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Stirring Rings by Larner	7 Review(s)
Imrahil	Reviewed Chapter: 19 on 8/27/2016
This is an interesting tale and you clearly have a strong knowledge of the long history of Arda. But some parts of this take directly contradicts the work of the Professor. For we know of Gandalf's travels that "his main province was "The North", and within it above all the North-west, Lindon, Eriador, and the Vales of Anduin." For the same reason, Gandalf did had little to do with Gondor. "Gondor attracted his attention less, for the same reason that made it more interesting to Saruman: it was a centre of knowledge and power. Its rulers by ancestry and all their traditions were irrevocably opposed to Sauron, certainly politically: their realm arose as a threat to him, and continued to exist only in so far and so long as his threat to them could be resisted by armed force. Gandalf could do little to guide their proud rulers or to instruct them, and it was only in the decay of their power, when they were ennobled by courage and steadfastness in what seemed a losing cause, that he began to be deeply concerned with them." And yet, you have Gandalf travel to Gondor and advise it's Kings many times. Do you not realize that what you ar writing directly contradicts the writings of Professor Tolkien? Moreover the way you write the interactions between Gandalf and the various Kings of the South-Kingdom does a great disservice to the wise and mighty Heirs of Anarion. The story is of course yours to write and you do write it well. But in the larger canon of Arda, Gandalf the Grey never advised the Kings of Gondor. His attention only fell to them in the last years of the Third Age. Your timing on the Fall of Minas Ithil is also incorrect. Ithilien remained under the control of proud Gondor until the very end. The Wainriders never took it. And Minas Ithil only fell to the Ringwraiths after a brutal two year siege, nearly a hundred years after the date you have it at. There are other historical and character inconsistencies, but those are the ones that stood out to me. I do enjoy reading this tale, but I feel compelled to offer some literary criticism, in what I hope is a constructive manner. Better attention to the work written by the Professor is something that all lotr fanfic writers should aspire to. Author Reply: How frequent is "frequent" in your view, Imrahil? We know that Gandalf went about the lands of the north, and that in the south he was granted a name considered derisive, indicating they saw him as a spy on their lands. Do you equate that southern land with Gondor? I'd rather suspected it was Umbar and/or Harad that called him by that name. Gandalf indicated within LOTR that he was familiar with Gondor and the northern lands, and that he rarely went south of Gondor and never into the east where Sauron's influence was greatest. His title of Mithrandir, or the Grey Pilgrim, was originally bestowed upon him by the Elves, and he was known by that name throughout Gondor, apparently. He was considered by all to be under the leadership of Saruman, and as you have pointed out, Saruman was far more interested and involved in the doings of Gondor than was Gandalf. If Gandalf had need to consult with Saruman as his superior, therefore, where would he go to do so? The Master has made it clear that save when he entered Middle-earh, Saruman rarely went north of the White Mountains, and spent perhaps as much time investigating matters in the eastern lands as he did in Gondor or Rhovanion--if he spent much time at all within the lands of the vale of Anduin north of Rauros. Therefore, it was most likely that Gandalf made his personal reports within Gondor itself, and probably within Minas Tirith. And if Saruman was once again absent on one of his own journeys when Gandalf arrived, it is most likely that Gandalf would remain within whatever lodgings were made available to the two of them until Saruman returned or Gandalf would be drawn away northward upon his own journeys and perceived duties. During such times as he did remain within Gondor, then I believe that he would at least make token visits with whosoever was King at the time, and offer his own advice, whether solicited or not. I am sorry about my errors regarding Minas Ithil, but have decided to leave them for now. The city has not been described as heavily populated since the death of Isildur, and the last struggles over sovereignty of the city would have been hard for the lords of Gondor to countenance, I am certain. Thank you for your criticism, for I do appreciate criticism when it is indeed constructive. And thank you also for the compliments. I do appreciate them!

Agape4Gondor	Reviewed Chapter: 19 on 7/11/2012
I once watched a special on charioteers. Mostly from Egypt. They were a formidable army. I couldn't believe the speed they had and the mobility. I've often thought of that when reading of the Wainriders. Good chapter. Poor Gondor. And, I suppose, everyone else. But at least the plagues and such have stopped, for the moment. Author Reply: The Wainriders appear to have been very effective, but there are downsides to all forms of warfare in the end. Yes, poor Gondor, facing such foes so many times over the years. As for the plagues, I suspect that eventually the Arnorians would simply place guards on the borders to return all crossing over to sender if at all possible in order to keep losses due to germ warfare to a minimum. Thanks so, Agape!

