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| For a Better World by Ellynn | 2 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| Lady Forlong | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 9/8/2026 |
| Oh goody! Another one of your stories. It's been a while -- I'm glad you're still writing. I love the compassionate way you portray orcs, as not just evil villains. We tend to de"humanize" the enemy and forget that they're people too, with mothers and children and their own redeeming qualities. Author Reply: Awww, thank you so much, it's so great to hear something like this! Although, I have to say, my muses have been quiet for a long time now; this novel was written and edited 2021-2024, and then the translating started. As you will see, most of my orcs are not compassionate. But some of them will be, let's say, not evil - but simply trying to live and survive. I won't reveal more than this for now 😀 Thank you for reading and reviewing. | |
| Lindelea | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 9/7/2026 |
| Ooooo! What a fascinating topic! I look forward to reading more of your imaginings, especially after reading through the notes at the top of the story. Notes 1. through 3. Your conjectures make sense. Note 4. Thank you. Notes 5. through 7. Good to know. Ooo! Maps! I find maps quite helpful. Your update schedule sounds promising. (I too have an update schedule, but RL keeps getting in the way...) Time and place: Math and I are not at all on a first-name basis. ("Numbers were a weird thing." I quite agree.) Am I right in guessing this chapter is set 7 years before Frodo leaves Bag End? Also, numbers instead of names for villages sounds quite Sauronish/Orkish. The first few paragraphs, especially, are skillfully wrought – your descriptions have me feeling sympathy for the child. Even though he's an Orc! His visits to the Cage at first brought "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas" to mind, but the slaves don't seem to resemble the prisoners in that kind of labor camp. I'd always thought Sauron's slaves would be beaten-down and miserable. This story is interesting in the different circumstances you portray. So these slaves have enough to eat, and adequate clothing and housing, etc.? Does Sauron believe that relatively-well-fed slaves are more productive and thus will contribute more to his war effort? How much autonomy do they have within their Cage? Author Reply: > Your update schedule sounds promising. The big majority of my works have always been short stories, and only 3 novels. And as for the novels, I've never posted until the novel is finished (and it applies to "For a Better World" too), so there is no danger of me starting to post and then abandoning the project (which, I believe, many readers hate). > Time and place: Am I right in guessing this chapter is set 7 years before Frodo leaves Bag End? Yep! > The first few paragraphs, especially, are skillfully wrought – your descriptions have me feeling sympathy for the child. Even though he's an Orc! Oh, thank you so much! This means so much to me! Creating a likable protagonist and capturing readers on the first page are the most important things in writing, and I am so happy to hear I made it 😊 > I'd always thought Sauron's slaves would be beaten-down and miserable. (…) The slaves are miserable, as you will see little by little, in the next chapters. Ok, I didn't portray them as miserable as the poor people in WWII concentration camps – I think that people that hungry and in that bad shape can't really work hard – but they are not well-fed, they have little to eat, and they are beaten and whipped and sometimes tortured (but, as I said, it will not be explicitly described). They do need some roof above their heads so they have it, but their huts are very small and poor (it will be shown in one chapter). As for the autonomy – when they are locked inside, they can have their autonomy – it's not that the orcs care what humans do when they are inside. They go out of the cage only to work in the fields, and the rest of the time they are locked in the cage. But I somehow think that children are children, no matter the circumstances. I believe that even slaves-children would play – it's in children's nature. What more can I say? Thank you so much for reading and reviewing. I really appreciate it. | |