Yahoo Forum Archive

Title: Drabbles for Lord of the Rings · Author: Llinos · Races: Hobbits:
Fixed-Length Ficlet series · ID: 758
Reviewer: Marta · 2006-09-15 01:12:39
Nice job of capturing these chapters in verse. Verse or drabbling would
be hard enough, but doing them together is really commendable.
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Title: A New Year · Author: Bodkin · Times: Fourth Age and Beyond · ID: 704
Reviewer: Marta · 2006-09-15 01:19:41
This is a very nice look at how the elves who had moved to Valinor
before the War of the Ring (or had never left) might have viewed the
straggler's trials in Middle-earth. It reminds me in a way of how
society at large reacts to any localized tragedy: the affected are being
melodramatic. Or it's their own fault. Or whatever. This story was very
true to life in those regards.

I was also tickled to see the return of Miriwen! I have not read all of
Bodkin's stories but recently read "Awaiting the Thaw" and loved her
there; here, their relationship is on a bit more equal terms, and both
her and Elrohir shine. And Olorin becoming more Gandalf-y! Really some
well-told characterizations throughout this piece.
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Title: Ring Thoughts · Author: Nesta · Times: The Great Years · ID: 190
Reviewer: Marta · 2006-09-15 01:29:25
This was really well done. It didn't cover all of Lord of the rings by a
long shot, but the scenes that Nesta did address were woven together
deftly and presented a nice psychological portrait of how the Ring might
want. I particularly liked the sense of disdain, like when the Ring kept
saying ["Woollyfoot"] to refer to Frodo.
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Title: Frodo's Exciting Day Out · Author: Llinos · Genres: Humor: Parody
· ID: 829
Reviewer: Marta · 2006-09-15 01:36:11
Cute. This reminded me in a way of those "Lord of the Rings in ten
minutes" websites that you sometimes see links to, it's funny in a
minimalist sort of way and got to the heart of some episodes in a single
reference. Very cleverly done.
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Title: Sleeping Arrangements · Author: Lady Galadriel · Genres: Drama:
Featuring Frodo or Sam · ID: 312
Reviewer: Dreamflower · 2006-09-15 01:41:15
A sweet story of the mutual protectiveness between Frodo and Sam,
contrasting a childhood experience with one on the Quest.
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Title: Merry Yules · Author: Marigold · Races: Hobbits: Fixed-Length
Ficlet series · ID: 114
Reviewer: Marta · 2006-09-15 01:43:14
I like the way that each of these double drabbles feels just right: not
to short, not too long. You'd never know there was a specific word
limitation. There's joy, sadness, but most of all normal life, and a
delightful hobbity spirit that I have come to expect from this author.
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Title: Divinity · Author: illyria-pffyffin · Races: Hobbits · ID: 824
Reviewer: Marta · 2006-09-15 01:49:15
What a neat little piece! I love the way that you gave all of those LOTR
events a deeper dimmension, my bringing in events from earlier ages.
Very Tolkienesque.
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Title: Sword Play · Author: Lindelea · Times: Fourth Age and Beyond: The
Shire · ID: 782
Reviewer: Dreamflower · 2006-09-15 04:01:15
This is a really cute encounter between young Faramir Took and
Goldilocks Gamgee when both are at that stage of loathing the opposite
sex. Nevertheless, Goldi coaxes Faramir into giving her a "sword
lesson"--with unexpected results. I love Sam in this!
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Title: When Winter Fell · Author: Lindelea · Races: Hobbits: Incomplete
· ID: 111
Reviewer: Dreamflower · 2006-09-15 04:05:49
This author has just about perfected the technique of telling the "dual
story"--two stories separated in time, but united by a similar theme. In
this story, we have the Fell Winter coming on--as witnessed by young
Bilbo in his journal, while he also reads the journal entries of a young
Fortinbras Took about the Long Winter. A sub-plot concerns the place in
the family of Bilbo's eccentric Isengar Took, who left the Shire to go
to sea and was not quite his old self when he returned. An intriguing
story, and the author perfectly catches that self-absorption of even the
best of young adolescents.
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Title: Just Desserts · Author: Lindelea · Times: Fourth Age and Beyond ·
ID: 161
Reviewer: Dreamflower · 2006-09-15 04:11:20
Lindelea's Jack is a favorite of mine. She's created a very believable
OC in him--an intinerent entertainer, he traversed the Shire frequently
in his youth. But he made the mistake of entering once more--and with
ulterior motives--after the King's Edict was in place. In spite of the
fact that he saved the life of Pippin's wife and son, he lives in terror
of his transgression being discovered. And it is.

