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| The Road to Edoras by Dreamflower | 14 Review(s) |
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| Grey Wonderer | Reviewed Chapter: 38 on 5/5/2007 |
| I don't know how I manage to do it every time but I miss a chapter and then have two to read on the next update! LOL I do enjoy having a couple to read in a row though. I loved all the riddles. Poppy's was very clever and I liked the way she joined in. I also enjoyed the reference to Sam's cooking! Author Reply: Well, my pace has picked up again, now that I've reached the part where I wrote "backwards"--I just have to fill in transitions, and make sure I don't leave any mistakes from so much time passing. The riddles were fun for me, to. And I found a great many more than I was able to use in this chapter, so maybe I'll be able to have another riddle contest at some point in time. I'm sure Sam's cooking was one of Gimli's very fondest memories. | |
| AspenJules | Reviewed Chapter: 38 on 5/4/2007 |
| I seem to have been negligent in leaving reviews and I'm sorry. So I'll try to be sure to make up for it. I really enjoyed this chapter, from Berilac's appreciation of the Rohirrim countryside to his discussion with Freddy of Merry's relationship with Eowyn and his love of the Rohirrim people, to the wonderful description of their meal (the meals you describe *always* make me hungry!). I really enjoyed Gimli's compliment that that was as good a meal as any Sam had made. I love references back to the Fellowship and their travels from Gimli and Legolas, and then to actually take it back to Bilbo and *his* Adventure was wonderful too! Which lead of course into the riddle game! Eeeeee, I was proud of Mistress Poppy! And I liked that for the most part their different riddles were hard for the others to guess - it kind of highlights and mimics Bilbo and Gollum's game, but in the open air under the stars (I presume), and among friends, so it's positive instead of scary and creepy. OH, and I was actually able to guess the Plow! WOOOT! Lovely chapter! Author Reply: Oh, I don't think you're negligent--I don't really mind if a chapter's not reviewed the second I post it. It's kind of nice to get new ones for a previous chapter, in fact. I thought it would be fun to see Rohan through hobbit eyes in a time of peace, when the land could be appreciated. I based most of the physical descriptions on info from The Atlas of Middle-earth. And it was fun to do a bit of research on the 'net to find out what sort of wild greens and roots might be available in that sort of climate. I've never actually eaten salsify myself, though I'm hoping to grow a bit in my garden this year. *crosses fingers*. But there were some neat recipes for soups and stuff I found while researching this chapter. Yes, it was sort of like the game between Bilbo and Gollum, but far less deadly, among friends instead of enemies. I knew as soon as I'd found those Anglo-Saxon riddles a while back, that there *had* to be a riddle-game between the Rohirrim and the hobbits! I thought the Plow one was rather hard, myself, so kudos to you for guessing!! | |
| Baggins Babe | Reviewed Chapter: 38 on 5/2/2007 |
| Loved the riddles - you are clever with those. A delightful look at our hobbits and how nice to see Beri and Viola growing closer. Meant to drop by last week but my modem refused! Author Reply: Well, only one of those was my original--the "shadow" one. The hobbits' riddles were all old nursery riddles, and those of the Rohirrim were actually old Anglo-Saxon riddles from the Book of Exeter. You'll see more of Beri and Viola next chapter... *naughty modem*scolds gremlins* | |
| Bodkin | Reviewed Chapter: 38 on 5/1/2007 |
| Hobbits are remarkably good at being hunter-gatherers. Which is just as well considering their liking for regular and abundant meals. And they had fun with the riddle game. In fact, everything seems to be going swimmingly. Doubtless, danger looms ever closer! Author Reply: Well, of course, that's the reason they are good at being hunter-gatherers; I am quite sure that foraging is a skill almost *all* young hobbits are taught! I know *I* had fun with it--and it seemed like something else with which they could bond with the Men. | |
| Claudia | Reviewed Chapter: 38 on 4/29/2007 |
| oooh, I'm so glad that you updated this! I got to catch up at last. I'm rather concerned about Clodio. Yes, you still have me feeling sorry for those rascals, lol. :-) And what a delightful turn of events to have hobbits and men trying to trick each other with riddles! :-) Author Reply: Well, poor Clodio is beginning to realize what he's done. I thought that riddles could be one of those things that JRRT said the Rohirrim had in common with the Shire hobbits. | |
| PIppinfan1988 | Reviewed Chapter: 38 on 4/29/2007 |
| That was fun! I was close on a couple of your riddles, but still not on the money. :-P After the day before, this was a rather nice respite from the road for the travellers. LOL, leave it to a hobbit to find food. :-) PF Author Reply: Some of those riddles were pretty hard! This was a fun interlude to write. And naturally the hobbits would find food whenever it's there to find. | |
