Yahoo Forum Archive

Title: Sharing Good News · Author: Imhiriel · Genres: Humor: Drabbles
· ID: 216
Reviewer: Elen Kortirion · 2008-12-01 00:00:00 Score: 2
Very pleasent - it puts a silly smile on my face for no other reason
than an imagining of Aragorn's face with a smile he so seldom has the
opportunities for showing.

Title: The Flute · Author: Golden · Races: Hobbits: Post-Ring War ·
ID: 150
Reviewer: grey_wonderer · 2008-12-01 00:00:00 Score: 4
I really enjoyed this. I first listened to the author read it herself
which was very entertaining and then I read it again later. This is a
lovely story filled with hope and friendship and music and I do
believe that it is my favorite of all of this author's stories. The
music, if you get the chance to hear the audio version of this story
that the author had posted, really gives the story something extra.
This was something very unique and original. I won't spoil this by
revealing anything more but if you haven't read this one you really
should!

Title: The North Delving Incident · Author: Dana · Genres: Drama · ID: 26
Reviewer: grey_wonderer · 2008-12-01 00:00:00 Score: 6
I always enjoy this author's writing and this story stands out as a
favorite of mine. This story is very exciting and she managed to keep
me on the edge of my seat as I read it. With each new development and
each new twist of the plot the author brings more suspense. The
characters are so well written and so very in character from the
beginning to the end of this story. The original characters are
delightful. They are so well written that you feel as if they must be
canon. I dearly love the little bits of humor that turn up
unexpectedly within this tale. You will also enjoy the dialogue. I
thought that every word out of Pippin's mouth in this story was
perfectly Pippin and fit the mood and the scene. I won't include any
spoilers except to say that this is an excellent story by a very
talented writer.

Title: For the Want of ... · Author: Larner · Times: Late Third Age:
Gondor · ID: 681
Reviewer: grey_wonderer · 2008-12-01 00:00:00 Score: 6
I read this wonderful story just before the end of the nomination
season and was very glad to still have a nomination left because the
moment I finished this I wanted to see it win something. I love this
author's writing and she always puts so many details into her stories.
Her descriptions of places and events help the reader to see the story
unfold while enjoying it. I loved every word of this story. The
conversations in this are very entertaining and reveal much about the
characters involved in the story. I don't like posting spoilers and so
I won't give away details from the story itself but I will say that
the subject that the author deals with here is very emotional but she
does this without allowing the emotions to over run the story. This is
a lovely tale and well worth reading.

Title: Birthday Double Drabble · Author: PipMer · Times: Multi-Age:
Fixed-Length Ficlets · ID: 526
Reviewer: grey_wonderer · 2008-12-01 00:00:00 Score: 5
I think that drabbles are very difficult to write and so I am always
amazed when someone is able to say so very much in so few words. I
enjoyed this double drabble very much. The author manages to describe
the scene perfectly and tells a complete story. The hobbits are well
written and very much in character. The author writes Merry Brandybuck
and Pippin Took very well and does a lovely job of making us see the
close friendship between the two of them and because friendship is
such an important part of Lord of The Rings that's a very important
thing to get right! I loved this one.

Title: Dark Dreams · Author: SlightlyTookish · Races: Hobbits:
Hurt/Comfort · ID: 550
Reviewer: grey_wonderer · 2008-12-01 00:00:00 Score: 6
I am always very happy to see a new post by this author. She hasn't
had much time for her writing lately and so finding this story by her
was a very nice surprise. I have read this one several times and I
think that is one of the best ways to know how very good a story is.
If people come back to it and read and enjoy it over and over then the
author has done something memorable. Merry and Pippin are lovely in
this tale which has a bit of angst, a bit of drama, and a lot of
friendship. There is also some very hobbity humor and conversation as
the author allows her hobbits to be hobbits. The writing is so
entertaining and you can feel the tension at certain points in the
story as you read this one. There isn't a single false moment in this
and anyone that enjoys hobbit stories or Merry and Pippin stories will
love this one. I only wish that Slighttookish had more time to write
so that we might enjoy more of her stories!

