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| The River by Indigo Bunting | 22 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| rabidsamfan | Reviewed Chapter: 9 on 1/15/2006 |
| Just reread the whole thing, and it's just as good as I thought it was the first time. Thank you! It's hard to find good Sam stories, especially ones like this one where he gets to be brave and resourceful. I hope life lets you get back to this soon! Author Reply: Hello, rabid fan of Sam! I'm glad you enjoyed the story the second time through, but I'm sorry you have had to wait so long for an update. Yes, life has been very busy, but more than anything else, this chapter has simply gone through myriad changes. It has gotten very frustrating, but I've kept plugging away at it, and it is finally in one piece (and a very long piece it is, too). Now I've got to edit it. I've been writing it for more than two months now, so I've got to make sure that I don't repeat myself anywhere or hammer too hard on certain points. It's easy to forget what I've said where, especially when the chapter is so long. Right now it's sitting at 10,800 words. Whew! Anyway, I hope very much to post shortly. It's a Sam chapter, too. :) | |
| Aelinmir | Reviewed Chapter: 9 on 1/10/2006 |
| Still waiting to see what is going to happen to Sam and Legolas Author Reply: Sigh. Sorry for the interminable wait, Aelinminr. Chapter ten should be up very soon. It's a good long one, but that's only part of the reason it's taken so long to write. Thanksgiving and Christmas happened, and work is crazy busy, but mostly this chapter has just been a bear. I'd write a chunk of story and then change my mind about something which required me to write that whole chunk over. But the whole chapter is in one piece now, which can be read from beginning to end, and as soon as it is edited to my satisfaction I'll post it. | |
| Dairwendan | Reviewed Chapter: 9 on 12/20/2005 |
| This is an excellent story! Legolas and Sam are an interesting team. I hope there'll be more soon. Thanks! Author Reply: Thank you for your review, Dairwendan! I apologize for taking so very long to reply. I've been working steadily on chapter ten for the longest time, and my postings have never been so far apart before. Ten is a very long chapter, though, and hopefully that will help make up for the wait. I'm very glad that you like Sam and Legolas together. I like Fellowship stories. In fact, "Fellowship" was always my favorite book in the trilogy, mostly because I love the nine representatives of different races together. It's so wonderful to see them interacting; I just wish that Tolkien had given us more details of those interactions. He certainly was very plot-driven. Anyway, the next chapter should be up very soon. I hope you continue to read and enjoy! | |
| WindSinger | Reviewed Chapter: 9 on 11/23/2005 |
| Yeah! Another chapter! Ack! Poor Legolas -- what is he going to do? Time is running out and help has yet to arrive. Things do indeed look grim! And I hope that bad, nasty, evil Gran has a chance, no matter how brief, to discover the error of his ways before he is, hopefully, done in (however that may happen). Loving the interaction between Legolas and Sam. Very nice! Waiting patiently for the next chapter -- thanks for posting! WindSinger Author Reply: Sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you, WindSinger. I've been working on chapter ten for quite a while, and though I received a few sporadic reviews since the first rush, I eventually forgot to reply to them. As for Garan seeing the error of his ways - I think he's too far gone for that. It's not that I think he is incapable of being redeemed; I think he would never listen to anyone who tried to turn him from his path. His pride would surely stand in the way. By now he's gotten used to commanding/controlling others, and he likes it. (He'd probably behave much like Saruman did when he was given the chance to turn.) I think that some of the other Men might be more likely to be redeemed, but so far they've chosen to stick with Garan. Sadly, all of them seem to enjoy being the bully. The next chapter should be up very shortly. It's finally in one whole piece with no gaps in the narrative! Now it just needs to be edited, and I am continuously editing, so it shouldn't be too big of a job. I hope you continue to enjoy the story, and thanks for reviewing! | |
| Nightwing | Reviewed Chapter: 9 on 11/22/2005 |
