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| Concerning Sam by Kara's Aunty | 11 Review(s) |
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| PSW | Reviewed Chapter: 13 on 10/12/2016 |
| Just stumbled across this today ... I have a special place for Sam, and I do love it when others acknowledge his worth. It was great to see so many do so in this story. I like the idea of his own special jewel, hopefully it will help to bring him comfort. Thanks for writing! | |
| walkerskye | Reviewed Chapter: 13 on 3/12/2010 |
| a very believeable tale. I'm a therapist and I've heard clients voice internal arguements of shame like those of the Ring remnant. and you're right - the only cure to such shame is loving acceptance. very nice work! Author Reply: Hello walkerskye, sorry it's taken so long to reply to your lovely review, but life has been a bit mad recently. Anyway, m'dear, I'm really glad that Concerning Sam has a professional (therapist) seal of approval! I've always suspected that Sam couldn't have gotten off as easily as he appears to in the books after wielding the One Ring. Something so evil would (IMHO) have to have left some sort of mark on our intrepid hobbit gardener, regardless of how deep that mark was hidden. And Sam is just the type of person to dismiss any superficial signs of trouble as 'having an off-day'. *shakes head at stubborn Gamgees everywhere* Writing his internal arguements was fascinating, but rather draining. I had to dig through a whole pile of unresolved issues of my own to better understand what he may have went through (and you can imagine how much fun that was). Still, it was worth it if his struggles against the Ring, and his self-loathing (during his darkest moments) have even the slightest ring of authenticity ;) And thank goodness he had such a tight-knit family - and equally tight circle of close friends -to help him through his trauma. Loved ones really do make all the difference in such circumstances. Thank you very much for your encouraging words. I'm absolutely delighted you enjoyed Sam's fic so much. Thanks for R & R-ing, Kara's Aunty :) | |
| Robinscat | Reviewed Chapter: 13 on 2/8/2010 |
| I read you story in one setting. Out of all the Hobbits, Sam has always been my favorite. Frodo might have been the "Ringbearer" but he would have never accomplished his quest without Sam. I liked the exploration of what the Ring could have done to Sam. I had not considered that Sam would have been tormented in much the same way as Frodo. You explored that possiblility very well. I was a little irritated that Sam used Athelas. I had always felt it was only in the hands of the King that Athelas would work. I was worried that you would make Sam's dependence on Athelas like an additction. But you handled the concept well for your story. The only other thing that niggled at me was there was no mention of Legolas or Gimli being concerned about Sam. Aragorn and Merry made no attempt to contact them to let them know what was happening to Sam. There was only a glancing refernece to Legolas and Faramir. Now, granted, I am a Legolas and Gimli fan from long ago, but it was glarily apparent that they were not included in your story. All in all, a good read. Thank you for sharing your gifts. Author Reply: Hello Robinscat, wow, you read it through in one night? I was about to blush with gratitude when I read that, but then it dawned on me that you must have read this when I reposted the fic yesterday partway through a massive overhaul. Which I haven't finished yet. Which means you were subjected to at least nine chapters of horrific, grammatically-challenged gaucheness ... *cringe* My apologies, m'dear! This was my first ever multi-chapter fic, written a mere month after I'd posted my first two attempts at a one-shot. Don't get me wrong, I loved writing this, but at the time I was still finding my 'author' feet, and now I realise that it does't perhaps 'flow' as well as it should ... So I decided to revamp it. Unfortunately, when I reposted the first chapter live onsite, Javascript moved half the paragraphs around, then italicised, bolded, and underlined massive parts of the rest. I couldn't leave such a mess onsite, so I had to hide each chapter in order to rework it. But that means that if anyone reads it now, it's half-polished, half-mince! *chuckles ruefully* Still, you liked it, and that's cheered me up! Concerning Sam was a labour of love for me. I'd always wondered how the Ring might have affected Sam, and the fic was an attempt to explain that to myself, as much as anyone else. As it was my first LoTR fic, I was unsure about my ability to accurately characterise every member of the Fellowship, so I stuck with those few I was reasonably comfortable, plus a few guest stars. Legolas and Gimli, as much as I would've loved to include them, missed out because I wasn't sure how to tackle them. If it's any consolation, I did write a humorous fic later on, in which they are two of the main characters (A Pony's tale). Now, that isn't a shameless plug (not this time, anyway), it's just an assurance from one Legolas & Gimli fan to another that I would never abandon the lovable duo for long ... As for Sam and athelas, I'm fairly sure that he was adept at using it, having grown it in Bag End's garden specifically for nursing Frodo after the Quest (when Frodo suffered his anniversary illnesses). Well, I hope this mega-reply hasn't sent you off to sleep! I'm really, really glad that you, as a Sam fan, enjoyed the fic (warts and all!). Thanks VERY much for R & R-ing, m'dear! M :) | |
