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Title: The Bearing of Burdens · Author: Larner · Races:
Cross-Cultural: Gondor · ID: 792
Reviewer: Isabeau of Greenlea · 2007-12-03 11:49:32
An enjoyable exploration of Frodo's quest as explained by the
unquenchable Master Samwise. When Faramir finds him alone reading
after Aragorn's coronation, he asks him a question and finds himself
answered more fully than he had anticipated. Good Samwise voice here.

Title: The Spear of the Lily · Author: The Bookbinder's Daughter ·
Genres: Romance: Gondor · ID: 11
Reviewer: Isabeau of Greenlea · 2007-12-03 11:52:13
Lyrical and lovely. Faramir, musing upon his wife at dawn. Really, he
is just the sort to be writing poetry about her years after their
marriage. I always saw him as a total romantic.

Title: On Starless Waters Far Astray · Author: Empy · Genres:
Crossover · ID: 557
Reviewer: Isabeau of Greenlea · 2007-12-03 11:56:49
This one took me by surprise. I read and write a fair bit of slash,
and I read and write a fair bit of Imrahil, but I had never expected
to encounter this particular pairing! The mechanism as to how this is
brought about is never fully described, and that's probably best. The
encounter between the two men is full of frustration of all
sorts-unlike many fictions, the language barrier is not disregarded or
done away with, so the two men never truly communicate save on the
physical level. It's an odd sort of piece, which is to be expected
given the premise, but it works on some level. Imrahil is the
commander of men that Tolkien shows him to be, and Norrington still
keeps his pride, despite his current circumstances in his own canon.

Title: Shadow and Thought · Author: Linda hoyland · Genres: Drama:
With Aragorn · ID: 122
Reviewer: Bodkin · 2007-12-03 18:36:56
In a way, it's really not surprising that Eowyn should feel out of
place. I'm sure she had plenty of patronising Gondorian ladies rubbing
in that she might be a king's niece and a king's sister, but she was
from an inferior race so it didn't really count. And Faramir, poor
dear, can be a bit gormless when it comes to relationships! I love
Elbeth. She's such a strong-willed little madam, even here.

It's a shame Arwen stayed behind - I expect she's pretty lonely there
in the White City. She and Eowyn are natural allies really, once Eowyn
gets over feeling like a gawky girl in her presence.

And matters seem to be turning out well ... for the moment!

Title: Lord Námo's Yule Gift · Author: Fiondil · Genres: Humor · ID: 335
Reviewer: Bodkin · 2007-12-03 18:38:42
I like the idea of Merry and Pippin causing havoc in Namo's Halls on
their way to wherever the spirits of mortals dwell! And the idea of
Boromir and Eomer waiting for Elessar so that they might all move on
together. Poor Namo must feel like someone trying to run a boarding
school full of remarkably bouncy kids!

A fun story. And very seasonal. So Merry and Pippin want to take Namo
under their wing and ensure he isn't lonely at Yule, do they? It seems
very much in character!


Title: Emissary of the Mark · Author: Soledad · Genres: Adventure:
Incomplete · ID: 356
Reviewer: Bodkin · 2007-12-03 18:45:14
You are so good at all this world-building! Halabor has become a
complete, rounded environment to me - and now this! You have developed
a whole Rhunish society and mores - and it is so interesting. I do
like Elfhelm - he is a very attractive personality. And I think Grima
has definitely suckered him into agreeing to do something that
Wormtongue thinks will be the end of the Marshal.

I wonder if Strider can offer more information than that he left with
Aelfgifu - he might have had the chance to learn considerably more
since those days! And he is another one who has to get out of this -
like the elf. (I do like not having to worry about the survival of my
heroes, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that nothing too dreadful
happens to them along the way.)

I love the horses - definite characters of their own. And poor Elfhelm
is quite indignant that they fall for the charms of the elf. It must
have been pretty staggering to be the first of the Rohirrim in who
knows how long to meet an elf and have it proved to him that they do
exist! I wonder what preconceptions he will have to lose next!

