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| Neath Anor, Ithil, and Gil by Larner | 7 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| harrowcat | Reviewed Chapter: 56 on 8/3/2009 |
| I am trying to catch up with a few reviews Larner. I have been reading but time seems to be running away with me! This is so wonderfully vivid I can just imagine it as a moment in a film. PJ would do the aging faces really well! Author Reply: Ooh--it could be quite a visual, couldn't it? (Shivering!) Thanks so! | |
| Baggins Babe | Reviewed Chapter: 56 on 7/25/2009 |
| I forgot to review this one at the time - what a terrific story! I've often wondered what the light and air of the West would do to those who were not supposed to endure it. I love that Amandil came to give Ar-Pharazon one last warning - or possibly his ghost did? Chilling and fascinating, Larner. Author Reply: As to whether Amandil appeared in the flesh or as allowed by Namo is the question, of course. And the thought of what might have happened to those who sailed with the fleet from Numenor is always intriguing! Thank you so much! | |
| Antane | Reviewed Chapter: 56 on 7/8/2009 |
| A terrible end for them all but of course they should not have tried to play the game in the first place. I've only read The Silmarillion once so far but will read it again for my blog so I have little memory of many things but this act of defiance and pride I do remember. Well done especially the effect of that defiance had on the bodies indeed never meant to endure those lands. Alas for the poor foolish souls. Namarie, God bless, Antane :) Author Reply: Oh, I agree, Antane. Here Pharazon is convinced everyone is so afraid of him they'll allow him to walk all over them, and instead they've been warned to stay away to spare them seeing a most gruesome death! Indeed, alas for all those who were lost. Thanks so very much! | |
| Dreamflower | Reviewed Chapter: 56 on 6/28/2009 |
| Ooh! What a creepy fate! Far more ominous, if less dramatic, than being drowned in the wave that sank Numenor! Author Reply: Oh, I agree, Dreamflower. Thanks so! | |
| Kitty | Reviewed Chapter: 56 on 6/27/2009 |
| Fascinating, Larner. Ar-Pharazôn's arrogance came through quite well, and his talk with that deck scrubbing sailor was interesting. I kept waiting for him to lose his temper and hurt the guy for his honest words, so the end was surprising. Amandil? Was that a vision or did one of the Valar or Maiar take the shape of Amandil to give him a last warning? But of course he didn't listen and had to see his plan through *sigh* You found a fascinating - but quite chilling - way to get rid of that army without any fight. I had always thought they had drowned, but to have them aging and dying in a few minutes might have been much more horrible for them, watching each other doing so and realising that the warnings had been true and they killed themselves in not listening. Though I can't help wonder how many of the lower ranks were with the heart in this attempt to conquer Valinor and how many were only forced to obey orders. And I know the Faithful escaped, but how many of these who drowned with Númenor were really so bad as their king? But that's something the Professor is responsible for, not you. Author Reply: As Tolkien doesn't tell us precisely what happened to Ar-Pharazon's armada, we do get to imagine it for ourselves, of course. Were they sucked down into the abyss when the world was broken; did the wave that went on to drown Numenor take out the ships and their crews first; did they make it this far and find such a fate awaiting them? We don't know for certain, of course, so I enjoyed imagining this awaiting them! Was it a vision, or was Amandil's ghost allowed to visit the ship, or as you suggested one sent in Amandil's shape? Again, we get to imagine this for ourselves. But I like to imagine that those within the great fleet were given every chance to turn around and go back, but refused to the end. I doubt most who were lost with the island were anywhere as bad as Ar-Pharazon had become, and there had to have been infants and children who were lost who had never had time to commit great sins. But great cataclysms take great and small, the relatively innocent as well as the decidedly guilty. And indeed as this is the Master's own story we are adding to, we cannot be guilty of their deaths, I suppose. Thanks so very much, Kitty! | |
| Linda Hoyland | Reviewed Chapter: 56 on 6/27/2009 |
| I don't usually read Simarillion stories but I liked this and your view of what happened to Ar Pharazon.I always asumed he was drowned by the wave,but this is much more chilling! Author Reply: I'm glad you did give it a try, Linda. If nothing else, the A_L_E_C challenges encourage us to look at different characters and times than we usually write, I find. And I agree--this would be a very horrible way to find one's end. Thank you so! | |
| Raksha The Demon | Reviewed Chapter: 56 on 6/27/2009 |
| Well, we know who's going to win the Dumb And Dumber Award, Akallabeth era. Also the So Long, Sucker prize!. I just feel sorry for all the grunts, lower-decks sailors and workers who had to come along for the ride. And was that really Amandil, spared by the Valar long enough to give his boyhood friend a last warning? Wow, neat trick. Nicely done; one of your best vignettes. Author Reply: I had to laugh aloud when I read your comments, Raksha. Indeed! I love to imagine that right to the end Ar-Pharazon was given every chance to turn back, but that in his hubris he could not imagine anyone would think to stand against his will! I am so honored you think this one of my best. Thank you so! | |