills us to the bone. "Rekindled" brings us in from the cold ash of defeat to the simplest victory of all: coming home. "Grey and Pale Gold" wrenches the heart and touches the spirit with its artful blend of grief and hope. Kielle was a master of the comedic and the tragic, and nor did drama escape her deft touch, as we see in "Singing in the Sun" and "Chasing The Moon." The latter two were her marvelous Eomer-and-Boromir AU fics, which were the stories that first drew me to her writings. As a fellow writer and affecianado of all things Rohirrim, she leant special grace to all her stories of Rohan, artful in capturing both the grimness of affairs in Rohan and the undaunted fire of the Rohirrim spirit. Rare I find it indeed, that a writer so good at angst and tragedy is just as much at home with laughter, and just as good with swords and spears. I salute her now as a treasure of the LOTR fandom, one who should have got even more recognition for her writings in life, and who now deserves our fondest farewell as she passes beyond the circles of this world. In Mandos Halls she now spins her tales, but we left behind are much bereft. Let us remember her, and the gifts of storytelling she leaves for us, even though the silence echoes in the chambers of our hearts, to be answered nevermore.

The first time I read Kielle?s work was when I got assigned to her as her liaison. Telling myself just to take a glance, I found myself reading her nominated stories and enjoying them a lot. I promised myself I would review them later on. When I read them for a second time, I was yet again amazed on how Kielle takes just a simple canon statement, or maybe one extra and spins a great story from it in a very enjoyable and engaging style. No matter which time period, age of the character, race, or topic: with so much enthusiasm and love for writing, she simply went for it. Kielle lets the characters talk to the readers through her words. Th?oden was special to her, but so was Nerdanel or Isildur or Denethor or? you hopefully get the idea. Almost every story included a lovely author note, which gave the reader a small glimpse on how much joy writing gave her and that now will be a great joy for every reader. A gem of a writer.

What's wonderful about Kielle's work is her willingness to get downright vicious with the canon when it's warranted. There are authors who like to shock, and I'm not automatically against that, but Kielle knows how to make that sense of shock stick and how to give it a thoughtful dimension that you can't just ignore. Whether it's metafic or her unerring ability to find the particular point of view that forces you to reconsider what you thought you knew, Kielle goes straight for the jugular. Sometimes she leaves you laughing, other times she leaves you chilled, and sometimes she speaks to that frustrated reader in you who was just dying to see point X made painfully clear. She's not afraid to tackle subject matter that is, to say the least, unstable and hard to handle?the metaphysical and moral implications of elven reproduction in all its gendered ugliness hidden behind a fair exterior, for example, or fandom clich?s or the precise nature of Galadriel's penance and guilt. She'll exploit the innocent for the sake of the perverse if it opens a new view of a particular canonical scene and she'll do it with style. One may not always find Kielle's work appealing for its conclusions, but it's worth the read every time.

Metafics can be difficult. If done correctly, they're among the most entertaining things out there, but if done incorrectly, they drag, sputter, and screech to a halt. Fortunately, Kielle was in charge of "Blood and Warm Blankets," which meant that the metafic was in good hands. The almost matter-of-fact way that Eomer and Faramir go about discussing various slash scenarios is hilarious, and Kielle makes the most out of the contrasts, playing one characters as the straight man (if you'll pardon the expression) off the other for one discussion and then switching them around for the next. Each character gets moments of shock, and each gets to be the unveiler of strange rumors from afar. Great dialogue, good balance, and excellent timing cap off this work. Many kudos to Kielle for being able to handle something like this.