Title: The Five Rules of Cooking · Author: GamgeeFest · Races:
Hobbits: Childhood · ID: 523
Reviewer: grey_wonderer · 2008-12-01 00:00:00 Score: 10
This story is so adorable! I love this authors understanding of small
children and her way with humor. I particularly enjoyed the way she
wrote Merry Brandybuck in this one. All of the details in this are set
forth with ease and the story unfolds in such a natural way that it is
easy to enjoy the events as the humor of the hobbit's situation builds
throughout the tale. The story is entertaining and filled with
cousinly friendship and love. Frodo, Merry, and Pippin are all in
character and the dialogue between the three cousins is priceless! If
there aren't young children in this author's life then I am stunned
because she writes as if she is writing from experience. The story
also contains an excellent original character that Gamgeefest manages
to bring to life with details so that the character, Tulip Crocker,
fits right into the story and becomes a part of the Shire community.
There are very few authors writing now that are able to do wee hobbits
better than this author can. Anyone who has read her lovely stories
about Samwise Gamgee and his family can tell you that this is a writer
that can give you a heartwarming tale or a humorous tale or set you on
an adventure with one or more of your favorite hobbits. If you enjoy
pre Quest fiction involving the hobbits then this is a story that you
shouldn't miss. I won't post spoilers here because this one has a very
lovely comic set up that builds throughout the tale and everyone
should enjoy it as they read!

Title: Pulling the Wool · Author: Elen Kortirion · Races: Men: General
Fixed-Length Ficlets · ID: 95
Reviewer: Makamu · 2008-12-01 00:00:00 Score: 5
The three drabbles presented here do something very remarkable; they
characterize Boromir as somebody who is willing to form various
relationships with members of the Fellowship as long as he can trust them.

Trust can take on different forms-there is the 'seeing' trust he feels
around Merry and Pippin and the blind trust he feels around Aragorn,
which Aragorn honours after Boromir's departure.

This difference in difficulty to trust is also reflected in the
stylistic difference between the first and the other two drabbles,
while one is light in tone, the others are more sombre.

All in all, the story offers a very interesting glimpse into Boromir's
psyche and the way the Fellowship interacts.

Title: On Canon and Fanfic · Author: Marta · Genres: Non-Fiction · ID: 123
Reviewer: Dawn Felagund · 2008-12-01 00:00:00 Score: 10
One of the first flamewars I observed after joining fandom inspired a
list mod to make the claim that there are some subjects in fandom that
cannot be discussed rationally. In my years since, AU stories--what
they are and, perhaps more importantly, what they are worth as
fanfic--have proven themselves worthy of inclusion on that list. Even
as some authors flaunt the AU badge they proudly stick to their
stories, others grumble about why one would even bother to write a
story that ignores canon. AU gets used as a way out of having to read
the books and gets stuck on stories by authors who are simply wearied
of having their more imaginative interpretations attacked. It's become
a complex and controversial label.

Marta's essay "On Canon and Fanfic" explores the complexity of this
genre and the fandom reactions to it. [Is "AU" a pejorative label?]
she asks and goes about breaking down the different uses of canon in
Tolkien fanfic to define what is an AU and what is merely a wild or
imaginative interpretation.

But perhaps what attracted me, as an author who has unfortunately used
the AU label to defend my interpretations against canatics in the
past, the most to this essay and to Marta's meta in general is her
clear thinking and sharp logic where canon is concerned, all delivered
with a touch of humor. She writes,

[Also, even if a story is uncanonical, this doesn't mean it's a sin
against Tolkien. The man is dead, he doesn't feel any more pain. And
even if he would blush, fanfic is the production of the fanfic
author's mind and imagination, not that of the original canon's author.]

Regardless of one's preferences for reading or writing AU stories, the
points Marta makes in her essay are a good reminder to all of us, most
of whom have, at one time or another, fanatically embraced our
favorite canon fact, that Tolkien's canon is a complex and subtle
entity, and fanfic is our exploration of that.

Title: Tales of the Eldandili · Author: Alassiel · Genres: Drama:
Incomplete · ID: 502
Reviewer: Jules14 · 2008-12-01 00:00:00 Score: 2
Wonderful story, with excellent writing style and characters. I love
modern-day Middle-earth and Valinor fics, and yours is one of the best
I've read. I'll continue to read it.

Title: They Also Serve · Author: Marta · Times: Late Third Age · ID: 365
Reviewer: Jules14 · 2008-12-01 00:00:00 Score: 5
I agree with the review on your livejournal page that called your fic
"sweet and homely," but I also like that you gave Arwen an interesting
personality, more interesting than that given her in the books, or
even the films. I never thought of her liking to cook, but it seems
fitting, considering her tranquil personality, very different from,
say, Luthien or Eowyn. I also liked her grief about her mother; so few
fanfics examine how Arwen must have felt after Celebrian went west,
though plenty examine the feelings and reactions of her twin brothers.
It's stories like yours that make Arwen an interesting and likable
character.

