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Msg# 8562

MEFA Reviews, Evening, January 1, 2008 (Part 3) Posted by Ann January 01, 2008 - 20:23:48 Topic ID# 8562
Title: Not an Ordinary Day · Author: nau_tika · Genres: Drama: The
Fellowship · ID: 737
Reviewer: Dreamflower · 2007-12-30 15:48:59 Score: 3
This was a very cute story. I like the fact that Pippin's mistake did
not come from deliberate mischievousness, but was a genuine accident.
And I appreciated the friendship shown by all.

Title: Never Lack · Author: Ruby Nye · Times: Late Third Age:
3018-3022 TA: General Drabble · ID: 453
Reviewer: Dreamflower · 2007-12-30 15:49:39 Score: 4
Ruby Nye has an ability in her drabble to say as much with what she
does *not* say as with what she does--a talent that is very useful
when the word count is only one hundred. And she has a great affinity
for stories set during the Troubles in the Shire.

We might be moved to pity for the nameless POV character, if we were
only given the first paragraph to go by. It's the second one, though,
that turns us around, and like a good drabble, the last line that
packs the punch. Beautifully and shiveringly constructed.

Title: Conversion · Author: Pentangle · Genres: Drama: With Aragorn ·
ID: 169
Reviewer: Dreamflower · 2007-12-30 15:50:01 Score: 3
A very telling story, I like the way the author framed it with the
stories of rumor and legend, and the way the King and Faramir
responded to being challenged was right in character for both of them.

I also liked the limits that Elessar put on his promises--by not
promising more than he can deliver, he insures that he can keep them.

Title: The Young Knights · Author: Soledad · Races: Men: Gondor · ID: 98
Reviewer: Dreamflower · 2007-12-30 15:50:21 Score: 4
This was another of Soledad's meticulously researched stories, and we
get a look at a much younger Faramir, and a young Boromir, who has
just been knighted. The tourney is very accurately described, and
there is plenty of intrigue to go around.

I especially like seeing the beginnings of the personalities we will
see later for the Steward's sons. I enjoyed this tale very much!

Title: The End of Dark Days · Author: annmarwalk/EdorasLass CoAuthors
· Genres: Drama: Minas Tirith · ID: 56
Reviewer: Dreamflower · 2007-12-30 15:50:36 Score: 3
This collaboration featuring two very well-depicted OFCs is a delight.
We get to see what the ending of the Ring War meant to Nanny and to
Mag the Cook, with whom we have shared so many previous doings. I
really like this.

Title: Not Fade Away · Author: Jael · Genres: Drama: Elves in Later
Ages · ID: 127
Reviewer: Dreamflower · 2007-12-30 15:51:19 Score: 4
I read this a few months ago, after learning about it during an online
discussion of modern-day AUs. It's not a genre I normally care for,
but I found this one to be well-written and fascinating. The OFC was
not a Mary Sue, but a well-rounded character. And I found the way in
which the Elves had adapted to and integrated into, the modern world
both plausible and intriguing. It held my attention so much that I
read it straight through in only a couple of days--something that is
rare for a non-hobbit story to do to me!

Title: Moira · Author: illyria-pffyffin · Races: Hobbits · ID: 676
Reviewer: Dreamflower · 2007-12-30 15:51:56 Score: 3
So, so lyrical and thoughtful, as we see Manwe's first glimpse of the
little people who would become known as hobbits. He is the first to be
privy to this "stealth weapon" of Iluvatar, and the first to see their
true worth. Very beautiful and insightful!

Title: My Dear Bandobras · Author: Le Rouret · Times: Fourth Age and
Beyond · ID: 818
Reviewer: Dreamflower · 2007-12-30 15:52:13 Score: 4
Even though this story starts out in a humourous vein, it soon becomes
apparent that there is something seriously awry for Legolas, as he
(and others) correspond with his beloved young esquire Bandobras, who
has now returned to the Shire. In spite of the angst in this story, it
is still delightful to see the love and concern that all of his people
and friends have for Legolas. And the letter format is very deftly
handled. I really like this a lot. But then, I'm very fond of the
Green Knight universe.

Title: Where There's Life, There's Hope (and in need of vittles) ·
Author: annmarwalk · Genres: Drama: Gondor Drabble · ID: 463
Reviewer: Dreamflower · 2007-12-30 15:52:40 Score: 3
I love annmarwalk's OFC Mag the Cook, and even though she does not
even actually appear in this evocative drabble, her presence is keenly
felt! A beautiful take on the quotation in the title!

Title: Feasting on Poison · Author: Gryffinjack · Races: Hobbits:
Post-Ring War · ID: 534
Reviewer: Dreamflower · 2007-12-30 15:52:55 Score: 2
A very amusing take on the "anachronism" of tomatoes in Middle-earth.
I loved Sam's stubbornness in this! And found the revelations of the
others highly amusing!

