Yahoo Forum Archive

Title: Pink Oliphaunts · Author: Branwyn · Races: Men: Post-Sauron's
Fall · ID: 49
Reviewer: Dwimordene · 2006-08-04 06:26:19
Nice to see Beregond again--poor man does not get enough fanfic. It's a
cute interlude, with a child's chalk drawings of mumakil and famous
uncles providing both amusement and a hope for a more peaceful future to
two men who've seen enough of war. Loved that Beregond isn't adverse to
joining in Elboron's work--no doubt, he's done this with Bergil before.
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Title: Music Lessons · Author: Acacea · Races: Men: Gondor · ID: 55
Reviewer: Dwimordene · 2006-08-04 06:26:33
This was a lovely depiction of a young Faramir with Mithrandir. Both
characters are well-portrayed: Faramir sounds like a young child, though
an intelligent one for his years, set apart by temperament as well as
rank. Mithrandir sounds and looks as he ought to: old, but vigorous,
kindly, perceptive, and just a little weary the wary frustration that
others, both stewards and hobbits, treat a wandering wizard with.

The wizard's willingness to step away from matters of high statecraft or
learning in order to teach a mystified boy how to produce various bird
calls--more and better than his brother--reminds us again of
Mithrandir's fundamental focus on the need of the person who comes
before us, rather than subordinating others to some overarching project
and dismissing them if they do not clearly touch upon his own work.

His foreshadowing of Faramir's eventual career in the Rangers and the
summation of the well-mannered and kindly boy he's met with the line
that he is also superbly loyal makes for a good laugh at the end. Nicely
done!
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Title: It's the Thought · Author: annmarwalk · Races: Men: Fixed-Length
Ficlets With Children · ID: 71
Reviewer: Dwimordene · 2006-08-04 06:26:51
Good foreshadowing in that last line of the drabble--last lines often
make or break these short fics, so I'm always delighted when I find one
that ends strongly. In this case, Ann shows us a brief glimpse of
Théodred's efforts to make his young cousins welcome, but then opens a
few gifts, given simply to distract and comfort them, out onto the
future when Éowyn would come to covet the freedom and honor of a warrior.
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Title: The White Tree · Author: Linda Hoyland · Races: Men: Featuring
Aragorn · ID: 94
Reviewer: Dwimordene · 2006-08-04 06:27:08
This story gives us a glimpse at the early relationship of Aragorn and
Faramir. Although alike in many ways, in their gifts and leadership and
their experience of war, Aragorn's Rangerly and solitary habits and
Faramir's Oedipal legacy interfere with their efforts to befriend each
other for a time.

