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| Seeds of Old Trees by Marnie | 8 Review(s) |
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| Kalima | Reviewed Chapter: 7 on 1/31/2005 |
| Hey, here I am not getting enough sleep, and it's all your fault! Yes, it is. Absolutely. I know where the responsibility lies, yes I do, and I know how to examine such complex issues because I've been reading Seeds of Old Trees. Now I'm going to have to keep reading becuase I can't stand Celeborn (whom I love also, as you may have guessed) being left in despair, his head in his hands. K Author Reply: If he turns up here, I'll ask him to come and see you :) | |
| Sphinx | Reviewed Chapter: 7 on 9/19/2004 |
| Bejai is right. Worldwide hair tearing. Now, to sit back and watch Her Highness try and rip all that lovely silver hair out. ;) To tell the truth, I’m divided in my opinion of this chapter. Part of me wholeheartedly wants to form some sort of Noldor defence, while the other half just wants to grab Finrod and take him Far, Far Away. Space travel, Elf-style. Why not? ;) An ingenious plot twist, one that is not quite so AU once you sit down to think of it. I’m waiting eagerly to see what becomes of it. But...Celebrimbor? A Pro-Noldor part of me awakens. Why does he not have the reborn joy that Calandil does? It is a Feanorian stereotype, I fear – rude, self-obsessed, creatively brilliant – but a sulky Mandos-returned Celebrimbor is hard to digest. But for all Celeborn's tactlessness, and his desire to grant Celebrimbor a knuckle sandwich, their meeting is a shade too bitter. It is as if neither has learnt anything with respect to the other - not Celebrimbor from Mandos, and not Celeborn from the Third Age and various years after that. But I like Earwen in this, however brief her appearance. The opening scene set the tone for the ending, which was a rather terrible cliffhanger for people wanting to see the pots and pans fly. Worldwide hair tearing. Remember that. :) Sphinx Author Reply: Thanks for the review, Sphinx! I'm sorry that you think Celebrimbor is a bit of a stereotype, but I had to take into account that he *was* a genius, that he *did* usurp rule of Eregion and then abandon it to make a futile gesture of defiance towards Sauron, which led to Sauron getting hold of the Nine. He doesn't have Calandil's joy (a) because Calandil is a happy-go-lucky sort of person, whereas Celebrimbor is - canonically - a secretive genius, and I do not believe that the basic personality is changed by Mandos. And (b) because his moment of triumph has just been spoiled by the sudden reappearance of his rival in love. My thoughts on Celebrimbor are that he is brilliant, and he knows that he's considerably cleverer than Celeborn, and - because Celeborn has got the girl - he can't help but rub it in that Celeborn is thicker than he is. In my mind it's not a Noldor/Sindar thing at all, but a rivalry in love. Celeborn is jealous and suspicious of him, he is jealous and suspicious of Celeborn, and they both use whatever weapons are to hand to try and keep each other in their place - which in Celebrimbor's case are his superior intelligence and his superior status as a Calaquendi, and in Celeborn's case is the basic threat that he's going to knock Celebrimbor's teeth out. They both know better, of course, but neither of them are exactly having a good day. Do you really expect Celeborn to be reasonable on a day when he's uncertain whether his marriage is over for good? The only part of Celebrimbor's Feanorian heritage which I was consiously using was his genius. His own, canonical actions, and the fact that he is in love with Celeborn's wife, seems to be enough to me to explain their animosity otherwise. Author Reply: Thanks for the review, Sphinx! I'm sorry that you think Celebrimbor is a bit of a stereotype, but I had to take into account that he *was* a genius, that he *did* usurp rule of Eregion and then abandon it to make a futile gesture of defiance towards Sauron, which led to Sauron getting hold of the Nine. He doesn't have Calandil's joy (a) because Calandil is a happy-go-lucky sort of person, whereas Celebrimbor is - canonically - a secretive genius, and I do not believe that the basic personality is changed by Mandos. And (b) because his moment of triumph has just been spoiled by the sudden reappearance of his rival in love. My thoughts on Celebrimbor are that he is brilliant, and he knows that he's considerably cleverer than Celeborn, and - because Celeborn has got the girl - he can't help but rub it in that Celeborn is thicker than he is. In my mind it's not a Noldor/Sindar thing at all, but a rivalry in love. Celeborn is jealous and suspicious of him, he is jealous and suspicious of Celeborn, and they both use whatever weapons are to hand to try and keep each other in their place - which in