Yahoo Forum Archive

Title: Healing the Healer · Author: SlightlyTookish · Times: The Great
Years: The Fellowship · ID: 935
Reviewer: Dreamflower · 2006-09-26 17:54:54
This is so cute. I love turnabout stories, where the hobbits take care
of the Big Folk--and this one, where they practically smother Aragorn in
hobbity TLC is just darling. Poor Aragorn, being killed with kindness! LOL!
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Title: Don't Panic! · Author: Boz4PM · Times: The Great Years · ID: 908
Reviewer: Dreamflower · 2006-09-26 18:00:25
For once, the "modern girl falls into Middle-earth" type story is dealt
with realistically. I *loved* this story--Penny is so clueless at first,
and then when she begins to realize when and where she actually is, she
literally goes into hysterics. She's just an ordinary modern person. She
has no special skills, no special abilities. She doesn't even speak the
language--after all, Westron is *not* English. Simply coping with day to
day living in M-e is traumatic for her. There is, of course, a lot of
the "fish out of water" humor, but there is also a good deal of
realistic angst. I highly reccommend this as an excellent read!
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Title: Whispers of the Dragon · Author: Shirebound · Times: The Great
Years: The Fellowship · ID: 916
Reviewer: Dreamflower · 2006-09-26 18:11:45
This is an interesting take on how the Ring tried to ensnare the
Company, and most especially, how it concentrated on Boromir, during the
journey on the Anduin. It is not until the very end that it strays into
AU territory, and then back out, leaving the rest of canon intact. I
liked the comparison of the Ring's temptations to Smaug's wily words
with Bilbo.
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Title: Memorabilia and Other Useful Things · Author: Illwynd · Times:
The Great Years: The Fellowship · ID: 714
Reviewer: Dreamflower · 2006-09-26 18:17:26
It very much seems like the kind of thing Pippin would do--to save
little bits of this and that as souvenirs. Very cute!
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Title: I Yessë En Mentë · Author: Rous · Genres: Drama: Poetry · ID: 739
Reviewer: Dreamflower · 2006-09-26 21:36:26
A very long and evocative poem, describing the chaos and horror of
battle. Wonderfully descriptive.
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Title: An Elf · Author: laiquendi · Races: Elves: Poetry · ID: 725
Reviewer: Dreamflower · 2006-09-26 21:44:08
A very nice series of verses, describing the various roles held by
Legolas. Each is well-done alone, but together they evoke a good picture
of the Elf.
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Title: Unspeakable · Author: White Gull · Genres: Romance: Poetry · ID: 822
Reviewer: Dreamflower · 2006-09-26 21:47:39
If if had not been for the pairing indicated in the story details, I
would never have thought this to be Frodo and Rose. It's an interesting
concept, and beautifully expressed.
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Title: The Silent Street · Author: Sophinisba Solis · Races: Hobbits:
Merry & Pippin · ID: 65
Reviewer: Nancy Brooke · 2006-09-27 00:12:48
I always admire stories that deal with the Hobbits "post-traumatic
stress." This one was both highly respectful and imaginative.
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Title: Merry Yules · Author: Marigold · Races: Hobbits: Fixed-Length
Ficlet series · ID: 114
Reviewer: Nancy Brooke · 2006-09-27 00:16:55
These are very sweet, but a bit repetitive all together.
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Title: King's Man · Author: Gandalfs apprentice · Times: The Great
Years: Vignette · ID: 197
Reviewer: Nancy Brooke · 2006-09-27 00:21:41
This is a wonderful character study, that character being the friendship
between Aragorn and Halbarad. I found it particulalry effective and
moving that you paint Halbarad as Aragorn's first supporter, first to
hail him and urge the others to do so by example, and his first Dunedan
teacher, then partner. Wonderful.
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Title: The Standard-Bearer · Author: Thevina Finduilas · Races: Men:
Vignette · ID: 716
Reviewer: Nancy Brooke · 2006-09-27 00:25:56
Very interesting that you've taken the less popular path of having
Aragorn the teacher and Halbarad the follower, here. That perspective,
and Halbarad's unwavering faith in Aragorn give this relationship a
freshness, here.
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Title: Finding the Right Words · Author: Nienor Niniel · Races: Men:
Post-Sauron's Fall · ID: 785
Reviewer: Nancy Brooke · 2006-09-27 00:31:48
This is most tender and insighful. Only Faramir would need the approval
of all that had gone before him, including most sweetly his mother and
brother, before performin his duty. I found it most endearing.
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Title: The White Tree · Author: Linda Hoyland · Races: Men: Featuring
Aragorn · ID: 94
Reviewer: Nancy Brooke · 2006-09-27 00:39:07
Very clever: to use the uprooting and new planting of the white tree as
a device to explore Faramir's understandable discomfort with the new king.
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Title: A Humble Gift · Author: GamgeeFest · Genres: Drama: Featuring
Pippin or Merry · ID: 722
Reviewer: Raksha the Demon · 2006-09-27 01:04:02
Touching and effective. I always enjoy Pippin-Faramir interaction and
this tale does not disappoint.