Kitty	Reviewed Chapter: 19 on 7/8/2007
Sorry, have only just realised I forgot this one! It’s rather sad to read about all these attacks on Gondor and Arnor over the years, you know, and it doesn’t help to know it was true – and doesn’t have changed so much over the millennia even up to our days. I suppose it is not always easy for you to descript that. Hmmm ... interesting. The dwarves seem to have developed a healthy distrust of Saruman, and much earlier than others. Very sensible of them. Loved the visit to the inn in the Shire. A hobbit called Forodo Baggins, rather tall, talented singer, a smile to light the room ... of whom reminds me that? :-) Gandalf must have had a certain déja-vu-feeling later on when he got to know Frodo. It would be interesting to know what he thought about the Travellers in comparison to the hobbits he had known in earlier centuries. Author Reply: I'm sorry, Kitty--I appear to have missed this one. The history of mankind has ever been warfare, unfortunately; wasn't it Churchill who stated the business of Man is War? We appear to revel in conflict and seeking to dominate others, it appears; and when we don't have anything to really fight about, too many appear ready and willing to make up or manufacture events over which to get a war going. At least some Dwarves distrust Saruman; it's better than those who distrust EVERYONE, at least! And I agree--Bilbo and Frodo must both have seemed so familiar in many ways to Gandalf when he realized these two special ones had been born there!

Linda Hoyland	Reviewed Chapter: 19 on 6/28/2007
Your story vividly illustrates just how much sorrow M-e knew at the hands of Sauron,something I fear I've often overlooked. Author Reply: In those fifteen hundred years the Wizards were in Middle Earth there was so much time for Sauron to do so very much evil. It's been interesting trying to write a story that takes place over such a long period of time, and I hope that I'll one day be able to finish this story! I'm just coming to the end of the time of Kings, after all!

Raksha The Demon	Reviewed Chapter: 19 on 6/26/2007
I'm with Nori and his grandfather - keep an eye on that white wizard! Nice scene with the hobbit "Forodo", who is surely an ancestor of Frodo Baggins. I loved the song. Author Reply: Yes, one needs to keep an eye on Saruman! Glad you appreciated that. And this is another of Frodo's ancestors, obviously, with some of the same gifts, including the ability to bring out the best in others. So glad you loved the song. Another attempt at original poetry, although it didn't take anywhere as much time as "Don't Linger, sweet Brother" did to write. But I'll warn you not to expect too much original poetry--or at least I don't think so now. Some of the plot bunnies, however, have been hiding behind my old translation of the Iliad and Odyssey, the one done in poetic form? If you find something written in iambic pentameter in one of my collections, don't be too terribly surprised! Heh!

