Yahoo Forum Archive

Title: Alas, for the dying of the trees · Author: Gandalfs apprentice ·
Races: Cross-Cultural: Fixed-Length Ficlet · ID: 788
Reviewer: Oshun · 2006-08-10 01:07:41
Nobody hates to think about aging more than I do. Having said that, I
have to admit that this short piece relentlessly drew me into
consideration of the dreaded topic. (Perhaps I could handle it a little
better if I had Legolas around to sing me pretty songs about it. Nah. I
doubt it. I think I would be just as grumpy as Gimli.)

Love the language referenceI can relate to Gimlis sentiments on that
one as well. Some of the things I hear from the younger crowd around my
own house sure make me wish that I had never learned Spanish! Anyway, to
get back on point, I love both your characterization of Legolas and
Gimli in this story. I love the incandescent images. It is a perfect
little piece. Short is so hard to do well. I am so happy to hear that
you will be writing more on those two--Middle Earths quintessential odd
couple. I certainly intend to follow all of your upcoming Legolas and
Gimli stories.

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Title: Fairy Tales of Middle-Earth · Author: DrummerWench · Genres:
Drama · ID: 261
Reviewer: Marta · 2006-08-10 02:42:41
These are all fantastic. They really seem to create a culture in
Middle-earth bybuilding canonical hints into full-grown folk stories.
It's a really interesting way of gap-filling.
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Title: Gondor Needs No King · Author: Ribby · Times: The Great Years:
Gondor Fixed-Length Ficlets · ID: 207
Reviewer: Marta · 2006-08-10 02:45:16
*meep* There's lots of dark little hints here, but especially the line
about ["such a pity"] that they weren't abloe to pull Faramir away in
time. It's that understatement that really got me about this drabble.
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Title: Inspirare · Author: Ariel · Races: Hobbits: Friendship · ID: 622
Reviewer: Súlriel · 2006-08-10 02:51:33
Ariel, this is absolutely exquisite. The subtly and nuances are
wonderfully done, the slow twist of the tone is especially well done
with the weaving of the threads from the smells, the baby, Frodo's
illness and coming back to the child. I started out, nodding and
smiling, I had the same problem with smells with both my pregnancies,
and ended up with goosebumps and tears in my eyes.

I always enjoy your work, but you've out-done yourself with this one.
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Title: Swan Dance · Author: Rhapsody · Times: First Age and Prior:
Fixed-Length Ficlet · ID: 797
Reviewer: Marta · 2006-08-10 02:55:02
The use of the song metaphor to describe the kinslaying here was eerie.
It reminded me of the disharmony of Melkor's strain in the Great Music.
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Title: 17 Cunning Corsairs · Author: stefaniab · Genres: Humor:
Fixed-Length Ficlet · ID: 244
Reviewer: Marta · 2006-08-10 03:09:03
Hee! All hail Lothiriel, long lost Corsair Queen. Methinks there's a
hint of Pippi Longstocking in this rendition of her. And that's all for
the good - it would take someone with that adventurous spirit to be the
queen of her own roving band of horse-lords someday. This was really
cute and fun, all the way through to the end.
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Title: When The Days Are Warm · Author: Branwyn · Genres: Drama: The
Steward's Family · ID: 145
Reviewer: Raksha the Demon · 2006-08-10 04:05:44
A vignette of Finduilas and her two children that is sweet, cute, and
very sad. It's sad because the reader and, it seems to me, Finduilas,
know what the children do not; that she does not have longer than a year
or two to live. Boromir suspects that something is terribly wrong, and
the writer deftly captures his angry determination to make his mother
fight, to relish life, if only through leaving the stale-smelling room
and coming out into the garden. Faramir is too young to understand; a
happy little boy equally determined to share simple pleasures with the
mother he doesn't realize is ill.

The dialogue flows very naturally. Though it's hard to write children
realistically, the writer pulls it off nicely. Little Faramir's joyful,
chirping delivery of the flowers he pulled from the garden is
particularly affecting; and Boromir's mental commentary about his
brother's penchant for "great truths" is particularly funny in a wry and
understated way.