I do hope you continue with this story - it is a great read.


Title: Adolescence · Author: Larner · Races: Cross-Cultural: Gondor ·
ID: 143
Reviewer: Bodkin · 2007-12-03 18:46:32
Adolescence is never easy - and I can see that being observed all the
time you are outside your own rooms would be very tough on the royal
kids. Aragorn and Sam dealt with it quite well - and maybe Melian and
Elanor realised that the supervision is more for their protection than
to keep them hemmed in.

Halgil may be feeling quite faint now - but actually, he can really
congratulate himself on the way he was doing his job. The girls were
suspicious characters in their own naive way - and he picked up on
that and was investigating as best he could.

I suspect Melian and Elanor were quite glad to see Aragorn and Sam at
that moment - just as they would probably have been rather huffy and
quite indignant had they been found before Halgil took them in charge.

Title: Taken · Author: iorhael · Genres: Alternate Universe:
Incomplete · ID: 791
Reviewer: Larner · 2007-12-04 05:27:51
Iorhael's premise--that during the time within the Prancing Pony Frodo
wore the Ring that part of his soul was taken by Sauron, given
corporeal form and tortured, that torture being felt by the Frodo who
traveled with the rest of the Fellowship, is certainly a unique and
fascinating one. To see the lengths taken by the Fellowship to try to
retrieve that soul while Sauron and Saruman's minions are trying to
capture the rest of Frodo and the Ring or to blackmail them into
handing it over is fascinating.

Compelling.

Title: Responsibility · Author: Tanaqui · Races: Men: Gondor Drabble ·
ID: 720
Reviewer: Larner · 2007-12-04 05:30:51
In my own writing I have Aragorn insisting several times he should
execute a prisoner, as in the end the responsibility IS his. That
Faramir would feel the same way is simply right.

Very thought-provoking.

Title: Divided · Author: Pen52 · Genres: Drama: The Fellowship · ID: 223
Reviewer: Larner · 2007-12-04 05:41:33
Too likely that this is indeed how those such as Aragorn and Boromir
feel regarding their need to fight and slay other Men. Very
thought-provoking.

Pippin had to ask.

Title: Free and Gay · Author: Marta · Races: Men: Gondor · ID: 81
Reviewer: Larner · 2007-12-04 05:47:52
Avoiding the predatory maidens of Minas Tirith has special allure for
Boromir, who knows no temptation for womankind. No, a soldier's Yule
for him.

Rather sad, really. Well told vignette.

Title: Lord Námo's Yule Gift · Author: Fiondil · Genres: Humor · ID: 335
Reviewer: Marta · 2007-12-04 05:54:22
This was a great read, mixing drama creative canon exploration, and
laugh-out-loud humor. Fellowship-members-in-Mandos is not something
that has never been done before, yet you make it feel original. Nice
work, Fiondil.

Title: The Harper · Author: juno_magic · Times: Fourth Age and Beyond:
Gondor or Rohan · ID: 10
Reviewer: Larner · 2007-12-04 06:07:22
My first introduction to the image of the blind harper was in Rosemary
Sutcliff's "Warrior Scarlet," which to this day remains one of my
favorite books. And this look at perhaps Maglor coming to the high
village to entertain for the winter, the reluctance with which he was
greeted, the glory with how he was allowed to leave with a cloak fit
for kings and the following of a boy intent on becoming a harper
himself, is marvelous.

Thank you.

Title: No Pain, No Gain · Author: annmarwalk · Genres: Humor: Other
Fixed-Length Ficlet · ID: 435
Reviewer: Raksha the Demon · 2007-12-04 06:14:52
A clever answer to a challenge to use parallel, and at times similar,
dialogue in different situations. I like the way the two pieces deal
with such totally different circumstances and characters.

Excellent last line, too.

