Stories of Arda - Lord of the Rings Fan-Fiction Archive


	About Us News Resources Login Become a member Help Search

Keep Alive the Memory by Celeritas	8 Review(s)
Robbie	Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 7/3/2013
Oh, this chapter has made me so angry. Who do they think, especially Tom, who they are? Forcing someone to be normal just because you don't understand (especially without even exactly knowing what about the situation is /not normal/) is just what friendship is NOT! Kira has every right to despair as she is now not only an outsider because of her disability and beliefs but also has to see her friends don't like who she really is. I know Tom didn't want Kira to get hurt, but he hurt he so much more than physically and doesn't even care. Author Reply: Tom doesn't care and doesn't understand, but... well, they're all children, and it takes a surprising amount of maturity that you can't force someone to be normal, especially in a culture like the Shire that I think really enforces conformity. And you're right, Kira isn't going to recover from this, probably ever. Tom will understand, eventually--but by then it might be too late for him.

Virtuella	Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 12/17/2008
Oh, dear. Sandra is going to regret the day she lent Kira the book! How unfortunate that Tom should feel so possessive about Kira that he turns downright nasty. I wonder if the book will survive? Good for Kira that she spoke her mind about it though! "She formed in her mind the image of Sam and Frodo, crawling up the Mountain in a task far more grave and far more hopeless, and slowly she stopped shaking." This was a lovely touch. One thing puzzled me: Why did it take Daffodil so long to catch up? Shouldn't she have been right behind Kira? Author Reply: Yes--although unfortunately I can't focus on Sandra in this tale as much as I'd like, she does have to deal with a lot of Angst for giving Kira the book. I think that for once the insanity of the whole situation jolted Daffodil into inaction, for maybe a minute. Then she walked there (Kira ran), either figuring that things couldn't have gotten that bad in so short a time or dreading to see what state they were in. Either that or 'because the plot required it.' sigh