The first time I read Kielle?s work was when I got assigned to her as her liaison. Telling myself just to take a glance, I found myself reading her nominated stories and enjoying them a lot. I promised myself I would review them later on. When I read them for a second time, I was yet again amazed on how Kielle takes just a simple canon statement, or maybe one extra and spins a great story from it in a very enjoyable and engaging style. No matter which time period, age of the character, race, or topic: with so much enthusiasm and love for writing, she simply went for it. Kielle lets the characters talk to the readers through her words. Th?oden was special to her, but so was Nerdanel or Isildur or Denethor or? you hopefully get the idea. Almost every story included a lovely author note, which gave the reader a small glimpse on how much joy writing gave her and that now will be a great joy for every reader. A gem of a writer.

Kielle's other fanfictional habit is finding the obscure, "historical" characters of Middle-earth and expanding them into personalities, rather than chronological entities. Whether in Gondor or in Rohan, she goes where much of fandom does not, and she has the skill and flare for drama and intrigue to make the "dead" history of Middle-earth come alive. She does an especial service to the underwritten and often simply *un*written women of Middle-earth by finding space for their points of view. But as she deals with aristocracy (the only people who make it into the history books) she wisely doesn't make them too sentimental, taken as a whole. They are emphatically not "nice" people?they're nobility, and they know it, and they are portrayed appropriately. Even in her less "historical" fics, when she takes on Denethor, she holds that line and insists on his fundamental "cussedness", as it were. In that, I think Kielle gets it right where many do not, and I greatly appreciate that in her work.

There were many things Kielle did in these Gondor stories that really impressed me, but perhaps one of the things that impressed me most was Kielle's powers of extrapolation. Tolkien gives a tiny tidbit of history about an obscure king or a mysterious queen, and Kielle is able to create an entire story around, adding in backstory to fill in blanks and treating the characters as though they are familiar, beloved canon favorites. And everything about it feels completely natural, as though this was something we should have seen and know about all the time. I think part of what makes this so believable is the very matter-of-fact way that Kielle handles the story. It leaves very little room for doubt as to whether or not it could have happened this way. Speaking of which, that is the other thing that truly impressed me: reinterpretation. The stories "Refraction" and "Cat's Cradle" were fantastic reinterpretations, and they fit very snugly into canon once Kielle was finished with them. Stories like these put a fresh face on Tolkien fanfiction and give readers new ideas to consider. "Cat's Cradle," in particular, had me thinking of all kinds of Post-Ring War scenarios. Very well written, all of them, and very enjoyable.

The first time I read Kielle?s work was when I got assigned to her as her liaison. Telling myself just to take a glance, I found myself reading her nominated stories and enjoying them a lot. I promised myself I would review them later on. When I read them for a second time, I was yet again amazed on how Kielle takes just a simple canon statement, or maybe one extra and spins a great story from it in a very enjoyable and engaging style. No matter which time period, age of the character, race, or topic: with so much enthusiasm and love for writing, she simply went for it. Kielle lets the characters talk to the readers through her words. Th?oden was special to her, but so was Nerdanel or Isildur or Denethor or? you hopefully get the idea. Almost every story included a lovely author note, which gave the reader a small glimpse on how much joy writing gave her and that now will be a great joy for every reader. A gem of a writer.

Rohan seems to have a particular soft spot for Kielle, who shows her ability to develop characters quickly and with confidence, whether they are children, adults, or adolescents. She's a solid dramatist who knows how to construct a scene and bring out a theme.

The first time I read Kielle?s work was when I got assigned to her as her liaison. Telling myself just to take a glance, I found myself reading her nominated stories and enjoying them a lot. I promised myself I would review them later on. When I read them for a second time, I was yet again amazed on how Kielle takes just a simple canon statement, or maybe one extra and spins a great story from it in a very enjoyable and engaging style. No matter which time period, age of the character, race, or topic: with so much enthusiasm and love for writing, she simply went for it. Kielle lets the characters talk to the readers through her words. Th?oden was special to her, but so was Nerdanel or Isildur or Denethor or? you hopefully get the idea. Almost every story included a lovely author note, which gave the reader a small glimpse on how much joy writing gave her and that now will be a great joy for every reader. A gem of a writer.