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Title: Dispelling the Fog · Author: fantasyfan · Races: Other Beings ·
ID: 642
Reviewer: Larner · 2008-06-20 06:55:03
Spoilers!
Fantasyfan has managed here to work a vital question into Tolkien's
own narrative: Who and what is Tom Bombadil, and why is he where he
is. Tom answers in part and manages to shrug off a good deal of it;
but there is no question that Frodo is perhaps more enlightened for
having posed that question.

I do question the idea of this being humorous, except for that special
humor that is built into Iarwain's nature. Certainly the specific
details Frodo puts into his question indicate just how naturally a
wise one he is.

A marvelous vehicle for examining Bombadil's nature, and woven
seamlessly into Tolkien's own narrative.

Title: Meant to Be · Author: Pearl Took · Races: Other Beings · ID: 137
Reviewer: Virtuella · 2008-06-20 19:09:06
Utterly delightful! What a beautifully written story this is. You
capture wonderfully the gentle and caring nature of this
hobbit-mother. The unique POV adds to the overall charm. Thank you for
this lovely story.


Title: Upon the Pebbled Shore · Author: aranelgoldenflower · Genres:
Drama: Final Partings · ID: 171
Reviewer: Virtuella · 2008-06-20 20:19:32
This is a sensitive, atmospheric piece of writing that brings home the
extend of the choices Elrond's children had to face. The framing is a
beautiful touch. I enjoyed reading this story.

Title: Seeking the Sun · Author: Linda hoyland · Races: Men · ID: 488
Reviewer: Virtuella · 2008-06-20 20:24:42
I like this story very much. It has always bugged me that Tolkien
glossed over this whole issue of trauma and bereavement that the war
must have brought to so many. I know he does this little thing about
"X will not return to the green hills of Y", but somehow I think that
is not enough. A good idea to mention that Faramir and Aragorn have
made provisions for the victims of the war. It is also credible that
ordinary people would have very limited understanding of the whole
politics that were involved. You have made Niniel a very compelling
character.


Title: Yule Tails · Author: Pearl Took · Races: Cross-Cultural · ID: 303
Reviewer: Virtuella · 2008-06-20 20:26:50
I enjoyed this story very much. It has a well-conceived structure, and
I like the way that in each passage Pippin reaches the age that
Faramir was in the previous passage. The two characters are skillfully
mirrored and contrasted with regard to their motivations, their family
life and their environment. Characterization is sensitive and true to
canon, and I particularly approve of the portrayal of Denethor as a
complex man, rather than a sterotype baddie. I found it very touching
how tactful and polite Isenbard and Paladin were with each other, it
says a lot about hobbits. The last sentence is delightful.


Title: A Dainty Dish · Author: Linda hoyland · Races: Cross-Cultural:
Friendship · ID: 722
Reviewer: Virtuella · 2008-06-20 20:35:45
This story has several strong points. It is an original story line.
There is a good contrast between Imrahil and the hobbits in the way
they perceive Aragorn and relate to him, which is entirely
appropriate. There is good characterization throughout. The argument
pro mushrooms is sensible and convincing. When it came to asking the
housekeeper to copy out recipes, I thought we had stayed into
Jane-Austen-land... ;-) You've done a lovely job here.

Title: Confidence · Author: annmarwalk · Races: Men: Minas Tirith · ID: 38
Reviewer: Nancy Brooke · 2008-06-20 20:50:20
This is a lovely little vignette, or series of vignettes. You include
all sorts of interesting and well-thought out details without ever
making them seem cumbersome or extraneous in any way. The first
epilogue was wonderful, bringing the story about full circe; the
second did feel like an afterthought, though a charming one, perhaps
better suited to a stand-alone drabble?

Title: Miquan Melave · Author: Marta · Genres: Romance · ID: 319
Reviewer: annmarwalk · 2008-06-20 23:02:30
This is a very moving story. It's quite a different view of the poised
and confident Captain-General from what we're used to (even though he
is much younger here than we see him in "The Fellowship of the Ring".
I think he has answered his own question about the depth of his
relationship with Theodred even before he opens his mouth to speak,
because he could never have been able to even voice these worries and
concerns, the depth of his heart, to anyone but Theodred - certainly
not to Faramir, to whom he would have always felt the necessity of
being older, stronger, wiser! I can easily see where poor Boromir
would be confused by dichotomy of using Theodred for physical release,
comfort and oblivion, yet not wanting to appear shallow or
disrespectful of the depth of their friendship, their almost
soul-spirited relationship. It would certainly be difficult for any
young man to have to ponder these deep thoughts; the fact that it's
our stalwart captain working his way through these feelings makes the
tale all the more poignant.