And Faramir's gift is beautifully described and quite appropriate - very
Tolkienish in the idea and its execution.
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Title: The Dancing Master · Author: Flick · Races: Men: Vignette · ID: 323
Reviewer: Raksha the Demon · 2006-09-27 03:36:22
Lovely vignette. The image of Boromir as seen through Eowyn's memory, as
a golden prince patiently showing the young and awkward tomboy Eowyn how
to dance, [one soldier to another], is quite charming. And Boromir was
right of course about dancing being a useful skill for warriors, as an
aid to flexibility and coordination. Most importantly, Boromir took time
to help a lonely, prickly little girl come out of her shell, much as he
helped his own younger brother.
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Title: Was It For This? · Author: Alawa · Genres: Drama: Remembering ·
ID: 88
Reviewer: Raksha the Demon · 2006-09-27 03:45:19
Sad, and sensitively written. I loved the bit about Aragorn remembering
only the scent of pipeweed and soap from Arathorn. We know that Elrond
was a good and kindly foster-father to Aragorn, but it was a terribly
cruel fate that robbed Arathorn of a chance to see his little son grow
up and Aragorn of at least more detailed memories.

Good story!
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Title: On the Fair Hill · Author: Imhiriel · Times: Late Third Age:
Fixed-Length Ficlet · ID: 946
Reviewer: dkpalaska · 2006-09-27 06:36:06
I love how beautifully descriptive this piece is. I feel as though I am
right there in the Golden Wood, and see each part of the scene vividly
in my mind. As if I could reach out and have one of the mallorn leaves
fall into my hand, or tilt my head back and watch the leaves shifting on
the swaying branches, or stoop down to run my fingers over the flowers
in the grass. The drabble is lush and full and completely unhurried,
even though there is a lot of detail contained in the piece. The final
line is perfect, concisely tying all of it to one specific place and
time within Lorien. The momentousness of the event is enhanced by having
such a carefully prepared setting for it to take place in.

I have always disliked the ambivalent way that Tolkien ended the story
of Aragorn and Arwen in the appendices, but I love the beginning and
middle portions - the powerful love that they shared, Arwen giving up
all her family and Elven immortality to share a mortal life and
(hopefully) the Secondborn's version of immortality afterwards. I
personally prefer to think that Arwen ended her life with the same hope
that infused the beginning of their bond, a hope for both themselves and
Middle-earth that deserves the beauty of Cerin Amroth as Imhiriel so
marvelously describes it. This is how I will imagine their
troth-plighting whenever I read about it in the future.
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Title: The Parting Gift · Author: Imhiriel · Times: First Age and Prior:
Fixed-Length Ficlet · ID: 948
Reviewer: dkpalaska · 2006-09-27 06:47:36
I'm always amazed that such a seemingly innocuous detail, plucked from
the books, is given particular poignancy and feeling in such a short
format. I had never before paid attention to the fact that Elrond
carried a harp with him to the Grey Havens, and yet that obscure fact
became a centerpiece of this drabble and received a believable and
touching explanation.

I have long loved the part of the Silmarillion where somehow, despite
all that happened, Elrond and Elros came to love Maglor. I always felt
that his rescuing Earendil and Elwing's children, and the twins'
apparent forgiveness for his part in what happened to their parents, was
a sign of partial redemption for Maglor - seemingly the most reluctant
of all the Kinslayers. I love that in this drabble Maglor found an
appropriate gift that could remain with Elrond and "sing" for him even
when Maglor could not, and provide a reminder of love and affection
shared through all the long years that Elrond would remain in Middle-earth.

