News Resources
Login
Become a member
Help
Search
|
|
| About Us News Resources
Login
Become a member
Help
Search
|
|
|
| I Entulessė (The Return) by MJ | 5 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 12 on 10/1/2010 |
| At least Gandalf isn't alone, and has the best of companions and support for what is to come. | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 12 on 10/1/2010 |
| A most difficult future to face together. | |
| Rhyselle | Reviewed Chapter: 12 on 9/23/2010 |
| I have to brief before I go back to work after lunch, but I just had to tell you how much I love this story thus far. When I read the blurb, I thought it was going to focus more on the Hobbits, but the development of the issues with Olorin's return have caught me up, and I want to alternately cheer and weep as I read about the consequences of his sojourn in Middle-earth. I do not presume to know what Eru's plans for Olorin are, nor yours as storyteller, but I had to share the thought that occurred to me as I finished this chapter. Discussions about the taint of darkness that 2,000 years in a mortal shell brought to him aside, I found myself thinking that had Olorin been restored exactly as he had been before, Frodo would have been bereft of purpose in Valinor and his own healing might have been compromised. Eru makes long plans, and we are not privy to them. As terrible as Olorin's current condition sounds at first, I can look ahead and see blessings coming out of it in the future, although I couldn't tell you specifics--blessings for him and for Frodo as they seek healing for themselves and for each other. I will be following this tale closely, to be sure! The tone of the tale, and the flow of the words, and the vividness of the descriptions are bringing your interpretation of Valinor to life for me. Well done! Author Reply: Thank you, Rhyselle, you are most kind. *bow* Tolkien said in one of his letters that during Frodo's sojourn in the West, he would find, aside from healing, an understanding of his greatness and his smallness in the universe. This story and others I have written or am in the process of writing explore parts of that process -- though I readily admit, Gandalf/Olorin is my favorite character, and is central to most all the LotR fanfic I write. I hope you enjoy the rest of the story! | |
| FantasyFan | Reviewed Chapter: 12 on 9/23/2010 |
| There is never any guarantee that what we do in the struggle against evil will be safe; our personal security is not as important as the goals we work to achieve. I cannot believe that He would have sent me back to Middle-earth, strengthened and revived, if I was doomed to end like this. Unfortunately, those two statements are kind of contradictory. Sometimes, a bad end is inevitable, in the real world that has evidently acted as a poison to Gandalf's spirit. And sometimes, there are those asked to make the ultimate sacrifice. I pray that it will not be so in this story, and I don't believe you would do that to us, so I expect this to be a story of healing, but sadly it is not always so. Frodo's indignance, anger, and sadness are very real. Author Reply: I don't think I've ever written a story with a "down" ending -- bittersweet, at worst, but never without hope. Olorin's statements that you mention are, to me, the contradiction of much of life: the bitterness of knowledge and experience at odds with the hope the spirit tries to cling to even in the darkest circumstances. Olorin has had enough experience to know that fighting the fight is never safe nor the outcomes guaranteed, but he also has enough experience with Eru to know that He does nothing without purpose. Unfortunately, living through the process of going through the tunnel to reach the light at the end is often unpleasant. | |
| shirebound | Reviewed Chapter: 12 on 9/22/2010 |
| How wonderful it must be for 'Gandalf' to be able to speak so freely, after spending millenia guarding his identity and his true purpose. The power of love and friendship are at work with all of these dear folk. | |