Yahoo Forum Archive

Title: Green No Longer · Author: Allee · Genres: Drama: Vignette · ID: 666
Reviewer: Larner · 2007-09-27 03:47:01
So many of those who had defended Helm's Deep were green warriors,
young men and boys who lost their innocence and all too often their
lives as well as they went through that interminible night alongside
their King and his men and the three strangers from the north. Aragorn
ponders this truth as he labors over the body of such a young wounded
man, one who is a green warrior no more, and considers those others he
sees about him. What these now proven warriors have won and lost may
never be fully calculated.

A fascinating tribute to all who first face the terror of battle, and
a wonderful look at Aragorn as healer in the aftermath of that great
conflict.

Title: Harvest Bonfire · Author: Cuthalion · Genres: Romance · ID: 667
Reviewer: Larner · 2007-09-27 03:50:52
Rosie and Sam now have four children, and today Sam is off to pick up
tulip bulbs, and Rosie finds herself exhausted and at the ends of her
endurance. A collapse is perhaps long overdue, and it appears she will
no longer be able to fend one off effectively.

Into this situation walks Frodo's once-love Lily Proudfoot, who
realizing Rosie needs a serious break takes over and sends Rosie to
bed, arranging for the children to spend time with their grandparents
and herself for a few days that Sam and his wife might find a renewal
of their own love.

A wondrous gift, both Lily's offer and this story. One of my favorites
ever of Cuthalion's offerings. I've found the Frodo-Lily stories
provacative and even titillating; but this is solid comfort, such as
is proper to be known by our Rosie and Samwise.

Title: Ever in your Arms · Author: White Gull · Races: Cross-Cultural
· ID: 668
Reviewer: Larner · 2007-09-27 03:52:59
That Frodo Baggins failed to form the family he must have wanted
during his life, perhaps in part due to the malevolent nature of the
Ring, has long been a focus of interest for many individuals who love
the original story. His possible love affairs have always managed to
catch at least my interest.

This is one of the stories, however, that truly caught at my
imagination, in which Frodo's attraction to one of Farmer Maggot's
daughters has a serious result when she proves pregnant with Frodo's
child after he sails for Elvenhome. Will this child be accepted by the
Shire and his grandparents and Frodo's extended family, or will it be
ostracized by Hobbit society?

But when a marriage of an Elvish nature is claimed for this most
Elvish of Hobbits and his fey love, all come together to examine the
situation.

I enjoy how Elves and even Tom Bombadil and Goldberry come together in
this tale to see to it that Frodo's legacy is not lost to the folk of
the Shire.

Title: Frodo's Thoughts - Boromir · Author: trikywun · Genres: Drama:
General Drabble · ID: 674
Reviewer: Larner · 2007-09-27 03:54:08
Just how much did Frodo realize ahead of time the obsession Boromir
would know toward the Ring and how that obsession would one day be
expressed? And what did he think of the possible conflict that might
arise between Boromir's loyalty to Gondor and his vow of protection
offered Frodo?

A fascinating brief examination of Frodo's possible feelings before
they reach Amon Hen told most succinctly and well.

Title: The Heir of the Hill · Author: Lothithil · Times: Mid Third
Age: 2851 - 3017 TA · ID: 675
Reviewer: Larner · 2007-09-27 03:57:33
Now, how was it that Frodo Baggins came to be the ward of Bilbo
Baggins, and heir to Bag End, the Hill, and to take on the role of
family head for the Bagginses? A most wonderful tale of how this
happened, complete with attacks of conscience on the part of Sandyman
the Miller and the assistance of two small sprites who adopt Frodo and
move into the gardens of Bag End, masquerading as garden plants.

Now, is Frodo indeed taller than some due to a version of an
Ent-draught; and just how much is Otho Sackville-Baggins willing to do
to do away with this challenger for the vaunted wealth and power of
the Bagginses of Bag End?

Having done my own versions of this portion of Frodo's life, it's
fascinating to see how another writer has approached the same period.
At the time of this writing the story is complete through the Party
and its immediate aftermath, and is mostly canon in nature, with a
satisfying blend of book and original happenings.