The first two chapters, I think, are solid; the third I think wraps
things up too quickly and with just a little too much sentiment. But
it's still an enjoyable read, and fans of these two characters should
like it.
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Title: The Road Not Taken · Author: Branwyn · Races: Men: Vignette · ID: 104
Reviewer: Dwimordene · 2006-08-04 06:27:23
Frost gets good employment in this is a well-crafted interlude that
shows the very beginning of Boromir's journey out of familiar lands and
into the wilds of the North. The description of the birch forest is
wonderful, as is the 'dialogue' with the swan that Boromir's horn allows
him and his companion. The finding of the road, buried beneath ages of
dirt marks the beginning of many discoveries for him, though he cannot
foresee them.
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Title: Luck from the Ashes · Author: Raksha the Demon · Races: Men:
Post-Sauron's Fall · ID: 142
Reviewer: Dwimordene · 2006-08-04 06:27:37
Cat-lovers ought to like this one. Faramir and Aragorn come upon some
unlikely residents of the steward's mausoleum and take in mother and
kittens with the intention of breaking the tradition of Beruthiel (and
also ridding the city of vermin). Nice banter, cute idea, and a nice
glimpse into the early friendship of steward and king.
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Title: Until the Stars Are All Alight · Author: Kenaz · Races: Men:
Featuring Aragorn · ID: 148
Reviewer: Dwimordene · 2006-08-04 06:27:51
I've got my objections to one of the central devices for this fic,
however, it remains an interesting attempt to shed light on Aragorn's
coming of age in the rendering of high justice among the Rangers and his
sexual initiation, with Halbarad acting as the key to both these moments.
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Title: Heirs of the Oath · Author: Elana · Races: Men: Other
Fixed-Length Ficlets · ID: 151
Reviewer: Dwimordene · 2006-08-04 06:28:05
This is a very thoughtful pair of drabbles, featuring Boromir and
Theodred, Aragorn and Eomer. Legacy is the theme that binds them
together: the Oath of Cirion and Eorl has many heirs, but the heirs
themselves are not simply bound to the oath but to those who came before
them as oath-takers. Eomer, seeing that legacy broken by untimely death
of cousin and Denethor's elder son, finds in his oath-taking with
Aragorn a connection to both the history of the nations, but also to two
men who loom large in his past, and it's to the memory of his cousin and
Boromir that he finds the personal meaning of the ancient oath. Well
done, Elana!
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Title: The Last Yule in Halabor · Author: Soledad · Races: Men: Vignette
· ID: 166
Reviewer: Dwimordene · 2006-08-04 06:28:20
Soledad builds an entire town up, household by household, trade by
trade, brick by brick. In the twenty-four vignettes, as the citizens of
Halabor, common and noble, Old Folk and Dúnadan, Rohirric, Haradric, and
those in between, advance towards the Yule with anticipation. Hopes and
memories abound, as tragedies and joys are revisited and worked upon,
sometimes dwelt upon, and the net of relationships among the townspeople
and their lords takes form against the backdrop of Númenorean history
and that of the native Gondorian population.

The loose relationship of the stories works--it gives us an image of
life in a town already doomed to fall to an Orc attack, though no one
knows it yet. There are so many threads of lives just left loose, so
many projects and dreams that one senses will be destroyed before ever
coming to fruition--if Soledad doesn't tell us outright that this is so.
The town feels fully realized, with its share of troubles and prejudices
and the struggles to overcome them.

Beautifully done, Soledad! Absolutely recommended to anyone who wants to
read a well-constructed world.
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Title: The Cloak · Author: Elen Kortirion · Races: Men: Gondor · ID: 177
Reviewer: Dwimordene · 2006-08-04 06:28:33
A quite fascinating story--this old nurse is most emphatically *not* the
sort of woman to sit at home by the fireside, even if she does end up
making Boromir a nice warm cloak. A spy on the front lines who bargains
trades for slaves taken by Corsairs and their knowledge as often as she
does aught else, and who seems to be beholden to a lord more northerly
than Denethor, she's a tough old bird who pretty clearly knows Boromir
inside and out.

Her efforts to tell him what he needs to know about the journey north
and the Elves he seeks fall on ears that are perhaps somewhat deaf,
though not for lack of love. A pity indeed for her that Boromir did not
return, but she's not one to drown in grief, either. She'll do her
mourning and continue on in service to the kingdom.
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Title: Mirrors of Numenor · Author: Dostoevsky's Mouse · Races: Men:
Incomplete · ID: 242
Reviewer: Dwimordene · 2006-08-04 06:28:47
Thorongil and Denethor together in their early days is a subject of much
fascination to this reader, as both reader and writer. Dostoyevsky's
Mouse builds a complex relationship and a Denethor whose pride and
confidence, and indeed, his leadership, are as great as his lacks: of
trust, of friendship, of fatherly affection. He and Ecthelion are
Gondor's sons--both of them hard men and stern, even handed in praise
and rebuke, save that the former is impersonal, the latter all too
personal. Denethor at this stage of his life is as desperately desirous
of his father's personal approval and warmth, and clearly this is the
one thing he is doomed to be denied.

Denethor is also clearly intelligent, clever in his words, a shrewd
young man who confronts Captain Thorongil's omissions and his neatly
crafted excuses about such silences, pointedly and clearly, yet is
confident enough, despite his mistrust, to leave his new captain's
secrets alone... for a time, at least.

