Stories of Arda - Lord of the Rings Fan-Fiction Archive


	About Us News Resources Login Become a member Help Search

Many fruitless victories by perelleth	6 Review(s)
Redheredh	Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 6/20/2005
You worry me with Cyrus' dizzy spell and all this talk of being old. :( Then, there's that parting thought about never seeing his friend again. Comparing the recalcitrant horses to bureaucrats was evil genius. The only other appropriate comparison I have read is a dogpack. Hmm, was there not just a little resentment on Greenwood's part when he said: What a terrible doom for a man to fulfill his nature! To change his destiny with his own deeds and dare to pity those creature who are not granted that same gift! They never bothered to designate which was the Bard and which was the Poet? Ha! They are a little like 'professional' twins, I guess. Cyrus once again having to face the hopless truth was sad. He reminded me of Turgon's hopes and then Earendel trying to convince the Valar to interfere in a matter that was always doomed to destroy the world they lived in. And nothing lasts. That was a cool moment when Greenwood points out that this is one of the truths revealed in mythology. A very Tolkien thought, that. Finally, he recognizes the mysterious nature of his hosts. But, they have disappointed him and seem to be warning him off. So, who died in the clearing? Was not the unyielding puma really Cyrus? Is that him as well circling earthward, returned to his mate for the last time? I wait for you, Cyrus, I always wait... It's a happy thing that he could once again reconcile his spirit and regain his friendship with Greenword. He deserved to get one up on the elf! Cyrus' voice held all the anguish of a long life coming to its end, a desperate plea for some hope to hold on to, even if it was a wavering light at the end of a dark tunnel. I too really want that hope to come. Although, not necessarily as Cyrus wishes - the world being saved. Excellent chapter. Now, I mean this in a very good way... but, I am dreading the next. Author Reply: It's funny that everyone noticed about the bureaucratic horses.. that's a personal joke... a colleague of mine calls them "9 to 5 horses..." I like how you sum up all the things that are packed up in this chapter. Thranduil's resentment is... understandable I believe. To me that's the inner tension between men and elves, men granted the freedom to overcome and change their destiny, elves bound to keep things in memory -and actually- as they are. So the confrontation is about doing against thinking and preserving... As FP said in her review, Cyrus is almost getting to understand.He sees the animals but cannot make the connection. He wouldn't submit himself to another life prolonging treatment but won't give up saving the earth, or the old seabirds. He's like an old campaigner who cannot stop fighting for fighting is all he has known... All I can tell you is what Thranduil says, Keep going, and keep hoping. My grandma used to say that hope is like every other thing: it comes more easily with the practice... Many, many thanks, redha. :-)

Leaward	Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 6/20/2005
I'm coming late to the party -- I just discovered this story this morning and found it a lovely reason to set aside all the mundane housework that is staring at me still. It threw me at first to see a 'modern day' Tolkienesque story but as I started reading, it just grabbed me and made me keep reading. I've read some of the other reviews now and I'm with Daw ... I'd never thought of the analogy of Numenor's drowning with the modern day glacial melts. It's so nice to see a well-researched and original idea that keeps to Tolkien's theme -- and I think the Professor would heartily agree with your premise. I loved the scene where Thranduil and Celeborn are watching the night sky and Cyrus 'felt' their despair. That seemed to true to their characters, and I so wanted them to be able to go west before the end of the world, yet it also seems right that they would have tried to save their beloved forests rather than abandon them. So many of your insights, the seeds, and even his work with the soil, and the puma and the albatrosses and puma tells me you have a little 'Elven' quality in you. :D You truly have a gift in your writing to show depth without beating the reader over the head with it, but allow the reader to discover the layers on their own. I LOVE that type of story. Now I'm interested to see where this leads ... Author Reply: Welcome to the party,Leaward, the bar's still open!;-) btw, I never got the chance to thank you for nominating "the long defeat" to the MEFA awards? I didn't even know about them, but anyway, it was great to see that piece there, so thanks for taking the time! I'm so glad that this story helped you cope through morning monday housework. I know what you mean with "modern day" stories, you saw the A/N at the beginning... I thought it honest to give the warning, I for one, DO NOT READ those stories, and bang! I'm hit on the head with this pack! deserved punishment to me, I say! :-) Glad it hooked you! "tells me you have a little 'Elven' quality in you?" May I put this in my scrensaver? I was thinking of answering with "Maybe you can discern the air of Numenor..?" but it is too pretentious, I deem! ;-) Woah, the best compliment I ever received, surely! I believe daw referred to the drowining of Beleriand, but Numenor is there, too, and the connection, as well as most of the "research" here are only part of the things that are part of my job, so it all somehow came to place one day, and then I had to put my scarce writing skills to work. I'm thrilled that everybody is liking the animals, and the story as a whole, and I for one, am having a great time writing it down, even if it's a bit exhausting. Glad to have you on board too, and many thanks for your kind and undeserved praises! ;-) May the Angle leave long! ;-) Author Reply: Sorry! LIVE long! :-)