Kara's Aunty	Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 11/27/2008
Hello Celeritas, Good grief, this chapter cartainly put me in a passion and stirred up my blood :) And I have a piece of my mind to share with three very naughty hobbits! Kira really has some of the most unpleasant 'friends' ever! Not speaking to her because she reads; Tom trying to force his will on her by depriving her of his 'hallowed' company (not that that's actually a loss); Daffodil luring her away so Tom and Roly could steal the Red Book; Roly stamping on her foot (and only lamenting that afterwards because it was her sore foot); Tom chucking the book out of reach when she doesn't say what he wants to hear - petty, malicious lad! (I actually think he secretly fancies her, whether he realises it or not, and that's why he's making such a fuss. But Kira's far too good for him). I know what children are like sometimes though, and I understand that the three are provincial hobbits and some may view reading with suspicion. Tom and the others care for Kira and don't want to lose her company to a rival (reading and possibly adventuring) that they don't know & will never understand. Perhaps that frightens them, children that they are. But their resulting treatment and attempts to control Kira - who suffers daily with her foot and needs the escapism a book offers to cope - is difficult to witness. I was verging on forgiving Daffy & Roly for certain parts of their behaviour when they realised what they were doing was wrong - but when that horrible Tom threw the Book in a tree and they all abandoned Kira to get it herself - bearing in mind she had a very injured foot (courtesy of Roly)? Apparently Daffy & Roly are not as sorry as they claim to be. The three of them are the most spiteful hobbits since the S-B's! And now poor Kira's flying towards the icy waters (and possibly the Red Book is too - aaagh!)! Still, the Terrible Trio ARE children, so I'm sure they'll grow out of this unpleasant phase. But Aunty Maureen desperately wants to teach them a lesson - please? I recommend you should take Tom, Roly and Daffy - and gave them the telling-off of their lives (the Gaffer would approve), give them extra work/chores around their homes, allow them only one hour of (supervised) playtime for the next month - but NOT with each other, OR Kira. All three should be made to apologise to her for their disgraceful treatment and then marched to the Undertowers to apologie to the Fairbairn lass for the shoddy handling of the Red Book. Tom and Roly should be banned from going near Kira again and weak-minded Daffy needs to choose once and for all where her loyalties lie - with Tom or Kira. She can't have both. Phew! I feel I've purged myself a bit after that. You do realise that your excellent chapter sent my pulse into treble digits! And had me swearing at non-existent people? Such is the power of your talent. Now, do my poor heart a favour and make the next chapter a bit less exciting! M ;) Author Reply: Whew, what a review! ^_^ (Seriously, I nearly squeed my trousers off when when I clicked and saw its length.) Avoiding Kira at market was just asking for trouble; I think Kira started the silence wars after that. If Tom had asked Daffy and Roly to go along with a full-fledged silent treatment Daffodil at least would have refused. Daffodil luring Kira away from the book is the hardest thing for me (and Kira) to forgive about her. Roly stepping on the foot was an impulsive reaction to Tom's telling him not to let her get it. At the same time he deliberately went for the bad foot because he knew to some vague extent that it would hurt Kira enough to get her to let it go. But he was not expecting it to hurt that much, or to receive such glaringly obvious evidence that it did (I've tried to bring across the idea that Kira masks her pain around her friends; one wonders if things would have come out differently if she had given her explanation at the end of Chapter 9 to Daffodil and Roly). It shook him, badly, because all of a sudden he was faced with the horrible realization that he was the problem. He was exhibiting remorse more over that than a sort of "Oops, wrong foot" sort of thing. Tom, however, I can't make any excuses for, though that's a very interesting (code word meaning I don't want to tell you whether you're right or wrong) motivation you've got for him. He's a butt. You're spot on with why the children did what they did--and you're right, they are after all children. They are frightened, very frightened, because they're losing Kira to something beyond their control. Learning that things change (especially in such a traditional society as the Shire) and that there's nothing you can do to stop it is one of the most painful lessons in the transition from childhood to adulthood, and to be taught it so drastically at such a young age is a bit more for them to bear. That's why Roly and Daffodil run away. Right after Tom exhibited some extreme, frightening behavior, persisting in having his joke even though it was obviously hurting Kira and then throwing it into the tree, the thought of Kira going after it, and wanting to get them involved (when they want nothing so much as this whole crisis to just be over) is too much for them. And I think that Roly, at least, did not think that Kira would actually go after the book (just as I think Tom did). Daffodil, as I've mentioned in other reviews, manages to redeem herself. Since the tale is told from Kira's point of view I can't really say all of this within the text, but I still try to make it there. I like giving all of my characters story arcs and only letting the reader see the parts of it that Kira would, leaving them to surmise (or ask me for!) the rest. Yes, they are children, and that to me is probably one of the more interesting aspects of this story: Kira bewails the fact that no one's actively trying to keep alive the memory, and indeed it seems at this point that almost no adults are. She was taught how to read (by her own initiative) by a tween, the Book was lent to her by a tween, and now the people who react to her reading most strongly are her peers. I've made oblique references to the "Falling Out" before; this is to some degree the same tale played out on a smaller scale--but with far-reaching consequences, possibly very far-reaching depending on the fate of the Book. For a chunk of past years the adults have been doing nothing and so the children take it into their own hands. The friends' punishment: unfortunately beggars can't be choosers. I have the southern White Downs fairly sparsely populated, and it's a bit harder for Kira to make friends because of her personality and her disability. While I'd love to be able to keep Tom at least from Kira for at least a year out of sheer vindictiveness, the truth of the matter is that they live near each other and they're going to have to interact without blowing up at each other every three seconds. Another lesson of adulthood, I'm afraid. Same thing goes for Daffodil, who would choose firmly (and probably side with Kira) if her will were a little stronger. It's interesting because I never felt for Kira's friends the extent that I do now until I experienced someone else dear to me drifting away and me unable to do anything about it but pray. The only difference between me and them was that I already knew that. It's a difficult time for all concerned, and I can only hope that they'll all come out--eventually--the wiser for it. Um, this chapter ended on a cliffhanger of DOOM. What makes you think the next chapter will be any less intense, joy or sorrow? ^_^ Again, thanks for the review, and I hope the reply did it justice!

FantasyFan	Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 11/25/2008
I have been afraid for the Red Book ever since Kira began carting it around. Oh what a wonder it would be to actually touch the original: to see the different handwritings, to look at the quality of the binding, to treasure every little blot or imperfection, to find the tearstains you know must be there. To actually hold something created by Bilbo and Frodo. But Tolkien says the original Red Book was "not preserved," and so I have been waiting for a disaster to happen, and so it has. The Book is not rescuable, I assume. I hope the hobbit is! Author Reply: Tolkien says the original Red Book was "not preserved," but he also gave us several millennia for it to be lost in the vagaries of time. That it would be lost so early in its potential history is highly unlikely from that standpoint, especially since the time-line records events beyond this point (i.e. the passing of Elessar and the sailing of Legolas and Gimli) without mentioning the book's destruction or the story behind it. So please don't assume that the book is not rescuable--while there are compelling arguments (such as the one you just made) that it is gone, there are equally (if not more) compelling arguments that it is not: the need for Eucatastrophe, the extreme trauma that such an event would put Kira through (needs of the story basically assure that she physically survives), and the fact that I would be in danger of getting hung, drawn, and quartered by my readership if I was to do such a thing. I still, of course, maintain control of the story (well, plot, at least. The characters more or less boss me around) so that if I want to rescue the book I can make it happen--and hopefully not too hokily. I'd love to get my hands on the original, too, even though I couldn't read the Westron. The handwriting bit (especially seeing it change with the writer's emotions) is a big deal for me and it'll be something the characters pick up on in more detail in the future.

