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All That Glisters by Lindelea	7 Review(s)
Larner	Reviewed Chapter: 58 on 1/20/2005
A fine continuation to the story. Am again trying to get caught up. Author Reply: Take heart! The next few chapters go very quickly, and then the end is in sight. Thanks for leaving a comment!

Grey Wonderer	Reviewed Chapter: 58 on 1/1/2005
Please tell me that you haven't just killed off Denny! Sorry, just emotion of the moment. I was glad to see Sam out and about and I loved Diamond's reaction to the thought of Pippin going to Gondor. She would find herself alone among the big folk and I can only wonder about little Faramir at this point. I feel sure that their well being will also enter into Pippin's final choice. I go now to read the next chapter in the hopes of finding Denny alive. Author Reply: Must be hard for Pippin, weighing their losing him on the one hand against their being so isolated on the other. Freddy had a better idea, years later. When he moved to the Southlands, he took a whole colony of hobbits with him. As to Denny's fate: that's still up in the air. Thanks!

Marigold	Reviewed Chapter: 58 on 1/1/2005
I LOVED all of the conversation and thoughts in these last few chapters. And as to the poll, I am firmly against the character death, if it is Denethor. It won't add to the angst really, as you are able to write angst with wonderful skill without needing to actually kill off a character. If it is at some point Posey, that would be a bit different, as while it would be sad, it would be bearable as it is a more natural death, if that makes sense. It would not affect my enjoyment of the story, but to have Denethor die would. That is just my opinion, and I know that the story will be good whatever you decide : ) Author Reply: I'm with you: I stopped in the middle of updating, for I did not want to post the last part of the draft chapters! I went so far as to rewrite them (and you might know, for me that is a huge concession for I would a million times more prefer writing over re-writing), and I posted my reader poll as a kind of reality check. I checked with someone who knows more about medical things than I, to see how Denny could be saved, and the prospect looks pretty grim without the use of some Deus-ex-machina stuff. (And one thing I fear is becoming a "television" writer--healing all ills, even deadly ones, conveniently in time for the last commercial break. It becomes a cliche, and makes it difficult to explore serious themes.) I was all ready to write in more elf-draught, but thought it would seem awfully contrived and take away from the guardsman's deliberate sacrifice, upon which other plot points lean... The revised draft was a poorer story, I'm sorry to say, though I might still post it as an alternate ending. Not sure how I'd do that. Much as I have come to love Denny, I haven't figured out how to plausibly save him without damaging the plot dynamics as they've been set up. About the only thing I can think of, to keep the plot dynamics intact, would be to substitute another guardsman for Denny. If you can bear to read to the end, as currently written (the rest of the draft ought to be posted within the week, for there is very little left to this story), I'd welcome your opinion as to whether that is a feasible option. One of the reasons I polled the readers was because I have the experience of rejecting a favourite television series when they killed off my favourite character. I simply could not watch it after he "died". I don't want to do that sort of thing to my readers!

Dreamflower	Reviewed Chapter: 58 on 1/1/2005
I see the direction your questions were aiming now. I did say "as happy an ending as suits the circumstances", and so I meant. Some circumstances do call for a character to die. Character death is a hard one, and whether it is Denny or Posey or both, if it suits the circumstances it is a part of the story. There are two kinds of character death I object to: a non-canon death for a major canon character, e.g. killing off one of the Fellowship, or a pointless, useless death for an OC or minor canon character. (e.g. killing off one character just for shock value or to make some angst) I do not see a death which serves the story as pointless or useless, although it can be very hard. I fought for a long time with my Muse over Folco, but eventually came to see how necessary it was for Fredegar's character development. You make such likeable OCs, I know that you mourn them just as much as the reader does. That said: I was certainly surprised at the form of the attack, although I was beginning to think it was imminent. Make sure that these ruffians get their just desserts! Author Reply: Well, you'll have to let me know if the circumstances are suited. I don't think this is a gratuitous death. I hate killing any character! (Save, perhaps, a ruffian. Sometimes it seems as if they were meant to be set up as targets, and yet even with ruffians I imagine circumstances and background that gives me pause when it comes time to dispatch them. Life is precious, and each was someone's newborn babe, full of promise, once upon a time.) Thanks.

Bodkin	Reviewed Chapter: 58 on 1/1/2005
By the way, you have two chapter 57s, and this one is before the Pippin/Posey conversation, yet the back/next buttons suggest that one should come first. Author Reply: Thanks for the catch! Happy New Year.

Bodkin	Reviewed Chapter: 58 on 1/1/2005
It is the author's duty to be cruel, even if the reader would prefer everybody to live happily ever after. If it is important to your story to kill Denny and Posey and Jack and anybody else, then go for it. But you can't make your characters so likeable and then not expect readers to mind when they are bumped off! They'd obviously had too long a period of relaxation and pleasure - it's time for some more torment. At least I won't mind the villains getting their dues. How dare they shoot Denny! Nasty people. Author Reply: I know I would prefer to have everybody live happily ever after. I'd love to save Denny, but don't want to cheapen the elf-draught, either. What to do? And plot dynamics hinge upon the guardsman's action. sigh Thanks.

Connie B.	Reviewed Chapter: 58 on 1/1/2005
So, we come to it at last, the attack of the ruffians. I wasn't expecting them to be using arrows either. Glad that the posting of the last chapter was an accident. I fully understand about late-night postings. I'm writing this at nearly 3:00 on New Years morning. Thanks and Happy New Year. Connie B. Author Reply: Happy New Year! And I hope you got some sleep! I went to bed not too long after midnight. Happily the rest of my family is sleeping in this morning so I was able to do a little more typing, even if the material is painful. Thanks! Hope this New Year is filled with bright moments and joy.

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