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| Neath Anor, Ithil, and Gil by Larner | 13 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| Soledad | Reviewed Chapter: 25 on 6/16/2008 |
| Sorry I'm late to comment this one. *looks contrite* I loved the Faramir-Pippin friendship, it's always great to read, and more so the way you write it. And yes, I do want to read the discussion between Merry and Faramir about Éowyn, too! Author Reply: It's NEVER too late to comment on any story, Soledad--you know this! And am honored you appreciate how I wrote this beginning to the friendship between these two. And I am thinking on Dreamflower's plotbunny! Heh! | |
| Esquire_of_Rohan | Reviewed Chapter: 25 on 6/15/2008 |
| Wow! This is very good! Author Reply: Thank you SO much, Esquire of Rohan! And I'm glad Beruthiel posed the challenge for her birthday. | |
| Andrea | Reviewed Chapter: 25 on 6/15/2008 |
| Great story, Larner! That poem sounds familiar, so I'm quite sure there exists a German version as well. And I liked the Shire version, concerning food, not war. I think it is possible that Pippin's presence at the Morannon and his reaction to the Mouth of Sauron helped to gain the full attention of the Eye and so gave Frodo and Sam the chance to go on. If so, then Pippin was indeed "the lynch-pin"! And thank you for filling yet another gap for me. When I first read the Return of the King I was as shocked as Pippin when I heard Gandalf's reply to the Mouth of Sauron! How could he be so cruel? Then I thought maybe he knew something that the others didn't. He's a wizard after all! But your explanation is better. Gandalf (and Aragorn) realised that there was something odd about those items. And so Gandalf had the hope that Frodo was still alive. And in that hope he spoke. That rings true! Author Reply: This is a poem that easily adapts from culture to culture, or so I'd believe. And that in the Shire it should focus on a lost harvest just seemed so right! Am glad you agree. That Gandalf was first stricken as is indicated in the text, but then rallied and made the answer he did always indicated to me that almost before the first shock wore off he detected some hint of falsehood in the Mouth's presentation of Frodo's possessions and Sam's sword; and as I've thought on these things I was certain it had to do with the fact that Sam's sword shouldn't be there with what were plainly Frodo's things. I'd not thought of just Pippin's presence at the battle as having had such an effect on Sauron and his minions, but it does make a lot of sense, now you and one other have pointed that out. But to try to trade the freedom of the folk of western Middle Earth for the life of one hostage is indeed an act of desperation--desperation and hubris--and we know fully well Sauron had hubris in spades! | |
| Grey Wonderer | Reviewed Chapter: 25 on 6/14/2008 |
| You write Faramir so very well. I enjoyed this very much. I liked your use of the poem and Pippin's own thoughts on the coming battle. Beautiful. Author Reply: Oh, thank you, Grey Wonderer--and I'm so honored that you nominated this for a MEFA. Thank you so much! This was a birthday gift for Beruthiel on HASA--I hope she enjoys it also. She'd wished for an encounter between Pippin and Faramir during this period, and this is what came out! Thank you again! | |
| Linda Hoyland | Reviewed Chapter: 25 on 6/14/2008 |
| i greatly enjoyed this and only wish I had a MEFA slot left for it.I just started thinking maybe Pippin's presence helped make Sauron suspectthe army must have the Ring and distract from Frodo's mission? I loved Aragorn's letter and Pippin and faramir's conversation. Author Reply: Well, you don't need to grieve much, as Grey Wonderer just nominated it! Ooh, the idea that Pippin's presence might have helped confirm in Sauron's mind that the Ring was with the army is such a wonderful one! Come on--write it out! I'm so glad you liked the letter and conversation. Faramir needs to feel wanted and respected now, and needs to know he will be important to the new King-elect. Thanks so, Linda. | |
| Raksha The Demon | Reviewed Chapter: 25 on 6/14/2008 |
| A sensitively written vignette. The new and bereaved Steward would have much to say to his father's latest man-at-arms, or at least vice versa. The Faramir/interaction is well-written here. I enjoyed the image of Faramir returning to a changed, brightened Steward's Quarters - a sign that his people have much love and regard for him. Poor Denethor probably had kept the place in basic black... Author Reply: Oh, I'm so glad you feel this way, Raksha! Thank you so very much! Yes, the new Steward and the future Thain do have much to share with one another, I think. And I suspect those who had served most of their lives in the Citadel would have greatly loved Faramir, and would have done all they could to make certain he did not return to overwhelming reminders of the stern and rather inflexible character Denethor had at last become, but would instead have tried to suit the place to the preferences they were aware Faramir entertained. It is HIS residence now, after all; and I suspect a good few of the servitors felt a degree of relief to think of themselves as serving someone capable of the warmth and humanity Faramir embodied after the stiffness of his father's rule. I see the Steward's personal rooms as being probably mostly stark white and black, and draperies and upholstery being once opulent and a bit overwhelmingly dark at the same time, but all going gradually a bit ratty, similar to the description given of the rooms in which the Old Took spent his declining years. Thanks so much, Raksha. | |
| Queen Galadriel | Reviewed Chapter: 25 on 6/14/2008 |
