2005 Author Reviews for
Marta

It?s hard to know where to begin with an author review for Marta, because her output is so diverse. She writes (well!) about many different cultures and offers us a broad range of genres, apparently able to handle drama and humour with equal aplomb. She is also a writer who is able to lightly mix canon knowledge with her own invention, so that it is often hard to tell where one begins and the other ends, and she has a knack for finding unusual angles and insights on canon and characters. In this category, Marta demonstrates her deep understanding of Hobbit culture as written by Tolkien alongside an ability to use that knowledge lightly yet convincingly in her fiction. In ?The Best Brew in Buckland?, she also shows her broad grasp on a number of other cultures and the way they interact with each other, along with sure handling of many complex strands in this story. In ?Hobbits?, she has not merely undertaken the mechanical work of selecting and arranging the available canon material, but also supplied intelligent commentary on it. While Marta does write in other periods, I feel this one is undoubtedly her strength: it has resulted in her producing many delightful pieces set in this timeframe that are competing in other categories.

It?s hard to know where to begin with an author review for Marta, because her output is so diverse. She writes (well!) about many different cultures and offers us a broad range of genres, apparently able to handle drama and humour with equal aplomb. She is also a writer who is able to lightly mix canon knowledge with her own invention, so that it is often hard to tell where one begins and the other ends, and she has a knack for finding unusual angles and insights on canon and characters. In this category, with ?High King and Halfling?, Marta shows how she can find her first loves -- Hobbits and humour ? even in the period of the Silmarillion, which is mostly concerned with Elves and grave matters. Marta often offers us a refreshing change of pace and this is no exception!

Marta can do wonderful humor, and seems to do particularly well at capturing it in drabble form. It's hard to squeeze a punchline into so short a space, but she does it. But more than that, she manages to do so in a way that still addresses some more serious events: in "So Other Men May Fight" and "High King and Halfling", for example, she gives us a snapshot of the political foundation of the Shire and of Beregond's decision to let Bergil remain in Minas Tirith during the siege. The humor helps avoid angst fests and fluff alike, and makes those moments memorable.

Marta's poems "Where Now the Rider?" and "Water and Flame" are remarkable enough in their own right, but what makes them truly unique is the fact that Marta has managed to capture not only the style and feel of the original poems' form but also the meaning, the ideas, and the symbolism behind the first poems, particularly Frosts' "Fire and Ice." That's tough to do, especially with a poem as complicated as "Fire and Ice" can be once you boil it down. I was actually surprised at how well it worked for describing Numenor's fall, and I tip my head to a very talented crossover poetess. Well done.

Marta can do wonderful humor, and seems to do particularly well at capturing it in drabble form. It's hard to squeeze a punchline into so short a space, but she does it. But more than that, she manages to do so in a way that still addresses some more serious events: in "So Other Men May Fight" and "High King and Halfling", for example, she gives us a snapshot of the political foundation of the Shire and of Beregond's decision to let Bergil remain in Minas Tirith during the siege. The humor helps avoid angst fests and fluff alike, and makes those moments memorable.v

I?m not a great fan of movie-verse stories, especially since so much fanfic set in movie-verse seems to emphasise the changes made in the movies that I didn?t like. Marta is one of the few writers who can make me read movie-verse, and read it with pleasure, because she skilfully weaves what we see on screen with her knowledge of book canon to illuminate both movie and book. ?Fell Deeds, Awake? is no exception, explaining a rather odd moment in the movies -- that from a moviemaking perspective is best explained by needing to give Gimli something to do! -- in terms of the story itself. As always, Marta writes well about many different cultures, lightly mixes canon knowledge with her own invention, and has a knack for finding unusual angles and insights on canon and characters.

