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| Dawn of a New Age: First Age by elliska | 13 Review(s) |
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| panzer71 | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 7/15/2011 |
| Thank you for submitting this.I'm neither a Tolkien or literary expert and can offer no criticism of value. I can say though what a wonderful beginning. The battle scene was excellent and the excerpts that are used helped me follow the story well. This is my favorite period in ME history and I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed this chapter. | |
| Atlas | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 3/21/2006 |
| I loved this chapter! It was obviously well researched and very well written. I wish to read more! Author Reply: Thanks! I fell in love with the Silmarillion when I first read it and it spawned a ton of plot bunnies. Real life has gotten in the way recently, but I am trying to get back on track with updates. Hopefully this weekend or next week...but thank you so much for the review. I really appreciate them. :-) | |
| k_lara7 | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 1/27/2006 |
| An interesting begining. As I'm NOT familiar with the Simarilion, I think I'll have to work harder to follow, but that will be a worthwhile challenge. Author Reply: Sorry to be so long in replying--RL has been beating me up recently and I have fallen behind. I am hoping to be caught up now. Thank you so much for the review! I hope that the little quotes I post from the Silm will help people who haven't read it recently. I know most people are not nearly as familiar with it as they are with the Trilogy, so I feel like I ought to do something to help along with that. I thoroughly love the Sindar though, so I hope this story does end up being worth the effort for you. I will be updating it very soon. :-) | |
| J.G.E | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 11/6/2005 |
| Yay, the first chapter is out and the beginning of a great story, woohoo. I love how you got into the scene of battle right from the beginning, it just shows how the elves had a hard time in those days, btw when are you going to update your other story, I am keen on what is going to happen next Author Reply: Hi JGE! I'm glad you liked it. I enjoyed the battles scenes myself. Sometimes I can get into writing those. I had planned to update both stories this last Sunday, but I was really sick. So I am going to aim for Wednesday or Friday at the worst. Depends because I am still sick. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing! | |
| Eruanneth_Luin | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 10/31/2005 |
| How refreshingly delightful! A canon-based tale of the Elves. It is sad to think of the grief this fair folk suffered in their desire to live a peaceful life amid the trees of Beleriand. Defense, not conquest their goal, yet the Marring could not be altered; at best it was held, temporarily, at bay. I do hope that more chapters are forthcoming soon. :) Author Reply: Thank you! I absolutely have fallen in love with the Silm, so I am enjoying the canon too. It is so nice to know other people do as well. And I agree that the history of these folk is really tragic--which makes, of course, great stories. There is just so much in the Silm to expand upon and play with. There is definitely more to come--probably every two weeks until December, then more often after that. I hope you continue to enjoy it and thanks so much for the review--it means a lot to know people are reading and what striles them. :-) | |
| Ellie | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 10/31/2005 |
| This is good! Nice history lesson and details of the battle. Can't wait for more! Author Reply: Thank you! :-) I enjoyed writing the battle and I have enjoyed playing the the canon from the Silm. I will update probably every two weeks until December and then more often. I hope you continue to enjoy it and thanks so much for the review. It is great to know people are reading. :-) | |
| Dot | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 10/30/2005 |
| I was excited to see this! And apologies for the lateness in reviewing… First off, I really appreciate the quotes. I thought it was very helpful in providing a sense of time and place because I will admit that otherwise I would have been a little lost at first!! You did a marvellous job with the battle scene. We’re right in the middle of it immediately and yet we can still see how personal this is to so many. The scale of the battle is clear and yet it’s moments like Cries of ‘For my son, Gwaelon’ or ‘For my father, Tossion’ echoed across the battlefield as Elven swords cleaved Orc flesh. Each name rang in Thingol’s ears more loudly than the sounds of the clanging weapons and pierced his heart more painfully than Orkish blades might that made it most effective for me. Your Oropher is amazing. You’ve filled him with such passion right from the start. And he’s very driven. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cringe when he wanted to charge off towards the Orcs but it was a great character moment! I was glad of a little glimpse of the relationship between Oropher and Engwe and between him and Amglaur. It’s fascinating to see your OCs in a new light. Denethor’s death was done so well. There’s no question of how devastating it was and it really was such a powerful moment. I really liked the creation of the Girdle. It’s wonderfully simple and yet there’s something very magical about it. And I loved the rising of the moon! That must have been truly amazing for them. Their wonder and awe really comes across. Thank heavens Melian was there to reassure them that it’s ok, she knows him ;-) Manarindë glared back at the light coldly Oh look who it is! I’m always happy to see such a warm, good-hearted elleth… Actually, I’m looking forward to getting to know a little more about her. In fact, I’m looking forward to getting to know more about all these people! I’m fascinated already! :-) Author Reply: I'm glad you thought the quote helped--I added them because I figure whereas most people have read the trilogy and the Hobbit tons of times, they have read the Silm once or twice, if at all. So the story will be more interesting if they get a bit of help along the way. :-) And I'm glad you liked the battle scene, especially the parts that make it more personal. I read where Daw said once that she tries to make scenes