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Msg# 7506

Reviews for 15 October Posted by Rhapsody October 15, 2006 - 16:08:19 Topic ID# 7506
Title: Somewhere to Belong · Author: Lily · Races: Hobbits: Pre-Quest ·
ID: 942
Reviewer: Dreamflower · 2006-09-22 02:54:56
A lovely and sad story--Frodo is baby-sitting little Pippin, who is
sick. While comforting his little cousin, Pippin learns for the first
time of Frodo's parents. Their exchange and Frodo's private thoughts are
just lovely, and very much in character.
-----------------------------------
Title: Dance on the Way Down · Author: Aliana · Races: Men:
Post-Sauron's Fall · ID: 734
Reviewer: dkpalaska · 2006-09-22 06:05:12
This story flows beautifully, and the writing is precise and clean,
conveying exactly what the author wants while remaining understated. The
thread of the old song, as we follow its growth and change, connects the
"before" and the "after": the oppression of facing Mordor with no real
hope for relief, which becomes the innocence of young people who know
nothing but peace and expect nothing else for their own future.

Aliana does a wonderful job of contrasting the children of the two
times. The older characters' wartime memories are a mix of vague and
sharp, not all of them shared and many suppressed, carrying both
internal and external wounds gotten much too young. The younger
characters are truly still children, at an age when the older folk were
forced into early and grim maturity, and this "extended childhood" is
acknowledged as the way things ought to be. The narrator accurately
reflects that events are measured by whether they occurred before the
War or after the War, ["(f)or the space between was so wide&"]

Of all the wonderful inclusions in this story, my favorite has to be the
portrayal of the narrator's marriage. In only a few short exchanges and
reminiscences, Aliana conveys pages of information about them. I
especially loved the reflection, ["But still, she thinks. Still, it will
take a lifetime and more to learn this man."]

