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| The Journey Home by Fiondil | 15 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| Imhiriel | Reviewed Chapter: 7 on 7/11/2013 |
| Neanderthals! I instinctively wanted to disagree with the Elves' speculation about the origin of their attackers, but it makes a certain amount of sense. And I guess if we want to claim a strand of the best "roots" via the union of Aragorn and Arwen, I guess we also cannot deny the possibility of unions of the "worst". But I just feel so sorry to think the poor Neanderthals had anything even remotely to do with orcs... The battle, short as it was, was very tense, and I could follow its progression and tactics well. Typo alert from back in ch. 5: you wrote "Erin Lasgalen" instead of "Eryn". Author Reply: Hi Imhiriel. Thanks for the typo alert. I've made the correction. Not sure how that got by me. *sigh* Anyway, I recently came across the National Geographic Genographic Project and according to that, anyone whose ancestors left Africa before a certain time has some degree of Neanderthal blood in them. I wrote this long before I'd ever heard of this, but I figured that some of the Uruk-hai group may have forced their way into the human genome at some point and that is what the Elves encounter here. Of course, they have no concept of Neanderthals, they only know that these creatures don't look like the humans they know of. I'm glad you were able to follow the progression of the battle and the tactics used. I am not very good at giving blow-by-blow descriptions of such things. I tend to hope that the reader can fill in the blanks using his or her own imagination. Thanks for leaving a comment. I greatly appreciate it. | |
| Kitty | Reviewed Chapter: 7 on 3/29/2013 |
| Considering how long the Elves have lived, and how more connected to their environment they are than we, it makes sense to follow their instincts, even if they can't explain why they feel something to be right or wrong. Well, even if Maglor keeps insisting that Denethor is the leader, he certainly takes command when he feels it necessary. In this case, it seems to have been a good idea, or they would all have walked much closer to these beings. The description of the attackers reminds me of the Neanderthals. Though the idea they might have been a cross between Men and Orcs leaves me shuddering and feeling slightly sick. Author Reply: Maglor will always be Maglor whatever the circumstances. He hasn't survived as long as he has without knowing when to take command or not. And the description of the attackers is loosely based on what we think Neanderthals look like. And everyone seems to forget that Saruman was cross-breeding Men with Orcs, so it stands to reason that some of those strains may have survived, as I doubt that all of the Uruk-hai were completely destroyed; some probably managed to escapte. Thanks for commenting, Kitty. I appreciate it very much. | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 7 on 3/16/2013 |
| Neandertals? At least they have avoided enemies until now. And they all came through it with the likelihood they will make it to what remains of Lhun. Author Reply: Yes, Neanderthals, or at least some now extinct (hopefully) branch of primitive homonids that may have mated with orcs. At any rate, we'll see how well they all fare as the story progresses. Thanks, Larner. | |
| Sunny | Reviewed Chapter: 7 on 3/15/2013 |
| Leadership wrangling with a difference! It's almost amusing to see Denethor trying to shove Maglor into the hot seat, while Maglor is equally insistent that the hot seat is Denethor's and no one else's! (And yet, all the while Maglor is giving leadership advice to Denethor!) Still, it looks as if they are working together well enough. :) Author Reply: It is rather amusing the way Denethor tries to get Maglot to take the lead and Maglor keeps refusing but at the same time can't help acting the leader. Luckily, they respect one another too much to let it destroy the group's cohesion and they do work well together as we will see in subsequent chapters. Thanks for commenting, Sunny. It's much appreciated. | |
| obsidianj | Reviewed Chapter: 7 on 3/2/2013 |
| That was certainly unexpected. What are these creatures? They smell like Orc and look more like man *shudder*. Neanderthal's? Although, I'm partial to Neanderthal's, growing up very close to the Neanderthal ;-). I hate to think they have Orc in them. Maglor cannot deny that he is a leader in his own right. Let's just hope, he and Denethor never have a bad disagreement. I loved it how Maglor deferred to Denethor, but when the crisis broke, he quite forgot. Author Reply: Hi obsidianj. I did borrow the description of Neanderthals in describing these creatures. We know that Saruman was cross-breeding and it stands to reason that some of those strains made their way into the general human gene pool. Maglor can't help being a leader even when he defers to others. It's too much a part of him. Thanks for reviewing. I really appreciate it. | |
| Celeth | Reviewed Chapter: 7 on 3/1/2013 |
| They discover the neanderthals? So Darwin was wrong after all...some man came from the orcs not from the apes hahaha! I'm glad there were the Dunedain and the Rohirrim...at least not all men came from these ;D Author Reply: Apparently. And Darwin was wrong about a good many things. And yes, it's nice to have the membory of the Dúnedain and the Rohirrim and the Gondorians and know that some of them survived and that we could be descended from them. Thanks for reviewing, Celeth. I appreciate it. | |
| Erulisse | Reviewed Chapter: 7 on 2/27/2013 |
| Well, my dear friend, I'm finally beginning to catch up on my reading after several months of writinb my own o-fic pieces. Of course the first thing I had to read wasthis piece which is brilliant, as I would expect. Now to catch up with other pieces of yours that I had to leave on hold. It'ssuch a joy to read your work again! - Erulisse (one L) Author Reply: Hi Erulissë. Glad to see you again and I'm glad you are enjoying this story. Thanks for letting me know. I appreciate it very much. | |
| Cairistiona | Reviewed Chapter: 7 on 2/26/2013 |
| I've fallen behind on leaving reviews but not in reading. The story just keeps getting better as it goes--and the orcish enemies are a twist I certainly didn't see coming. Really an interesting thought, that remnants of orc bloodlines remain in the world. But argh, I hate that they've evidently taken over King Elessar's rebuilt northern city. *sigh* It's poignant, reading about these places that are no more. Your story is giving me the same sort of emotional tug that I get when I stand in the ruins of ancient places lost to time. You're doing an excellent job at realistically "eroding" the lands we loved in Middle-earth. Looking forward to more! Author Reply: Hi Cairistiona. I'm glad you think the story keeps geting better and better and that I'm doing a great job in realistically "eroding" the lands of Middle-earth. I tried to think what changes in the topography the ice might have caused, basing it somewhat on my knowledge of the local topography where I live which was formed by the glaciers. Thanks for taking the time to comment. I really appreciate it. | |
| Kevana | Reviewed Chapter: 7 on 2/25/2013 |
| "Anyway, the very idea is horrific, yet when you look around our world you have to wonder if some Orkish strain hasn't found its way into our gene pool" Lord, ain't that the truth. Maybe by the same token we'd be lucky enough to have some Hobbit blood here and there to balance it out. ;) (Not to overlook Elros' contribution of course, haha.) Author Reply: I'm sure you're right about that, Kevana. Tolkien did insist that Hobbits were a branch of humans and not a separate race altogether, like Elves or Dwarves. Too bad the Orkish strains appear to be more prevalent than the Hobbitish or Elvish strains in our society. | |
| bookworm | Reviewed Chapter: 7 on 2/25/2013 |
| Wait wait wait. Are those... CAVEMEN? As in Neanderthals? 0_0 Also haha oh Maglor, you can deny it all you like, but the instincts of a leader are still there. I love how he defers to Denethor though. Author Reply: Hi bookworm. Probably. Or certainly a branch of humanity that did not survive into our own age. We will see what they discover at Annúminas in the next chapter. And Maglor does rock here, doesn't he? *grin* Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. I really appreciate it. | |