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| Moments in Time by Larner | 11 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| Inkling | Reviewed Chapter: 46 on 5/10/2008 |
| My favorite bits in “Spellbound” were the ones from the POV of the wight…they left me wanting more, and now you’ve provided it! I especially liked your explanation of the hand, which I’ve always thought one of the creepiest images in LOTR. Also that both the wight and Tom had the same brief vision of the hobbits’ True Shapes. And thanks for taking Tom seriously…all too often he “don’t get no respect.” The “mixture of joy and nonsense that was in truth sense beyond understanding” is a wonderful way to put it. We’ve been discussing him in the Yahoo group Community_Reading_LOTR_v2, and I will reference your story there if that’s OK with you… Author Reply: Shirebound did such a marvelous job with "Spellbound"! It's one of my favorite of her stories, actually. Why this wight would appear as a hand walking on its fingers I never understood, but it reminded me of a disembodied hand of a concert pianist from an old horror film I saw when I was a kid--well, it might have been a TV show such as "The Twilight Zone" or "Alfred Hitchcock Presents." Another musician removed it from the body of the pianist after he died and wore it like a glove to help him play better--until it escaped him and strangled him. So, why would the wight choose this form? Maybe it was all it could handle! It's definitely a creepy, shuddery image. And I, too, felt that both wight and Tom would see the Hobbits as they truly are in the vision of the Creator. And I would NEVER think of underestimating Tom Bombadil--never! There's just too much potential there. | |
| Antane | Reviewed Chapter: 46 on 12/29/2007 |
| Very interesting and thought-provoking. Namarie, God bless, Antane :) Author Reply: Thank you, Antane. Mae govannen. | |
| Queen Galadriel | Reviewed Chapter: 46 on 12/21/2007 |
| Wow! I don’t think I’ve ever read anything from the point of view of a barrow-wight before now. Chilling! But the most interesting part of this was the end, from Tom Bombadil’s POV. That is so interesting and certainly makes me think more deeply about him. The first time I read the FOTR I was a little bored with that part of it because I wanted to get to the “good stuff” (in my mind, Bree, Weathertop, Rivendell and beyond). I’ve come to appreciate the parts in the Shire and the Old Forest much more since then, but I never gave Bombadil enough thought to look beyond the surface much. Ah, this makes me want to read FOTR again, but I’ve still got two more HP books to read (Order took forever…thank you for the tension-relieving half-spoiler there, BTW *grins*) and I know I really ought to wait till summer when I can actually enjoy it to the full. God bless, Galadriel P.S. Did the turn table ever work? Sounds like that would be a handy thing. My grandparents want me to keep all their old records eventually because they know I’m the only one of us four grandkids that actually cares about that stuff, but I’ll never have room for the bajillion piles of them they have stored away plus a record player. I have the latter already (a gift from them) but I’m terrible with it; how does one get used to that when one is so used to popping a cd in and pressing a button, or carrying one’s music in a pocket, stored on a tiny ipod? Author Reply: Poor Tom gets short shrift always, which is somewhat frustrating for those of us who like him. Am so glad you liked seeing it from his POV. No, the turntable isn't working quite yet. Oh, it's working, but we're not yet communicating properly with the computer as yet. I'll try it again when I go down again. Now to figure out how to get to my chosen chapter in my MP3 player. I can't seem to play anything but disk 3 of The Two Towers at the moment. | |
| Kitty | Reviewed Chapter: 46 on 12/18/2007 |
| Fascinating to look at this part of the story from this particular POV, and rather unusual as well, to know what the wight thought. And though it was a rather creepy story, I couldn't help but smile at the image of the hroa the wight was using. It's easy to see why captives were either terrified or laughed about it. Ludicrous, indeed! Well, at least the wight was able to see the hobbits as they true are, what I found interesting. I do share your opinion of Tom's origins - it has to be something in this direction, after all. And of course he had to realise the twinship between Aragorn and Frodo, although they belong to different races. Author Reply: I was inspired by "Spellbound," one of Shirebound's stories, one that when I read it as she was writing it a few years ago obviously struck a chord. But I wanted to look at it anew, particularly as until this story was written it wouldn't allow me to get poor Gandalf past the Barrowdowns in the last chapter of "Stirring Rings." Just trying to think WHY we only see the creepy hand as it creeps out to take the sword's handle has niggled at me. And am glad you, too, suspect this is how Tom came into being. | |