Title: Moon of the Sea · Author: pandemonium_213 · Times: Second and
Early Third Age · ID: 213
Reviewer: Alquawende · 2008-12-01 00:00:00 Score: 5
This is a very nice interpretation about Elendil's wife, the
ancestress of Aragorn. I'm glad that the author, Pandemonium, has
written about her because she is such an important person, I think, to
Middle Earth and the history of the kingdoms of Arnor and Gondor. If
it was not for her, there would be no Isildur to cut the One ring from
Sauron's hand and, no king of Gondor, no king of Arnor... The story
begins before her marriage to Elendil and gives you little scenes into
her life that each tell you a little bit about her. I love the idea
that she felt such a strong connection to the Moon and it was a she,
not a he.

Title: Arvedui v. Pelendur · Author: Roh Wyn · Genres: Non-Fiction ·
ID: 277
Reviewer: Alquawende · 2008-12-01 00:00:00 Score: 4
This was a very enjoyable essay. It definitely cleared up some
confusions, of mine, on why Arvedui's claim to Gondor's throne was
rejected, yet Aragorn's claim was accepted centuries later. I had to
read this essay since Arvedui, I always thought, was very interesting
and I always wanted to know more about him, since he is one of the few
Third Age people I will read about.

Title: Fulfilling Oaths · Author: Nieriel Raina · Times: Multi-Age ·
ID: 332
Reviewer: Alquawende · 2008-12-01 00:00:00 Score: 5
I am a Finrod fan, so I just had to read this. There are many stories
that try to explain how the famous Ring of Barahir was eventually,
after two full ages of the world, brought back to its original and
famous owner. This story is very unique, I think, because it not only
told the important events the Ring of Barahir went through, and
because the person who later brings the Ring of Barahir back to Finrod
and Valinor, was a definite suprise to me. I never would have thought
it was this person. NiRi is a very creative writer and this is a
perfect example. She wrote a story, with a plot that others have
already used, but she added a suprise, but enjoyable, twist to the end.

Title: The Six-Fingered Glove Mystery · Author: shirebound · Genres:
Mystery · ID: 522
Reviewer: grey_wonderer · 2008-12-01 00:00:00 Score: 7
I adore this story and I enjoyed it from the very first word to the
very last. I only wish that it were longer. The author has a special
way with hobbits and her young Frodo is particularly captivating. The
story is a mystery of sort but I will not spoil your enjoyment of it
by giving things away in this review. I will just say that while this
is a mystery in need of a solution, there is also humor involved. The
characters featured in the story are Bilbo Baggins, Frodo Baggins and
Samwise Gamgee. A very special original character that has become a
favorite of the readers of this author's stories also puts in an
appearance. This is entertaining and the hobbits are very much in
character. The story is per Quest and in this Frodo is the young,
inquisitive, intelligent hobbit that I love to see. One can imagine
this Frodo growing into the hobbit on whom all of the fate of
Middle-earth rested. Sam has some excellent lines of dialogue in this
one and one remark had me laughing out loud. A great read by a very
talented author!

Title: Regarding Ents · Author: PipMer · Races: Hobbits: Post-Ring War
· ID: 525
Reviewer: grey_wonderer · 2008-12-01 00:00:00 Score: 5
I enjoyed this story very much. The dialogue is very entertaining and
all four hobbits are involved in this one which is another thing that
I enjoy. Sam is very humorous in this without actually meaning to be
and his opinion of the things that he is hearing seems very
understandable. This story expresses a kind of wonder that only
Tolkien's hobbits seem to be able to give us with regard to a certain
event during the Quest. I don't like including spoilers and so I won't
go into details but this is a very well-written little fiction and one
of this author's lighter offerings. She does excellent angst but in
this story she shows that she is also very good with humor.

Title: What Goes Up · Author: Dana · Times: Late Third Age: Gondor
Drabbles · ID: 683
Reviewer: grey_wonderer · 2008-12-01 00:00:00 Score: 4
I loved this! It reads exactly like it could be the thoughts of
Peregrin Took. It is straight forward, amusing, honest, and very
hobbity! It is very hard to review a drabble without giving things
away since drabbles are, by nature so short. I will just say that I
found this one humorous, very entertaining, very in character, and
thoroughly entertaining. Now, do read it for yourself. You don't want
to miss out!