| Mysterious Jedi | Reviewed Chapter: 13 on 11/15/2008 |
| Very poignant story. I enjoyed it. Author Reply: Hello Mysterious Jedi, And thank you! I hadn't expected to get any more reviews for this (I assumed it was doomed to wander in the ether after finishing it a month or two ago) so yours was very much appreciated. If you're interested to know what happened in the cooks' tent, that story's here too (justposted chapter 4 actually - so much for the idea of it being a oneshot). It's called 'Much Ado about Mushrooms', so if you like, you can give it a try (or not). Thanks again for the review, I'm glad you enjoyed 'Concerning Sam'! M :) | |
| Linda Hoyland | Reviewed Chapter: 13 on 10/14/2008 |
| A lovely ending.I'm so glad Sam is well again.I hope you will write more about Aragorn,Arwen,Faramir and the Hobbits Author Reply: Hello again Linda :) I would like to do more Shire/Gondor stories in the future - I think that Hobbits work even better with Men or Elves around. I don't imagine I'll ever do a story solely about Hobbits (unless a oneshot) because it's more fun to work with two or more races! Thank you so much for your reviews, they are much appreciated! M :) | |
| Andrea | Reviewed Chapter: 13 on 10/14/2008 |
| I've been following your story from the beginning on. In fact, you posted faster than I could read ;-) I enjoyed it a great deal, particularly the fact that you came up with a new idea that had never occured to me before. And while reading on I found it very possible that the memory of the Ring lingered in Sam's mind and waited until the time was right to strike - and strike it did! Especially the parts where Sam "fought" with the Ring while It twisted all his thoughts were written very powerfully! Great work. I also liked Radagast's part in the story. And I'm looking forward to finding out what happened in the tent :) Thank you! P.S.: English is fascinating. Just place an additional apostrophe and a possesive pronoun becomes an s-Genitive (I looked the terms up, LOL!). It was very fitting to emphasise that the Ring is a real character. In German which is my native language this is impossible! Author Reply: Andrea, Thank you for your lovely review!! You reviewed in my language - let me try to reply in yours (Get ready for a laugh..my German is a bit rusty!) Es freut mich das du meine kleine Geschichte genossen hast. Es hat mir viel spaß gemacht beim schreiben. Ich hab´ Sam immer geliebt aber doch keinen Sam/Ring Geschichte gefunden (und dafur Ich hab´ ein ewigkeit gesuch!). Also, mußte Ich es selbst schreiben. Etwas frustierend, um erlich zu sein - aber was kann man dafur? Ich hab´ mich oft selbst gefragt was für leiden Sam bekam wegen seiner Tag als Ringbearer. Besonderes weil er den Ring auf der grenzen Mordor trug - wann es so machtvoll war! Aber es ist nirgendwo beschrieben und Ich nußte meine eigene antworten finden. Wenn Frodo so sehr unter den Ring gelitten hat daß er nach Valinor segeln müßte (er trug es zwar viel länger als Sam, aber es war auch nicht immer so kräftig wie im letzten Jahr) - dann mit sicherheit had Sam auch teilweise leiden mußen, sonst hätte er keinen platz in Valinor nötig, oder? Hoffentlich hat mein Story diese Themen etwas zur Licht gebracht damit andere leute auch darüber nachdenkt. Wenn Ich gluck hab` schreiben auch andere Autoren/innen darüber - auf diese weise kann Ich die ideen von anderen genießen, Ich habe Concerning Sam schon fertig geschrieben bevor Ich es auf SoA gepostet hab´. Also brauchte Ich nur jeder Chapter etwas zu verschönern bevor es hier landet - deswegen war Ich so schnell fertig! Es war immer mein plan einer der Sauberer (wie heißt Wizard auf Deutsch?) zu benutzen - aber nur Radagast blieb übrig nachdem Gandalf Mittlere Erde verließ (wie heißt Middle Earth auf Deutsch?). Weil er doch keine größere teil in den Büchern hat, fand Ich es nur fair das er ein kleiner Auftritt in mein Story bekam! Gut gedacht, nicht war? Anyway, I won’t hurt your eyesight any further with my German efforts! Which reminds me, your written command of English is superb: punctuation, capitalisation, grammar - the whole lot! Unlike my German, but it’s been a while since I used it so I don’t mind that too much just now - though I hope one day to translate the entire story. But I wish my written English was as good as yours (I’ve completely forgotten what the ’genitive’ form you spoke of is, so I’ll need to look that up!). Thank you so much for your kind words and I’m delighted you enjoyed Concerning Sam! I will write a oneshot about Farlibar in the cooks’ tent, but you’ll have to wait a week or so for it….. Maureen :) | |