Good use of descriptive details, such as Faramir's holding [a muddy
fistful of] flowers, and the specific lavender scent of the room, help
create a very real sense of place and time.
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Title: An Army of Tooks · Author: Mariole · Races: Hobbits:
Post-Sauron's Fall · ID: 831
Reviewer: Raksha the Demon · 2006-08-10 08:27:02
This is a rousing story of Pippin's return to his home and rousing the
Tooks to fight for the Shire. It's a milestone in Pippin's development,
as the pampered baby of the Took household returns home as a tall and
brave knight and takes up his duties as the Tooks' heir and defender.

Good characterisations of Pippin's parents, too.
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Title: Summoned · Author: Agape4Gondor · Races: Men: Steward's Sons
Fixed-Length Ficlets · ID: 840
Reviewer: Raksha the Demon · 2006-08-10 08:33:00
An interesting fixed-length vignette exploring Faramir's differing
feelings for Minas Tirith and Ithilien between Sauron's downfall and
Aragorn's coronation. The ending is a bit unexpected, but most of the
piece flows well and it all holds the reader's interest quite well.
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Title: The Lost Hunter · Author: tuxedo_elf · Times: First Age and Prior
· ID: 721
Reviewer: Marta · 2006-08-10 14:06:39
This was certianly a novel idea, and you made it work for me. I'm not
sure I can fully accept a love relationship between a Vala and any of
the Eruhini, just because I'm not sure they could be fully equal. But
you built on some things from canon that made the story really synch
with the larger canon. The story tried to cover too many events too
quickly for my personal taste (which is not a comment on the story per
se, but rather my ability to enjoy *anything* written in this style) and
the fact that I enjoyed it as much as I did was a testament to the
authors skills. What details there were were very rich, and the style
fit the POV character better than I think I've ever seen.
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Title: A Spring Day At Cormallen · Author: Marigold · Races:
Cross-Cultural · ID: 746
Reviewer: Marta · 2006-08-10 14:19:50
This was touching. You have captured Pippin's hope, curiosity, and
incorrigibility so well here.
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Title: The Letter · Author: Gryffinjack · Races: Hobbits: Post-Sauron's
Fall · ID: 955
Reviewer: GamgeeFest · 2006-08-10 14:49:48
Listening to the hobbits attempting to find the right way to tell their
loved ones about their duties in the war and that they are now fine was
not only charmingly hilarious but also reminded you of just what these
four friends have been through. The wounds and horrors are still there,
but in typical hobbit fashion, they find a way to make light of it all.
The final letter Paladin receives is appropriately parent-friendly. I
also greatly enjoyed seeing a caring and concerned Paladin, as most
representations of him show him as being stern toward Pippin, even after
his son is returned to him.
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Title: Make It One For Paladin · Author: Marta · Races: Hobbits:
Post-Sauron's Fall · ID: 48
Reviewer: GamgeeFest · 2006-08-10 15:05:55
Robin is one of my favorite minor characters and it's nice to see him
take center stage in this dark and tragic look back at the Occupation of
Men in the Shire. The aftermaths as seen through his eyes are poignant
and harrowing. He's unlikely to be the only one to have those dark
thoughts, but because of his guilt he is unable to see that. His guilt
eats at him and the author does a brilliant job of bringing that to the
page.
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Title: A New Kind of Courage · Author: Auntiemeesh · Genres: Drama:
Featuring Pippin or Merry · ID: 959
Reviewer: GamgeeFest · 2006-08-10 15:23:59
Pippin losing his memory is an interesting concept and it's well handled
here. Even as Pippin struggles to remember and understand what has
happened to him, you see how deeply he cares for Merry, doing his best
to make sure his cousin's dreams do not plague him more than they need
to. Merry's dreams are wonderfully written, as are his own care and
concern for Pippin. Some of my favorite moments were the times he spent
in the tent with Frodo and Sam, seeking comfort from their sleeping forms.
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Title: Quo Vadis? · Author: Tehta · Times: First Age and Prior · ID: 86
Reviewer: Imhiriel · 2006-08-10 17:36:50
Dark humour in a unique view of the Fall of Gondolin. Vivid
descriptions, original and convincing characterisation of an obscure
canon character.
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Title: Cacophony · Author: Gwynnyd · Genres: Humor: Parody · ID: 929
Reviewer: Dwimordene · 2006-08-10 22:00:34
This reminds me of that line from Douglas Adams: first, God creates the
universe. This, everyone agrees, was a pretty big mistake! Eru appears
to reap the benefits of his own ingenuity with Valar offspring that
would try the musical patience of a heavy metal band. Nice solution in
the end!
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Title: At the Rising of the Moon · Author: Linda Hoyland · Genres:
Humor: Gondor · ID: 846
Reviewer: Dwimordene · 2006-08-10 22:01:07
The things you do for love - or mistletoe - rather the same thing in
this story!
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Title: Trivial Matters · Author: Thundera Tiger · Genres: Humor: Gondor
· ID: 839
Reviewer: Dwimordene · 2006-08-10 22:01:39
Ha, cute! Yes, it's inane, but it's amusing still.
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Title: Concerning Hobbit's Feet · Author: grey_wonderer · Genres: Humor:
The Shire · ID: 828
Reviewer: Dwimordene · 2006-08-10 22:02:10
It seems that males everywhere have the same strange size fixation and
ways of attempting to determine it by the most unscientific and
ridiculous measures. Amusing.
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Title: Hewing Naught But Wood · Author: Thundera Tiger · Genres: Humor:
Parody · ID: 825
Reviewer: Dwimordene · 2006-08-10 22:02:38
*groan!* I hear the Monty Python Argument office is taking applications
for a Middle-earth branch...
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Title: Just a Little Shove · Author: Inglor · Genres: Humor:
Fixed-Length Ficlet · ID: 798
Reviewer: Dwimordene · 2006-08-10 22:03:06
Ah yes, I know this debate! The little nudge becomes a little shove, and
3000 years of Middle-earth's history is altered for the price of one
man's 'accidental stumble' off a volcano ledge.
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Title: Suspicion · Author: Gandalfs apprentice · Genres: Humor:
Fixed-Length Ficlet · ID: 791
Reviewer: Dwimordene · 2006-08-10 22:03:31
Nice interlude--very plausible interaction between Sam and Frodo on the
topic of Strider.
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Title: Theme and Variations · Author: Gandalfs apprentice · Genres:
Humor: Gondor · ID: 784
Reviewer: Dwimordene · 2006-08-10 22:04:23
Not quite the piece I'd have put in the humor section, but cheerful,
hopeful--an excellent opening onto the Fourth Age and Aragorn's and
Faramir's early relationship. Lots of hints and suggestions of things to
come.