| Good stuff. I liked that the two captives argued. Real enough. Sam's loyalty is honorable, though he knows, as does Legolas, that Frodo has the greater claim. I do have to giggle just a bit at the image of Sam and Legolas bound back-to-back and secured around the waist. I think if the rope is around the elf's waist it must be around the hobbit's neck! I'm also curious about whatever Garan did to Sam to demonstrate his other methods of loosening tongues beside physical blows. I'm guessing he must have shown the hobbit a creepy vision... conjured something alarming. Well, I think we might be in for a bit of excitement next chapter. Sam is proving his mettle and is holding up admirably under duress, but the full force of Garan's torments will surely injure him if this goes on much longer, as I'm sure the hobbit will not talk. Legolas will be forced to take action when his moment comes, and will try to give Sam an opportunity to escape. Ranger and Wizard and Man of Gondor and Dwarf and Little Ones to the rescue! Author Reply: And what are the captives arguing about? About which one of them ought to escape! Each thinks that the other ought to be protected, and as noble as their feelings of friendship are, Garan keeps his power over them if they both stay. I think that Legolas has the win precisely because he brought Frodo into the argument, but this puts Sam in a terrible position. He’s being asked to abandon a friend to the unspeakable. I hadn’t thought of the pair being tied about the waist as being funny, probably because I imagined the rope slanting a bit; besides, since they were both sitting, they ought to be somewhat more level. But your imagery is fun nonetheless. :-) I also think you’re right that Sam would end up being injured by Garan if the inquisition continued, since he meant what he said and would not talk. It’s not that I think Sam couldn’t be broken eventually given enough time and torment, but Garan probably couldn’t manage it before he got to Isengard. Legolas may understand Sam better now, but he can’t know the strength of Sam’s loyalty to Frodo; only Sam can know that. I can’t fault Legolas for thinking that Sam should be the one to go, though. His reasoning is logical enough even if some of it is flawed. Yes – where are the Ranger, warrior, wizard, Dwarf and hobbits, anyway? Don’t they know that Sam and Legolas need them? Sheesh. Whoever is writing this story better give them a good hard shove in the right direction. | |
| GamgeeFest | Reviewed Chapter: 9 on 11/20/2005 |
| Another brilliant chapter! Your description of Legolas' fears had my heart going out to him. That he's so concerned about getting Sam to safety, even after learning Sam's news and of his own fate, speaks volumes about his resolve and his friendship to Sam. He is starting to understand Sam more also, what he is capable of withstanding and just how stubborn he can be. He understands also that Sam will reach a limit, as he himself has limits. Mighty warrior he may be, but he can't go up against a camp of nine armed Men by himself. I hope we learn what exactly Garan did to Sam, and I hope that Sam will be fit enough to flee should the opportunity present itself. Author Reply: Thanks, GamgeeFest. :-) I think the fact that Sam is there with Legolas helps him to keep going; he’s got something precious to keep on fighting for besides his own life. (Of course, if Sam had never talked to him then he wouldn’t know about Saruman, but what’s done is done.) There’s no fair/just/right solution to Sam’s situation, is there? It wouldn’t seem fair to Sam that he is the one being protected instead of the one doing the protecting, and he certainly can’t conscience running away and leaving Legolas alone at the mercy of the Men. But what can he do? Something has to change so that Garan loses his leverage against the pair of them. | |
| Grey Wonderer | Reviewed Chapter: 9 on 11/19/2005 |
| I too wonder what Garan did to poor Sam. This is such an awful situation for both Legolas and Sam and now they are unable to even sit together and plan. I do hope that Legolas kills Dorlic at some point in all of this. I also am wondering if the rest of the Fellowship has had to go on ahead and if so how Frodo is taking the fact that they were forced to leave without finding Sam. Sma has been so brave throughout all of this that it only proves why he was the perfect companion for Frodo on the Quest. I do hope Legolas thinks of something quickly. Author Reply: Dorlic definitely has something coming to him; we’ll have to wait and see if he gets it. The Fellowship will show up very soon. As I’ve mentioned in other responses, I’m still wavering on whether it’s the next chapter or the one after that. At this point I think I’m leaning toward giving Sam one more chapter before the Fellowship appears. Sam has been brave, hasn’t he? And he wouldn’t describe himself as such, either. He would just say that he did what needed doing. | |