| Elflingimp | Reviewed Chapter: 13 on 10/12/2008 |
| I know I didn't review every chapter and I don't usually read Hobbit stories, but I loved this one and yes what did happen in that tent??? LOL! Hugs The Imp | |
| Agape4Gondor | Reviewed Chapter: 13 on 10/11/2008 |
| Bravo! Very nice job. I do so hope you continue writing things like this. I don't go to ff.net and so this is my first 'encounter' with your writing. I've enjoyed myself thoroughly. I do so love reading of 'new' ideas, and having poor Sam attacked by the Ring was truly a 'new' idea for me. This chapter with ARagorn continues the same vein of great writing that began at the beginning and never flagged. You did good! Thanks for sharing. Oh! And a belated welcome to SoA - one of the nicest sites on the web. Author Reply: Hello again Agape4Gondor, I am SO glad you enjoyed Concerning Sam, for the subject matter was dear to my heart and (in my opinion) needed to be shared. It has afforded me much pleasure to hear from reviewers and know that they are not only reading, but appreciating this very under-tackled subject. I hope that others may be inspired to write their own stories of Sam and the Ring, for there truly aren't enough of them and it's a subject begging to be explored in depth. Not only his encounter with the Ring, but how he lived with the Sea longing and if it affected his family adversely, how the effects of his time as Ringbearer may impact those who love him and of course, the parallels of suffering he may have shared with Frodo. So many issues that authors could really sink their teeth into.... Thank you for the compliment on my writing (blushes). That means so very much to me because I was nervous about misrepresenting the very thing I wanted so much to write. It's always nice to hear from you and thanks for the welcome onsite! SoA is indeed a great place to be! All the best to you :) Maureen. | |
| Antane | Reviewed Chapter: 13 on 10/11/2008 |
| You are thanking me for all those reviews, and I do thank you for that, but it's really me and all of us who should be thanking you for such a wonderful tale! More, more!! Harthad Uluithiad indeed - the Ring doesn't have a chance! The Enemy and his demons "prowl the world seeking the ruin of souls", always seeking a way in, but it will be harder next time. How wonderful that Sam knows the truth know about everything and that he will see his treasure again and love how Aragorn explained that Rose would be fine with that because she wouldn't trust anyone else to take care of Sam but Frodo. You say you wrote this for your own enjoyment, but not so, my dear, not so. Many have enjoyed it! Looking forward to anything else you write! *hobbity hug* Namarie, God bless, Antane :) Author Reply: Hello Aunty Anne! Wow, what a fabulous review. Many, many thanks! Concerning Sam was a real labour of love for me. I had many questions regarding Sam and his time with the Ring (and had had to supply the answers to them myself because there was no fic out there to do it for me), so this gave me the chance to air my views and test them out - see what reception they got. And the reception has been quite overwhelming! It seemed sensible to me that Aragorn and the others would react in the way they did to any threat It may pose to Sam and I'm delighted that so many others have not only agreed, but enjoyed the tale I spun. Your reviews have been a delight from start to finish and such things make all the hard effort of writing, plotting, scripting and losing several hours of sleep more than worthwhile. I hope that this story has made people stop and think - and I hope even more that others will take up the idea and write their own version because then I get the chance to read them without having to do all the hard work, ha, ha! I will do a wee oneshot of Farlibar, Merry and Pippin at some point, but when exactly - I'm not sure. As for other stories: that will take further thought. I'm not sure I trust myself yet to undertake something as intensive as this quite yet, but the possibility that I will do more is as certain as the Sun rising! Thank you for reading, reviewing and enjoying this. That means a great deal! All the very best to you and yours. Maureen :) | |
| Dreamflower | Reviewed Chapter: 13 on 10/11/2008 |
| What a delightful ending for this! I had been looking forward to this encounter greatly! And I'm so pleased that Faramir and Eowyn were able to be there! And I appreciate your acknowledgement of my comments. Reviewing stories is something I enjoy very nearly as much as reading or writing them. It is seldom that we see new hobbit-writers among us, and I am so very glad to see you in our midst! | |