Celebrimbor's case are his superior intelligence and his superior status as a Calaquendi, and in Celeborn's case is the basic threat that he's going to knock Celebrimbor's teeth out. They both know better, of course, but neither of them are exactly having a good day. Do you really expect Celeborn to be reasonable with one of his wife's suitors on a day when he's uncertain whether his marriage is over for good? And if Celeborn is unreasonably aggressive towards Celebrimbor (which he was), do you expect Celebrimbor to meekly take it without finding some (in his case perfectly non-violent) way of asserting his own self-worth? The only part of Celebrimbor's Feanorian heritage which I was consiously using was his genius. His own, canonical actions, and the fact that he is in love with Celeborn's wife, seems to be enough to me to explain their animosity otherwise. Author Reply: Sorry! Didn't mean to do that twice, and now I can't figure out how to delete one of them. Do ignore at least one if not both ;) Thanks again, Marnie :-) | |
| Bodkin | Reviewed Chapter: 7 on 9/17/2004 |
| I wonder if she is waiting outside, looking for that moment of despair to hit him, just so that he realises that he is not the only one who can be manipulative. Even though she has told him not to come, I think she wants the approach to come from him. Can't wait to find out! (I love the suggestion that only inter-racial co-operation will get this project going. And what will the Valar think of elves swanning off to the stars?) Author Reply: To tell the truth, I really don't know! This is where my inspiration dried up, and I have no more idea than anyone else how they will come back together. I shall no doubt find out when I come to write it :) I think/hope that the Valar have learned to be a little less nannying since the Noldor rebellion, and to allow the elves a bit more independance. The Children of Eru are growing up! | |
| Sulriel | Reviewed Chapter: 7 on 9/16/2004 |
| What an exciting twist! Has Celebrimbor made a Dilithium Crystal? Will we meet a Noldor named Sarek?!? Author Reply: LOL! No and no. I can't tell you how much I hate the idea of Vulcans being elves. They have nothing in common, not even the ears! Glad you approve though! | |
| daw the minstrel | Reviewed Chapter: 7 on 9/16/2004 |
| OK, Marnie. This is such a strange mixture of Tolkien and scifi. I don't mean that as a criticism, just as a statement about my feelings on reading it. It's taking me a while to adjust to it and see how well you actually work all this together and make it plausible. I like your characterizations of Galadriel and her mother, who knows her so well. The three males are also interesting in their three-cornered conversation and personalities. Poor Celeborn. Author Reply: Thanks for the review, Daw. Yes, I thought that it might be a bit of a stretch, incorporating elvish space-travel. But after all, this is set in the present day, and elves are clever people, and have plenty of reason to want to expand their horizons. And all those reborn Noldor geniuses have to have something to occupy their hands and minds with while the centuries pass. I'm hoping that it's still consistent with Tolkien, who, after all, was the one who first said that the Teleri vessels go through Space on their journey to Valinor, (I think it's in his Letters) and who introduced Earendil in his sky-ship as a satellite of Middle-earth. I hope it hasn't put you off reading the final chapter! Thanks again. | |
| Bejai | Reviewed Chapter: 7 on 9/15/2004 |
| Gahh!! You are aware, aren't you, that you've got all your readers tearing their hair out? That's world wide hair-tearing going on. The waiting is killing me! Which, of course, it is doing to Celeborn as well. Wonderful way to make us feel it. When they DO finally meet, we're all just going to be quivering masses of jello. Wait ... they are going to meet ... aren't they? Loved the confrontation with Celebrimbor. I thought it was very restrained of Celeborn not to put Celebrimbor's nose into the back of his skull. After dooming Eregion and introducing those dratted rings, he certainly would have had it coming. I'm at the point in my own story where I'm going around on the rings again, so that moment here struck quite a chord. And Celeborn already knew what the stars were. Take that, twerp. Elves in space ;) Not the first time for you either, if I recall. And the wonderful part is that it is completely believable. It is interesting to see the difference between the reborn and those who have been slogging through life. Finrod and Celebrimbor have this kind of strange ... acceptance. Galadriel and Celeborn are both still so torn up. Almost makes me think that a trip to Mandos would have been better for them, if not for the fact that all the reborn are creeping me out a little bit. I can't really put my finger on