| I'm not exactly supposed to be reading right now so will have to be very quick. I knew this was going to have something to do with that nursery rhyme and wondered how you'd incorporate this one. I like the Shire version quite as much as ours. :) Love the moments shared between Pippin and Faramir. Those Hobbits just have a way of touching, as all big folk who care to are bound to discover. :) And I love Aragorn's missive at the end, managing to be formal where necessary but comfortably familiar as well. I never liked Denethor much, but it's comforting to think that he was remembered with some fondness. Poor Gimli! *grins* He's ever going to be the drama king--though he might well have had reason for grief. God bless, Galadriel Author Reply: Sneaky, sneaky! Love it! I'm so glad you liked the adaptation and how it was used. And Faramir is falling deeper under the charm of Hobbits--I think he's already much impressed by what little he's seen of Frodo and Sam--and now he's met the Took of Tooks! I'd think that Aragorn would have good memories of Denethor from their earliest acquaintance, and would have grieved for the growing estrangement as Denethor fell more deeply under the influence of envy and resentment and perhaps anxiety as to his own future roll should Thorongil indeed prove to be Isildur's Heir and return to claim the Crown and Throne. And Faramir needs to know that the father he loved was loved by others, and with reason. Oh, love the description of Gimli as the drama king! And he did believe he had reason for grief, after all--am SO glad he was wrong! Thanks so! | |
| Antane | Reviewed Chapter: 25 on 6/14/2008 |
| Very nice to see a Pippin-centered story for he is dear to me as well. And love also the growing love between Faramir and Aragorn - what a warmth to both their hearts in that letter, that they could greet and be greeted in such a way as being called beloved. But where's the rest of the letter? You can't cut it off just when you get to Frodo and Sam! Namarie, God bless, Antane :) Author Reply: Beruthiel wished to see interaction between Pippin and Faramir in this time period, and this is what came out. I'm so glad you like it! Aragorn deserves a Steward who will be able to be his friend, and I do believe Faramir fit the bill; and Aragorn needed also to share his good memories of Denethor from the days they were first serving together under Ecthelion, in the days before envy destroyed Denethor's ability to honor this mercenary. As this story is primarily about Faramir and Pippin's growing relationship, I felt that to go into too much detail on Sam and Frodo would perhaps overshadow the focus of the story. Sorry bout that, Antane. But you KNOW how much I love that relationship as well. Now--I've had Faramir have a long conversation with Sam, Frodo, and Pippin; now to find one between him and Merry to detail! Heh! | |
| Endaewen | Reviewed Chapter: 25 on 6/14/2008 |
| This was lovely. Thanks for posting it. Author Reply: Thank you so, Endaewen. Beruthiel had wished a birthday fic in which Faramir and Pippin conversed between the battle of the Pelennor and the army departing for Mordor, and this just came out! Thanks again! | |
| Kitty | Reviewed Chapter: 25 on 6/14/2008 |
| One has to wonder what would have been better – or worse – for Faramir: To be upset to know precisely how his father had died, or to be wondering because no one will tell him the details, and imagining the Valar know what terrible things. Well, at least Pippin’s chatter distracted him sufficiently. And these poems are very fitting here. How thoughtful of Balstador to have the Steward’s rooms in the Citadel changed from Denethor’s stiff formality to the more comfortable way prefered by Faramir without being told so by Faramir! And Aragorn’s letter was nice - Faramir must have been so glad that Aragorn talked in this way about his own father. Ouch, Gimli has torn out parts of his beard? Well, *that* is saying something, thinking back to the greetings of the dwarves (‚May your beard grow ever thicker and longer’)! Glad he searched until he found Pippin, and just in time, I suppose. Author Reply: It's one reason why I have Faramir himself wondering if he's not better off at the moment not knowing for certain, and I'm certain he'd wish for the distraction of the talk with about anyone to help keep his imagination from going a bit crazy at that point. Having spent a few days in the hospital recovering from a pretty nasty operation, I know how hard it is to keep the mind still when you can do little or nothing for yourself. Balstador would have come to know Faramir well over the years, I'd think; and undoubtedly wished to make things more comfortable for his beloved son of the late Steward. I'm certain that he'd want to see to it that enough was changed to reflect Faramir's own tastes to help Faramir accept his new role and to distract from the knowledge that his father carried him from this wing to what was intended to be a fiery death, and that his father had been overwhelmed with despair as a result of the Enemy's manipulation of the information presented Denethor by the Palantir. Aragorn FINALLY has a Man he can speak with who is as close to equal in rank as possible, and a friend to help fill the gap left by the death of Halbarad; someone who also had reason both to love the Denethor he first knew and to grieve that that Denethor had been aged by grief, worry, and the long struggle with Sauron's will. And Gimli did indicate he was certain Pippin was dead and IIRC mentioned tearing at his beard--it was fun to imagine he might have literally done so! Heh! And indeed he was apparently just in time to save our favorite Took! Thanks so much for the comments, Kitty. | |