Title: End Times · Author: annmarwalk · Genres: Drama: Gondor Drabble
· ID: 702
Reviewer: Larner · 2007-09-27 04:00:21
As always, Ann says so much with such an economy of words. Mags the
Cook realizes more is going on than she can truly understand, with
flames in the Hallows and war in the lower city; but there is the
realization that Faramir is as safe as anyone as wounded as he has
been might be under the care of Mithrandir and Beregond before the
singing of the Rohirrim can be heard as the siege is lifted.

So easily this conveys the confusion and trauma of war as well as the
determination of those who stayed within the Citadel to see that it
continues to run smoothly.

A most creditable piece, and a welcome addition to the Mags tales that
have become so well beloved among Ann's works.

Title: Wings · Author: ErinRua · Genres: Romance: With Rohirrim · ID: 9
Reviewer: Larner · 2007-09-27 04:13:05
Ah, how wonderful! Eomer, on his first visit to Dol Amroth, sees the
sea for the first time and understands fully what there is about
Imrahil's daughter Lothiriel he so loves. And so he proclaims his
joyous discovery to the world and his love's father, who cannot help
but respond positively to this intensity of joy and love.

Wonderful descriptions of land and seascape, and a joyous evocation of
these marvelous characters.

Title: Divine Intervention · Author: Meril · Races: Cross-Cultural:
Incomplete · ID: 68
Reviewer: Larner · 2007-09-27 04:15:54
Oh, I so hope that Meril continues on with this series of looks at the
female among the Valar, described in Romanesque opulence. The few
chapters so far are so rich in promise for what is left yet to be
written! Please, dear Meril, come back to this series and see it
finished at last!

Title: The Anglo-Saxons and the Rohírrim · Author: willow_41z ·
Genres: Non-Fiction · ID: 585
Reviewer: Súlriel · 2007-09-27 04:24:59
First of all, I have to admit that it is hard for me to be totally
objective about this work because I watched in amazement as it come
along inch by agonizing inch. I didn't do enough beta to have any
guilt about reviewing, but I was there to see how much work, thought,
research, blood, sweat and tears went into this.

Every thought and idea was examined from every possible angle and
chewed-upon at length, spit out and kicked around and then looked at
again. Nothing at all was taken for granted. The round table of issues
approached deals with everything from climate to terrain to religion
to politics to language and cultural habits and mores. I especially
like the methodical comparing of apples to apples in each careful
step, citing sources all along the way. Not a single item was sloughed
off or put down with a shrug. Conflicts in ideas or text were not
smoothed over to make them work, but hammered out thin enough to see
through - and the facts recorded, regardless of what expectations had
been.

In a fandom with so many wonderful non-fiction articles, essays and
resources, this one stands out with it's depth of research and wide
variety of sources, and it's careful side by side comparison of the
entire culture.

Kudos to Willow for the amount of work she put into this - it shows!

Title: Coda · Author: Imhiriel · Times: Second Age: Drabble · ID: 627
Reviewer: Súlriel · 2007-09-27 04:50:18

I found this drabble to be achingly heartbreaking. your prose is
strong and visual, and comes across very powerfully in combination
with the strong theme of those things that are being lost, both the
Noldolante and the land of Numenor itself. well done.



Title: A Game of Chess · Author: Marta · Genres: Drama: Gondor Drabble
· ID: 605
Reviewer: Súlriel · 2007-09-27 04:52:09
Wonderful!! Already we see the brilliant strategist.

Title: Weary Beyond Joy Or Sorrow? · Author: Imhiriel · Times: Late
Third Age: 3018-3022 TA: Gondor Drabble · ID: 671
Reviewer: Súlriel · 2007-09-27 04:56:28
This is another wonderful drabble - as I've come to expect from you.
It has a vivid and excellent strength of emotion. You have a talent of
packing a lot of punch in so few words. I especially like, on a
technical note, how you manage to have a character arc in your
drabble. Aragorn starts by ignoring Gandalf and at the end, accepts
his comfort. I know that's very hard to do and you do it well and
consistently.

Title: Sticky Sweet · Author: SheBit · Races: Men: Gondor Drabble ·
ID: 196
Reviewer: Súlriel · 2007-09-27 04:58:48
Lovely conflict and contrast between the hot berry pastries and the
icy cold river and blood. it's very striking emotionally. well done.

Title: Dragons! · Author: Aranel Took · Races: Hobbits: Drabble · ID: 327
Reviewer: Súlriel · 2007-09-27 05:05:41
Poor sweet little Pippin, little did any of them realize what dragons
he would face before too long. Very good job of showing his persistent
personality in this short piece.

