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| GamgeeFest's Keepsakes by GamgeeFest | 10 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| Holbytla | Reviewed Chapter: 41 on 11/13/2011 |
| Hi GamgeeFest. I've been reading a few of your short stories. You have a really great feel for all the characters, and I like the mix of lighter and more humorous bits, as well as the more emotional and sometimes dark ones. This one is a little scary, but also the right tone for that point in the book, and shows Frodo's deterioration and his commitment. That final line had sort of this stealth effect, where it took a second to set in and then I was like, wow, that's so perfect. I feel like that's the sort of trick Tolkein might have played, what with the whole "no man can defeat me" thing. Also, it reminds me of the scene in the Odyssey where Odysseus tells the Cyclops his name is "Nobody" and then when Odysseus stabs him in the eye, the cyclops tries to tell the other cyclopes that "nobody" has hurt him. I also like the double meaning of the title and the appropriateness of the opening quote. Author Reply: Hi Holbytla! Thank you so much for your kind words. I creeped myself out writing this one. It's definitely creepier than anything else I've written, at least I think so. It all started with that quote, and everything just seemed to gel together from there. It was one of those fics that pretty much wrote itself. As to the last line, I was nearly asleep when that popped into my head, and I had to get up to write it down before I forgot it. I think it really clinches the whole thing. Thank you for reading! | |
| Lindelea | Reviewed Chapter: 41 on 7/22/2010 |
| The inner dialogue rings true, and the irony of the last words shines forth in a flash of skilful wordcraft. ...for nothing can destroy it. Author Reply: I was just about to fall asleep when that last line came to me. I knew if I didn't type it then, I'd forget by morning. It does rather illustrate how evil, in the end, defeats itself. | |
| FantasyFan | Reviewed Chapter: 41 on 7/19/2010 |
| This is very good! What a horrible and horrifying conversation. Frodo is dissolving, and there is Nothing left behind. He's worn down, and the ring is sure that eventually it will win. But there is that last line. He's trying to create Nothing out of Frodo, but Nothing can (and will) destroy it in the end! Author Reply: Frodo is indeed losing his sense of self, and will in fact never fully regain that while he remains in Middle-earth. But as the Ring did with Gollum It is creating the means for Its own destruction even as It seeks to destroy others. It must have been extremely surprised to find Itself suddenly in the lava pit! | |
| Celeritas | Reviewed Chapter: 41 on 7/19/2010 |
| Dark, yes, but imaginative and original, and more creepy and intense than angsty, in my mind. What really stood out to me were the simple puns of the title and (especially) that last line. Author Reply: Creepy yes. I was creeping myself out writing it! lol! Certainly the darkest thing I've written ever. Tolkien loved words that have double meanings, and I agree they certainly do make for interesting interpretations. Frodo is selfless, but he is also losing himself despite how hard he fights against the Ring. And the Ring doesn't seem to realize Its sealed Its own fate. Thanks for reading! | |
| lbilover | Reviewed Chapter: 41 on 7/18/2010 |
| *weeps* This was beautifully done, but oh so painful to read. Poor Frodo. Poor, poor Frodo. Thank goodness he was able to keep that part of himself and know who he was. Author Reply: It felt so wrong while writing it - which I assumed meant it was working. It was hard to write, but the Muses insisted. Poor Frodo indeed, to have to endure such torment day and night, and of course the Ring is partially right - Frodo is forgetting himself, his homeland and his years there. He cannot even remember things that happened just a few weeks before. It is no wonder that he ultimately had to sail. | |
| Antane | Reviewed Chapter: 41 on 7/18/2010 |
| Scary while the Ring assaults him and beautiful in Frodo's defiance in terming himself by his given name. He is selfless indeed but not the way the Ring wants him to be. I love this glimpse into the torment of being violated yet still holding out against the final consumption because he is being selfless in the best way, something Sauron could never have understood. Three cheers for both selfless hobbits here! Namarie, God bless, Antane :) Author Reply: The Ring is persistent in Its will to corrupt, but Frodo's stubbornness is equal to the match - if slowly giving way. He is indeed selfless, as in not selfish, but he is also becoming self-less - without self. He is losing all his memories of home and growing up and everything therefore that makes him who he is. He even forgot that Sam was there while he dreamt! So he is losing himself even as he tries to hold onto to that essential core of himself long enough to complete the task. So in that sense, the Ring is winning, even while It dictates Its own destruction. Thanks for reading, dear. | |
| Dreamflower | Reviewed Chapter: 41 on 7/18/2010 |
| How sad and how chilling! And yet, of course, the Ring is being borne to its destruction by "Nothing". Wonderful use of a circular argument to show the emptiness of what the Ring is! Author Reply: Thank you, DF! I got an icky feeling while writing this, which in this case I took to be a good sign. The Ring, much as it did with Gollum, is actually choosing the path of Its own destruction. Won't it be surprised! lol! heh, well, to give the Ring a bit of a break, being a ring, It can only go in circles. :P (Yay, yay, bad pun, I know.) | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 41 on 7/18/2010 |
| Ah, the terrible, seemingly irrefutable logic of It, as It seeks to twist and turn all will to that of Its Master. And It thinks nothing can destroy It, but then names Frodo Nothing, and undoubtedly did much the same with Gollum in the past? So It hastens Its own destruction! Too, too well done, I fear, GamgeeFest. Thank you for this! And the reference from "In the House of Tom Bombadil" was perfect! Author Reply: The Ring is twisting things around so much, It doesn't realize It signed Its own death warrant, and even named the one that would complete the deed, for Gollum will indeed succumb to treachery. Thank you, Larner! That is high praise indeed! | |
| lovethosehobbits | Reviewed Chapter: 41 on 7/18/2010 |
| Very well done, my dear. Such a litany of madness...but logical. REally well done. Author Reply: Thank you, dear! It makes one wonder if the Ring itself was somewhat mad - but logical and calculating - a dangerous combination. | |
| shirebound | Reviewed Chapter: 41 on 7/18/2010 |
| Mr. Frodo. Nothing must cut the rock! Do it NOW! I am Frodo. This is brilliant. The Ring's persistent, cold 'logic' is more insidious than any dragon's tongue. But there's much more at work here than It ever realized. Author Reply: The Ring will take the tiniest thing and twist it to Its own machinations, and just keep twisting until you give in. It truly does have a limited outlook - thank the Valar! | |