Title: Romance · Author: Greywing · Genres: Humor: Other Fixed-Length
Ficlet · ID: 375
Reviewer: Raksha the Demon · 2007-12-04 06:16:56
The shortest, and one of the most original and humorous, depictions of
the romance of Eomer and Lothiriel that I have ever read. Well done,
Greywing!



Title: 13th Birthday · Author: stefaniab · Races: Men: Gondor · ID: 138
Reviewer: Larner · 2007-12-04 06:19:25
In a land where so many die protecting their own at a young age,
maturity is judged to come early. So Boromir seeks to introduce his
younger brother to a man's life at thirteen. An interesting look at
the dynamics of the relationships between the brothers and their father.

Title: Belonging · Author: Bodkin · Genres: Romance: Second Age or
Earlier · ID: 422
Reviewer: Larner · 2007-12-04 06:39:13
An afternoon of pleasurable togetherness along the Bruinen in company
with his wife convinces Elrond he is one of the most blessed of Elves,
although even though he's seen nothing to foretell the future he still
desires assurance his Celebrian will not leave him.

Gently erotic without being graphic; sensitively and beautifully told,
this is one of Bodkin's most pleasing tales of life amongst the Elves
of Arda.

A dozen elflings they'd contemplate?

Title: Requiem · Author: Rhapsody · Races: Cross-Cultural · ID: 280
Reviewer: Larner · 2007-12-04 06:44:09
As short as this is, the emotional impact is great. Huan is dead, and
Celegorm must live on, grieving for the one who, in keeping with the
nature of his kind, had loved unconditionally.

Perfect interspersement of traditional modern funeral rites with the
grief expressed here.

Title: Don't Be Deceived · Author: Imhiriel · Genres: Humor: Other
Fixed-Length Ficlet · ID: 351
Reviewer: Larner · 2007-12-04 06:47:35
Ah, it's been a time since I first read this. The man in the corner of
the inn, the rough, worn appearance, the nod of recognition for the
two who'd briefly entered the common room. And a young man has just
seen the model of how he himself will appear in years to come.

Marvelous play on expectations!

Title: Poking The Badger · Author: grey_wonderer · Genres: Humor: The
Shire or Buckland · ID: 209
Reviewer: Larner · 2007-12-04 07:05:19
When Merry comes home from the Hall to Crickhollow once more in a
temper, Pippin finds himself comparing the situation to trying to put
a waistcoat on a Badger. But when at last Merry lets it be known
what's bothering him, between the two of them they manage to defuse
the frustration and figure out ways to allow Merry to once more feel
competitively part of Shire life once more.

Thoughtful and filled with Pippin's wondrous logic.

Title: An Alphabet for Middle-earth · Author: Dreamflower · Races:
Cross-Cultural · ID: 231
Reviewer: Inkling · 2007-12-04 07:35:18
[spoilers]

Dreamflower's response to a difficult alphabet challenge has produced
this highly creative and entertaining anthology, covering an
impressive variety of forms, styles and subjects. The prompts are
often taken in unexpected directions, as in ["D: Like a Very Dirty
Dragon"], which had me picturing Smaug in a tub (even before reading
Raksha's humorous take on the same prompt). Instead, Dreamflower
presents a sad and yet hopeful picture of the vandalized Green Dragon
Inn after the Battle of Bywater. Likewise, I assumed that ["T: Like a
Turgid Turgon"] would concern the Elven king of Gondolin, not a
steward of Gondor whose statue in the Citadel is being contemplated by
four curious hobbits.

I was especially taken with ["W: Like a Wet Warg"]. The idea of a Warg
desiring the Ring is one I haven't encountered before in fanfiction.
Dreamflower does an excellent job of imagining lupine visions of
power: [He would have become the mightiest of Wargs, and the pack
could go ravening over the lands of Men and Orcs alike devouring all,
mighty in power as long-ago Warg-kind had been when their chief had
been the One Who Sits in Darkness in the South. Blood and bone would
be theirs; none would escape their maws.]