like this show what the characters are feeling rather than just hack/cut descriptions--I totally agree with that. I think the characters' experience is what is really interesting. I love Oropher. I really do. Almost as much as Thranduil, the more I work with this story. I think he must have been one heck of a character to convince people to follow him across Eriador and then convince the Silvan to make him their king. I had fun with him throughout this story. And I love showing a little of the background of my OCs--but so far I have done a good job keeping the cast list under control for this story! Yeah for me! Denethor--he was a problem for me. When I wrote this part, it made me want to write more Denethor. I hate plot bunnies. ;-) I'm glad the girdle and the moon came off ok. The original version of all that seemed very purple prose to me and got a bit of chopping, then I thought it got too much. *Rolls eyes at self* And Manarinde--I have had an absolute blast writing the details of why she hates the House of Oropher so much. I hope you do continue to enjoy it and thanks so much for the review. :-) | |
| perelleth | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 10/28/2005 |
| I'm amazed, elliska, two stories at the same time! Coooooool!!! :-) This first chapter is thrilling, and I liked the trick of placing the SIlm paragraphs to mark the change of scene, good idea! It is good to see that Oropher is consistent, that much we must give him!:-) and to see your OCs here is a good thing, either. Maybe we shall learn about Thranduil's most embarrasing moments as an elfling! :-) But I liked above all the description of what the new light seemed to the Sindar. I've been trying to do that from the Noldor's pov and of course the Sindarin pov is thrilling, and lovely. Author Reply: Two stories at the same time--amazing or insane? Only time will tell. ;-) This one started about this time last year when people made some comments about young Oropher and little Thranduil in reviews. My beta and I sat down and started thinking about fleshing out the back story we had written for Interrupted Journeys and our discussion turned into the complete outline for this story. I've been playing with it since. And it has been fun. Having to look so closely at the Silm has really made me think about Tolkien's world a lot and made me appreciate it even more. I'm glad you thought the quotes were ok. I know some people don't like that, but for something this closely tied to the Silm, I'm afraid in some places, if I don't do it, people are going to have no idea what I'm refering to. I found I really liked them when I went about putting them in the chapters I've written so far. It's hard to sustain in the Second Age part though. I might go to UT and HoME for some of those. Poor Oropher--it was really mean of me to make him charge head long into his very first battle, wasn't it! I just could not resist doing that. His first scene in this story and his last will be parallel--that's for certain. And we will learn more about a few of my OCs and certainly Thranduil's childhood--I had a blast with that. I love the thought of the Elves' first reaction to the Moon and Sun, so I am very glad you liked that part. And you have me very interested in seeing you do it from the Noldor's perspective. Thanks so much for the review! :-) | |
| Redheredh | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 10/27/2005 |
| You are posting a FA story! With a thrilling opening! And I am so excited to read a story about Oropher and the rest of his kin which includes my favorite elf. The inserted text is a great way to setup the scenes. The battle was tense and nicely choreographed. Using Cellon to convey the devastating loss of Denethor was very effective. You know your geography! Melian's casual application of her powers was oddly amusing. I look forward to getting to know more of the people and history of this House. Author Reply: :-) I am so happy you thought the opening was thrilling. I debated for a long time about where to start this story and I was happy when I finally settled on this series of events. I thought they would provide the most exciting beginning. I'm glad you liked the battle scene--I find them challenging to write, but I enjoy them a lot too. One of the things I like most in them is focusing on how people in them feel/what is happening to them individually--so I'm glad showing Cellon and Denethor worked for you. And I had a lot of fun studying the map of Beleriand as I re-read parts of the Silm to get all my canon straight, so I'm glad you noticed the effort. ;-) I really appreciate the review--thanks so much for it--and I hope you continue to enjoy. These are fascinating people (I absolutely love the Silm), so I think (hope) this story will be a lot of fun. :-) | |
| daw the minstrel | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 10/27/2005 |
| Wow, two stories at once. How do you do that? I have to admit that despite the grim situation, I started to laugh when Oropher wanted to charge down the hill more or less by himself. I guess people don't change much even in a couple of thousand years. And apparently Legolas isn't the first member of his house to count kills in a contest. Not too long ago, I read a quote from someone whose name I've forgotten saying something like "If the stars appeared only once every million years, how men would worship them." I was thinking about that on my way to work today as I saw that the maple tree outside my building has turned this glorious shade of red-orange. We take all these things -- including the moon -- so much for granted, but they're wondrous. Author Reply: How do I do two stories--well it remains to be seen that I can. ;-) I have been playing with this since a few reviews got me thinking about fleshing out the 'back story' I noted for Interrupted Journeys. It's been fun, really. You were welcome to laugh at Oropher--I admit I did too when I wrote some of these parts. I just could not resist having him going running off against his father's orders--Gil-galad, shouldn't feel bad, I guess. ;-) I love that quote about the stars and the image of that tree outside your building--I do miss autumn colors here. It sounds lovely. And you are right--I can't imagine the awe the elves must have felt seeing the moon and later the sun. I can picture that scene must better than I portrayed it here and it is one of my favorite things to picture in the Silm. Thanks so much for the review! | |