Added, perhaps not very coherently, after additional pondering: This
is also a very different Theodred from the one I write; subdued rather
than sunny-natured, and a bit hurt, by Boromir's introspection. "My"
Theo has been raised to give and receive love unreservedly, so I can
easily see how he would be stunned by the discovery of this wall
around Boromir's heart (Boromir's heart is a walled city; he freely
allows Theodred through the gate, but the walls remain; Theodred's
heart, on the other hand, is an open, sunlit plain.) I like your Theo;
too; I like the way different authors interpret characters in their
own way.

Title: Answering the Call · Author: docmon · Genres: Drama · ID: 340
Reviewer: Dwimordene · 2008-06-21 18:18:01
Spoilers!
A good alternate universe story is a thing of beauty and a joy forever
- even when it's extremely depressing.

Docmon sets us up nicely with a vignette that fits neatly into the
journey of the Fellowship: not yet AU, it simply gives us the
opportunity to see the way in which the Ring does reach out to the
other members of the Fellowship. No one is immune - everyone avoids
and struggles not to listen in his own way. But from that point
onward, we are left to wonder: what if someone *did* listen? What if
promises were not enough?

And then one by one, we see how each member of the Fellowship might
have come by the Ring. Some of these vignettes begin well before the
Quest ever got off the ground; others show the Ring taking its victims
in the middle of the Quest, leaving us to wonder what would happen to
the rest of the Fellowship. Not every AU leads inevitably to the
Ring's dominion and Sauron's victory - there are some where there's
room left for hope, which I quite appreciate. The variation keeps us
on our toes and engaged, wondering whether Docmon will be able to pull
off a cliff-hanger.

In terms of motivations for seizing the Ring - we don't always have
these directly portrayed. Sometimes, we have to infer, from what we
know from the books, and what is indirectly shown in the vignette,
what might have moved someone to claim the Ring. But where motivation
is shown, I think Docmon nails it every time: characters react in ways
that make sense based on who they are, and what they've struggled with
in their past. And she doesn't forget that key stricture in the book
on Frodo's actions: that he must not reveal the Ring to outsiders or
let them handle it, and only allow members of the Fellowship to handle
it at dire need. I thought Gimli's vignette and Aragorn's took good
advantage of this loophole - especially Gimli's. That was unexpected,
but it recalled Bilbo's actions in setting out after the party -
perhaps only a hobbit could do what he did, and one wonders if only a
dwarf could have a chance. We don't know the ending to that story, but
somehow, I can't help but think Gimli might have been the one right
choice. The Men in the Company, in their AUs, don't fare nearly as
well, regardless of intent or method of becoming the Ringbearer.

This isn't to say that hobbits necessarily fare better - Sam's and
Pippin's vignettes were, I thought, well-constructed. Again, the
motivation seems right for both of them - Pippin's is strangely light
in tone where perspective stays with him, but I found that that fit
him. Sam's motivation also rings true - as if the Ring had had, in
this AU, a little more time to figure out what makes Sam tick, and so
was able to tempt him far more effectively than it did in the book,
when it granted him the standard vision of dominion.

All of which is to say: if you like AUs, if you like getting a look at
our favorite Nine under the temptation of the Ring, read these
vignettes. Well done, Docmon - great set of stories!

Title: Consolation · Author: Isabeau of Greenlea · Races: Men:
Steward's Family · ID: 341
Reviewer: Dwimordene · 2008-06-21 18:39:14
Spoilers!
Ah, Ranger tales! Isabeau of Greenlea has created a memorable cast of
Ithilien Rangers since she began writing [Captain, My Captain] in
2002, drawing Tolkien's original three in and creating marvelous
personalities for them (especially Mablung) and adding a few of her
own - most famously Hethlin, but Lorend the schemer has his comedic
purposes. Together, they form the core of Faramir's company and the
'band of brothers (and sister)' that constitute a kind of
class-cutting family forged by war.

Faramir's un-war-like nature, which Tolkien highlights in the books by
way of contrast with Boromir, means that he, perhaps more than others,
needs friendships to handle war in ways that others perhaps do not.
Boromir seems to recognize this, which sets up a sort of brotherly
dynamic between Faramir, Boromir, and Boromir and Faramir's Rangers.
Boromir, being the captain of Gondor, has a little more ability to
manipulate that dynamic, as he does in this story, conspiring to get
his brother to rest and heal as best he can after the horrific battle
for Osgiliath, where fully half of Faramir's company was lost to the
onslaught. It's nice to see Boromir displaying a certain social tact
and cunning, and using his position to accomplish his aims - both his
aims, no doubt. While the focus is on his efforts to help his brother,
I can't help but think that the Captain-General in him is thinking
that it will do as much good to a decimated, demoralized company to
bring its members together to be with their captain as it will to the
captain himself, and a determined band of Rangers is something the
army desperately needs.

It's a nice, cathartic vignette, Isabeau! Very enjoyable.