Another gem is ["X: Like Excruciating Exertions on the Way to That
Crucial X on the Mouldering Map"]. I don't know of another fanfic
writer who can capture the style and spirit of "The Hobbit" as well as
Dreamflower, and she proves it once again in this piece, an ingenious
response to the prompt and a very nice bit of "Hobbit" gapfiller from
Bombur's POV.

All 26 ficlets are delightful and well worth the read!




Title: More than Meets the Eye · Author: Dadgad · Genres: Humor: The
Shire or Buckland · ID: 128
Reviewer: Inkling · 2007-12-04 07:53:10
This is a wonderful story, full of sly humor, skillful pacing, rustic
hobbit heroism and canonical Middle-earth history. It uses a brief
anecdote in "Concerning Hobbits" as the springboard for a hilarious
first-hand account of the Battle of Greenfields, all the funnier for
being told from the perspective of a sheepish Elladan and Elrohir to
their incredulous father and a clueless Erestor. Only Glorfindel
smiles knowingly, remembering the halfling archers at the Battle of
Fornost.

Now we know how Bandobras "Bullroarer" Took got his nickname, and the
origin of golfers' hideous clothing. I loved his demurring that he
should have made his 18 kills in fewer strokes!

I was smiling through most of the story, but finally hit a paragraph
that made me burst out laughing, the one beginning: ['You mean
Glorfindel in checked trousers and a pink waistcoat,']

I highly recommend this story to hobbit and elf fanciers alike!



Title: A New Reckoning · Author: Dreamflower · Races: Cross-Cultural ·
ID: 308
Reviewer: Bodkin · 2007-12-04 08:16:23
I thoroughly enjoyed this story. Not to mention that it introduces
some of the most unpleasant hobbits to darken the borders of the
Shire! Hyacinth - who later (potentially) gave a troll a terminal
stomach condition - Took, mother of three badly-raised jewels of
daughters and the amiable(?) pair of brothers, Cado and Clovis Banks,
who would, in the absence of a certain Meriadoc Brandybuck, have been
enough to put Pippin off cousins for life.

I enjoyed seeing the hobbits' gradual realisation of just how much the
four adventurous travellers were respected and honoured in the outside
world. Especially Paladin's. He needed more than most to understand
the difference between his light-hearted and slightly wild pre-quest
son and the adult-in-tween's-clothing who returned, haunted by his
experiences.

I was sorry to see the story end - it's all very well when they go
home or off to visit, but it's like Frodo knowing he will never see
Legolas again - sad. Bergil will be grown up, Merry married -
everything changes. All the 'you can't pass over the same river twice'
stuff.

Still - they're still on the road to Edoras - and learning a thing or
two along the way!

Title: A Useful Skill · Author: EdorasLass · Genres: Humor: Children ·
ID: 46
Reviewer: Bodkin · 2007-12-04 08:22:43
Very good training - and just what a future soldier needs to know.
Nanny is really pretty good at Denethor-management ... shame she
wasn't around for the Palantir-years. Although I suppose she wouldn't
have stood a chance once his marbles started to go.

I love Nanny with her duckling and her rabbit. They are adorable.

Title: The Stone of Erebor · Author: Primsong · Genres: Mystery · ID: 401
Reviewer: Bodkin · 2007-12-04 08:26:21
It was a pleasure to read a story that starred both Bilbo and dwarves!
Dwarven society seems to have definite peculiarities - and I'm glad
that Bilbo managed to negotiate his way round them. It seemed for a
bit that he would make an excellent scapegoat.

I'm glad Dim escaped without any repercussions. And I expect Bilbo was
rather glad that matters settled down - and that the return of the
necklace to the Mountain wasn't followed by any unnecessary stir!
(Clever bit of thinking on his feet there.) The remaining adventurers
were able to settle down at last and behave as hobbits and dwarves should!