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Eärendil’s Tale  by Bodkin 4 Review(s)
RedheredhReviewed Chapter: 7 on 4/26/2005

This chapter was great. The descriptions, characteriztion, dialog, action, adventure, narrative, the style. Just bloomin' great! As they say, I couldn't put it down.

The writing was fantastic as usual and that is a big compliment. For all of us have in us one or two inspired pieces, but it takes real talent to be this consistently good. Especially, as often as you post. :)

I really liked seeing Earendil develop as a leader and captain. His relationship with Voronwe is wonderful and very appealing. And the short scene, where he is both honoring Voronwe's loyalty and disiplining Falathar is one of my favorites. I appreciated our hero's cheerfulness and pushing his crew until actual danger showed itself. Still, he was also not listening closely enough to his crew's cautions. I suppose, heroes *have* to be more daring. Just a little brash and over confident, though not in a deadly amount.

Actually, I kinda like Falathar's attitude. Especially, after his remark of going out in the 'noon-day sun'. But, he proved himself to be a good fellow despite his general cynicism. Earendil chose a good crew - with Cirdan andVorowe's help, of course.

I smiled at the idea of fair winds just happening to bring them past this particular island and it turning out to be an excellent test for them all. Ulmo was not displeased with the results of their ahem! unanticipated visit, I am sure.

However, and it always come back to this for me, the loving relationships you are so skillful at conveying are absolutely the next best thing to your writing style itself. The adventure was exciting. The husbands and wifes are endearing.


Author Reply: Thank you - I now feel impelled to move on to building the next chapter.

Earendil is very young - in elven terms not even adult - but he is Turgon's grandson and Idril's son: Lord of Sirion and the captain of this venture. I think he has grown up to lead - and he can do it fairly instinctively, while at the same time being apparently easy-going.

I don't think this was a danger they could have suspected. Apart from Ungoliant, most of the giant spider stories come (I think) from later times. But this was in one of the large number of potential adventures in Lost Tales!

And I think Ulmo was probably rather pleased to rid the island of this particular visitor - and just think what good practice it was for Earendil!

I am glad you like the way the characters interact. I am increasingly fond of them all as I spend more time thinking about them. The next chapter is started - and awaiting inspiration.

Thank for your encouragement.

EllieReviewed Chapter: 7 on 4/25/2005
Another excellent chapter! This one was exceptionally creepy. Well done with the spider and Earendil hiding the story from his wife for so many years.

Can't wait for more.

Author Reply: Thank you. I'm glad you liked it. You can't beat spiders for creepiness, really.

Earendil didn't want to worry Elwing at the time - and then other, even more traumatic events rather overwhelmed this. I expect he forgot to tell her. (After all he is male!)

elliskaReviewed Chapter: 7 on 4/25/2005
Oh I just love coming home from work and getting to sit down to wonderful fanfiction.

Everytime I think about Elrond looking on Maglor as the closest thing to an adar, it makes me so sad. It's canon, and it isn't just because he's Feanor's son--he was Elrond's captor first, no matter what he became. It just strikes me as sad.

And I loved Eärendil's memory of Elrond's accusing look--even as an infant Elrond had foresight. Excellent!

I particularly love the image of the fish and the whales Elrond saw and the dolphins Celebrian saw. I went whale watching once and let me tell you, next to the whale, that boat we were in looked pretty pitiful. It was an absolutely amazing feeling. And I went on a pelagic bird watching trip once and dolphins rode the bow of the boat the entire way out. It was awesome. So those descriptions really hit home. I loved them and the idea that dolphins comforted Celebrian.

But that whole description on the island was just spooky. God I hate the spiders. They are just a nasty enemy. And you did a great job with the quiet, gloomy atmosphere and the 'vine' and trying to escape and then finally seeing the nasty thing and fighting it. Yuck!

And then there is Elrond trying to analyze it! Loved that.

This is really turning into an excellent exploration of Eärendil's journey. I am having so much fun reading it.

Author Reply: Isn't it part of the Stockholm syndrome? Where captives come to look on their captors as saviours? Mind you, in my mind Maglor was essentially a good person twisted by what happened to him (but nicer than the Black Swan), and protecting the elflings was good for him as well.

Earendil might have read more into the infant pout than was really there - but you never know!

Celebrian was probably better able to deal with dolphins leaping joyfully around the boat than with elves fretting over her - can't say I blame her. I imagine the mammals of the sea would probably have been attracted to elven ships.

I'm not terribly keen on spiders - certainly not spiders the size of horses - and I'm glad you liked the atmosphere. I don't find it easy writing fights of any kind - and this is definitely an enemy you don't want too close!

Elrond - a natural scholar and healer.

There are so many potential adventures for Earendil, but I think I'm avoiding mermaids and Isles of Faery - (they sound a bit too kitsch.) I'm being selective, so there will probably not be too much more!

daw the minstrelReviewed Chapter: 7 on 4/25/2005
Elrond nodded non-committally and refrained from mentioning that, if he looked on anyone as the ada of his childhood, it was Maglor.

Now that's a startling thought that he's withholding from his family, and for good reason too. What a childhood!

It had never occurred to me that spiders might have turned up elsewhere, but why not? After all, Tolkien shows them in at least two places by the time of the Quest -- Mirkwood and Mordor.

Earendil is so brash and young. And now, looking back on his life, he seems to see the full import of what he did. And yet he had to do it.

Author Reply: Poor Elrond had a tough time really. But then, it wasn't all jam for Earendil or Elwing in their childhoods either. Or Gil-galad really. Pretty much everybody born in the First Age seems to have had it tough.

The spider is actually in one of the 93 versions of Earendil's story mentioned in the Lost Tales, where it was called . . . (paper shuffling going on) . . . Wirilome. Mermaids are mentioned too. And the Isle of Seabirds.

He is brash and young - about 30-ish. So much happened so quickly for them - and then it was a job without promotion for the next couple of ages. It's probably just as well they didn't know what was coming. But it did have to be done.

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