Title: Respite · Author: Lindelea · Races: Men: Gondor Drabble · ID: 303
Reviewer: Súlriel · 2007-09-27 05:09:08
Oh Lin. Well done. I can sooo see Faramir sneaking a bit of reading
here and there where he can. I suppose his men understood, or at least
accepted him, and gave him as much time as they could.

Title: Those Darned Socks! · Author: AmandaK · Genres: Alternate
Universe: Gondor or Rohan · ID: 188
Reviewer: annmarwalk · 2007-09-27 22:01:31
One of the joyful surprises of life within the fanfiction community is
nuzgul-flinging: the way a word or phrase or fragment of imagery
within a story can set another author off to expand on that theme in
her own works. In this story, AmandaK has taken an event from
EdorasLass's story "A Thankless Task", moved it thirty years into the
future, and set it firmly into her own alternate universe where it is
both heartwarming and wibble-inducing, a deadly combination.

Amanda's imagery, as always, is wonderfully vivid: the woman sitting
by the window, catching the last light of evening as she works on her
needlework; Boromir/Erandir's sudden stillness as, watching her, he is
captured by a childhood memory; the amusing and realistic description
of a hole [the size of a Far Harad gold coin] in Boromir's sock. Her
incorporation of a part of EdorasLass's story is seamless, and
transitions smoothly into adult!Boromir's rueful recognition that he
should have heeded his Nanny's advice.

This vignette is part of "The Long Road Home" AU, a world in which
Amanda has given us an older, wiser Boromir. He's a lovely Boromir to
read: it's very satisfying to imagine him making amends, even if only
in his own mind, for the pain he has caused. I'm delighted that Amanda
is continuing to expand upon that tale in this and other stories.



Title: Clothes Make the Man · Author: Gandalfs apprentice · Genres:
Humor: Drabble · ID: 625
Reviewer: Súlriel · 2007-09-28 01:48:40
Oh how wonderful! I don't know how you manage to pack so much
personality and culture in so few words. Not just the two on-stage,
but the two ladies as well. Well done!

Title: No Escape · Author: Aranel Took · Times: Mid Third Age: 2851 -
3017 TA: Drabble · ID: 324
Reviewer: Súlriel · 2007-09-28 01:56:32
*Reader tries to gulp*. *has to pick jaw up off floor*. *successfully
gulps*. umm. WOW! I know I have been somewhat out of touch, but I've
only read your sweet hobbit stuff - which I enjoy, but... I honestly
had to look back at the title page to be sure I had the right drabble.
This is horrid and chilling; I mean that in a good way, of course. It
gave me Goosebumps and tears. Wonderfully visceral, evocative and
emotional. Incredible use of repetition with the 'no escape' beat.
This is a prime example of how sometimes leaving scenes off stage, the
'not showing', can be stronger than what is shown and said.

Title: Jewel · Author: Aranel Took · Genres: Romance: Drabble · ID: 325
Reviewer: Súlriel · 2007-09-28 02:27:37
this is wonderfully insightful to the Dwarfish cultural, respectful of
the love and respect of craft. I like how you compared his awe of her
to a rich vein of ore. And of course, Glóin very well impressed his lady.

Title: Heart of Lamedon · Author: Nancy Brooke · Races: Men: Gondor
Drabble · ID: 288
Reviewer: Súlriel · 2007-09-28 02:41:17

This is one of the things I love most about the fandom, the stories
that bring out the lesser known heroes and highlight them. As much as
we love and respect those on the forefront, these supporting
characters are the ones who fill the vast spaces beside and behind
them. Thank you for giving us this glimpse of Angbor.

Title: Love Story · Author: Gandalfs apprentice · Genres: Humor: Other
Fixed-Length Ficlet · ID: 273
Reviewer: Súlriel · 2007-09-28 02:47:36

Oh how funny! I love kids plays and I love the visual of the Hobbit
children acting out the Old Tales. I'm glad to see them continuing the
tales and making them their own. Bilbo's observation is priceless,
but, in my mind's eye, I can see movie-Elrond's raised Eyebrow of Doom
and a smile at this reenactment of his esteemed ancestors.