We see in his case how an overly strict interpretation of the law can
result in a miscarriage of justice--one which will take all the efforts
of Pippin, Merry, Sam and the King himself to make right. It's very
suspenseful, and filled with the author's trademark cliffies. An
excellent and thought-provoking read!
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Title: In a Pig's Eye · Author: Lindelea · Genres: Humor · ID: 747
Reviewer: Dreamflower · 2006-09-15 04:13:48
Hilarious! Pippin, somewhat hysterical and light-headed in his relief at
Frodo's recovery in Rivendell, makes the amazing--to him--discovery that
Elves keep pigs. I love Merry in this--his long-suffering patience is
wearing very thin...This is really funny!
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Title: To See Justice Done · Author: Lindelea · Times: The Great Years:
Post-Sauron's Fall · ID: 306
Reviewer: Dreamflower · 2006-09-15 04:21:11
This story is set in and around the time of Beregond's hearing for his
actions the night of the siege. It fits in very well with other stories
on the same events which the author has written--but this one is in
Sam's POV. And it is Sam, with his questions and his hobbit-sense-who
helps Aragorn to find his way through the tangled maze of legalities,
and find both mercy and true justice for the Guardsman. Very insightul,
this is a favorite theme of this author, and she handles it expertly!
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Title: Distant Lands · Author: Acacea · Genres: Romance: Fixed-length
ficlet · ID: 76
Reviewer: Linda Hoyland · 2006-09-15 04:36:28
A delightful and unusual fictet,in that for once Aragorn is trying to
please his new steward rather than the other way round. What better way
than to entertain FAramir than by telling him of Edoras? Very well written.
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Title: Oaths Foresworn · Author: Rhapsody · Times: First Age and Prior ·
ID: 315
Reviewer: LydiaB · 2006-09-15 17:37:07
This is a truly moving and tragic scene you have written. I was totally
caught up in Maglor's emotions and pain as he watches his brother die
and swears a second, heartrending oath.
The line [We held true, did we not Kano? But was it all worth it?']
makes me teary eyed every time I read it. Beautifully done!
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Title: The Unexpected Guest · Author: pippinfan88 · Genres: Humor: The
Shire · ID: 635
Reviewer: Garnet Took · 2006-09-15 18:50:54
This is an absolutely hilarious story of one strange event leading to
another. Poor Pippin, soaked and miserable, almost getting to spend a
pleasant afternoon in husbandly persuits, and then ending of hiding in a
closet wearing nothing but his curls and a grimace.

The funniest moment was when his sister hands him a saucer to cover his
assets with, when what he want is something a great deal larger. The
question is, did he need something more or did his ego believe that he
did? Either way, the image of Pippin standing there holding a small
plate and wishing the females a pleasant tea is very funny. The older
ladies reactions are priceless.
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Title: A Meara for Me! · Author: Súlriel · Genres: Non-Fiction · ID: 893
Reviewer: LydiaB · 2006-09-15 19:17:53
What a useful resource! Particulary the descriptions of what kind of
tasks each horse could be used for and the elvish names. (I struggle a
little with my elvish!) I actually been struggling to come up with a
realistic description of a work horse, perhaps used for the plow and in
forestry in the Northern Kingdom, and this page has given me a number of
useful pointers, so, thank you!
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Title: My Eyes! My Eyes! · Author: Alassante · Genres: Humor:
Fixed-Length Ficlet · ID: 358
Reviewer: LydiaB · 2006-09-15 19:29:55
What! Is she mad? There'll come a day when she'll learn not to complain
about such things. This little scene had me laughing out loud. I do feel
rather sorry for Aragorn, but as I'm a pervy elf fancier, you're quite
safe from me.
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Title: Hearth and Home · Author: Molly Littlefoot · Races: Hobbits · ID: 730
Reviewer: annmarwalk · 2006-09-15 22:52:35
I enjoyed this story on several different levels. First off, the details
of country life: spinning and weaving, tending pigs, putting up the
garden bounty before winter, even the borrowing of kinfolk to help out
during the summer were colorfully and lovingly described.

The concept of trade between the Shire and Bree, and beyond is something
that I dont remember reading (or even thinking) too much about, but I
like the way youve illustrated it here, with the Shirefolk producing
well-crafted and highly regarded goods for export. These details
contribute so much to making Tolkiens world even more viable and realistic.