Title: The Lady’s Offer · Author: pippinfan88 · Genres: Drama: The
Fellowship · ID: 805
Reviewer: Dreamflower · 2007-12-30 15:53:15 Score: 3
In the book, Pippin manages to avoid any questions as to what the Lady
offered him in Lothlorien by questioning the others. Yet it's not an
unlikely thought that Pippinfan has found the answer: the one thing
above all others at that point in time that might have tempted him.
That he remained true anyway is once more a tribute to his loyalty and
devotion to Frodo.

Title: Vocabulary Lessons · Author: Larner · Times: Late Third Age:
3018-3022 TA: Gondor · ID: 521
Reviewer: Dreamflower · 2007-12-30 15:54:01 Score: 5
Larner has a special talent and expertise in creating OCs whose
purpose is to shed light on the canon characters, and yet remain
memorable in their own right.

In this story, we meet a certain young lord of Gondor who finds that
he does not easily impress those at the court of the King Returned.
The lesson dealt him is sharp and hard, and has the desired effect.

Part of the appeal of this, of course, is in recognizing the mistakes
he's making as he meets certain people. We readers can snicker behind
our hands at his indignation, and anticipate the revelations to come.

A very fun read, yet it also carries with it a serious lesson.

Title: Kindness Rewarded · Author: White Wolf · Races: Elves:
Fixed-Length Ficlet · ID: 494
Reviewer: Dreamflower · 2007-12-30 15:54:30 Score: 1
A very cute and delightful encounter that could very well have taken
place. Adorable.

Title: Like Falling Asleep Again · Author: lbilover · Races: Hobbits:
Merry and Pippin · ID: 299
Reviewer: Dreamflower · 2007-12-30 15:54:51 Score: 2
Beautiful, it's a real tear-jerker! I love the detail in this, and
most especially the description at the end. It would indeed have been
a joy to them to go together.

Title: Blades of the Downfallen West · Author: Tanaqui · Genres:
Drama: Other Fixed-Length Ficlet · ID: 441
Reviewer: Dreamflower · 2007-12-30 15:55:41 Score: 3
[spoilers] Two absolutely beautiful drabbles about two of the hobbits'
swords that came from the barrow-downs. The Witch-king has vastly
different reactions in the first one than in the second. And they were
very well crafted. I absolutely *loved* this line from the second one:
["His heart sparked too, with slow-kindled hobbit courage. Love
conquers fear, as day drives night before it."] A better description
of Merry on the Pelennor can only be found in the original.


Title: Mistaken · Author: Fawsley · Genres: Humor: Drabble · ID: 490
Reviewer: Dreamflower · 2007-12-30 15:56:21 Score: 2
Wouldn't that have been wonderful? Well, for Frodo, at least, though
it would have done all of us out of an epic story!

Title: Heirloom · Author: Pearl Took · Races: Hobbits · ID: 778
Reviewer: Dreamflower · 2007-12-30 15:56:48 Score: 3
The thimble of the story was the assigned element for a challenge: one
which I think Pearl rose to meet very well. It passes along, mostly
mother to daughter-in-law through many generations of Tooks. I really
liked the way Pearl used Lalia, showing how she could not truly
appreciate the real meaning of the heirloom. Very nicely done!

Title: Ten Thousand Years · Author: Marta · Times: Late Third Age:
3018-3022 TA · ID: 565
Reviewer: Dreamflower · 2007-12-30 15:57:06 Score: 3
It had never before occurred to me how Arwen might view Boromir's
presence in Rivendell, nor his inclusion on the Quest. Yet anyone as
astute and intelligent as she might wonder if he would pose a threat
to her beloved. A very thought-provoking vignette!

Title: Domestic Crisis · Author: SurgicalSteel · Races: Men: Eriador
or Rivendell · ID: 729
Reviewer: Dreamflower · 2007-12-30 15:57:52 Score: 4
This little snippet from SurgicalSteel's Serinde universe is so much
fun--especially to those of us familiar with her OC, Halbarad's rake
of a brother, Thalguron! His relationship with his sister-in-law has
always been a prickly one, but underneath it all they are fond of one
another. I also love seeing Serinde's and Halbarad's children at this
age, when their personalities are just beginning to peek out. A very
fun read, and I think would even be interesting to someone who did
*not* know the backstory!

Title: Elladan and Elrohir's Not So Excellent Adventure · Author:
Fiondil · Races: Elves · ID: 97
Reviewer: Rhapsody · 2007-12-30 15:58:10 Score: 10
[There will be spoilers!]

