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| The Way Home by Lindelea | 3 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| Lady Forlong | Reviewed Chapter: 65 on 5/4/2026 |
| It stands to reason that the Shire wouldn't have been the only place that got attacked by these "ruffians." So Bill's an athlete now. Author Reply: Our internet went out as I was writing a reply to you. So apologies for the delay! Thanks so much for reading and pausing long enough to share your thoughts. I really appreciate it. (The rest of this review reply is geeking out about various things... Don't mind me; I'm taking a short break from writing an angsty scene, and contemplating details stemming from or related to Tolkien's sandbox is always diverting.) Interestingly, Butterbur reports only one attack on the town of Bree. (As opposed to multiple assaults on Lothlorien and Thranduil's realm.) But he also mentions robbers hiding in the forest north of Archet, so there is that. Bill's arduous journeys would have honed his muscles; he's also encountered a little wizard magic along the way. So hopefully he hasn't strayed into the territory of "too good to be true" in this chapter. The basis for this part of Bill's story draws from the event that inspired the Iditarod race, along with Pony Express ponies ("small, fast and tough horses" that were "typically smaller than standard cavalry horses", according to the results of a recent web search). They typically galloped over stretches of 9 or 10 miles (according to what I read two decades ago while working out the idea of Merry and Pippin's "Pony Post" – the results I found just now are a little different, saying that riders switched to a fresh horse every 10-15 miles). According to an article from National Geographic, they travelled at speeds between 16 and 40 km/hour (between 10 and 25mph), sustaining the lower speed most of the time but capable of short bursts at the higher speed to escape a threat. Apparently (again, according to several web searches over the years) ponies can travel at similar speeds to many horse breeds, so I'm assuming that Bill's gallop ranges from 10 to 15 or 20mph. The sources I found when trying to determine the distance between Bree and Archet ranged from 3 to 5 miles, meaning Bill would have been able to make the trip in less than an hour, even as little as half an hour. I hope you don't mind my geeking out over the topic. (I have a recurring worry that I've strayed into the territory of being boring.) Horses have fascinated me since my earliest days, and it's always a pleasure to be able to bring them into my current topic of interest – or maybe "absorption" is the better term (mostly YA and middle-grade fiction, along with two decades of taking tea with hobbits). | |
| Erulissé | Reviewed Chapter: 65 on 5/4/2026 |
| Oooooohhhh!!! Do I sense a meeting with his mother in the near future? 👀🤩 Lovely update!!! Good old Bill! Slán! Author Reply: Looks like your crystal ball is on to something. Thanks! (Slán go fóill!) | |
| shirebound | Reviewed Chapter: 65 on 5/4/2026 |
| What a tragedy for this town. The swift ride to help of Bert and Bill will probably be put into song and story and told for generations to come. Author Reply: "Come listen my children, and I will tell of the dashing ride of Bert and Bill...!" I hadn't thought of that, but in hindsight, making a song out of the incident sounds very likely! Thanks for the food for thought. (I can never seem to get my fill of thinking about hobbits...) (And you're right, it is a tragedy. Sigh.) | |