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| Stirring Rings by Larner | 13 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| PSW | Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 12/17/2016 |
| You've got to be kidding me, dude (to use our own vernacular ;-). If you can't keep your own raging ego in check, at least keep your mouth closed and don't *cause* the damage yourself. This story is very intriguing so far. Thanks for writing! Author Reply: Oh, yes, he can't yet see beyond his own interests. And thanks for responding! | |
| Linda Hoyland | Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 2/27/2012 |
| You capture Sauraman'a arrogance well. It is chilling how his prophecy becomes self fulfilling. I'm enjoying this story very much. Author Reply: Yes, he is a self-centered soul, isn't he? Brilliant but fatally flawed from the beginning. | |
| Freyalyn | Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 2/23/2012 |
| And how easily his pride leads to his fall, without a trace of self-awareness... Author Reply: I know. I always suspected that Saruman carried the seeds of his final destruction within him from close to the beginning, and so I keep finding him as he reveals himself within this story. | |
| Radbooks | Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 9/24/2006 |
| Tom Bombadil! I hadn't thought about the Istar knowing him... how fun. I loved that he could see right into Saruman's heart and read him so easily. Saruman's utter disdain for him and everyone else is chilling for one who is supposed to be so wise... And, who in his right mind would tell a complete stranger the details of someone else's journey? Ah, foolish maia. Author Reply: Yes, Saruman has a GREAT deal of growing up to do. He's not very thoughtful at the moment, and as was noted by Bodkin, far, far to full of self. He wants to bring Sauron down completely, but fails to see just how this cannot be done by one alone, not even one of Sauron's former peers. Endorgil may have realized he wouldn't live long; but to have it due to the Istar's own loose tongue must have been, once he realized (if he ever did), quite ironic. | |
| Queen Galadriel | Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 9/5/2006 |
| Saruman may see much and think himself wise, but he doesn't appear to know how to use caution, and he is already on his way to his downfall, even now. And I don't know who this black stranger is, but I don't like him and I know either he or whatever evil he serves was behind the ambush. The intrigue is up now, at least for me. God bless, Galadriel Author Reply: When we trust in our own cleverness, all too often we sow the seeds of our own destruction; and already does Saruman sow his own. And you do well to dislike this black stranger. | |
| SurgicalSteel | Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 9/1/2006 |
| Interesting. I wonder who the hooded stranger was? And Saruman's already looking for a better/more civilized place. He'd have done better to stay in the North. Author Reply: I suspect you are right--indeed Saruman would have done better to remain in the north, although at first he won't go too far south. As for the hooded stranger, you don't have to look too far north to perhaps realize who that might have been. | |
| French Pony | Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 8/31/2006 |
| Ah, to see Saruman, young and arrogant. He's already smart about the world, but not wise. He knows who people are and what they are doing, but he has no idea why they do what they do, nor does he seem to care to find out. For him, teaching seems to be about handing down knowledge and edicts, regardless of whether or not the world is ready to receive them. Iarwain seems to have done the best he can, but Saruman doesn't take hints. As for the question about ships -- if I were sailing from Valinor to Middle-earth, I would probably want either a cutter, a ketch, or a sloop, though the ketch might require more crew. Author Reply: A cutter might do, and I'll consider changing that, perhaps. Sloop just sounds perhaps a bit too modern somehow, but I again admit I know next to nothing about sailing ships. Yes, Saruman isn't starting off on quite the right foot, perhaps, although he has time before Radagast's arrival to perhaps polish his act somewhat, and perhaps do better in the domain of wisdom. And Iarwain, as was true of Osse, Uinen, and the Elves of Tol Eressea before him, is trying to give this one a handle on what he ought to be doing, and he's only partly listening. | |
| Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 8/31/2006 | |
| Tedicus Dexius Eclectus types: Great way you introduced Tom to the story and gave a good backround history. He's always a hard character to pin down especialy for us males that fail to appreciate his dancing gait and penchant for dodgy doggerls. Of course J.R.R.T. was of the generation that equated gay with being happy. I tend to be suspicious of people that always appear to be perpetualy happy! You seem to be painting a picture of Saruman as a younger version of the Sharkey we all came to know and loath. This seems to undermine the premise that the valar invested much thought and effort into their choice of him in the first place. Put bluntly; since Saruman has (to any rational person) the qualities most consistant with being an arrogant asshole ony interested in his own self agrandisment, sending him could only lead to disaster. If Saruman's betrayal of the white council was totally unexpected by the brightest of the peoples of all of arda including the valar, that would tend to indicate to me that his choice to emulate Sauron was late in comming and born perhaps out of a desperation of finding a way to accomplish the mission he was appointed the head of. If he saw no way to defeat Sauron, at least it would be better to replace him rather than sail back in abject defeat. At some point he had to conclude that his mission was impossible to accomplish, and allow himself to be tempted to alternatives that led to his downfall. If however, he never really took his mission seriously or even figured it possible to accomplish at the start, the only reason to accept it would have been a quest to grab power in a land free from the influence of the valar. How could they lack that much insight into one of lesser stature than themselves. After Morgoth you would expect them to be a little more cautious. Well this is starting to sound like a rant. I do have a life pathetic though it may be. This is meant as constructive criticism Larner. It's your story, you write it the way you want to, but it did get me thinking. A dangerous situation. Write On. Author Reply: You are undoubtedly right that thinking can be dangerous, and equally so for me as for you, of course. And you are right that by starting Saruman off as I have I've undermined his place in the White Council for the next thousand years or so. However, he is yet young in the ways of apparent mortality, and will probably prove himself. And I do appreciate the constructive criticism, and thank you for it. As I decided to make Saruman a volunteer, the Valar have a bit less choice than they might wish, and certainly Vaire has bad feelings of where all this will lead. But Saruman isn't truly stupid--inexperienced and thoughtless at the moment, but not stupid save when he wishes to hide from himself, I think. And I do truly appreciate the feedback. | |
| Dreamflower | Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 8/31/2006 |
| *sigh* And Saruman's much vaunted "foresight" was brought about by his own ignorant arrogance in telling too much to the wrong person. *sigh* And I'm assuming the dark-cloaked stranger was Angmar? But I really enjoyed your speculation and origins for Tom Bombadil! That was really well done! One of the most plausible theories I've seen yet! Very well done! Author Reply: I think it was in UT that Tolkien himself played a bit with the history of Tom Bombadil; that he might be a Maia himself who woke sufficiently once he came to Middle Earth that he took the shape of a Man and chose to remain ever there was hinted at but never truly decided on--it seemed to fit here. As for the stranger being Angmar, I suspect indeed you are right. Flattery at the attention from the stranger led to the betrayal of the royal house of Cardolan; and he never inquired as to the origins of the horse, did he? I suspect the courting of Saruman began very early in his career. | |
| Bodkin | Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 8/31/2006 |
| Saruman's arrogance makes him very, very stupid. Dangerously so. At least for everyone he meets. Author Reply: Yes, purposeful blindness does make us very stupid, and Saruman is a prime example of the process. I can so easily see this happening as Saruman begins his time in Middle Earth, aiding his own foreseeings to happen in one way or another. | |