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Interrupted Journeys: Part 3 Journeys Begin by elliska	5 Review(s)
The Karenator	Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 2/20/2005
I'm sorry I've been so terrible about reviewing, but I look for updates of this story and faithfully read them. I have truly enjoyed it. You've done a wonderful job of creating a complex and interesting Mirkwood. The political intrigues you've created are unusually well done. You've woven them throughout the plot seamlessly. I like your characters. I've especially enjoyed seeing Thranduil's mother around. She's a tie back to Oropher and can give us a perspective that no one else can. And you keep the tension tight and now! we have some foul plan in motion to eliminate the queen. My guess is that the tapestry destroyer is back! Bad Elf! I'm looking forward to seeing what happens. I'll try to be a better reviewer, but you can be certain that I'm reading and enjoying this tale...and the ones before. Karen Author Reply: Hi Karen! Thanks so much for the review! I really appreciate the feedback. I read a lot of Medieval drama from Spain which is all largely political intrigue so I think that's why my stuff focuses on it so much. I mentioned in a few other times in review answers that I really wonder sometimes how much of the political stuff people can take so it is very helpful to hear opinions. :) My beta is very good for me because she is very different from me. She likes action and moves along very quickly (her teaching area is 20th century lit and film). I like character pieces and I like lots of little details and I'm a much slower mover (my teaching area was Medieval lit and culture). I need someone to move me along sometimes. But seeing how people are reacting in reviews helps us find a good balance when cutting/expanding portions of the plot. I've recently been having a lot of fun reading articles on improving writing skills for fictional writing, so I'm looking at this story more critically and feeling pretty open to thoughts about it. I love this kind of stuff. Boy, I have just been babbling in review answers recently... Anyway, I'm glad you like the characters. I also like Thranduil's mother and other characters that provide ties to Oropher and that whole age/set of experiences. Thranduil would have to have a very complex past and it is very unexplored. Even in the Silmarillion. I am editing the next chapter of this story right now and it makes reference to the fall of Menegroth so I just went back and re-read that part of the Silm to be certain I didn't say anything stupid--do you realize the whole description of the fall of Menegroth (from Thingol's death to Elwing's flight to Sirion) is only 20 paragraphs? There's a lot of potential there for expansion and I love that kind of stuff. That lack of info is what drew me to explore the Elvenking. :) And, yes, little Miss Angry Spite is back along with a gang of miscreants that she has managed to assemble to cause some trouble--as if the Woodland Realm needs more added to the problems caused by Dol Guldur. :) Her plans are long range, grandiose and inspired by deeds long past that we have only seen the slightest hints of as yet. Though we'll learn a little bit more soon. I am glad to hear that you are enjoying this story and I hope you continue to do so. I appreciate any comments of any sort that people find time to make and I consider them a privilege. So never apologize when you don't have time to review. I know how hectic things can be. I'm just very happy to hear from you whenever you have time. :) Thanks!

daw the minstrel	Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 2/19/2005
Okey dokey. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say we have the return of Marti. But while I enjoy this dangerous part of the plot, I have to say I really enjoy the politics and shifting moods of Thranduil and those around him. I liked the glimpse of kiddy Thranduil. He's a believable precursor to the adult. Author Reply: :) I think you're on a solid limb--don't even need to be a woodelf to be safe on it. :) I'm really glad to hear that about the politics/people because I like that myself but I am always in doubt of how much anyone other than me can take. I mean, I wrote this thing to explore characters I like and play with them a little. I wanted to see Thranduil's past before The Hobbit and LotR. That was about my fun to be completely truthful. The whole thing got written without any real intent to let anyone else see it so I could do that. When my friend convinced me to post it, I naturally started thinking less about my fun and more about other people's fun and what entertains them. That has been interesting for me. I've published scholarly articles, monographs and textbooks so I had a taste of reader response. But it's not the same. In academia, as you well know, someone either agrees with your interpretation of XYZ and quotes you later in their work or doesn't and refers to you in a different way. As long as your your interpretation is solidly researched and documented, you are not going to be too badly off. And I wrote textbooks which are almost guarenteed to sell to someone. Fiction is so different--completely subjective and personal. What is entertaining to me, I have found (just by talking about books and movies with friends), makes most people stare blankly at me and causes some people to run screaming. :) That's why these reviews are so important to me, I guess. Anyway, sorry. I guess I'm feeling a little introspective tonight. Went on a long car ride Cypress Gardens with my beta today and spent a lot of time debating this kind of stuff so... Thanks so much for the review Daw! And I was reading the reviews from your current story and saw you mentioned this story to someone talking about young Thranduil. It really made me smile to see that. Thank you.

Brazgirl	Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 2/19/2005
I find impressive how well can you write about politics. That gathering was so intelligent! Wow. I did not like much those last lines. I guess we all came to like Lindomiel very much and those guys want to kill her like that. It's Marti, isn't it? That is bad, very bad. Thranduil must have felt something dark creeping. Lindomiel should have taken the hint! That was the first tim he was willing to have a child. Perhaps she will charm him too, as she did with he humans. Very nice chapter. It was so good I read it so fast... and it was soon ended. Hunf. This is getting thrilling! Author Reply: I'm glad you continue to like the story Brazgirl. And I'm glad it's making you read fast. :) The last part isn't good, is it? Not for Lindomiel and Thranduil, anyway. And Thranduil does know it. He just isn't sure what he knows yet. But there is a lot more of that to come. Don't worry though. It never gets too dark or horrible. I just can't do that really dark stuff. That is one thing that I can't stomach. Lindomiel should have taken the hint right there, shouldn't she? :) Oh well. She doesn't have long to wait. And I think as charming as the Men find her, Thranduil is a thousand times more lost for her. :) Thanks so much for the review!