Title: Sunset Gates · Author: Ignoble Bard · Races: Dwarves: Drabbles
· ID: 342
Reviewer: Dwimordene · 2008-06-21 18:46:42
Ignoble Bard knows how to write a mood piece, as evidenced by previous
MEFA stories, and can take excellent advantage of unusual perspectives
and juxtapositions. When Juno Magic asked for our favorite characters
somehow appearing in modern day settings, this was a real challenge
for me, but people like Ignoble Bard rose to it magnificently. That
this is exactly one hundred words just makes it more impressive.

Most of us would want to know how our favorite characters made it into
the modern world, but Ignoble Bard doesn't go that route: he just sets
the scene beautifully, and lets it unfold. No explanations, no magical
'jiggering' of the time continuum, wormholes, or magic - the force of
the depicted scene and emotion, and the clever way in which Ignoble
Bard uses language and imagery that makes us think this has to be
Middle-earth as we know it, is what drags us in and makes us believe
(or at least, suspends our disbelief) in this moment. By the time we
realize the set of substitutions that have been pulled on us, it's too
late - we're committed. The idea of translating the journey to Valinor
into a story of immigration (which it *is*, in a sense) and new hopes
to rejoin friends and 'family' who have gone ahead of us, was
brilliantly done.

Gimli fans should definitely check this one out, but so should all who
like having their expectations slightly but beautifully derailed. A
beautiful drabble, Ignoble Bard!

Title: The Night's Eye · Author: Vana Tuivana · Races: Men · ID: 343
Reviewer: Dwimordene · 2008-06-21 18:58:15
Spoilers!
Despite the pen name, I love the mortal humans who populate Tolkien's
story best, and am particularly fond of Halbarad and the Rangers, and
what they seem to represent: a kind of collective hope and trust, both
trust in the future, but also a keeping of a trust - to protect the
North, no matter how long it takes and how dark it gets. One wonders
how a people continue this sort of task, and Vana Tuivana gives us one
angle on this: the night's eye candle, as a sort of symbol and ritual
that help preserve meaning in what might otherwise all too easily
appear as a fruitless, pointless, meaningless fight.

The reference to the First Age heroes, long gone, attests to the depth
of tradition, even if, perhaps, its full significance has been lost. I
love the way in which the tale of Eirien and Belegund is shown as
almost a kind of folk-lore, with the rest of the tale - who these
people are, what part they played in the events of the First Age -
left silent. Do the Rangers even know the rest of that tale anymore,
or has it been so transformed that the only remainder of the original
reference is the sense of past-ness that gives a lineage and a
genealogy to this act of hope that the absent Ranger will return? That
sense of transformation and loss of learning fits well with Tolkien's
work, I think, and the fading of Middle-earth.

That Halbarad does come home to blow out the night's eye is poignant
and fitting, and it gives a certain closure to the story that rounds
out the canonical story he is given. Interesting to end on the note of
change - it's very ambivalent and ambiguous, since nothing comes after
it. It fits well with the idea that the Fourth Age has come, and
nothing is the same anymore, but it could also be a more private grief
that stains the rest of Haldan's life. Who knows?

Beautiful story, Vana! Ranger fans should enjoy it!

Title: Hearts Like the Sea · Author: Ignoble Bard · Times: First Age
and Prior · ID: 36
Reviewer: Oshun · 2008-06-22 00:16:13
This is another of my "favorite" stories by this author (OK, I have a
hard time picking favorites when I really like someone's body of
work). I particularly admire it because it is a truly wonderful
response to a challenging request in a fic swap.

The author really sets the tone of those early, early days and has
created a fascinating world barely touched on in the texts. (In my own
mind, I think of think is IgnobleBard's pre-historic elves
story--please forgive my silliness--I suppose it would be more
accurate to think of it as a story about the elves before they had a
history.) I loved the use of such expressions as the ["singing time"]
and the ["working time"]--these are just so authentically evocative of
a developing, primitive culture, well before the advent of the sun and
the moon, in fact, starting well before that first trip of any elves
to Aman.

I also love the way he takes two canon elves, who have a
well-developed history much later in the tales, and gave them a youth
and a backstory and developed characters and personality. Cirdan's
research and Thingol's fascination with it is great: so convincingly
handled; it is a beautiful convergence of the truly curious young man
with a somewhat older nascent scientist. The entire piece is
thoughtful and creative, appropriately measured and languid in its
pace. The interpretation of things beyond one's knowledge and events
for which they can only invent a possible explanation, is convincing
and has validity if one compares it to the development of early
humans. The generalized puzzlement and fear of Orome is beautifully
done and the first-contact scene is exemplary.

Title: I Ain't Got Nobody · Author: Ignoble Bard · Genres: Humor:
Valar & Maiar · ID: 568
Reviewer: Robinka · 2008-06-22 19:37:57
A stroke of comic genius. Truly. This story should come with a
warning: put your drink aside before reading. Hilarious read!