Aragorn shows himself a doughty fighter and a bold counselor, as well as
a budding healer. Yet he is also properly enigmatic, hard to read, and
an object of fascination.

Fans of Aragorn and Denethor, and particularly of the two of them
together in one story, should not miss this tale, which promises to be
interesting as it continues to unfold. Write more and soon,
Dostoyevsky's Mouse! Thanks for a satisfying read!
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Title: Tharbad Crossing · Author: Gandalfs apprentice · Races: Men:
Steward's Sons Fixed-Length Ficlets · ID: 253
Reviewer: Dwimordene · 2006-08-04 06:28:59
Wet, wounded, and at an utter loss in terms of possessions (like his
sword, for example), Boromir clambers out of the river at Tharbad
cursing his mission as only a half-drowned traveler can. But in the end,
loyalty and memory of Faramir's hope stop the complaints and rekindle
his determination to journey north and save Gondor. Concise and
intense--very well done!
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Title: That Immortal Sea · Author: Marta · Races: Men: Steward's Sons
Fixed-Length Ficlets · ID: 265
Reviewer: Dwimordene · 2006-08-04 06:29:13
I like this drabble for the interesting elemet of guilt that it seems to
introduce and couple with the dream of Numenor drowning. Faramir's
dreams haunt him, but this time there is a very personal element
involved--what is he trying to wash away, as wakes up to Ithilien? What
is the real nightmare? It's an enigmatic piece, where the land itself
becomes somehow threatening.
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Title: Forlorn Hope · Author: Nancy Brooke · Races: Men: Steward's Sons
Fixed-Length Ficlets · ID: 301
Reviewer: Dwimordene · 2006-08-04 06:29:26
Haunting and lyricial. Hope and its future are not simply denied Faramir
and his men, but must be actively renounced, rejected by those who make
the last ride out to Osgiliath. The dying of hope, in the last images of
the drabble, 'til hope at last is identified as a dead tree makes a
cynical inversion of the more usual reading of the old white tree. Very
well done!
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Title: Ships Passing · Author: Marta · Races: Men: Vignette · ID: 302
Reviewer: Dwimordene · 2006-08-04 06:29:40
I've got my issues with this one, but I do love the idea of some form of
encounter between Faramir and Halbarad, some sense of a passing of
torches and a kinship between these two men. Marta gives us a go at
showing that connection and opens some intriguing possibilities.
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Title: Lawd of Them Hills · Author: Make It Stop/Princess Faz CoAuthors
· Races: Men: Incomplete · ID: 304
Reviewer: Dwimordene · 2006-08-04 06:29:54
I think I've probably ruptured something laughing over this. This beats
the bits of "Bored of the Rings" I've read; it may possibly beat
'Spaceballs' for the sheer screwball factor. It's really a pity it's not
finished yet.

The authors of this snarkfest transpose LOTR to the poverty-stricken,
poorly-developed, yet fiercely possessive denizens of a backwoods
Appalachian community that is as much a caricature of hillbillydom as
anyone could wish. Starbucks and its global exploitation scheme, with
its white-obsessed CEO Sarah Mann in the tower of I. Singh Ard have
taken the reigns of evil from Sauron, it seems, not that we're
complaining about this. Sarah Mann has a plan... or at least, she had
one back in Ohio, but Starbucks' marketing strategy has gone missing.