Title: The Case of the Purloined Mushrooms · Author: Inkling · Genres:
Mystery · ID: 298
Reviewer: stefaniab · 2007-09-28 05:35:31
The "Case of the Purloined Mushrooms" is a delightful comedy mystery
set in the Shire of Frodo Baggins youth. Inkling uses a style full of
homespun, hobbitish images to draw you in to the world of her
protagonist, Abelard Archer, Third Class Shire Post Messenger--and
amateur sleuth.

Full of witty insights and rustic charm, Abelard travels at a
leisurely place, delivering his letters while he ponders the mystery
that has the residents of the Shire all atwitter. What dastardly
hobbit has plundered the mushroom crop of Elmo Broadfoot repeatedly?
Elmo and the town gossips have already incriminated young Frodo
Baggins, the notorious mushroom thief from Buckland, lately adopted by
his uncle, the fabulously well-to-do and notoriously eccentric Bilbo
Baggins. Abelard suspects there is more to the story and sets out to
discover who done it.

Abelard's efforts to uncover just who stole all those mushrooms
introduce us to a delightful round of the Shire's more colorful
characters. There's Aunt Dora Baggins, the formidible head of the
Baggins clan, the scheming Otho Baggins, and even Bane, the mushroom
sniffing dog. Best all is Inkling's portrayal of Bilbo.

I dare not tell the true identity of the thief or how Abelard solves
the mystery. You'll have to read "Mushrooms" yourself.

Title: Marking Fours · Author: Raksha the Demon · Times: Multi-Age:
Fixed-Length Ficlet · ID: 1
Reviewer: Marta · 2007-09-28 05:46:48
This is probably one of the most difficult drabble series that I have
ever read. Not because of anything that Raksha did correctly, and I
doubt every reader would have my reaction. But the first line of this
piece prompted a strong emotional reaction from me, so much that I
couldn't make myself read on in that sitting. After a few more false
starts (yes, I am a glutton for punishment :-D) This is Raksha we're
talking about, and I love her drabbles - so I thought it would be
worth the read.

And it was. I finally finished "Marking Fours, and was increasingly
blown away by Faramir's doings in each part. The ending was not what I
expected. For some reason I seem to see Denethor slightly than most
people in the fandom, and so I was truly surprised to see the pyre's
aftermath portrayed in a way that fundamentally worked for the
Denethor fangirl in me. Three cheers to Raksha for that! It's no small
achievement.

Emotional reaction aside, Raksha does something that intrigued me.
Faramir's emotions and actions at four hours, four days, four months,
and four years after the pyre don't quite line up with the standard
stages of grief as modern psychology tends to present them. Yet they
seem to work for Faramir. In a way the political situation of the
time, his character, and the additional trauma of suicide combine to
make Faramir's grief very uniquely, well, Faramirish. I won't say more
because I don't want to spoil, except to say it struck me as a
remarkably perceptive study of what Faramir's grief over Denethor
might have looked like. It's not the only possible interpretation, of
course, but this portrayal "worked".

So good job, Raksha, and may your pen never run dry. :-)

Title: Building the Future · Author: Tanaqui · Times: Mid Third Age:
2851 - 3017 TA: Other Fixed-Length Ficlet · ID: 644
Reviewer: Marta · 2007-09-28 06:02:40
Ah, this was lovely, Tanaqui! Somehow just how I imagined it. I can
see it happening very easily; there's not the high society you'd see
in Gondor or even in Rohan's court, but there is an element of
sycophantism (is that even a word?) like Tolkien gives us in the
pre-Smaug's descent portrayal of Laketown. I can very easily imagine
an element of that working its way into the type of Dale-ites who
would want to snag the king as a husband for their sisters or
daughters. I do hope you'll add more to this series as you're
inspired, because you capture Bard and his wife so well.

Title: Getting Away from it All · Author: Bodkin · Times: Fourth Age
and Beyond: Gondor or Rohan · ID: 63
Reviewer: Raksha the Demon · 2007-09-28 06:46:43
A charming story that presents plots within plots. A lazy day for the
King of Arnor and Gondor and his Steward and their ladies in the woods
of Ithilien is actually both holiday and strategy session. We are
reminded of the price they have paid for peace, the loss of privacy
that comes with the assumption of rank, especially that of an
unanticipated Northern Ranger claiming the kingship.

And of course I loved the image of Faramir and Aragorn getting wet as
they fished in the stream...