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All That Glisters by Lindelea	3 Review(s)
Grey Wonderer	Reviewed Chapter: 15 on 10/4/2004
Archers? What archers? Good ole Merry and his General-like skills. Looks like Faramir is very attached to his new friends. It will be interesting to see what Pippin's reaction is to all of this.

FantasyFan	Reviewed Chapter: 15 on 10/4/2004
You have gotten way ahead of me over the weekend. Such a treat to come back to the story and find three new chapters! Hilly is a very clever hobbit. The ruffians are not woodsmen, but he expects Ferdi will be following eventually, and so he leaves a plain trail for eyes that can see. Had they reallly been in danger, he would have saved them with his cleverness. Unfortunately, he's not quite clever enough to recognize the sleeping-draught trick, but better hobbits than he have been / will be fooled by that one. And he has missed too much of the interaction with Diamond to accept that the ruffians are not really going to hurt them (as well as it not really being in his nature to take that decision on himself). Unfortunately, Jack only has that one trick up his sleeve, and it's not enough. Speaking of clever, Merry and Ferdi have a trick of their own. There aren't any archers, and I should have known that just having read the previous chapter where they were clearly alone, but it fooled me too! I wonder which of them thought it up? I suppose it helped that Jack was half-expecting to be caught at any moment, so he was ready to accept that he was surrounded. Now I'm ready to see Pippin, when he arrives, be not reasonable about danger to his family. I'm kind of surprised that Ferdi has given up on Hilly, and expects a farmer to be the other hostage. They have reason to believe Hilly could have survived the bog with help of the branches, and Ferdi might have had a suspicion that the signs he read were being left for them deliberately, especially the writing on the ground. Perhaps he did not want to hope too much for his friend. This is going to be a shorter story than most of the recent ones, and you've mentioned that the meeting with the king is in the next story. I'm wondering why you don't put them together into one longer story - is it a matter of theme for each individual episode? Not a complaint, mind you, sometimes shorter is better: if you can make the point you are intending in fewer chapters, that is all to the good. Author Reply: This is going to be a shorter story than most of the recent ones, and you've mentioned that the meeting with the king is in the next story. I'm wondering why you don't put them together into one longer story - is it a matter of theme for each individual episode? I'm still wrestling with this. The meeting at the Bridge is on the outline and the draft chapter is written, and it does fit with the earlier chapters setting up the meeting. But the story is carefully balanced as it is, complete with epilogue that has nothing to do with the meeting at the Bridge (taking place years later, as a matter of fact). I'm not sure if the Bridge fits, except for the build-up at the beginning of the story... It might be a distraction from the theme of this story, whatever that might be. (Was thinking on this... redemption? not exactly. Cannot put my finger on it. Got any thoughts on the matter?) The themes of the Bridge meeting are healing, and honouring the past while putting it in its proper place, and looking forward to the future. I suppose it could still fit in with Jack and Will (guess they'd be a sort of detour along the way, sort of like Farry and Goldi's relationship in "Truth" turned out to be a minor subplot bookending the main action). I am of two minds at this point, and finding it difficult to make a choice. Author Reply: As to your comments on the story, thanks! Ferdi saw the branches shoved into the bog, and knew Diamond capable of such action, but he also knew how very cold the water was (from personal experience), and how long it would take to build such a bridge. Putting all that together with the lack of Hilly's footprints, or the marks of a body being dragged from the water (no way Diamond could have carried him), he chalked it up to a valiant but futile effort, as it would have been had the "ruffians" not happened along. Ferdi figured the marks were left by a forester or hunter, while Merry thought it possible that the ruffians had captured a farmer near the Bounds and forced him to guide them into the Tookland. But that's all part of the "backstory" and may not be made explicit. I'm afraid Jack has trouble thinking like a criminal. It'll stand him in good stead in future, of course, just as it has kept him upright his whole life. But it's not much help, to be upright and honest, when you're trying to get out of a criminal's fix.

Connie B.	Reviewed Chapter: 15 on 10/4/2004
That was close. I know that Jack and his boys came into the Shire with ill intent, but it's still sad that Merry and Ferdi both have such prejudgice against them. It is just sad to see Merry so sure that these people were going to harm Diamond and Farry and that they have somehow "turned her head". I hope Pippin is calm enough to listen to all of Daimond's story, and that he will not make haisty judgements based on just his heart and not his head, too. Hope this is making some sense. I know what I'm wanting to say, but I'm not shure that I'm making clear on paper.:) Thanks. Connie B. Author Reply: Thanks for commenting! It makes sense to me, more sense than I find myself making most of the time. g Pippin is not at all calm at the moment, but thankfully he's still on his way and not on the scene. You never know just what might happen next.

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