Yahoo Forum Archive

Title: Legacy · Author: Nancy Brooke · Races: Hobbits: General
Fixed-Length Ficlet · ID: 299
Reviewer: Lindelea · 2006-07-30 21:29:41
Very nicely done, and brought tears to my eyes. It rings true, that
Merry and Pippin would think of Boromir at such a time, and how his
sacrifice in part bought them the peace they enjoyed.
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Title: Those Who Challenge the Dead · Author: Nancy Brooke · Races: Men:
Other Fixed-Length Ficlets · ID: 858
Reviewer: Lindelea · 2006-07-30 21:32:17
Tragic in its inevitability. The author captures blind, arrogant pride
in just the few strokes of a pen.
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Title: Forlorn Hope · Author: Nancy Brooke · Races: Men: Steward's Sons
Fixed-Length Ficlets · ID: 301
Reviewer: Lindelea · 2006-07-30 21:34:05
Powerful, poetic, haunting in its use of repetition. But it could also
apply to bookverse, the scene where Denethor sends Faramir out again,
and Gandalf cautions against throwing his life away.
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Title: Caws Llyffant · Author: Llinos · Races: Hobbits: Pre-Quest · ID: 634
Reviewer: Lindelea · 2006-07-30 22:00:56
Such a lovely Bilbo! My heart gave a pang when Frodo told Merry they
should go to Rivendell someday... But then the story had me
laughing--and hungry!--with all the lovely cheeses.
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Title: The Price of Power · Author: Rabidsamfan · Times: The Great
Years: General Fixed-Length Ficlets · ID: 989
Reviewer: Lindelea · 2006-07-30 22:03:06
Chilling, a picture of the depth of Saruman's fall. Perhaps this shows
the moment his choice became irrevocable.
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Title: Hewing Naught But Wood · Author: Thundera Tiger · Genres: Humor:
Parody · ID: 825
Reviewer: Lindelea · 2006-07-30 22:08:26
This is wordplay at its best and "brilliantest". I dare say JRRT himself
might have enjoyed such diversion.
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Title: Hair · Author: Gandalfs apprentice · Races: Cross-Cultural:
Fixed-Length Ficlet · ID: 321
Reviewer: Vistula the Dunadan · 2006-07-30 22:10:59
Oh sure, after reading this I'm going to have the song "Hair" on my mind
for the rest of the day. It does kind of fit though. This was a
wonderfully funny look at a phenomena that an Elf, I would imagine,
would not have much experience with. Body hair. And boy is he with a
hairy bunch. Between Hobbit foot hair, men with beards and Eru forbid, a
Dwarf that appears to be covered from head to toe, I'm sure it he would
be bound to question just HOW low DOES it go.

This gave me a great chuckle. Well done Gandalf's Apprentice!
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Title: Ignorance Is Bliss · Author: Eggo Waffles · Genres: Humor: Parody
· ID: 754
Reviewer: Lindelea · 2006-07-30 22:15:44
I admit, I don't read a lot of parody, but this was laughing-out-loud
brilliant! ["This is getting tiresome& Father has apparently just beaten
you into unconsciousness yet again"] Even though it deals with what I
refuse to read in fanfic, I was able to, um, relax and enjoy it.
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Title: The Groomsman · Author: Elen Kortirion · Races: Dwarves:
Fixed-Length Ficlet · ID: 44
Reviewer: Lindelea · 2006-07-30 22:21:43
This was a complete and total surprise. The author led me to expect one
thing, leaving me with a punched-in-the-gut feeling at the end.
Well-written and convincingly done.
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Title: Suspicion · Author: Gandalfs apprentice · Genres: Humor:
Fixed-Length Ficlet · ID: 791
Reviewer: Vistula the Dunadan · 2006-07-30 22:22:17
I loved this one when you wrote it for my birthday this year, and I love
it now in the rereading. You have captured Sam's protectiveness toward
Frodo to perfection. And his distrustful nature. I also love the fact
that you have him calling Gandalf ["the old man"]. I bet he wouldn't do
that to the wizard's face. No sir.