It?s hard to know where to begin with an author review for Marta, because her output is so diverse. She writes (well!) about many different cultures and offers us a broad range of genres, apparently able to handle drama and humour with equal aplomb. She is also a writer who is able to lightly mix canon knowledge with her own invention, so that it is often hard to tell where one begins and the other ends, and she has a knack for finding unusual angles and insights on canon and characters. In this category, Marta demonstrates her ability to marshal information from Tolkien?s writings and use it intelligently to support her interpretations of his work, or how his work stands in relation to the interpretation of others -- a skill that also underpins her fiction. ?Tongues of Gondor? brings together extremely helpful material for fanfic writers focusing on Gondor, while ?Second Born, Second Best? takes a clear-eyed look at a how the movies have handled a relationship which is often misinterpreted even by those familiar with the books. I look forward to seeing more non-fiction essays from Marta in the future.

It?s hard to know where to begin with an author review for Marta, because her output is so diverse. She writes (well!) about many different cultures and offers us a broad range of genres, apparently able to handle drama and humour with equal aplomb. She is also a writer who is able to lightly mix canon knowledge with her own invention, so that it is often hard to tell where one begins and the other ends, and she has a knack for finding unusual angles and insights on canon and characters. I don?t normally think of Marta as a writer of romances but, in these three short pieces, she shows she has a distinct knack for the genre. ?Knight?s Service? gives us a comparatively little-written perspective on one of Tolkien?s central romances, yet this is a character who would surely have much to say about this relationship. In ?Welcoming the Lady?, Marta's wriiting is a more conventional take on the genre, but is nevertheless well done. However, it is ?Sugar and Spice? that is the real gem in this trio. It offers us a a gifted and fresh take on the romance genre, delving effectively into Hobbit sexuality, and offering us a more mature couple than we usually encounter in fanfic, delivered through well worded and subtly expressed erotica. Through this combination of pieces, Marta has provided us with a snapshot of how romance can be used to deliver a much more satisfying experience to readers than simply getting to a traditional ?Happy Ever After? ending.

It?s hard to know where to begin with an author review for Marta, because her output is so diverse. She writes (well!) about many different cultures and offers us a broad range of genres, apparently able to handle drama and humour with equal aplomb. She is also a writer who is able to lightly mix canon knowledge with her own invention, so that it is often hard to tell where one begins and the other ends, and she has a knack for finding unusual angles and insights on canon and characters. This category allows Marta to shine in her ability to explore many different cultures and the connections between them. ?Beyond the Borders? is exceptionally wide ranging, in giving us the perspectives of two cultures on all the races living in the North -- despite being written from a limited third-person point of view. Marta demonstrates her skill in using Elrond?s observations of Halbarad to provide this dual insight. ?Night and Day? is a particularly welcome entry in this category because it does a fine job of giving the relatively underwritten perspective of the Dwarves on other cultures.

It?s hard to know where to begin with an author review for Marta, because her output is so diverse. She writes (well!) about many different cultures and offers us a broad range of genres, apparently able to handle drama and humour with equal aplomb. She is also a writer who is able to lightly mix canon knowledge with her own invention, so that it is often hard to tell where one begins and the other ends, and she has a knack for finding unusual angles and insights on canon and characters. In this category, Marta shows her facility with yet another culture. She always uses canon elements well, but the extrapolation of the snippets of information that Tolkien gave us about the dwarves to build both a convincing world and put us clearly inside the mind of a dwarf is exceptional here. Dwarves are a sadly underwritten culture and I hope Marta?s example will inspire others to devote more writing time to this race. In this category, Marta also demonstrates her ability to write convincing youthful characters, and to carry off gentle, sly humour, as her two protagonists both tease and surprise each other. Well done!

I think Marta's strongpoint in these two elven drabbles is the exploration of an alternative perspective. For example, in "Hope," Marta goes into detail about how Glorfindel was despairing and provided us with an intriguing look at the chapter "Flight to the Ford" from a different viewpoint. The merry bells that Frodo heard were initially clanging in this drabble. Similarly, the other drabble about the Elven Rings also offered up a slightly different perspective: Celeborn's. And Marta ensures that both drabbles have enough contrast to provide some insight into what others thought of events. Very well written, both of them.

