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A10: The Rebel by Lindelea
URL: http://www.storiesofarda.com/chapterlistview.asp?SID=790
Rating: PG


Lindelea has created a wonderful Middle-earth universe. Even though I dont always agree completely with her hobbit society, I enjoy her stories very much and this is no exception. I really like the way this story is constructed; the flashbacks tied in with the present are very effective. There are some lovely nuggets that give the reader glimpses into Freddys character, for example the rich young tease, knowingly tweaking Farmer Cotton by his word play concerning Rosie and the quality of the apples, and then showing several different facets at once when he purchases their whole waggon of apples  that he is rich and can afford to let money flow on a whim, his playfulness in having the apples delivered to Merry at Bag End as a jest, and his knowledge that Farmer Cotton needs the money for his roof and other things, and this is a way to help him out without offering charity. We see he is a good person, who likes to have fun, is comfortable with his wealth, and yet knows that he has a responsibility to the community and is a position to help less affluent hobbits.

From the way this character is drawn in his earlier days, I was left in no doubt that Freddy would risk himself for the good of the Shire. He seamlessly goes from a carefree hobbit to the leader of the rebels, and his ascension is completely natural, as is his willingness to help Merry, Pippin, Frodo and Sam.

The other characters are well done as well, and I loved the glimpses of the other hobbits. The way that they safeguard Freddys identity, the way that other hobbits tried to feed them, give them water, support them emotionally by singing in their hearing, that Tom Cotton planned to chop down the last tree standing in Bywater so that the ruffians couldnt hang any more rebel leaders, the up close glimpse of Lobelias behavior in the Lockholes  all of these were written just as I believe hobbits would have responded in such situations. And the horrific descriptions of their treatment in the Lockholes was just chilling, and yet not over the top, made all the more horrible by the straightforward descriptions. I have to say that this is one of the few stories I have read in which I actually LIKE Freddy. He is hard to write sympathetically it seems, and after reading this story I find I like and admire him very much. Instead of being uninterested in this character as I usually am, I am rooting for him all the way, and feel that he deserves to have his story told. Lin has done a brilliant job.



AUTHORS (remember to comment on the writer as regards to the category, not the story, here):


AA8: Lindelea
The Rebel

Lindelea writes entertaining stories that are also part of the greater history of her personal Middle-earth universe, especially the Shire. All of the stories tie into each other to paint a marvelously detailed picture, each story being a piece of a larger tale, sometimes intimate, sometimes on a grander scale. She doesnt use flashbacks that much, and her decision to use them in this particular story was excellent, as this really enhanced the situations faced in the *present* and made me feel that I knew Freddy. She is a skillful writer, and it shows in particular here.




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There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for awhile. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.

Sam, in Mordor, RoTK