harrowcat	Reviewed Chapter: 19 on 6/26/2007
I do enjoy it when a story requires concentration to enjoy the details and that is certainly true of this tale. The drawback is that I have to find time to read and review properly! That the folk of Rhun have, after a brief defense of their eastern borders, merely moved their populations far enough north and south to allow these to move through their lands, funneling them toward Gondor and Rhovanion, is especially troubling, and speaks of the probability that the Wainriders have been encouraged to do as they do now.” And so the reach of the Shadow still grows! It must have been hard for Mithrandir, and also for the Elves, to see those they grew to respect lose their lives early and/or needlessly. It is good to hear of the Stone-giants. I have just listened to the hobbit once again and was only thinking about those stone-giants with all the thunder and floods that are having. the white one, the one who has his own attitude. g The doc wrote to the hospital that I am a lovely lady who 'lives my own life-style'! Shorthand for unique but doesn't always do what is for the best methinks! Gandalf found himself wondering how the folk of the Shire would do if they were to be presented with bales of cotton from southern Gondor or Harad. Lamedon and portions of Dor-en-ernil were known to produce excellent quality cotton. If the spinners and weavers of the Shire did so well with woolens and linens, what they might do with other fibers might bring even more trade to them He had a long wait but maybe it happened after the ROTK and he heard/knew about it over the Sea. the Grey Wizard standing by him, his right hand on the back of the King’s seat. It is little details like this that I enjoy looking for. But loved this interaction between the northern and Southern Kingdoms. And your choice of travelling name for a certain Chieftain's Son. And so we see the King at the Crossroads and the fall of Minas Ithil. And now I really must get back to work. BTW when you were wishing me sweet repose it was only 4pm here. Perhaps you need to check your time Zone calculations! grin But I really could have done with a nap and not be going back to work for an evening meeting! News! The hospital is offering £60,000 to settle out of court. Author Reply: Yes, the Shadow grows and finds more ways to try to get at its perceived enemies. I suspect that part of the reason why the Elves had so little to do with Men on a regular basis was solely because they did lose their mortal friends, and it would grow wearing after a time. We bear the scars of each loss and grief throughout the rest of our lives, and it does add up cumulatively. By isolating themselves they were in many ways protecting themselves from that loss, I suspect. But for Gandalf, having to deal with people all the time to get them up and moving in the right direction--his heart must have been torn so many, many times! I hadn't thought of the stone giants much, but I did love them in The Hobbit and felt they needed to be spoken of. And if Sauron manipulated orcs, wolves, wargs, trolls, and evil men and nations, wouldn't he have found ways of stirring up even these at times? And I felt they did need to be recognized here. I suspect that Olorin was allowed an amount of latitude in knowing what went on back in Middle Earth; and I'm certain that if Aragorn had had such a scheme mentioned to him as sending cottons to the Shire he'd have done so. I suspect the Wizard-Maia must have been inordinately proud of the products of the Shire's spinning and weaving industries when it came to cotton. Hmm--did you loose another blamed plot bunny at me? Aargh! Keep it off! Keep it off me! And I thought, if Araval and Araphant couldn't send troupes, might they have considered going themselves? Well, why not? Araphant may have been a big help, and it would have given him experience he'd need as he struggled to keep Angmar out of Eriador during his own reign, as Tolkien describes in the appendices. I'd always wondered who the King at the Crossroads might have been; and it seemed to me that Meneldil was probably the most likely to be memorialized there, sitting between the capital and what had been his uncle's city. And it says in the appendices and Tale of Years that it was in the last battles with the Wainriders in their first major assault that the Nazgul openly reentered Mordor; I truly suspect this was when the seven or eight would have occupied the remains of Minas Ithil. Sorry--I had been up almost all night anyway. Sunday night is MOVIE night at the apartment, and they chose to watch Return of the King EE. Start that at nine-forty and think how long it's going to go, particularly when it has to be paused from time to time to allow for bathroom breaks and all. They went to bed about 2:30; I didn't get to sleep until 3:30, and was awakened at 5:30 by one wanting to know if he could get his morning meds early (NO!) so he could go out for his walk early, too. I was off at seven and headed for the office to get things posted (the ISP from Mordor was acting up at home again) and caught up on the stories I couldn't read from home due to the hassles with Hughes. I wasn't thinking any too clearly at the time difference from about seven-thirty local time! Heh! And a settlement for the damage done your mother? Excellent!

shirebound	Reviewed Chapter: 19 on 6/25/2007
as sensitive to the song of cultivated earth as are your people to the resonance of earth and stone or the Elves to the calls of trees and wilderlands. Where Hobbits excavated their holes or built their low houses they still surrounded them with flowers and shrubs for the most part, less now to hide their doorways and windows than to delight the senses, however. Everywhere they looked they saw abundance and order and beauty. “Each time I must pass through this land now,” Glorfindel said quietly as they rode, “I rejoice the more. So long since the rule of Cardolan began to fail the land itself knew grief; now it is alive and fulfilled and rejoices. Worthier stewards for this place Argeleb could not have found.” “Indeed,” the Wizard smiled. “And I foresee that those who dwell here will serve as few yet understand. Yes, worthy stewards they prove, and even more so will they prove in time to come.” I love these glimpses of early hobbit settlements, especially viewing them through the eyes of Gandalf and Glorfindel. And what a treat to meet Frodo's ancestor! :) Author Reply: Yes, I think that the Hobbits were as much a gift to what became the Shire as the land was to the Hobbits. And it's wonderful to be able to speculate on just how special a place they made of it. As for Frodo's ancestors--I suspect that all Gandalf have met of them so far as well as those he didn't meet were each special and unique; and this one ancestor holds many of the same special gifts we see in Frodo himself, with that unique Fallohide charm that draws out the best in those who are about him. And I find myself more and more wanting to explore the nature of Eruhael Baggins, young Fosco and Cyclamen's son who insisted he have that name. What a puzzle that name must have been to the staid folk of the Shire!

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