| Baggins Babe | Reviewed Chapter: 46 on 12/16/2007 |
| This was a superb look at what must have happened inside the barrow, and shows terrific insight into what the wight was thinking. Pondering on who and what Bombadil may be is endlessly fascinating and I think this is one of the most likely explanations - and I loved that he recognised Frodo as the Prince of Stars and that he (of course) knows that Aragorn is another. Author Reply: So glad you enjoyed it. And do look at Shirebound's "Spellbound" for another view, one that helped inspire this one. Bombadil was inspired by his son's doll, I understand; to think that he began as a Maia as well just seemed so right. I'm so glad you feel it plausible. And of course Tom would recognize in Frodo and Aragorn both that they were sent specially and contained the Light of Stars. Thanks so for the comments, Baggins Babe. | |
| Linda Hoyland | Reviewed Chapter: 46 on 12/15/2007 |
| A Chilling tale ! Author Reply: Oh, thanks for letting me know the mood was conveyed properly! So glad you had the chance to read it. | |
| harrowcat | Reviewed Chapter: 46 on 12/14/2007 |
| Oooooh. *shivers* And there I was in the waiting room waiting for my second blood test in two weeks. Not really a good choice of reading matter before seeing the Vampire! You and Shirebound are the only two people who have persuaded me to read a tale of 'horror'. And you have both tackled it so well. And I do love your insights into enigmatic Tom. (Turns out I am anaemic and my thyroid levels are off. Not good news combined with high blood sugars especially as it is mostly my own fault! Off to see the Doc next Thursday.) Author Reply: (Larner shivers! Larner is terribly needlephobic.) Sorry to lead to that feeling just before seeing your phlebotomist! My husband, as a diabetic and kidney patient, was ALWAYS getting blood draws to check out iron levels, glucose levels, calcium levels............ I'm honored that Shirebound and I were able to help you find an acceptable horror story--it's not my favorite genre, either. And it's always fun to speculate on Tom Bombadil and his origins. Good luck with your doctor. It's hard to get me into the clinic to see a doctor at all, they've found. | |
| Rhyselle | Reviewed Chapter: 46 on 12/14/2007 |
| I am totally stunned and awed by this story, Larner. It is so incredibly amazing. Not many people have written regarding the Barrowdowns and the Wights who dwell therein--but you have managed to give personality to what, at first glance, is just a creepy archetypical monster image. I particularly liked the end bit from Iarwain's POV. It's so easy for people to dismiss him as a crackpot strange guy that doesn't make sense in the surface impression of the hobbits' world, particularly if readers don't know anything about the Valar and the history of Middle-earth that is the background of the existence of the Barrow Downs. I like your thought that Tom Bombadil, like Melian, was a Maia who took on physical form emulating that of men and elves, respectively. Thanks for sharing this with us! Well done! Author Reply: Thank you, Rhyselle. I recommend you also look to read Shirebound's "Spellbound," as I found it truly inspirted me to wonder about the origins of the wights when I read it at its publication a year or two ago. Once I thought on the wight's origins, then there was the question of the type of image he'd have sought to project when he took on a shape so as to serve Morgoth. Bombadil has intrigued me. I know that the inspiration for him was a doll belonging to one of Tolkien's children--Christopher, I believe; but that he was one who awoke first--I'd be wondering why when I began writing "Stirring Rings" and found myself seeing him as a Maia who'd tied himself to the mortal lands, eventually being granted a wife by one of Ulmo's followers who protected the Withywindle. And I'm looking forward to whatever you write next. | |
| Lindelea | Reviewed Chapter: 46 on 12/13/2007 |
| Ooo, well done! Nice expansion on the scene from two unique POVs. Dreamily written with the cadence of ancient legend. Author Reply: I am honored indeed, Lindelea. Hope to see you next week, then. | |
| shirebound | Reviewed Chapter: 46 on 12/13/2007 |
| and the mithril shining of one of those great spirits who stood ever against the darkness. A Star-Child--here, within the mortal lands? Tom Bombadil sought to beguile them to their destinies, distracting and instructing and confounding them with his capering and song and mixture of joy and nonsense that was in truth sense beyond understanding. This is a marvellously-woven look at the wight's thoughts, motivations, and history, Larner. This is such a fascinating part of the Tale, isn't it? Author Reply: In part the memory of your version sparked this, although the plot bunnies lingering alongside the nuzgul guiding "Stirring Rings" had a good deal to do with it, too. But it was interesting to look at my own version of the wight and see how he reacted to what he saw.... Thanks for the feedback. Your "Spellbound" is still the best treatment I've read so far. | |