Stories of Arda - Lord of the Rings Fan-Fiction Archive


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Jewels by Lindelea	6 Review(s)
Mirkwoodmaiden	Reviewed Chapter: 9 on 3/27/2025
Lindelea! A lovely day out and then Oh No! Poor Saradoc has been through a lot. But you and I both know that after the stress lets up quite often the body says "Stress released....well then, don't if I give out just a little. "'Don't try to talk, Bahbah. Save your strength.' Bahbah. The old name that had fallen so sweetly from a small son's lips. 'You are my strength,' he gasped. 'My strong right arm.' He fought for another breath. 'I thought I'd lost you...'" heart pang Poor Saradoc. Love Merry's response. "Harder to lose than you think" Casts my mind back to everything he has been and how much he has been forced to change. "He took a small flask from his bag and poured out a small cupful of clear liquid. 'Willow bark tea,' he said shortly. 'I have sweetened it with some honey, but it will be bitter.'" One of the many things I love about reading and writing LOTR fanfiction is figuring how they might have done things. Such as healing, armor construction etc. Not only the Traveling Four have been through the ringer, but those on the homefront as well. Thoroughly enjoying this Story! Must dash to work! (((hugs))) MM Author Reply: MM! (((hugs))) I'm so glad to hear from you and to read that you're enjoying the story! I can so relate – many were the times I groaned my way out of bed a little early just so I could sneak onto the computer and read a chapter or two on SoA before diving into the demands of the day! Thanks so much for taking time to share your thoughts. I love seeing the characters from your perspective. I share your enthusiasm for the little details that take time and research and thought! Once upon a time, I calculated that I did ten hours of research to be able to write one chapter involving a whitewater rescue! Finding a plausible treatment for burn injuries took a similar effort but made for a stronger story, I think. As a reader, I notice and appreciate an author's efforts to maintain authenticity and a note of reality (believability?) into the narrative, either because they're already familiar with a subject or take time to study it. Well-crafted fanfiction (in my opinion) rivals or even surpasses many of the books I've bought over the years. Long may fanfiction authors live and write and post the fruit of their labors. (As I used to horribly pun at my writing students: Write on!) And now, a few more (((hugs))), and I hope this note finds you well. Now that I've settled into a schedule of writing for a few hours every day, both fanfic and original work (isn't retirement grand?), I'm trying to get into the habit of posting fanfic regularly on Tuesdays and Fridays, whatever chapters happen to be ready on those days. With that goal in mind, I'm going to use the rest of my free afternoon to polish the chapters that I intend to post tomorrow. (And then I plan to devote tomorrow to reading! What a pleasant prospect!)

PSW	Reviewed Chapter: 9 on 2/23/2025
Oh no!! 😥 I hope he’s going to feel better, they can’t lose each other now….

Larner	Reviewed Chapter: 9 on 8/29/2006
Yes, such a year would put a strain on anyone. Poor Sara--but he'll recover well, we know it. Author Reply: Yes, he has some good years left, even if he must be careful and allow Merry to assume more of the load. I'm so glad that JRRT gave us death dates as well as birth dates for major characters... though I might wish for more information to go on... and though sometimes those dates are darned inconvenient. (I have Odovacar Bolger living several years longer than his span as reported in "Peoples of Middle Earth", for example, because I didn't have access to that book until I'd been writing fanfic for months.) Thanks!

harrowcat	Reviewed Chapter: 9 on 8/8/2006
Oh no! Poor Saradoc. What a lovely, peaceful afternoon and then it all goes wrong! BTW - I am so glad that RL is giving you more time to add to your stories. Long may it continue. Author Reply: I'm glad, too, that I've been able to set aside an hour or two a day for writing, at least up until this week, which has held more than its share of distractions. I have an editing job that was just dropped off today, and so I won't have as much time, at least until I get all the way through that book and am able to call the author to come and pick it up again. So there may not be a lot of chapters posted through the end of the month. Hope the readers don't lose interest! Thanks for the faithful reviews. They are an encouragement and an incentive to keep posting, I must admit.

Pearl Took	Reviewed Chapter: 9 on 8/8/2006
A blessing that Merry and Pippin were with Saradoc. They will do a fine job of helping The Master :) And I like that Saradoc knows Tom Bombadil :) Author Reply: I thought that it might make sense that a few of the older and wiser Brandybucks might know Tom Bombadil, and that they might have ventured into the Old Forest on occasion. Of course, I could be wrong! Thanks!

demeter d	Reviewed Chapter: 9 on 8/8/2006
Late night, and early morning too? Dear lady, do you never sleep? (I know i don't!) Even with food still short before the next harvest after the Scouring, Hobbits are still resourceful about drawing food from the land. In a very real way, we see the Master providing for his Hall. So nice to see Merry and Pippin able to talk to Merry's father about their adventures, even if it is about some of the lighter moments. Too bad sometimes it takes something serious, like a heart attack, to make us slow down and take time for each other. I very much liked Merry holding his father, and comforting him with the old song and the childhood nickname, as his father once comforted him. Little Merry has grown in more ways than up. Was it Theoden, or no, I think it was Gandalf after Theoden's death, who said that Merry had a good heart, and his griefs would serve to make him wiser and more compassionate. You express that notion very well, here. I liked the parting shot. The Healer said it was good he had his strong son back to act for him while he rested. Merry said, Peregrin and I will try not to run the place into the ground! Saradoc will just have to get well very soon! Nice touch having the healer give him willow bark. Modern aspirin is derived from it, as most know. And now we give folks aspirin for heart attacks. Well done! Author Reply: Sometimes I drink too much coffee, trying to wake up, and it hangs on into the wee hours. I do better when I'm "off" coffee, but I'm hooked again and not quite ready to brave the four-day headache involved in quitting. When I used to take pseudofed for my allergies, it seemed I never slept! I got a lot of writing done in those days, at least until I crashed for lack of rest. I very much enjoyed reading your impressions. I think it was Aragorn you're thinking of, in your quote, in the scene in the Houses of Healing after the Pelennor. Thanks!

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