Yahoo Forum Archive

Title: Honor Unabated · Author: Linaewen · Races: Men: Gondor · ID: 570
Reviewer: Larner · 2007-10-06 22:00:06
The agony of the burning is over, but Denethor finds himself standing
in the Tower of Echtelion, looking on the empty plinth where the
Palantir usually stands. Trying to understand what has happened he
comes down to the Hall of Kings, finding Theoden's body lying in
state. Still not accepting his condition, he finally learns a guide
has been sent him, as Boromir points out all honor him even if they
decry what he did in the end, seeking to kill himself and Faramir with
him.

He is led to the Houses of Healing, where he sees that Faramir rests,
having been called back by the King; and Peregrin guards him.

A wonderful look at the madness dispelled and love expressed.

Title: Taters and Thyme · Author: Cuthalion · Genres: Romance · ID: 499
Reviewer: Larner · 2007-10-06 22:02:14
A tale with our beloved Sam, the wonderful Lily Proudfoot, and Rosie
having yet another baby, with Sam finding peace while cooking. A
wonderful tale, and a superb look at Shire life.

Title: Perturbation of Fate · Author: Rhapsody · Genres: Drama:
General Drabble · ID: 428
Reviewer: Larner · 2007-10-06 22:06:33
Maglor--that most sympathetic and puzzling of Feanor's sons,
stubbornly remaining on the shore instead of giving up his vigil for
the Silmaril lost in the Sundering Sea itself.

Very bittersweet, this look at Maglor's determination to protect the
Silmaril from discovery by others to the end. The cost of that oath!

Title: The Oarsman · Author: Tanaqui · Times: Late Third Age:
3018-3022 TA: Other Fixed-Length Ficlet · ID: 357
Reviewer: Larner · 2007-10-06 22:10:23
A marvelous pair of drabbles looking at those chained to the oars
aboard the ships of the Corsairs of Umbar--first the amazement of
watching their captors themselves in terror, then finding new strength
to willingly do for their savior what they did only through fear of
the lash for their captors. A marvelous memorial to the taking of the
Ships by Aragorn and the Army of the Dead.

Title: Could Will Have Its Way · Author: Nancy Brooke · Races: Men:
Gondor Drabble · ID: 286
Reviewer: Larner · 2007-10-06 22:12:42
And herein we see the beginning of the madness of seeing what is not
clearly understood, wrought by loss and then fear for what might be.
Very compelling.

Title: Under the Ring · Author: Holdur · Races: Hobbits: Vignette ·
ID: 215
Reviewer: Larner · 2007-10-06 22:19:21
Pippin has accidently hurt Boromir while practicing, and Merry
overreacts, only to find Frodo overreacting to him. The Ring rejoices
momentarily to have overwhelmed the Ringbearer, and Merry is left to
contemplate the effects of discipline and disappointment.

Very effectively done.

Title: Beneath a Gibbous Moon · Author: Bodkin · Races: Cross-Cultural
· ID: 4
Reviewer: Larner · 2007-10-06 22:24:00
Long before Aragorn and Legolas found themselves friends and allies,
there were Isildur and Thranduil, having many of the same kinds of
discussions and considerations as they looked to one another for
support against the Enemy.

This from my favorite writer of Elves, and very powerful it is. To
know that Aragorn and Legolas have managed to come full circle from
their forebears is fascinating, and well, well done. The cooperation
is there as it has been for three thousand years, if moved to a
younger generation.

Wonderful.

Title: Heart of Lamedon · Author: Nancy Brooke · Races: Men: Gondor
Drabble · ID: 288
Reviewer: Larner · 2007-10-06 22:27:53
Ah, Nancy--a most powerful consideration made by Angbor, as he finds
the Eagle of the Star leading the army of the Dead to Pelargir,
bidding him follow. Yes, life and death are offered, and he finds he
now has the will to accept both.

Excellently conveys mood.

Title: Gold Rings and Sam · Author: Branwyn · Genres: Poetry · ID: 501
Reviewer: Larner · 2007-10-06 22:35:24
A wonderful light moment as Faramir and Sam meet Green Eggs and Ham! A
fun laugh and well worth the read! And one doesn't mind at all when
Faramir takes up his sword when provoked by a MOST suspicious of Hobbits.

Title: Bounty · Author: Marta · Genres: Romance: Drabble · ID: 572
Reviewer: Larner · 2007-10-06 22:40:14
When one knows the beloved's body so well that caressing a single scar
is symbolic and promissory of tracing them all--and more--then this
indicates a love that is well established and healthy.

A drabble of warmth and promise of delight.