| GamgeeFest | Reviewed Chapter: 38 on 4/28/2007 |
| The Men's riddles are very long, I notice. lol What a fun evening for everyone. It's also interesting that the Men wouldn't think to gather up wild shoots and herbs as they travel, but the hobbits would. Next time they travel through the emnet, the Rohirrim should be able to find themselves better tasting meals. ;) Author Reply: Those are *actual* Anglo-Saxon riddles, and I'm convinced that it was part of making the riddle hard to guess by making it very long, so that it's hard to focus on the essential clues. I think that the hobbits would *always* be thinking in terms of useful food, while the Men are more focussed on getting from point A to point B as quickly as possible. | |
| Kitty | Reviewed Chapter: 38 on 4/26/2007 |
| The Rohirrim and Gondorians will miss the Hobbits when travelling without them in the future, I suppose. Stale waybread and leathery meat ... doesn’t sound overly appetisingly. I’m not convinced the jaw needs *that* much exercise ;-) When Frodo and Sam have finished the Red Book, I think not only Aragorn needs a copy, but Éomer as well. The Rohirrim should know the whole story, too, particularly as Merry is more or less one of them. The riddles at the end are fun, though I am myself quite hopeless at this game. Author Reply: I’m not convinced the jaw needs *that* much exercise ;-) *snort!* Oh yes, hobbits are *very* useful when traveling! I would not be a bit surprised if you are right--perhaps Merry saw to it! I had a great time with the riddles myself! | |
| elanor winterflowers | Reviewed Chapter: 38 on 4/25/2007 |
| I have been following along for a while here, catching up as a I could and reluctant to comment since I was so far behind and still getting my bearings. This is a story with wide scope--a wonderful sequel in the history of hobbits, enlightening and hopeful and encouraging! I have always been miserable at riddles but you did a wonderful job with them here. The contest was fun to read and to play along with, too. Also, I have noticed as I go along that this story is a real inspiration to modern folk in terms of remembering that the earth provides nourishing food in abundance if you know what to look for. I get hungry every time they sit down to eat! Author Reply: I'm so glad to know you're enjoying this! I just had to let some of the other hobbits travel out of the Shire and get an idea of the rest of the world. Riddles are fun. Only one of them was my original (the "shadow" one). The rest were either traditional nursery riddles, or Anglo-saxon alliterative riddles. My idea about hobbits is this: having no religion, there has to be *something* for life to revolve around. And for a race that eats six to seven meals a day, then *FOOD* would have to be one of their central facts of life. Hence, my hobbbits rather obsessing over it. Foraging would be something almost all hobbits would learn early in life--to take advantage of nature's bounty, whether cultivated or not! And being hobbits, they would be sure to learn the tastiest ways of preparing such things. | |
| Telpethoron | Reviewed Chapter: 38 on 4/25/2007 |
| It's been a while since I read this story, so I wanted to catch up completely before reviewing it. I read "A New Reckoning" some time ago, and was very pleased to see a sequel in the works. This has been a fascinating story from the very beginning, especially for someone fairly new to the LOTR fandom (I only started delving into it once I saw the films). Your descriptions and characterizations have been top notch, and I'm looking forward to seeing what lies in store for the company when they reach Edoras. One question, though - I seem to remember there being talk (in reviews of an earlier chapter) of a planned sequel to this tale, taking place in Gondor. I've been reading the whole story over the past two days or so trying to get up to speed, so I may have misread that. Great work, as always! Author Reply: I am so glad you are enjoying the story, and am glad you are all caught up now! "A New Reckoning" is one of my own favorites among my stories, in which I sort of solidified many of my theories about the Shire and about hobbits. I'm glad you like my descriptions and characterizations--the latter is always my first and foremost goal in a fic, while I always worry about the former. I know that sometimes I feel my descriptions are not very vivid in comparison to some writers I admire, such as elanor winterflowers or Danachan. Yes, there will be a sequel in Gondor. *This* story will end *in* Edoras, though not until certain matters are resolved there. The sequel will pick up when they arrive at Minas Tirith, and cover the time they spend there. I actually already have begun to jump ahead in time, in working on it, but it will be quite a while before any of it is ready for public consumption. | |