We all know what's coming next, don't we? In case we don't, LaTisha the
psychic is standing in for a palantir to read the cards to Denny of
Go'nder Holler. Yeah. I do hope that this parody does not remain in its
current, unfinished state, as it will undoubtedly provide hours of
hysterical laughter just when it's most needed. It's unapologetically
surreal, and that's what makes it work. Kudos!
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Title: Soldier's Luck · Author: Branwyn · Races: Men: Steward's Sons
Fixed-Length Ficlets · ID: 309
Reviewer: Dwimordene · 2006-08-04 06:30:08
Soldiers may believe in luck, but as this drabble shows, Faramir's
fortune in battle has solid planning behind it. No detail is left
unconsidered, weapons are cared for, men tested and carefully selected.
Good fortune bows to the Boy Scout's motto of being ever prepared.
-----------------------------------
Title: The Dancing Master · Author: Flick · Races: Men: Vignette · ID: 323
Reviewer: Dwimordene · 2006-08-04 06:30:25
A nostalgic little vignette, as newlyweds Faramir and Éowyn find dancing
to be an unexpected memorial to Boromir, who taught them both.
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Title: The King's Surgeon · Author: SurgicalSteel · Races: Men:
Incomplete · ID: 845
Reviewer: Bodkin · 2006-08-04 08:18:27
Thank the MEFAs for leading me to this story! I found it - and then
spent hours reading through all the parts I could find. Serinde is an
absolute delight - tough and resilient, but kind-hearted and skilled and
just such an all-round good character. I like her in her youth - she did
very well to survive exposure to the Poison Butterfly and find her
vocation. Her friendship with Thorongil is great - especially her
freely-expressed opinion of his healing skills and teaching. I love the
acidity of her relationship with Denethor - not a good person to cross.
Diplomacy was clearly not a word in Serinde's vocabulary, at least not
until the delightful Steward attempted training. I love her middle years
- the trip north and her discovery of the northern Dunedain and the
friendships she builds with them and in her new life.

The story is beautifully and engagingly written, too, and the characters
are developed and multi-dimensional. I can't wait to find out more about
the lives of Serinde and her friends and family.
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Title: A Sight to Remember · Author: Dreamflower · Races: Hobbits:
Children · ID: 703
Reviewer: Bodkin · 2006-08-04 08:23:23
I did enjoy Pippin's second excursion with the intrepid Rusty. Although
I'd be surprised if they weren't both scarred for life by this
experience. Lobelia in the bath ... ... ... The sight of that must have
been punishment enough for two young hobbits!

Rusty is a delightful character! I'd like to know what kind of adult she
became - and what she did during the Troubles. I can't imagine she would
have sat back and cowered. Perhaps her scribe would like to expand on
her adventures.

Frodo is a very clever hobbit - with excellent management skills! (He
would need to be to get round Pippin!) He offers just precisely the
right amount of gentlehobbitly approval and interest here to bend
Rusty's mother to his will! And she doesn't even realise she is being
managed. Observers could learn a lot from him! A delightful story,
Dreamflower.

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Title: Raven Hair and Silver Eyes · Author: Ellie · Times: First Age and
Prior · ID: 174
Reviewer: Bodkin · 2006-08-04 08:31:50
I do feel sorry for most of the female kin of all those headstrong
Noldor. Those who remained behind were deserted without an apparent
second thought - and then left to deal with the consequences.

Poor Anaire is, of course, one of them. Nolofinwe has just a touch too
much sibling rivalry about him when it comes to his half-brother - but
he does try to keep the peace. And I can see how his father's death
would drive him to try to take revenge. After Alqualonde, too, he
doubtless felt damned and doomed and unable to turn back - and Anaire is
left to be another of those characters who lost everything they had and
was abandoned to remain alone in the Blessed Realm until one day -
possibly, hopefully - her husband and children returned from the Halls.

Grief - self-righteousness - anger - all sorts of emotions might have
carried them through the first centuries, but what then? The Blessed
Realm - especially among the Noldor - must have been a community of
abandoned wives and sweethearts. Children without fathers and parents
without sons. I wonder how it would have affected the social structure...

Sad story. I hope they found each other again. In the end. Fingers crossed.

-----------------------------------
Title: A Length of Haradric Silk · Author: annmarwalk · Times: The Great
Years: Gondor · ID: 69
Reviewer: Bodkin · 2006-08-04 08:40:45
Sam is such a practical hobbit - and determined not to move above his
station - but, in a way, this fabric represents him and indicates that
his station has moved above and beyond that of almost everyone in
Middle-earth. Gleaming above the sober, sensible goods beneath.

Some fabric is just so beautiful you have to have it. And I'm glad the
shopkeeper offered Sam just the right incentive to get him to take the
silk back to the Shire. I can just picture Rosie dressed in Haradric
silk - marvelling at the texture and the gleam of contrasting colours.