Bodkin	Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 2/19/2005
It must be difficult, as an immortal, currently some 5.5 thousand years old, to have keepsakes - they would threaten to take over the house, I would think. Keeping them down to a trunkful would be quite hard. Carpe diem, Lindomiel. I think you've got him as close to convinced as you are going to manage. Pin him down, in more ways than one, while he is wavering. Legolas needs your determination at this point. Mind you, mean of Thranduil to take the pleasure of the baby announcement from Amoneth and tell Dolgailon himself. Unless he thought the reaction might be bad. Elflings clearly need other elflings with whom to get up to lots of mischief - otherwise they grow up too serious, like Dolgailon. There seems to have been more to the naughty elfling story than Lindomiel has yet heard. She should push him to elaborate. I suspect that Thranduil and Ninglor found that their adars were right - and possibly were in rather more danger than they thought they would be. And trouble. Conuion is right that Lindomiel should know the details - she is not the most cautious elf, even if she is clever and good at trade negotiations. If she understands the risk, she is more likely to tolerate the restrictions. Although I think the Black Swan has resurfaced - and she is nothing if not persistent. Stone bonking mad, but persistent. I don't like the sound of those Easterlings at all - and once you get suicide squads who would rather die than admit what they are up to, you know you've got big trouble. And I suspect they have. Author Reply: That is so true about keepsakes for an elf. I laugh about that at certain points in this story. I mean, you should see my house. I need a Mathom-house because my house is certainly one big collection of mathoms. On the one hand. you'd think that someone 5.5 thousand years old would not be too attached to things because he would have surely learned by then how transient things are. On the other hand, he's 5.5 thousand years old. Even if you found one thing you couldn't part with every one hundred years...you do the math, that's a lot of stuff! I laughed my head off on the 'pin him down' comment. Too true! Fortunately she does not have to wait much longer. I completely agree with you on this: Elflings clearly need other elflings with whom to get up to lots of mischief - otherwise they grow up too serious, like Dolgailon.. I think that would be true to a large extent and I intend to play with that a bit. And yes, there is more to Thranduil's little tale. It isn't included in this (originally anyway and I doubt I'll change that. But now that I think about it, there is a place in this where I can hint at more of the details--I think I will. Thank you for the idea). That story and several others did find a life of their own in the First Age thing I wrote. It was fun going back through this story and making sure I incorporated all the references in the new one. Yes, Lindomiel needs to know what's going on and thankfully the guards recognize that even if Thranduil is hesitant to. And Men touched by the Shadow, as many Easterlings were, are clearly bad news. As are Elves touched by the Shadow. Thanks for the review!

French Pony	Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 2/18/2005
Ooh, that Lindomiel! Sharp as a barrelful of nails. Thranduil is certainly a very lucky Elf to have her as a wife. Brains, beauty and a firm will, who could ask for anything more? I suspect that Lindomiel is about ready to try one of the oldest tricks in the Book of Woman, allowing herself to get pregnant "accidentally on purpose." Thranduil ought to know by now that, the longer he dickers and delays, the more chance there is that Lindomiel will simply assume control of the situation. If he wants any say in things, he must speak up or forever hold his peace. Actually, most of his relatives seem to be like that. It's probably good for him to be surrounded by people who'll push back. Never did a King any good to be surrounded only by yes-men, or yes-Elves, for that matter. And I agree, Lindomiel certainly has the right to know what dangers threaten her. She's never taken well to being guarded, but she seems to deal with it better when she knows what the risk is. Good old Dolgailon, perfectly happy to acquire a new sibling. He took it very well. I'd expected a bit more shock from someone who was just informed that he was about to lose his position as his parents' one and only, but maybe Elves are just cooler about that sort of thing. And Dolgailon is a grownup, after all. I think I would have liked to see the endgame in Dale, rather than have it told at second hand. It sounds like it was exciting, and I was kind of looking forward to the trial. Finally, the Villains. A dark, shadowy room. No faces visible, just the muttering, hissing voices of conspirators. Very dramatic. I'll bet one of them is stroking a long-haired white cat. Author Reply: "Dr. Evil! I didn't go to Evil Medical school for nothing." Sorry. It's early and I'm tired. My beta and I went back and forth about including that last scene actually. It's been cut more times than it stayed but ultimately it stayed. My intent with the end of this story is the same. It's all a matter of how it gets shown. Hmmm, well... I actually had the rest of the negotiations in Dale written and I cut it from the last chapter because it seemed so long. I wondered at the time if that was good idea. It wasn't a bad little scene at all. It just seemed long to me and I wasn't sure how much political 'stuff' people could take. I liked it because of how it portrayed Lindomiel. Well, what's done is done. Yes, I think the King's Guards know that Lindomiel needs to know what's going on too. Sheltering people is tempting but rarely turns out the way you want it to (in fiction, anyway). I laughed when you said, "the longer he dickers and delays, the more chance there is that Lindomiel will simply assume control of the situation." That is how I see Lindomiel too. And I agree most of his family is pretty much the same, as I have made them. I see Thranduil as a pretty straightforward person and I think the people like that can appreciate other people like that. Ultimately Thranduil has be able to make the final decision, but it's always best to do that after hearing differing opinions, as you said. And history proves him to be a good King so I guess he had what he needed. :) I think Dolgailon is an adult and has his own place in his family's world and his uncle's kingdom so he could take a sibling. Also, I think he's relieved to find out ada isn't here to give him more grief. But I remember how I felt when Mom and Dad said they were planning on another kid. I was NOT happy. Fortunately for selfish me, Mom never got pregnant again. I should probably regret that but even now as an adult, I still am selfish enough not to. Isn't that terrible?! Thankfully, Lindomiel does not have to wait much longer to make her contribution to the growth of the family. Thanks for the review!

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