Title: Of Dragons and Manicures · Author: Llinos · Genres: Humor · ID: 714
Reviewer: Larner · 2007-10-06 22:41:07
Oh, dear! Smaug's daughter is now on the loose, and it takes all the
ingenuity of Frodo the Fearless Manicurist and his assistant, Samwise
the Dauntless, to find a way to immobilize her and steal her treasure
away in this tale told by Bilbo to amuse his ward and his ward's
younger cousins and close friends. Complete with glue pot, ineffective
manicure kits, and steel files, we see Frodo's cunning and Sam's
bottomless pack meet the needs of our intrepid adventurers as they
play upon the hapless dragon's vanity and feelings.

A hilarious story on both levels of its telling.

Title: Frodo's Thoughts - Aragorn · Author: trikywun · Genres: Drama:
General Drabble · ID: 785
Reviewer: Larner · 2007-10-06 22:46:10
Ah, Frodo finds himself wondering if Aragorn resents him for bringing
the Ring to the Council and forcing him to face his destiny.
Forcefully written.

Title: Second Mum · Author: Larner · Genres: Drama: The Shire · ID: 82
Reviewer: Linda hoyland · 2007-10-06 23:01:35
An enjoyable glimpse of Hobbit life through the eyes of minor
characters,which thewriter vividly depicts.The end of this story was
proundly moving and brought tears to my eyes.

Title: If I Keep You Beside Me · Author: sophinisba solis · Races:
Cross-Cultural: With Pippin · ID: 548
Reviewer: Larner · 2007-10-06 23:04:30
Gondor and the Shire have different versions of the story of the
laborer and the nightingale, as Pippin and Merry learn from Boromir.
Now that Pippin serves Boromir's father, he finds himself trying to
teach Denethor the wisdom of the Shire version, having seen how
Boromir had fought not to let the golden promise of the Ring out of
his grasp.

Very thoughtful.

Title: The Bearing of Burdens · Author: Larner · Races:
Cross-Cultural: Gondor · ID: 792
Reviewer: Linda hoyland · 2007-10-06 23:07:17
This writer does not often write about Faramir, but when she does, the
Steward is always well depicted.I enjoyed this very much.It is
interesting to read Sam's reactions to the ring and how Faramir gave
Frodo added strength.

It is good to see Sam and Frodo building a rapport after the Ring War
and Faramir shows just how much he cared about helping the Hobbits at
whatever cost to himself.
I agree with Sam's verdict that it helped Frodo to know there were Men
of Faramir's calibre in Gondor.

Title: Surprises · Author: Tanaqui · Races: Hobbits: Drabble · ID: 690
Reviewer: Larner · 2007-10-06 23:07:28
IF Pippin's birthday was in the spring, the mallorn flowering would
indeed have been a joyful surprise, I think. Sweet.

Title: She Watches · Author: Larner · Races: Hobbits: Gapfiller · ID: 640
Reviewer: Linda hoyland · 2007-10-06 23:10:59
Rosie is often a neglected character in fanfiction, but the writer
here does an excellent job of depicting the character.

Rosie wonders why Sam chooses to be with her when he could have fame
and wealth in Gondor but is a wise enough Hobittess to realise that
his life is with her and the children in the beauty of the Shire and
he would not change that.

Title: The Horses of Eorl · Author: Branwyn · Races: Cross-Cultural:
Drabble · ID: 477
Reviewer: Larner · 2007-10-06 23:11:06
There is healing for all in the wake of the wars, even for horses.
Wonderful to see Radagast helping the horses of the Enemy find their
peace once more!

Title: Risen From Flame · Author: Ribby · Races: Men: Gondor Drabble ·
ID: 761
Reviewer: Larner · 2007-10-06 23:13:35
Our Faramir is reborn along with Minas Tirith and Gondor herself. A
lovely look at honor settled again like a mantle over our beloved
Steward's shoulders.

Title: The Burning of the Year · Author: Raksha the Demon · Times:
Late Third Age: 3018-3022 TA: Gondor · ID: 2
Reviewer: Larner · 2007-10-06 23:20:41
Faramir and Denethor while Boromir is off to the north lead the new
years ceremony for the people. But will the fire that marks the
burning of the old year and the welcoming of the new presage a more
grievous fire to come? Alas for Denethor, who is given now over to
grief and growing fear, with the final despair not that far in the future.

I've read this several times now, and each time I'm touched again by
the grief and hope it contains, and the power of the writing. A most
worthy read indeed.

Title: Pick Your Battles · Author: Aliana · Genres: Alternate Universe
· ID: 550
Reviewer: Dwimordene · 2007-10-07 02:06:38
I have been greatly enjoying Alian's "Fallen" so anything relating to
it will certainly get my attention. The promise of postmodern riffing
is a great way to end a day that's been filled with that most modern
of moderns whose name I cannot print as it is a four letter word.