Nilmandra	Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 6/20/2005
What struck me again is the difference in elven and human thought...the evenness of ones tied to the fate of Arda and very weary of it, and a human who attempts to rise above it and order and control Arda as he wants. I think we need to set Cyrus to read the book of Ecclesiastes. The use of the puma was especially interesting...in that it would not yield. I liked that. Now i am curious to see why Cyrus thinks he will not see his friends again. Author Reply: That's what I tried to figure out with this story, Nilmandra, I'm so glad that you point it out. Not finding a meaning, of course, but exploring the ways of coping. I cannot pretend to understand what Tolkien intended for elven way of thinking, but I tried to figure out in a sense, opposing two ways of facing dayly work with long term planning, which are part of my working life, and how different approaches make for different stands in front of what life brings. Cyrus is tired, and clings to fighting and controlling ( well intentioned, of course)as his last hope. Celeborn and Thranduil, and their colleagues, of course, although inmeasurably more tired have a different approach, and know that fighting- and losing- are a part of the same song. I suspect it's been some time since Cyrus last read the Ecclesiastes, but it would do him great good, I think!

Bodkin	Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 6/20/2005
Despite his age, there's something young and hopeful about Cyrus - almost as if he thinks that, even at this last moment, Greenwood and Silvertree are going to be able to turn round and save the day. I love the albatrosses. And the horses. And look forward to discovering the outcome! Author Reply: Ah! yes, that's what I like of Cyrus, and in a way, I also pity him, too, for his stuborness... He's torn between hoping and doing, I feel it is a question of perspective, he never got to have the needed distance, he lived many years, but he was always in the trench, fighting despair as much as his own battles! I'm so glad everybody is commenting on the animals! Together with the trees, they are the voiceless victims of this tragedy... Thanks again for your kind words, Bodkin. The outcoming is... about to come.

French Pony	Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 6/19/2005
Now this was a good chapter. I love the feeling that Cyrus almost get it -- he almost sees Greenwood and Silvertree for what they really are, he almost understands the idea of a long life coming gracefully to its end, he almost understands what the whole program is about. . . but not quite. I also really like the way that the animals as well as the humans and elves, all have their own personalities. The petty-bureaucrat horse, the aging pair of albatrosses, the puma making its final choice, everything seems very much alive and full of personality. And I'm kind of tickled by the fact that the word "puma" derives from Quechua, but that's mainly because one of my colleagues is studying the music of Quechua-speaking people, so I heard a lot about that area of the world in class this past semester. Author Reply: "I heard a lot about that area of the world in class this past semester" You're studying musicology? Now I'm tickled! How wonderful! Beware! or I could shower you with questions! ;-) I like how you put it, Cyrus almost. He's almost there, but not yet. It's truly difficult for him, but then, even if he has more years than the average human, he's never got the distance. I truly feel for him. Glad you noticed the horses. I'm sadly acknowledged with many of those...in my job it is very common that you end up riding one of those horses who know every trick in the manual, and, of course, the shortest way back home, which is always the one they're most interested in picking up at the least distraction! Very bureaucratic, I feel!

daw the minstrel	Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 6/19/2005
Never see his friend again? What's that about???? The image of Thranduil in the forest was eerie and wonderful. You're so good with all the specifics of things like how the albatrosses make. There a real reverence for the natural world here, that seems to fit in with what Tolkien told us about elves. Author Reply: I suppose that elves and men look differently at natural world, so Greenwood and Cyrus would have different regards, even when they're enjoying the same sights...The puma thing has been dancing in my mind since the first time I saw one and was struck by their perfection. Thranduil always made me think of one of those beasts, and it happily fitted here :-)

Return to Chapter List