Sam is my favorite character and I'm very particular about how he is
written. You do him so well, I want to read more and more.
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Title: Demand and You Shall Receive · Author: grey_wonderer · Genres:
Humor: Children · ID: 159
Reviewer: Lindelea · 2006-07-30 22:30:06
This was worth several chuckles and at least one LOL! Drawn very
realistically, with evident first-hand knowledge of small children.
Amusing, and heart-tugging all in one, for the ending bit brought tears
to my eyes. Well done.
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Title: Teatime in Rivendell · Author: Gandalfs apprentice · Races:
Cross-Cultural: Fixed-Length Ficlet · ID: 373
Reviewer: Vistula the Dunadan · 2006-07-30 22:49:51
Bilbo you cheeky devil you!

I just about split a seam laughing at this charming drabble.

Gandalf's Apprentice, you have outdone yourself showing our plucky
little Hobbit friend getting revenge at last for his long ago visit to
Mirkwood. And poor Legolas. I can almost picture the shocked look on his
face. Here at last he's getting a chance to meet with one of the Shire
folk and the little fellow snatches away his snack. Hopefully the Prince
of Mirkwood is a forgiving Elf and that he and Bilbo go on to form a
better understanding of one another.
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Title: Work Detail · Author: Gandalfs apprentice · Genres: Romance:
Fixed-length ficlet · ID: 789
Reviewer: Vistula the Dunadan · 2006-07-30 23:01:11
Oooh! Naughty Arwen. She sure knows how to get her man's attention
though. And such a work detail she has in mind. Very sexy, provocative
and engaging drabble. But did you have to stop right at the good part?

Well done G.A.
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Title: Alas, for the dying of the trees · Author: Gandalfs apprentice ·
Races: Cross-Cultural: Fixed-Length Ficlet · ID: 788
Reviewer: Vistula the Dunadan · 2006-07-30 23:08:15
This one needs a tissue warning, G.A. Very touching, very moving. I love
Gimli's grumpy attitude toward Legolas's pining. It is so very true to
character. Your description of Gimli's aging is very well done. I can
picture him quite vividly and am moved by the image. Thank you for a
sweet portrayal of this often unrepresented pair.
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Title: Counting the Days · Author: Lady Bluejay · Genres: Romance:
Lothíriel & Éomer · ID: 281
Reviewer: Madeleine · 2006-07-30 23:59:38
If you wish to read a perfectly true and absolutely hilarious dialogue
between two men, you should on no account miss this story. Just thinking
about it makes me giggle again. Imagining Éomer and his friend Éothain
taking cover behind a bolder and commenting on the  wrong  woman, puts
a silly grin on my face.

Those two are so outrages in their comments and probably not quite
politically correct, but also so classical male, that you - as a female
- really have to know and understand the opposite sex very well to be
able to create such a gemstone.

Charming and funny, as all of Lady Bluejay's one-shots.

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Title: Rest and Recreation · Author: Raksha the Demon · Races:
Cross-Cultural · ID: 700
Reviewer: annmarwalk · 2006-07-31 00:07:57
I like the little snapshot youve given us of the Captain-General during
the first days of his visit to Imladris. Hes bored, restless, missing
Faramir, and feeling more that a little bit miffed at not being included
in the scouting expeditions, or even having his skill and experience
recognized at all. The easy writers way would have been to give him an
understandable dose of humility by falling before Glorfindels age and
experience; but I love how youve shown Boromir persisting for hours in
the impromptu match of skill and endurance. How heartening for Boromir
that he was able to win his hosts respect in such a manner! What a
wonderful tale he would have had to tell Faramir!
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Title: The Groomsman · Author: Elen Kortirion · Races: Dwarves:
Fixed-Length Ficlet · ID: 44
Reviewer: annmarwalk · 2006-07-31 00:09:30
What a gem, and a perfect illustration of the drabblers art: A complete
story, told in exactly one hundred words, with a twist at the end. The
characterizations are spot-on: the almost-fussy, detail-oriented Gimli,
recognizing that he is the only one with the proper respect and
appreciation for the ritual; the elf, totally useless; unfamiliar with
the customs appropriate for such an occasion; and Aragorn, distraught,
overcome with emotion.