Sunny	Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 11/24/2008
NOOOOOOOOOOOO! Consider this sentiment delivered in a tone of utter despair, with a decibel level likely to induce deafness. I find that the nice thing about reading a lot of Fantasy is imagining various Dire Fates happening to various Deserving Characters (of which Tom is now one, for violence done to the Red Book [and Kira, too, of course]) Not that Tolkien was a total loss in the Dire Fates department – it is only necessary to imagine the Character of one’s choice ending up second best against a suitable critter – a nazgûl, a Balrog, a Dragon, Shelob… but if I you expand the scope, you add …. possibilities …. that are suitable for someone who would murder a book….. (Yes, I am proud to call myself a bibliophile) Author Reply: Uh oh... I got a filmic angsty "no" on my hands... Unfortunately the style of fantasy in this particular fan fiction is not heroic, but cultural, which means that Dire Fates have to be a lot more circumstantial and a lot less awesome-to-watch (but if it helps you feel any better I've got Tom next door, bound and gagged and available for any sort of non-lethal damage that Book fans want to inflict upon him--though perhaps you should wait and see if the book makes it out alive or not!). The main problem is that punishment, even deserving, only works well when it's hand-in-hand with repentance. Tom still doesn't think he's done anything wrong.

Agape4Gondor	Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 11/24/2008
Yikes! Would you mind if I strangled three supposed friends???? I'm just about ready to murder them all. Especially Daffodil. I can't stand someone who swears you're their friend and then they abandon you..... I do so hope you are going to update this soon! The thought of the Red Book ruined, the inky markings of Frodo lost forever, is almost too much to bear.... Author Reply: "Some that die deserve life," etc., etc. I'm afraid you can't kill them yet, though Tom is bound and gagged in the next room if you'd like to inflict some non-lethal damage. Daffodil does manage to redeem herself to some extent in the future; suffice it to say that while she dearly loves Kira the girl is slipping from her realm of understanding and she doesn't know how to react to it all. If she had stayed behind she could have tried to restrain Kira, sit helplessly below the tree, or climbed with her (the last of which she would never do; facing your fears for a friend's--even a best friend's--idle fancy would take more strength than she has). I won't say that what she did was the right thing, but given that she is quite young and immature and given to the same imperfections we all are, what she did was certainly very natural. Getting Kira to leave the book behind, on the other hand, is going to take a lot more to forgive... sigh Expect the next chapter on Monday. I decided on weekly updates when I started publishing this, and I'd better keep to it. If you feel the need to let out more steam, though (though all I'm afraid I'll be able to offer by way of consolation is more tantalizing hints), the blog (labourslamp.livejournal.com) is open for business.

Dreamflower	Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 11/24/2008
Tom? There are absolutely no polite hobbity words for what Tom is. There is a word in modern use that describes him perfectly, but I don't much use that language either!!! He may be trying to convince himself that he was doing all of this "for Kira's sake" but the truth is, that it was nothing but a nasty little power trip on his own part. Not only does he not want her to do anything that he can't be a part of, he doesn't want her to think anything he doesn't agree with. Not only that, but the book was not his property to destroy. What does he think is going to happen when his actions come to light? Yes--Kira's mother may agree with Tom notions, but that book was the property of the Fairbairns! Poor Kira! What a cliffie you ended on!! Author Reply: Yes, Tom is being a horrible little selfish brat. He really does think that he's doing all of this for the good of Kira, but he simply cannot see that any viewpoints other than his own are legitimate. Though he may not look it, he has an extremely protectionary nature (especially towards Kira) and unfortunately it kicks in, even gets spiteful when he sees things spiraling out of his small sphere of control. In one sense he's trying to punish her for changing like this. Honestly, Tom hasn't thought things through quite that much. I'm still not sure what he was originally planning to do, but his throwing the book into the tree was on an impulse, from anger at seeing himself outnumbered. And the book may be the property of the Fairbairns, but if we're going to look at it from that point of view we may as well question how wise it was to lend it to a 15-year-old girl all the way over on the White Downs whom Sandra knew next to nothing about and who didn't even value the tales that much at that point in time. sigh Things have to be complicated at this point. Poor Kira, indeed! tries but utterly fails to mask the slightly sadistic pride she has in getting the tale to this point and then CUTTING IT OFF

Larner	Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 11/24/2008
Oh, how horrible! The Redbook and Kira both in the water--and I'm actually crying about it! In another future story the current Master of Buckland burned the original Redbook. And to see it lost like this--I want to cry indeed! That poor child! Author Reply: Please don't lose hope just yet--I cut off the chapter where I did (before Kira actually hits the water) for a specific reason. Obviously I'm not going to give away any plot points, but this wouldn't be a Tolkienian fan fic if Kira did not receive her Eucatastrophe at some point in the tale. (I did come across the other future story you're talking about [after writing this one] and nearly had a coronary when the book got burned. So I know how you feel and I'm really sorry to inflict such emotions on you!) No matter the actual fate of the book Kira's going to have a lot to work through, so I hope you'll stay steady with her through that. ...Sometimes I think that if she ever managed to meet me in real life she'd smack me hard. And I'd probably deserve it!

Return to Chapter List