why, but there is something about wiping away one life and starting over that bothers me. Like they are no longer connected to the consequences of events they set in motion so long before. Am rambling now. Loved the chapter, even if you are killing me with the suspense. Looking forward to more, as ever. Author Reply: I had no idea of the level of animosity there was between Celeborn and Celebrimbor until I put them together, at which point Celeborn could hardly stop himself from strangling the blasted Noldo, and Celebrimbor just couldn't stop needling. Still, it must have been quite a disappointment to Celebrimbor that at the moment of his triumph his old, detested dark-elf nemesis should turn up. I guess they're both having a bad day. I'm glad you thought the space travel idea was believable - I knew it was a risk, but on the other hand there's Earendil as a prototype, and they *are* the people of the Stars - they're obviously clever enough and the Noldor are restless enough to be looking for the next challenge by now. I'm delighted that there's a noticable difference between the reborn and the still-alive. I wondered myself whether those who don't die at least once aren't missing out on something - a chance to be healed and forgiven of what has gone before. I think that putting down of the burdens of the past must be a good thing for people who live so long, but the problem comes when they have to interact with people who haven't done that. It makes enormous demands on the charity of those who haven't - to have their hurts treated like something which has no relevance any more. And now I'm rambling in return. Thanks ever so for the review. The hint that DF is progressing is wonderful. I can't wait! | |
| Nilmandra | Reviewed Chapter: 7 on 9/15/2004 |
| I read through to the end and couldn't help myself for saying 'damn Noldor' at the end :p There is something wonderfully ironic about having Celebrimbor discover that others might have thought of his idea before him; Men and Teleri - I mean, how hard must that be to hear? And they might even be farther along than him! Celeborn's despair is palpable, but I am glad we got to see Galadriel fired up. I believe their great love story did go on, and she's probably about to tackle him and have her way with him. (please? :D). His base instinct likely exists in her too! Nice detail, as always. I felt like I was there in that workshop. Author Reply: You're quite right, the whole story is something of a clash of their base instincts. She wants him to prove that he cares, he wants her to do the same and neither of them are willing to make the first move. But something's got to give next chapter, (or I'll be lynched ;) ). Thanks again! | |
| Bodkin | Reviewed Chapter: 7 on 9/15/2004 |
| Oh, wonderful. The provocation of Galadriel by Earwen is superb - as she judges just how much to needle her into going to tell Celeborn just what she thinks of him. But then - I got to the end of the chapter and she HADN'T ARRIVED. How long can I endure the waiting? Poor Celeborn - visiting Finrod and hoping that Galadriel will storm in, in full fury - and being confronted with Celebrimbor: not his favourite elf. It must be unbelievably difficult to have all those ancestors and enemies coming back to haunt you. Love so many things - the observations on the Noldor High King's family, Celeborn snarling at Celebrimbor, his thoughts on forgiveness: - 'He had wanted to forgive them, take them back into his life. For Celebrimbor his goodwill extended only to the thought that punching him in the teeth would not be worth the split knuckles.' Elven space travel - and the Noldor whizz-kids needing the Sindar talent. Perhaps working together will help settle all the differences. NOW BRING GALADRIEL AND CELEBORN TOGETHER! PLEASE! OR THERE WILL BE BLOODSHED. (Galadriel is in a very bad temper and Celeborn is getting too upset.) This was just fantastic stuff. Author Reply: Thanks, Bodkin! Earwen's a canny elf who seems to have more idea how to influence her daughter than most people do. I enjoyed getting to know her a bit. I think you can tell that Celeborn was not exactly at his best, and, like him I wasn't sure whether Celebrimbor, who was responsible for so much heartache (albeit mostly with good intentions) should have got out of Mandos yet. But it's interesting to think that some of Feanor's family might be back by now. That's got to up the tension between the Noldor and the Sindar. I'm immensely relieved that the space travel didn't put you off the whole fic. I did think it was a bit of a risk. But how can it be a happy ending if they don't have something new and exciting to do? Besides, it'll take their minds off the misery of not being together any more. (Whoops, did I say that? Sorry ;) ...Nah, you know I wouldn't do that to my favourite elf!) Thanks again! Marnie :-) | |