To read [Elladan and Elrohir's Not So Excellent Adventure] one must be
prepared to go on a rollercoaster ride of emotions themselves. It is
an all-round story featuring two bouncy young elves who are convinced
that they can make a journey to their grandparents. Have we not all
felt like we could do those things our adults considered us to be to
young of? So much depends on succeeding that you often forget the
hazards on your path.

This story somehow reminded me of Bilbo's crossing over the High Pass
(well except for that avalanche, Goblins, cute cubs and angry
mothers), where he too felt miserable and sore like the twins. Fiondil
breaks the angst with light-hearted moments:
[Elrohir looked up to see Elladan caught in the branches of a nearby
tree, hanging nearly upside down, his braids all awry.

"’Dan, what are you doing up there?" Elrohir asked stupidly.

Elladan gave his brother a jaundiced look. "Birds-nesting. And you?"]

This just marks the twins in Fiondil's verse so well: there is
hurt/comfort (although if I was Elrohir, I would file a complaint
against him being put through so much misery, just as much as Thandir
will ask for a [hazard pay]. As I read the author's notes of the first
chapter, I thought that they should be more adult, but in their
thoughts and actions they are portrayed as bouncy teenagers. This is
such a delight to read, especially since Fiondil handles the voices of
all characters so well: from these teens to adults with ages of
experience. Besides the characterisations of the two twins and other
elves, much more is explored so well here. A special nod towards the
description of the Dwarven realm is well deserved, especially given
the past of this race. The two scouts that have for most of the story
their own adventure and as OC’s are well pictured. The band of dwarves
come across naturally, the sentiments of the past makes it able to
forge a reliable bond between the two races. I love the description of
the Dwarven realm, his lord, and its inhabitants: it is simply
marvellous. There are some gloomy trees as well, a small touch of a
Valar, and still things cannot proceed uneventful. Just as you think
it cannot become any worse, the tension that is so palpable snaps one
Elladan finally gives in once he sees his grandfather.

This story had me laughing, perching on the edge of my seat, pushing
back tears, feeling proud and yes, also in tears that came when
Elladan broke down in the end. It is a wide range of emotions to evoke
from a reader and Fiondil did it with a refined skill. There is so
much more to this story that I am not mentioning in this review, I am
leaving that for other readers to discover it for themselves.


Title: Snare · Author: Ruby Nye · Times: Late Third Age: 3018-3022 TA
· ID: 539
Reviewer: Dreamflower · 2007-12-30 16:01:06 Score: 4
This is a vignette that tells more by implication than most other
stories dealing with a similar theme tell by being graphic. What
Pervinca is doing and what is going to happen seem all too obvious to
the reader--and yet we are told none of it directly. This is a story
that is disturbing and dark--yet still holds open that spark of hope
and courage in the heart of every hobbit.

Title: The Undiscovered Country · Author: Wimsey · Genres: Drama:
Elves in Later Ages · ID: 715
Reviewer: nau_tika · 2007-12-30 16:01:09 Score: 4
This story was so wonderfully done. It was almost too sad, yet it was
different from any other presentation I'd seen on Arwen during this
time and remains my favorite ending on the topic. I especially liked
seeing Celeborn included. The descriptions of the city and it's people
were excllent. I thought when I first read it as an anonymous
challenge fic that I recognized the author and I was right!

Title: The Return · Author: mistycracraft · Races: Men: Eriador or
Rivendell · ID: 90
Reviewer: Dreamflower · 2007-12-30 16:01:41 Score: 4
This is a follow-up to the author's also nominated story, "The Stranger".

How lovely that Edric was able to meet Strider once more, to enjoy his
friendship for a while, before he had to find out that it was his King.

I am so glad for the way all turned out, and that Edric can now know
that he has a true friend in the King! I am equally pleased that the
King can now know of the impact he had on one young life, when he was
still only a wandering Ranger.


Title: Temptation · Author: Linda hoyland · Times: Mid Third Age: 2851
- 3017 TA: Other Fixed-Length Ficlet · ID: 419
Reviewer: Dreamflower · 2007-12-30 16:02:18 Score: 4
[spoilers]

What I liked about this was that it was the girl's resemblance,
however superficial, to Arwen that drew his attention, and his own
compassion and protectivenss that led him to accompany her--but it was
his own iron will and determination that led to his overcoming the
temptation and rejecting her. A good reminder that Aragorn was human,
after all, and had the same resources any human does to choose the
right path.

Title: How Pippin Looked After Merry · Author: PipMer · Races:
Hobbits: Incomplete · ID: 822
Reviewer: Dreamflower · 2007-12-30 16:05:20 Score: 3
Poor Pippin! I think the "Houses of Healing" chapter in RotK is one of
the most profoundly moving, as we see Pippin worried and fearful for
the life of his cousin. PipMer explores this time in great detail,
using the chance to dig into Pippin's thoughts at the time. She shows
a good understanding of the emotions.