Yahoo Forum Archive

Title: Parting Gifts · Author: Fiondil · Races: Cross-Cultural:
Post-Ring War · ID: 452
Reviewer: Nieriel Raina · 2008-10-09 02:14:43
Spoilers!
Few authors can write a death scene like Fiondil can, and Parting
Gifts has to be one of the best. Even through written from Gimli's
perspective, the reader can feel Legolas's emotion. The thoughts of
the dwarf in his last hours are moving and yet simple. Very dwarvish.
There are even some surprise visitors and the old dwarf learns that
even the Valar care about his elven friend, told only as Fiondil can
tell it. Wonderfully done!

Title: The Misty Month · Author: Le Rouret · Races: Cross-Cultural:
Post-Ring War · ID: 454
Reviewer: Nieriel Raina · 2008-10-09 02:20:16
Spoilers!
Few authors can write Tolkien's characters with such depth, capturing
them completely and yet writing them with complete originality! Le
Rouret is one of these authors. Written with archaic language and a
strongly medieval Middle-earth, the tale is more engaging than one
might at first think. The slight AUness only gives depth and richness
to the tale, set several years after Return of the King. But the best
part of the tale is the characters themselves! Rarely does Eowyn shine
in fan fiction as she does in Le Rouret's works, and The Misty Month
is no exception! This is Eowyn's story, and as a woman and a mother,
she has my complete sympathy. And Legolas, that gallant Green Knight,
is given a challenge most unexpected: to deliver Eowyn's child while
stranded in the middle of no where! Filled with subtle humor,
realistic detail and lots of drama as well, The Misty Month is a great
read! One that I indulge in over and over as I do with all the Green
Knight Tales. Marvelously done!

Title: The Search · Author: rhyselle · Genres: Poetry: Late Third Age
· ID: 501
Reviewer: Nieriel Raina · 2008-10-09 02:22:14
It's rare to see a story or poem from Gollum's point of view, and
rarer still for the author to capture Gollum's personality and voice.
Rhyselle exceeds in this with a wonderful poem about Gollum's search
for the Ring. Well done!

Title: Tales of the Eldandili · Author: Alassiel · Genres: Drama:
Incomplete · ID: 502
Reviewer: Nieriel Raina · 2008-10-09 02:24:16
A promising beginning to an intriguingly original tale! While most of
the characters are Original Characters, they are easy to get to know
and very realistically done. The plot is only just beginning to
unfold, but already the reader is drawn in and wanting to know what
comes next. I look forward to seeing this tale develop further. Well done!

Title: Even Legends Fade · Author: Star In Ruin · Races: Elves · ID: 555
Reviewer: Nieriel Raina · 2008-10-09 02:27:28
Spoilers!
Few authors can capture the grief of another when told from the eyes
of an observer. Star in Ruin has accomplished this very well with her
story about the grief of Arwen and Legolas after the death of Aragorn,
told through the eyes of a guard of the Citadel. Short, but moving and
very well written. Well done!

Title: The Last Throw · Author: nau_tika · Genres: Drama · ID: 556
Reviewer: Nieriel Raina · 2008-10-09 02:33:27
Spoilers!
Nautika has a great story telling talent which she uses on her
characters with great skill as they tell the other characters as well
as the reader a tale. In The Last Throw, we are told the tale of the
Battle at the Black Gate by a soldier who went there and back again
and has returned to tell his family the tale. Complete with childish
questions and a great blending of book and movie verse, The Last Throw
is told all from the teller's dialogue giving the facts with great
care and originality. A wonderful tale!

Title: Twentynine White Horses · Author: Jael · Races: Elves: Mirkwood
Elves · ID: 557
Reviewer: Nieriel Raina · 2008-10-09 02:44:38
Spoilers!
A delightful story by a true queen of Mirkwood fiction! No one writes
Thranduil and Legolas the way Jael does, and I have to say, her
version is my favorite! Written in response to a discussion about what
happens when an elf loses a tooth, Jael has crafted a short, but
thoroughly engaging tale of Legolas learning a lesson, losing a tooth
and receiving a gift that is truly moving. As always, Nestalindë takes
far too much pleasure in her healing skills, much to Legolas's
annoyance. And Thranduil shows Legolas that a son is never to old to
be treated as a son. Thoroughly engaging, full of great humor and yet
still holds that key element of seriousness always inherent in Jael's
Thranduil. This is one worth reading again and again. But then, so are
all her tales.

Title: Too Many Rangers · Author: Larner · Races: Hobbits · ID: 116
Reviewer: Virtuella · 2008-10-09 18:11:33
I know nothing about earlier drafts for LOTR, but confronting a
dropped character with the finished product is such an original and
entertaining idea. I enjoyed this very much.

Title: The Six-Fingered Glove Mystery · Author: shirebound · Genres:
Mystery · ID: 522
Reviewer: Mews1945 · 2008-10-09 23:09:07
Spoilers!
This ficlet is charming in its simplicity and gentleness, as two
imaginative hobbit lads and a curious pup discover a very strange
glove. Frodo and Sam speculate as to where such an unusual item could
have come from, and eventually decide it must have belonged to a
dwarf. They also manage to spook themselves a little, resulting in Sam
running for home and Frodo lighting extra lights and locking the door
of Bag End. Then Bilbo comes home and tells Frodo the real story of
the Six Fingered Glove.

Title: The Ribbon · Author: Gentle Hobbit · Races: Hobbits:
Hurt/Comfort · ID: 336
Reviewer: Mews1945 · 2008-10-09 23:17:13
Spoilers!
In this gentle tale, Frodo performs a service for Elanor that leads to
Rosie asking him about his missing finger, and to her surprise, Frodo
is quite willing to tell her how it was healed by a healer in Minas
Tirith. The dialogue between them is so loving and filled with
understanding that I felt Frodo received comfort from it as well as
being able to express his gratitude to that healer.

Title: Riding the Waves · Author: Claudia · Times: Fourth Age and
Beyond · ID: 211
Reviewer: Mews1945 · 2008-10-09 23:21:23
A magical drabble that shows vividly that Frodo has healed while in
the undying land. The imagery is beautiful, the emotion uplifting.

Title: Fait Accompli · Author: Ignoble Bard · Genres: Mystery · ID: 381
Reviewer: Jael · 2008-10-10 00:48:57
Spoilers!
Of all of Ignoble Bard's body of work, this story is the masterpiece.
Stylish, erotic, and darkly disturbing in its vision, the author shows
us Legolas's fight to recover his memory as he finds himself in the
power of a mysterious, terrifying being.

Like many others who have read this story, I found myself to be very
surprised at the ultimate revelation of Legolas's captor and seeming
tormentor. All the clues might seem to point toward the obvious Mordor
connection. Yet, in the end, his situation is revealed to be even more
dire, since even death cannot release him.

And yet, I come away with the hope that Legolas's battle is not with
his capricious captor, but with his own conscience. If he can face his
past and forgive himself for his own perceived failings, he may
ultimately achieve freedom and healing.

I definitely recommend this story for lovers of elegant slash and for
lovers of masterful prose in general.