Aliana's story is actually the centerpiece of a trio, with the beginning
and end pieces written by Aeneid. There are events and characters
referenced that were developed in other stories by both authors, but
none of them are necessary to appreciate and enjoy ["Dance on the Way
Down"] by itself - it is superbly self-contained. However, this story
gains even more depth and poignancy by having some familiarity with
them. This is particularly true for the memories of the unnamed narrator
from Aliana's ["Fallen"].
-----------------------------------
Title: The Pippin · Author: GamgeeFest · Races: Hobbits: Poetry · ID: 937
Reviewer: Dreamflower · 2006-09-22 09:31:46
A humorous parody on Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven", featuring a ravenous
young Pippin. Very funny, and the poet keeps the rhyme and meter just right!
-----------------------------------
Title: What Goes Around · Author: GamgeeFest · Genres: Humor: Children ·
ID: 188
Reviewer: Dreamflower · 2006-09-22 09:42:49
This is a hilarious little tale, that never fails to set me off in
giggles. It's a story-in-a-story, in which Merry and Pippin find
themselves in the unenviable position of disciplining their offspring,
which results in Pippin telling Merry a story of one of his--shall we
say, less than stellar--moments. His string of disasters, and the
outcome is side-splitting. As is the realization of just how devious
parents can be.
-----------------------------------
Title: The Story of a Garden, by Frodo Baggins · Author: GamgeeFest ·
Genres: Drama: Pre-Fellowship · ID: 713
Reviewer: Dreamflower · 2006-09-22 09:45:08
Such a sweet tale young Frodo writes for wee Sam, little knowing just
how true it all will prove to be one day. Very touching and poignant.
-----------------------------------
Title: Not In Vain · Author: Pipwise Brandygin · Races: Hobbits: War of
the Ring · ID: 675
Reviewer: Dreamflower · 2006-09-22 09:54:39
Such a wise conversation between Gandalf and Pippin, as they are on
their ride to Minas Tirith. It seems a very natural and realistic
conversation, one that would have to happen at some point--inevitable. I
always like stories in which the affection between Gandalf and Pippin is
examined. Very well done.
-----------------------------------
Title: Lothlorien · Author: laiquendi · Genres: Drama: Poetry · ID: 925
Reviewer: Dreamflower · 2006-09-22 09:57:38
Very evocative.
-----------------------------------
Title: Sacrafice · Author: laiquendi · Races: Elves: Poetry · ID: 924
Reviewer: Dreamflower · 2006-09-22 10:00:03
Well-done look at the movie-verse death of Haldir at Helm's Deep. Good
use of rhyme and meter.
-----------------------------------
Title: Instinct · Author: SlightlyTookish · Races: Hobbits: Hurt/Comfort
· ID: 965
Reviewer: Dreamflower · 2006-09-22 18:13:40
I like this story for a number of reasons. For one thing it makes use of
an underutilized plot device--we know there were predators in the Shire,
and young hobbits would have been vulnerable to them. And for another
thing we see *both* the cousins protecting one another at the same time.
In addition, there is the bit of foreshadowing, of when Pippin finds
Merry in Mina Tirith. This tale is a very well-crafted piece.
-----------------------------------
Title: Sam's Voice · Author: illyria-pffyffin · Races: Hobbits:
Post-Sauron's Fall · ID: 964
Reviewer: Dreamflower · 2006-09-22 18:16:53
Frodo reflects on what Sam's voice means to him. More than anything, it
is a protection from the darkness within him, that he brought back from
the Quest. Very lyrical and poetic.
-----------------------------------
Title: Relics · Author: Nickey · Races: Hobbits: Post-Grey Havens · ID: 620
Reviewer: Dreamflower · 2006-09-22 18:24:08
This author does dark and creepy angst so very beautifully. Sam, trying
to still his memories of September, and what that meant to him, busies
himself with work, only to uncover the remains of something best left
uncovered. Or not. Being Sam, he does the right thing.
-----------------------------------
Title: On The Road Home · Author: Ruby Nye · Races: Hobbits: Post-Grey
Havens · ID: 889
Reviewer: Dreamflower · 2006-09-22 18:34:32
This is a *whole* lot slashier than what I usually read, and I kept
trying to skip parts, but my eyes were caught by the angst, and the
desperation of their grief. They care about one another, and the way
they assuaged that grief was almost secondary to the love behind it. A
beautiful piece of writing.
-----------------------------------
Title: Incubus · Author: Werecat · Times: Fourth Age and Beyond:
Incomplete · ID: 127
Reviewer: Gandalfs apprentice · 2006-09-22 20:41:10
Okay, Werecat, I've just read this story again and it's making me
impatient. It's been months since you started it, building up a great
storyline full of suspense, establishing a wonderful cast of characters,
including some of my favorites--and nothing since. Generally I don't
like crossovers, but this one is so appropriate, and the creature
involved so Middle-earth (the nameless things in the deep), that there's
no jarring at all.

So finish it, already!
-----------------------------------
Title: The Fading of a Star · Author: Minuialeth · Genres: Drama:
General Fixed-Length Ficlet · ID: 219
Reviewer: Raksha the Demon · 2006-09-23 02:00:43
Sad and beautiful drabble, with a beautiful and particularly apt title.
Arwen's becoming a mortal must have been a wrench to many of her friends
and kindred, as this ficlet demonstrates in a gentle, but terribly
effective way. The last line is particularly brilliant.