| Lamiel | Reviewed Chapter: 9 on 11/19/2005 |
| So Garan is studying sourcery... and just what was it that he showed Sam? I'd guess a vision of some kind, something that demonstrates his link with Saruman, and his power over both Sam and Legolas. Legolas' reaction when Sam told him that they were to go to Saruman was very well done. While I seriously doubt that Saruman could create Orcs of his own -- not even Sauron can do that, after all -- he's just mad enough to try. And the 'experimentation' does not bear thinking of. Legolas HAS to escape before it comes to that. Dear Sam. He's so loyal - I just loved his assertion to Legolas, "I keep my promises." Oh yes he does, and we all know how important that will be before the end. But all his loyalty and courage aren't going to do much good here. He has to escape. Once he does, Legolas will be free to fight properly, and certainly can escape on his own. But if Garan has Sam convinced that he's too strong for Legolas, and with the threat of Saruman over them, Sam may well be convinced that he has to stay and offer what protection he can. It's interesting to see how they are played off one another here. One of Tolkien's greatest themes is the power and strength of friendship triumphing over evil, and yet here that same friendship and love are used as a weakness to be exploited. Something has to give. One way or another the stalemate will break, and I'm eager to see what will happen next. Author Reply: I completely agree with you that Saruman couldn’t create orcs because, like Sauron, he’s “only” a Maia. But yes – couldn’t he be so drunk with power that he’d think it was worth a try? He might even think that he’d be able to succeed. I expect that Legolas should know – logically – that Saruman couldn’t turn him into an orc, but he’s sick with fear now. It has to be easier for him to sit back and say, “Ha. Saruman can’t make orcs” when he’s not tied up and being brought to Isengard so that he can be experimented on! And simply knowing that he will be used for such a thing – even though Saruman can’t succeed – should be just as repulsive to Legolas as if he really could be turned into an orc. Poor Sam. I really feel for him. There is no easy answer to his predicament, and no answer will be fair. Legolas does have a much better chance of escaping if Sam can get away first, but he also has a much greater chance of dying. He may be right that he can withstand torture better than Sam could, but he can’t hold up forever. And why, Sam would ask, is it right for Legolas to be the one to bear the weight of Garan’s anger? Why shouldn’t he be allowed to be a shield for his friends? Just because he is smaller than Legolas doesn’t make him any less determined to do it. What Legolas is asking him to do really is difficult. If Sam runs, he’ll have to live with the knowledge of what he has done – abandonment, in his way of thinking, to a terrible fate. I don’t know if Sam could ever get over that. How could anyone make a decision like the one that Sam may have to make? | |
| Aelinmir | Reviewed Chapter: 9 on 11/18/2005 |
| could the tree hlep legolas in some way? the rope is tied to a root I think the tree could help. Author Reply: Welcome, Aelinmir! Hmm. Yours is an interesting idea, even if it’s not going to show up in the story. I had envisioned the root as belonging to a low, scrubby bush as opposed to a tree. Even so, Legolas might have been able to take some comfort from it were he not so overwrought and afraid. He doesn’t seem to be in the right mindset to notice the subtle speech of plants at the moment. Other than that, I don’t think the bush/tree could help him much. If this story were happening in Fangorn, though, where the trees are more active… that would be a very different situation! I could certainly see the trees rebelling against the Men on an Elf’s behalf there. | |
| Bodkin | Reviewed Chapter: 9 on 11/18/2005 |
| Aarrrrgggghhhhh! What to say? What has happened to Sam? However is he to wriggle out of this? How is Legolas going to escape from the bonds and the blades and the nasty, nasty Dorlic - and the evil, soul-rotted Garan. What a moment to leave a poor, unsuspecting reader! Please - more soon! Author Reply: How are they going to get away? Read on! Action is on the way, which I hope will satisfy everyone. I know that I can’t wait to get there. Go, heroes, go! | |