I also liked the gentle tribute to any artist's completion of a long and
beloved effort: ["Both satisfied and melancholy at being done..."] In my
humble experience this is so often true. (Along with relief, oh yes -
that, too!) I have to wonder, though: What about Elros' gift?
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Title: Sixteen Singing Eagles · Author: Isabeau of Greenlea · Races:
Cross-Cultural: Fixed-Length Ficlet · ID: 678
Reviewer: dkpalaska · 2006-09-27 07:27:42
Isabeaus Hethlin is one of the best OFCs Ive read. She is a very
capable and talented individual, but her characterization is
well-rounded. Isabeau keeps Hethlin human by writing her as lacking in
some areas, and singing is one ability that Heth just doesn't have. From
miscellaneous descriptions scattered throughout Isabeau's writings, I
picture her as being completely tone-deaf, or very nearly so. Certainly
her speaking voice is noted as being very pleasant.

I love that this particular failing becomes another connection between
her and her eagle friends. It was rather entertaining to see that even
young eagles can be extremely rude, despite their strong racial emphasis
on manners and polite behavior  Thelagos must be the eagle equivalent
of a human teenager. And I was tickled by the reference to the song
[Gondor Shall Abide]. Even in a short piece like this drabble there are
allusions to other events and sources within Altariel and Isabeaus
shared universe.

The setting of the eagle-moot was just as I would expect, and the
exchanges between Hethlin and the eagles (and her observances about
them) were excellent. This was a very funny and enjoyable interlude, but
naturally it only whets my appetite for Hethlins further adventures,
since this indicates there is at least one northern venture in her future!
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Title: The Return of the Shadow · Author: juno_magic · Genres: Alternate
Universe: Incomplete · ID: 330
Reviewer: Aranel Took · 2006-09-27 14:11:09
An interesting story of what happens when our world crosses over with
Middle-Earth. But it's not your stereotypical "girl falls into
Middle-Earth" story--things are not so simple in Return of the Shadow.
The characters have complex backstories and their characterizations are
fleshed out--they feel like real people. Mina, the heroine, is capable
and intelligent, but she also has the flaws and insecurities of a real
person. Elentar can be stubborn and a pain in the behind.

Elentar has already had a long and interesting life in our world by the
time Mina meets him. These moments, along with his childhood in
Middle-Earth, occur in flashback chapters (with a guest appearance by a
famous person, which I found very fun to read). These chapters gradually
fill in Elentar's story and how he came to be a homeless elf on the
streets of Berlin. And when Mina and Elentar make a discovery about
Tolkien himself, the story really takes off and now I wait
not-so-paitiently to find out what happens next.
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Title: I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes · Author: juno_magic · Races: Men · ID: 698
Reviewer: Aranel Took · 2006-09-27 14:34:38
This story is a look at a hidden corner of Middle-Earth, the story of an
average person. This gives a unique perspective of the world, removed
from the focus of the cultures we are so familiar with. It's a different
perspective on Eru than what we are familiar with. As the man makes his
journey to the top of the mountain, to relieve his comrade at the
beacon, his unique worldview unfolds. This is the story's greatest
asset--that it's a totally fresh look at Middle-Earth.
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Title: About Legends or Whisperings of a Ghost · Author: juno_magic ·
Races: Men · ID: 699
Reviewer: Aranel Took · 2006-09-27 15:21:43
Legend has it that Beruthiel was a dark queen who set her cats to spy on
the people of Gondor. But what if that wasn't true?

We know that history is written by the victors and that is the premise
that Juno uses here. What if Beruthiel was a victim of a dream that
turned into a nightmare? What if the "spying" cats were only trying to
help an innocent girl trapped in the clutches of a madman? What if it
were the king who had tortured the brave cats? The story is dark and
sad, and sometimes disturbing, but that is often the case for people in
real life, and Juno gives Beruthiel life beyond the hints of her legend.
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Title: Drift · Author: Ribby · Times: The Great Years: Gondor
Fixed-Length Ficlets · ID: 203
Reviewer: Nancy Brooke · 2006-09-27 16:12:37
I love the idea that even silent things - the river and its denizens -
could be touched by Boromir's fate.
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Title: Just a Little Shove · Author: Inglor · Genres: Humor:
Fixed-Length Ficlet · ID: 798
Reviewer: Nancy Brooke · 2006-09-27 16:14:15
This is a great little idea. The author starts with so small a wrinkle
in the story, and explores every fold and consequence without ever
seeming to be confined by the form. Great job, Inglor.
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Title: The Standard-Bearer · Author: Thevina Finduilas · Races: Men:
Vignette · ID: 716
Reviewer: Dreamflower · 2006-09-27 16:31:13
This is a very moving interior monologue by Halbarad, who is coming to
realize that he may not survive the battle, and that his chieftain, who
has always been his dear friend, will soon become King. Very evocative
and insightful!
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