Title: Horse Sense · Author: Branwyn (Lady Branwyn) · Genres: Humor:
Elven Lands · ID: 22
Reviewer: grey_wonderer · 2008-12-01 00:00:00 Score: 4
This was delightful. I enjoyed this look at the Fellowship through the
eyes of one who traveled with them for a time, Bill the pony. I liked
his reaction to Gimli and his concerns over the type of treatment that
he might expect to receive from the members of the Fellowship that he
had not yet become aquianted with. The title of this one is well
chosen because Bill makes so very valid points. This is lots of fun
and very inventive.

Title: Promises Broken and Kept · Author: periantari · Genres: Drama:
Featuring Frodo or Sam · ID: 144
Reviewer: grey_wonderer · 2008-12-01 00:00:00 Score: 4
This author has written a very enjoyable story about a time in
Meriadoc Brandybuck's childhood when he felt less than secure. The
story takes place prior to the Quest and focuses on Merry as well as
Frodo. This is a very excellent cousin fiction filled with friendship,
family and love. The author gives us angst but she also fills the
story with a sense of family and hope. This is an author who knows and
loves Tolkien's characters especially the hobbits. This is a very
entertaining read!

Title: The Blessing · Author: Mews1945 · Genres: Drama: Featuring
Frodo or Sam · ID: 228
Reviewer: grey_wonderer · 2008-12-01 00:00:00 Score: 4
Spoilers!
The author has given us a very interesting view of Frodo and Samwise
from someone who knows them only by the words of others. This is a
lovely fiction filled with emotion and hope in the midst of injury and
the aftermath of battle. The author paints a picture using words and
makes us see the work of a female healer as well as the reactions of
the wounded to the Ringbearer and his loyal companion, Samwise Gamgee.
This is lovely.

Title: A Cat in King Elessar's Court · Author: agape4gondor · Races:
Cross-Cultural: Friendship · ID: 66
Reviewer: Linda Hoyland · 2008-12-01 00:00:00 Score: 3
Spoilers!
This is a highly unusual and enjoyable story. I'm not a fan of
Denethor, but I could imagine him having a clever cat,who is the
narrator here.
To me,the high point of the story was when the cat swears allegiance
to Aragorn and realises his worth.
This is no ordinary cat, but a descedent of one of Queen Beruiel's
felines which has the ability to talk!

Title: Out, Damn'd Spot! Out, I Say! · Author: Alassante · Races:
Elves: Noldor Fixed-Length Ficlets · ID: 260
Reviewer: Dawn Felagund · 2008-12-01 00:00:00 Score: 4
"Out, Damn'd Spot! Out, I Say!" is a touching interaction between
Celebrimbor and Maedhros where the first is shaken and hurt by his
deeds at Alqualonde. While this is a common plot event in Silmfic,
Alassante's version shows not only the trauma that many of the
Feanorians would have experienced from their deeds but also their
lingering humanity, in spite of what they had done. There is still
capacity to love and empathize, and that makes the dark road onto
which they have just stepped all the more tragic.

Title: Broken Star · Author: pandemonium_213 · Races: Villains:
Fixed-Length Ficlets · ID: 54
Reviewer: viv · 2008-12-01 00:00:00 Score: 4
This is excellent. You write the dark lord very, very well. I could
see his self-righteousness and confidence, but also his regret
(subsumed, of course, by his ambitions). Even suppressed, that regret
makes him a sympathetic character, someone I want to read more about.
That is more than Tolkien ever gave him. Thank you for making Sauron
something other than merely black in a world of black and white.

Title: The Kindly Airs · Author: Dwimordene · Times: Late Third Age:
General Fixed-Length Ficlets · ID: 480
Reviewer: viv · 2008-12-01 00:00:00 Score: 4
Oooh. I really like the poetic language and in-line alliteration
you've got going on here. Her joy is palpable. Very beautiful writing.

... Oh, golly, I didn't realize who the writer was until I went to
enter this review on the form. It all makes sense now. Of course this
would be excellently crafted, coming from the pen of Dwimordene. You
certainly keep producing a very high level of writing. I'd ask how you
do it, but I hear magicians never give up their secrets.

Title: Possessing the greatest powers · Author: Tanaqui · Times:
Multi-Age: Fixed-Length Ficlets · ID: 387
Reviewer: viv · 2008-12-01 00:00:00 Score: 3
I enjoyed the symmetry and the metaphorical language in each disparate
drabble.You certainly painted the specialness of each of these
characters, and their sorrow and elation at finding themselves
suddenly less powerful.