It?s hard to know where to begin with an author review for Marta, because her output is so diverse. She writes (well!) about many different cultures and offers us a broad range of genres, apparently able to handle drama and humour with equal aplomb. She is also a writer who is able to lightly mix canon knowledge with her own invention, so that it is often hard to tell where one begins and the other ends, and she has a knack for finding unusual angles and insights on canon and characters. I?ll admit to being a little surprised Marta only has one story in this category but, oh, what a story! In this piece, Marta demonstrates so many of the qualities that I find so enjoyable in her writing. Her characterisations are generally well done, but the children are exceptionally strongly written here, never descending into sentimentality while showing us the men they will become. She always uses canon elements well, but her extrapolation of the snippets of information that Tolkien gave us to build an entirely convincing Tolkienesque world is simply astounding in this story. I wish all authors were so capable of working with Tolkien?s hints. Most impressive in this story is the way Marta mixes so many genres in this piece without it seeming unbalanced for a single moment: there is humour, romance and high drama that never descends into melodrama -- and not a word out of place.

Marta can do wonderful humor, and seems to do particularly well at capturing it in drabble form. It's hard to squeeze a punchline into so short a space, but she does it. But more than that, she manages to do so in a way that still addresses some more serious events: in "So Other Men May Fight" and "High King and Halfling", for example, she gives us a snapshot of the political foundation of the Shire and of Beregond's decision to let Bergil remain in Minas Tirith during the siege. The humor helps avoid angst fests and fluff alike, and makes those moments memorable.

It?s hard to know where to begin with an author review for Marta, because her output is so diverse. She writes (well!) about many different cultures and offers us a broad range of genres, apparently able to handle drama and humour with equal aplomb. She is also a writer who is able to lightly mix canon knowledge with her own invention, so that it is often hard to tell where one begins and the other ends, and she has a knack for finding unusual angles and insights on canon and characters. Marta repeatedly tells me that Hobbits are her favourite culture. In the two stories in this category, I can see why that is so. She captures the Hobbit mindset and culture effectively, and cleverly weaves together canon history and invention. The songs in ?Master Gamgee of Bag End? give a strong Tolkienesque flavour to this piece, while the dialogue is a delight and captures the flavour of Hobbit speech in a way few writers master. ?A Conspiracy Forged? shows the facility I have remarked on in other reviews for writing youthful characters. While the pieces are superficially very different, both explore the underlying theme of true friends sticking by you ?through thick and thin? and bringing comfort which runs throughout Tolkien?s work.

It was a brilliant move to drabble Fatty's career as a resistance fighter during the Occupation, and I personally find this to be a really sharp, insightful set of pieces, a real quantum leap in some ways. Marta doesn't usually do grim, to my way of thinking?there's usually something sunny about her writing that works against grimness. Not in this case, however! Here she shows that she can do bleak and do it well, and in a remarkably short space. Each of these drabbles is complete in itself, but it's their cumulative effect that really drives home Fatty's trials. Her schema for incorporating all these drabbles (beyond the obvious one of following Fatty from his close encounter with a Nazg?l to his interrogation in the Lockholes) is the five elements that came out of pre-Socratic philosophy, and this works much better than one would expect as an organizing plan. Marta deploys it, as I said in the story review, in such a way that it isn't intrusive, and actually fits the story rather than the reverse. That's key, I think, in the success of this drabble set, which shows us a much different hobbit than we ordinarily see. Well done, Marta!

One of Marta's greatest strengths is variety, and no where is that as clear as it is here in the villians poetry category. Her three poems are all well written, they're all enjoyable, but they're all very different. Marta does mimicry, a drinking song, and a heartfelt plea, all in different styles and all with different tones. It's amazing, actually, that a person could be so talented in so many ways.