Beautiful. It catches at the imagination just as the fabric caught Sam.

-----------------------------------
Title: The Healer and the Warrior · Author: Madeleine · Genres: Romance:
Lothíriel & Éomer · ID: 140
Reviewer: Bodkin · 2006-08-04 08:50:04
When I first found your stories, Madeleine, I was inspired to fall in
love with your Eomer and Lothiriel! I love Lothiriel's single-minded
devotion to her craft and her determination not to be pressed into being
nothing but a representative of her house and then who can resist
Eomer's disregard of his own safety and his obstinacy and his refusal to
recognise the way that the healer affects him!

There is something remarkably intimate in the way that the healer and
the warrior confront each other - the quiet of the dark night and the
silence of the Halls of Healing. The shadowy corridors - the solitude.
The background conspires to make the two characters brighter and
stronger. It's no surprise that the healer manages to make a very
powerful impression on the warrior. Apart from the slap on his 'oh no,
it's nothing' wound, designed to make him pay attention to her demands,
I imagine not many would have reacted to his instinctive attack so
calmly. And then, how could she not respond to this really rather
gorgeous - if smelly - warrior. Especially after dunking him in a big
tub of hot water.

Then, the story has what I consider to be the sexiest thing of all -
it's all in their heads. Touching - for healing purposes; nudity - the
same. No romance - but boy, sexual tension floods the tale.

It's excellent writing, Madeleine and a very worthy beginning to your
story arc. Great stuff.
-----------------------------------
Title: First Anarchist · Author: Robinka · Times: First Age and Prior:
Fixed-Length Ficlet · ID: 316
Reviewer: Minuialeth · 2006-08-04 10:25:44
I always thought of Melkor as a sort of impertinent child with a twinge
of genius This drabble not only sheds light on such an important topic
as Melkors relationship with Eru but also gives us insight into what it
must have been like at the beginning before Melkor developed into the
full blown embodiment of evil. I believe that you have successfully
managed not only to give him a sort of innocence( albeit slowly fading),
but youve kept the feeling that despite everything Eru still had
control and that Melkor started like so many monsters a curious child.
It also is quite thought provoking, as Rhapsody said, because after all
Eru must have known what powers he gave to Melkor, and what character he
might grow to become. In the end, Melkor after all is necessary to
maintain balance and he certainly is a genius in his own right. This
drabble not only sparks off a lot of questions in the mind of the
reader, but it is written in such honesty and simplicity that it is
striking in its truthfulness, rendering it a very memorable piece of
work. I loved the title as well. Its a great pointer to a master mind
behind the words. Very powerful!
-----------------------------------
Title: Luck from the Ashes · Author: Raksha the Demon · Races: Men:
Post-Sauron's Fall · ID: 142
Reviewer: Branwyn · 2006-08-04 11:17:18
Tolkien was an ailurophobe who had little good to say about cats. In
this story, fortunately, Aragorn and Faramir show more wisdom than their
creator. The tale is set in the Hallows in the autumn after the end of
the War; Aragorn and Faramir have come to plan the necessary cleanup and
repair of the gutted House of the Stewards. A few realistic details--a
worker's handcart and piles of stone and ash--create the setting.
Faramir's fear of disappointing his new king and friend is very
touching, and the dialogue shows clearly that he is still a little
uncertain in his role as steward (which is not unrealistic since he
never expected to hold the title). Faramir is able to calm the mother
cat with the same skill that he used to calm his horse when the Nazgul
attacked during the retreat from the Causeway Forts. Both he and Aragorn
show a characteristic pity for this half-starved, homeless cat and her
brood.

Faramir's reaction when he revisits the scene of his father's death is a
recurring theme in fanfic, but this is probably the first cheerful,
positive story about the event! The tale of Beruthiel and her cats is
filled with cruelty and mistrust, but Raksha clevely uses it as the
inspiration for a story about kindness and hope.

-----------------------------------