-----------------------------------
Title: The Steward and the Wizard · Author: Acacea · Genres: Drama:
Gondor Fixed-Length Ficlet · ID: 522
Reviewer: Elen Kortirion · 2006-09-23 20:00:11
An interesting look at Denethor and his need to be the focus of his sons
lives. It lays the very plausible foundation of another possible cause
of enmity between himself and Gandalf with great subtlety and economy
-----------------------------------
Title: The Parting Gift · Author: Imhiriel · Times: First Age and Prior:
Fixed-Length Ficlet · ID: 948
Reviewer: Elen Kortirion · 2006-09-23 20:01:23
That is a beautiful thought that in all the ages that had passed, Elrond
still held and valued that parting gift. It gives a wonderful sense of
continuity - and the bittersweet thought that Elvish ties with the past
are, for them, a constant reality.
-----------------------------------
Title: My Eyes! My Eyes! · Author: Alassante · Genres: Humor:
Fixed-Length Ficlet · ID: 358
Reviewer: Elen Kortirion · 2006-09-23 20:02:02
Well done, that made me laugh out loud. And I like the idea that the
ethereal Lady Arwen has as much of an urge to squeeze a choice pair of
buttocks as the rest of us have! *g*
-----------------------------------
Title: Dark Appetites · Author: Elena Tiriel · Races: Villains:
Fixed-Length Ficlet · ID: 833
Reviewer: Elen Kortirion · 2006-09-23 20:02:29
Very chilling. It took me until almost the end to realise this was no
defeated orc but Shelob who skulked in the darkness. You have caught the
malice and bitter brooding beautifully.
-----------------------------------
Title: That Immortal Sea · Author: Marta · Races: Men: Steward's Sons
Fixed-Length Ficlets · ID: 265
Reviewer: Elen Kortirion · 2006-09-23 20:04:56
Great crossover, this was something that really made me smile alot - now
I'm not sure if I see Johnny Depp in a long blond wig, or Legolas
whacked out on illicit substances - magic mushrooms anyone? *g*
-----------------------------------
Title: With Bow and Blade · Author: Lady Aranel · Races: Elves:
Fixed-Length Ficlet Featuring Legolas or Thranduil · ID: 282
Reviewer: Elen Kortirion · 2006-09-23 20:05:39
I very much like this view of their intimate connection, something above
merely human intuition. And the staccato tempo of the language invokes
the focus of battle very well; when everything is reduced to the actions
that kill your enemy and keep you alive. The double view works
beautifully to realise both the story and to convey the closeness of
their relationship
-----------------------------------
Title: Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit · Author: Altariel · Genres: Drama:
Gondor Fixed-Length Ficlet · ID: 91
Reviewer: Elen Kortirion · 2006-09-23 20:06:51
Nice crossover. It's very interesting to read little views that come
from other 'universes' so to speak, and yet they provide another
dimension to Middle-earth
-----------------------------------
Title: Midwinter in Mordor · Author: Tanaqui · Races: Villains:
Fixed-Length Ficlet · ID: 872
Reviewer: Elen Kortirion · 2006-09-23 20:07:37
Very dark indeed! Yet it caters very well to the fact that every race,
real or fictional, seems to evolve a winter festival of feasting - I'm
just glad ours centres around cakes and turkey!
-----------------------------------
Title: Making the Legends of Our Times · Author: Gwynnyd · Times: Fourth
Age and Beyond: Fixed-Length Ficlet · ID: 860
Reviewer: Elen Kortirion · 2006-09-23 20:08:37
That last line really made me smile - so artless, so typically
childlike, but such a terrific look at events turning to disconnected
legends. I'd love to see the little lasses face when someone tells her
who her grandmother is - she'll be so proud!
-----------------------------------
Title: Work Detail · Author: Gandalfs apprentice · Genres: Romance:
Fixed-length ficlet · ID: 789
Reviewer: Elen Kortirion · 2006-09-23 20:10:00
That is a very charming vision you have going there... a very happy and
cosy look at the intimacy between those two - to say 'young' lovers is
hardly correct, so let's just say newly-weds. *g*
-----------------------------------
Title: The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship · Author: Elana · Times:
Early Third Age: Fixed-Length Ficlet · ID: 150
Reviewer: Elen Kortirion · 2006-09-23 20:10:50
How delicious! And of course, there has to be a first time for their
meeting - I love that it was over pipe-weed, and the promise of
fireworks to come.
-----------------------------------