Title: The Revenge of Curufin's Horse · Author: Moreth · Genres: Humor
· ID: 139
Reviewer: Robinka · 2008-06-23 10:39:43
Absolutely hilarious ficlet with truly adorably written Celegorm and
Curufin and a nice build-up of tension before the final scene. A great
dose of humor, which -- not to give the surprise away -- always makes
me laugh no matter how much time I read this story. Greatly done!

Title: Home · Author: alex_quine · Genres: Drama: Featuring Aragorn ·
ID: 647
Reviewer: Nancy Brooke · 2008-06-23 16:08:52
This story brings us to an interesting crossroads, where so many lives
of promise - and one which was cut short and did not fulfill its
promise - are also seen for their great and present value by the old
and young. The small details are wonderful and make this a rich
narrative, but never too weighty.

Title: Forfeit · Author: Branwyn (Lady Branwyn) · Times: Late Third
Age: Gondor Drabbles · ID: 401
Reviewer: Nancy Brooke · 2008-06-23 16:12:29
Spoilers!
This is an interesting portrait, particularly of Beregond's "friends"
who thought they were helping by subverting his honor. With friends
like those ...

Title: Unwilling · Author: Elena Tiriel · Races: Elves: Drabbles · ID: 64
Reviewer: Súlriel · 2008-06-23 21:34:59
Spoilers!

I love the contrasting, complimentary point of view of this drabble.
It's brilliant and vivid in it's clarity of faithfulness in spite of
unending loss.

Title: A Cat in King Elessar's Court · Author: agape4gondor · Races:
Cross-Cultural: Friendship · ID: 66
Reviewer: grey_wonderer · 2008-06-23 21:35:16
This is a wonderful story written by a very talented author. The first
thing that attracted me to this story was the very unique perspective
in which it is written. It is very entertaining to see events from
Lord of The Rings through the eyes of someone other than one of the
canon characters and in this story we get a look at Minas Tirith
before the destruction of the one RING through the eyes of a very
unusual source which I will not reveal here lest I spoil the story for
the readers. The author lets us observe along with her original
character, as Denethor, Gandalf, Pippin, Faramir, Merry, and others go
through the frightening events just prior to the final battle at the
Black Gates. At this time the story is still a work in progress and I
find myself looking forward eagerly to each new chapter. This is very
much a work of canon fiction and the author remains true to events but
still manages to put her own special twist on things without taking
anything away from the story that we all know and love. I find the
inclusion of a chapter that explains a few of the author's thoughts on
the story to be very enlightening. I think anyone who enjoys the
character, Denethor will be pleased by the author's writing and anyone
who enjoys Pippin will also be pleased. I know I was on both counts.I
would say more but I don't want to spoil this one for anyone. Read it
and then you'll know what I mean.

Title: Broken Star · Author: pandemonium_213 · Races: Villains:
Fixed-Length Ficlets · ID: 54
Reviewer: Súlriel · 2008-06-23 21:37:46
OH No! This is (wonderfully) done - horrible and painful, visual and
visceral and emotional. You very well portray more than just the
physical pain and that is what rises this drabble above and beyond.

Title: Hammer · Author: Aranel Took · Races: Dwarves: Drabbles · ID: 468
Reviewer: Súlriel · 2008-06-23 21:39:11
HAHA! Delightful fun and wonderfully in character. Well done!

Title: Out, Damn'd Spot! Out, I Say! · Author: Alassante · Races:
Elves: Noldor Fixed-Length Ficlets · ID: 260
Reviewer: Súlriel · 2008-06-23 21:44:04
Alassante, you know I love this one and I'm delighted to have a chance
to review it for the MEFAs. I especially love in-character cross-over
stories of this type because I feel that it takes the fun of the
fandom to the next level in using the ideology of transposing other
stories and legends into Tolkien's world.

Title: The Shadow · Author: Linda hoyland · Genres: Drama: Ring War
Drabbles · ID: 25
Reviewer: Súlriel · 2008-06-23 21:47:08
Oh Linda, how painful, yet how true. So many times, Gollum's
contribution is underrated, as is the thought of how strong a bond he
must have had with Frodo, however unwilling either or both might have
been.

Title: The Waker · Author: Nancy Brooke · Races: Villains:
Fixed-Length Ficlets · ID: 287
Reviewer: Súlriel · 2008-06-23 21:49:13
Very well done, Nancy. This was a difficult challenge, but you pulled
it off with impressive originality and style.

Title: Now the Green Blade Riseth · Author: annmarwalk · Genres:
Drama: Ring War Drabbles · ID: 37
Reviewer: Súlriel · 2008-06-23 21:54:02
I find this to be a wonderful glimpse of Hobbity life-as-usual - to
see something as both common and special in the same moment.