I particularly liked the friendship between the hobbit family and the
Ranger, and Mollys effort to make Vista feel welcome, even to buying
man-size dishes and setting them on the mantelpiece, always ready for
his return to a comforting home away from home.

Of course, the main point of the story is the poignant waiting and
wondering for Mollys husband to return. We know only that the dark days
have begun, both for the Shire and the world outside, and share her
apprehension which she must conceal for the sake of her children. This
aspect of the story was very well drawn, and speaks to events that are
happening even in the Fourth Age. Very well done.
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Title: Fugitive · Author: Gandalfs apprentice · Genres: Drama · ID: 366
Reviewer: Dreamflower · 2006-09-16 01:58:44
The young princess of Gondor runs away--but she cannot hide from her
father, who was after all the chief of the Rangers. There is a very
touching father-daughter talk about grief and responsibility. A very
touching little vignette.
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Title: Lonely Night · Author: NeumeIndil · Genres: Drama: Remembering ·
ID: 295
Reviewer: Dreamflower · 2006-09-16 02:06:01
A very angsty look at two prostitutes in a brothel in Rohan? I think
Rohan. Well-written and realistic, yet it could have been anywhere.
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Title: Heirlooms · Author: annmarwalk · Genres: Drama: Remembering · ID: 72
Reviewer: Dreamflower · 2006-09-16 02:10:16
I love the idea that through their mutual kinship to Morwen Steelsheen,
both Faramir and Eowyn found themselves gifted with identical
toys--which had belonged to Boromir and to Theodred, and which end up in
the cradles of their son and their nephew. It's the sort of parallelism
that seems appropriate to M-e, and I think JRRT would approve.
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Title: If Only · Author: Holdur · Genres: Drama: Featuring Pippin or
Merry · ID: 826
Reviewer: Dreamflower · 2006-09-16 02:12:46
Years after, Pippin still remembers and grieves for Boromir. In this
lovely little vignette he has a dream/vision, of Boromir coming to speak
to him and to comfort him. The story has a lovely and appropriate
dreamlike quality to the prose, and the ambiguous ending is beautiful.
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Title: Breath of Winter · Author: Cuthalion · Genres: Drama: Featuring
Pippin or Merry · ID: 101
Reviewer: Dreamflower · 2006-09-16 02:28:04
I love this "story within a story", told from Merry's POV. During the
long night, after Frodo has been stabbed at Weathertop, Merry remembers
another time long ago, when Frodo saved his two young cousins from
freezing to death when they were lost in the snow. This gives him the
idea of how to warm his increasing chill older cousin. The story is very
touching, and you can really feel the strong bond of love. I also like
very much the song/poem of winter, sung to help keep spirits up, in both
the past and present. Very nice story!
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Title: In Darkness Burried Deep · Author: GamgeeFest · Genres: Drama:
Pre-Fellowship · ID: 954
Reviewer: Dreamflower · 2006-09-16 02:32:48
This is a long and involved tale of how Frodo came to be lost in the Old
Forest once, during the time when he was still living in Buckland after
his parents' death. We see him as young and vulnerable, and desperate to
prove himself--not necessarily to the older lads who challenge him into
dangerous stunts--but to himself, for he doubts his own strength and
courage. A side-plot, very nearly as intriguing as Frodo's own story,
involves a feud of sorts between two of those older lads, a couple of
well-drawn OCs, who end up feeling responsible for what happened to
Frodo. A very absorbing and suspenseful story.
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Title: Sweet Woodbine · Author: Bodkin · Times: Fourth Age and Beyond ·
ID: 864
Reviewer: Dreamflower · 2006-09-16 06:24:35
This is a good tale of what Legolas got up to in the Aman in the years
between the loss of his best friend, Gimli, and the arrival of his
father Thranduil. He grieved of course, and then he looked to find
something useful to do--oh, and he fell in love.

While none of this authors tales of Valinor would be complete without
complicated politics, this is mostly Legolas love story. He meets and
falls in love with a wonderful girl, but in true star-crossed lover
style, their families are at odds. She is of the Noldor, and her
parents-most especially her hide-bound father-think an Elf from across
the Sea cannot possibly be good enough for his daughter.

The tale of how they resist one another as long as they can, and how
Legolas finally breaks down enough of the barriers to gain at least
grudging acceptance from her father is epic. And Thranduils
long-awaited arrival brings with it a most unexpected development.
Wonderful story, like all of Bodkins!

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