The tiny, telling detail  Gimli breathing on a buckle, and polishing it
on his own clothes - is so perfectly real. And what a killer of a final
line - absolutely unexpected, absolutely heartbreaking.
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Title: Pink Oliphaunts · Author: Branwyn · Races: Men: Post-Sauron's
Fall · ID: 49
Reviewer: annmarwalk · 2006-07-31 00:10:50
The undercurrents of the various conversations are quite
thought-provoking here: I love the image of Beregond, down on Elborons
level, assisting the carefree child with his drawing. Faramirs arrival,
though, brings on a more somber tone, as the two campaigners consider
yet another detail of the battle, one they may not yet have pondered.
After how many years, how many hours of discussion, how many tankards of
ale, there is still something left to talk about! And how interesting
that, after a young life spent among the mightiest warriors of the Third
Age, the item now capturing the childs interest and fascination is the
near-legendary Mumak. Pity that neither Faramir nor Beregond have any
first-hand experiences with it to share with Elboron!

I love that Elboron is a child of such joy that he cannot imagine a
creature that would not be smiling; The detail of his tall uncle
towering above all other men, nearly as tall as the Mumak itself, is
lovely; surely that is how Eomer would have appeared to his nephew! And
what quiet delight Faramir and Beregond must find in a world so at peace
that the terrors of the past are now disarmed by a child's innocence.
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Title: Do Not Think Me A Dream · Author: EdorasLass · Races: Men: Gondor
· ID: 40
Reviewer: annmarwalk · 2006-07-31 00:12:35
What a melancholy tale, so different from your other droll and joyful
tales, but perfectly in keeping with the characters. Poor Finduilas 
she knows she is fading, as do all her loved ones surrounding her,
whether they will recognize the truth or not; but are all powerless to
speak the words that are utmost in their minds. Nanny could share with
Finduilas her vow to stay with the boys until Faramir is grown, raising
them with all the love and care a mother would lavish; Denethor could
promise to do his utmost, give his life if need be, to keep Gondor safe,
and by extension Finduilas sons, brothers, and kin. Finduilas herself
could choose to bid farewell to those who love her, passing on in grace
and peace, but instead she wanders, wraithlike, waiting for the choice
to be taken from her. What a heartwrenching story.
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Title: Gondor Needs No King · Author: Ribby · Times: The Great Years:
Gondor Fixed-Length Ficlets · ID: 207
Reviewer: annmarwalk · 2006-07-31 00:13:37
What a marvelously chilling tale. I always enjoy reading your AU
stories; youre so otherwise mild-mannered that its a kick to see what
happens when you unleash your Dark Side. The vision of Denethor and
Boromir being too late to rescue Faramir from the pyre is gruesome and
nightmarish, just as is should be. But Boromir sitting at his fathers
feet, Ring on his finger, is even worse. And by worse I actually mean,
Oh wow.
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Title: The Steward's Dream · Author: Marta · Races: Men: Fixed-Length
Ficlets With Children · ID: 647
Reviewer: annmarwalk · 2006-07-31 00:14:16
I really love the way you illustrated Boromirs acceptance of the vision
of peace and stability that the return of the king would bring, and his
understanding that the House of Hurin would play a vital part in that
aspect of the restoration. Very well done!
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Title: Childhood Dreams · Author: Acacea · Genres: Drama: Gondor
Fixed-Length Ficlet · ID: 523
Reviewer: annmarwalk · 2006-07-31 00:14:59
You always have such a deft hand in your tales of gentle, affectionate
interactions between Boromir and Faramir. The idea of Faramir wanting to
be just like his brother, but couching that desire in terms of a rivers
unceasing energy, is both heartbreaking and beautiful.
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Title: The Stone's Lament · Author: Thevina Finduilas · Races: Dwarves ·
ID: 53
Reviewer: annmarwalk · 2006-07-31 00:16:13
I really love your description of Gimlis exhilaration as he approaches
the legendary, hallowed halls of Khazad-dûm. Like a proud pilgrim,
burning with fervor, he approaches the most revered sites of his people,
seeking illumination, communion with the spirits of his ancestors; only
to find that his enemy hears the voices instead, clearly and mournfully.
Youve beautifully expressed Gimlis desolation, his carefully-concealed
pain at the unwitting theft of his birthright.