Faramir's encounters with various people who have met the redoubtable
Captain Thorongil in the past are well portrayed. Morwen's scheming
provides the bluster necessary to arouse both amusement in anticipation
of her being shown up and the essential irritation to inspire that
amusement. The old household retainer's confusion and dismay when his
new master does not meet his expectations and proceeds to take a more
personal (and unorthodox) interest in the running of his household than
Talbeth thinks proper, are comic, but one sees Aragorn's reasons for
them fairly quickly.

A nice vignette of the days before Arwen's arrival.
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Title: Bored · Author: Make It Stop · Genres: Humor: Gondor · ID: 779
Reviewer: Dwimordene · 2006-08-10 22:05:03
What a difference perspective makes! Cheerfully irreverant, Make_It_Stop
shows us that a quiet, affectionate family dinner, where nothing ever
happens, much to the disappointment of the terminally bored guard,
Weblog, is in fact NOTHING OF THE SORT.

While it may seem that Boromir's devouring of the peas is the only thing
worth watching, a shift to the inside of Faramir's head shows otherwise.
It's a full on mental contest to see who can see the most of the other's
secrets. Not the grand ones, but the petty ones, so the whole thing
eventually dissolves into an irritating game of 'echo' by way of proving
whose insight is clearest.

Excellent parody, from one of the writers of [Lawd of Them Hills].
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Title: Ignorance Is Bliss · Author: Eggo Waffles · Genres: Humor: Parody
· ID: 754
Reviewer: Dwimordene · 2006-08-10 22:05:30
I remember reading this and being grateful that someone else was as
flabbergasted by how many people see Faramir as having either red hair
or blond. Or some version of brownish-coppery-fiery-sandy. The device of
the scrolls makes for an amusing commentary on fandom tendencies where
Denethor's two sons are concerned, and Boromir's absorption in one of
the True Scrolls gets a chuckle.
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