In any event, this stylish AU has all the hallmarks of Aliana's touch
- the language is spare where it needs to be, finds humor in the
peculiar or in the peculiarly phrased, plays on the incongruous, and
brings out the absurdity of war. Things fall apart - the world is
coming apart, or rather, being blown apart, and it's a thin line
between madness and knowledge. Most of the character prefer to keep
their pockets of ignorance as to what precisely is happening down
below (Valacar's refusal to learn anything of what weapons are being
employed, save by what he sees in the wounded and the thought that
surely the enemy would go for more style than the simple overwhelming
force of machine guns). They have their little desperately scooped out
distances (the narrator's headphones). Valacar's perspective, suitably
updated, plays out very well indeed. I can all too easily envision him
hanging out in a cafe in postwar France, smoking and not quite able to
bring himself to wear the beret.

The appearance of the narrator from "Fallen" was also a nice touch -
functionally illiterate and totally defined by her occupation.
"Narrator" as a name was a nice, ironic touch.

Despite all the black humor and desperation packed into an ashy Minas
Tirith in the middle of a siege, despite the Warden's warnings on
cigarette packs, the ending hits just the right note. Something breaks
through that's an echo of another kind of life where one can lose
something with grace and small acts of kindness do not immediately
refer back to the sense that tomorrow, they might all die.

Lovely story as always, Aliana!

Title: The haunting of Minas Tirith · Author: Fawsley · Genres:
Alternate Universe: Gondor or Rohan · ID: 651
Reviewer: Dwimordene · 2007-10-07 02:17:19
Well, apparently there is no rest for the wicked, or even the
redeemed, if Boromir is anyone to judge by! I doubt any of the
undead/ghosts have had to work that hard to break out of a crypt -
amusing tale!

Title: Nerdanel's Story · Author: Istarnie · Races: Elves: Incomplete
· ID: 656
Reviewer: Ellie · 2007-10-07 04:01:58
Wow! This is so well done! Nerdanel's pride and anguish and love and
golden memories are there to be felt as well as read. Nice!

I love your characterization of Nerdanel. She is quietly strong and
proud and just plain wonderful! I can hear her voice as I read and
feel her personality. I can picture her and her Muinawe so well. I
love her mom, too. The perspective you have taken on this story is so
very powerful. The language you use seems so fitting and the leaping
back and forth between ages is such an interesting way to present this
tale in retrospect - a very far retrospect considering the narrator is
telling memories that are many thousands of years old. I feel so very
sorry for Nerdanel for all she had to endure and relive in her
memories - for elves dwell much in memory - and she seems to very
weary of her long life and long loss by the time she has sat down to
tell this tale. I feel great pity and admiration for her.

I still quite firmly believe that your own Nerdanel and that you
depict the best voice of her that I have read.


Title: Awed in the Presence of Beauty · Author: Istarnie · Races:
Elves · ID: 517
Reviewer: Ellie · 2007-10-07 04:11:41
Your descriptions in this story truly are filled with awe. I can
picture her holding that beautiful child in her arms and in my mind's
eye I can see her reveling in the joy of his presence. The joy of
holding a new little one is so exquisite it is indeed difficult for a
parent to capture and you have described it so very well. I like the
way you have juxtaposed the description of the beauty of the child she
holds with the beauty of the world around her, particularly the light
and ethereal loveliness of the Two Trees and the blessed light they
shine. Feanor must have been very proud of her and the child she bore
him. Obviously he was for they had six more children. And I bet she
never would have dreamed when she held her eldest son that he would do
the things he later did in Alqualonde and in Middle-earth. I think
though that even if she did know what was to come for that son, she
would have still looked on him with the love and awe which you so
beautifully described and she would have prayed that his fate be
otherwise. Still though elves dwell much in memory, this memory of a
precious moment in time will remain dear to her in her times alone
after all she loved were lost to her.

Well done as always!

Title: The Fëanorieli · Author: Istarnie · Genres: Humor · ID: 530
Reviewer: Ellie · 2007-10-07 04:19:23
This has got to be one of the funniest Feanor and children stories I
have ever read. I laughed so very hard at the thought of the great
powerful Feanor with seven daughters to haunt and torment him. I would
feel such an incredible amount of pity for any suitors of said
daughters with the haughty high prince of the Noldor to contend with
if anyone wanted to take the hand of one of his sweet charming
daughters in marriage. I could just imagine an emotionally volatile
Feanor in a house full of women all having Premenstrual Tension at the
same time? Oh my! No wonder the forge was so appealing to him!

I really do think that the history of the Noldor would have been quite
different indeed if the seven sons had been daughters. I still think
Feanor would have left Valinor though, but he would not have taken his
daughters with him. He would have eventually left to be free of them,
for peace and quiet! Thank goodness for him it was only a dream.