(Im always awestruck at your use of language. Youve written one of the
single most beautiful lines Ive ever read: [I was silver, struck with
tuned precision and ringing with incredulity.] What an amazing
description! And so perfectly apropos for a dwarven craftsman who keeps
his deepest thoughts and words buried, treasured, safe within his soul.)
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Title: Pride Before The Fall · Author: AmandaK · Genres: Alternate
Universe · ID: 742
Reviewer: annmarwalk · 2006-07-31 00:17:02
What a terrifying vision of the proud captain-generals descent into
madness as he takes the Ring for his own. In his passion to return to
the city and lead his armies to victory, he does not realize how the
Ring has quickly claimed him. His intended end, the command of the
Citys defenses, justifies (in his mind) the means: killing a horse, a
young guardsman, his own father. The epilogue is enormously powerful in
its simplicity: Boromir helpless before the maker of the ring, denied
the mercy of death.

I still cant get over the horrifying image of Boromir frightening a
wild animal away from its kill, and eating the filthy remains of the
grouse even as he ran to seize command of Gondors defense. In his pride
he has no self-realization of how the ring has already begun his
destruction.
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Title: Untold Tales of the Mark: The Banishment of Eomer · Author:
Katzilla · Genres: Alternate Universe: Incomplete · ID: 836
Reviewer: Oshun · 2006-07-31 02:02:19
Doing Éomer this year is quite the thingbut this novel stands alone.
The ultimate use of an AU-story is to illuminate canon. This story is so
true to the darkness that had enveloped Rohan during the period of this
novel that it leaves most of the strict canon stories in the dust when
it comes to being true to the source material.

The characterization also is stunningly true to canon all the way
through, with major and minor, canon and original characters. Even
Eomers horse, Firefoot, is well developed as a character. While
uncommonly smart, brave, sensitive and loyal, Firefoot is believable to
a horse lover, with just a moderate amount of magic added. (What is a
Tolkien-based story without magic? He wouldnt have dreamed of such a
thing! One of my pet peeves with a lot of the Rohan-genre of fanfiction
these days is no magic. Except for use of canon character and place
names, many might as well be historical fiction.) This story is written
in a realistic style, but with the magic. It also has heat, sensuality,
and passion, without a sex scene in sight.

This tale is quintessentially dark and angst-ridden and certainly not
for the fainthearted (and I am not an angst-fic fan in general). Every
time I think I am getting close to limit of heart-breaking sadness and
anxiety the author throws in just the perfect amount of hope. The whole
plot hinges on a beautiful balance between the POVs of Eowyn and Éomer:
events that are occurring in Edoras with Eowyn and Grima, and Éomer in
the White Mountains.

If I had to pick one aspect that has really kept me hooked on this story
it is its pure passion and emotional depth. Loved the parts relating to
Éomer's encounter with Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli (all three
carefully-crafted characters). One gets magic with Aragorn alsosome
hands-of-the-king-style healing in the White Mountains. You have to love
the authors Aragorn too!

Throughout it is Éomer's judgment and willingness to take risks that
enables hope amidst all this darkness. Loved the emotional honesty of
the authors description of Eomer's insecurity relating to what his
éored's reaction will be to him after Grima has essentially outlawed him
and to stick by him is to risk ones life and then Eomers reaction to
the reassurance that they still consider him their leader. Eowyn is
well-written as well but it is Éomer who really stands out.

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