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| Shire: Beginnings by Lindelea | 3 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| PSW | Reviewed Chapter: 21 on 2/8/2025 |
| They were just going to kill the Hobbits? That’s terrible! 😣 Must be toward the end when they were in league w Angmar - surely otherwise they wouldn’t dare. Glad Elladan was there to hold things off! Sounds like they’ve got some more help too… Author Reply: JRRT talked about the Men in this area becoming so wicked that even the names of their Kings were no longer remembered by Frodo's time. Angmar may very well have been influencing them at this point. It's also revealed in a later chapter that the local King is relatively young, which may have led to his choosing the wrong mentors and counsellors and listening to the wrong advice. And from this point on comes a series of chapters that were wonderful to write and that I still enjoy re-reading when I'm looking for a lift. | |
| FantasyFan | Reviewed Chapter: 21 on 12/31/2003 |
| Who are these awful men, and who is their king? Not the king of the north-kingdom at Fornost? Has the great kingdom of Arnor degenerated this far - huntsman who don't seem to care if the creatures they hunt are sentient or not? Who don't recognize or value the lives of women and children? Who would not help a starving people? Even if the people are deemed poachers and criminals, is there no sentence other than death? It's a good thing Elladan is there to protest, because I think the hobbits are about ready to give up. And it's also a good thing that Elladan has friends in the woods, even a day's ride from Imladris, because he's seriously outnumbered here otherwise. Or perhaps Gandalf and Pick have arrived in Rivendell already, and have sent out searchers? So many have died - 80 of the strongest and best in the mountains, 50 of the youngest and most vulnerable in smoke and terror, and who knows how many more by the hands of the hunters in the last few weeks. I'm glad Gandalf honored the dead and comforted Pick by arranging the bodies, and arranging for burial as well. Grumpy as he can be sometimes, he really has a good heart inside. Author Reply: Thanks for the review. These Men are not from Fornost, which is the capital of the Kingdom of Cardolin, I think (tho it might be spelt wrong). Rather they are from Rhudaur. The North-kingdom split into three some time before this story is set, so Arnor is no more. The Men's attitude is not so unusual, when you remember the Holocaust, or the treatment of Native Americans during Westward expansion, or the Killing Fields (ever read that book? Incredible story of overcoming) of Cambodia, or... The identity of the rescuers will be made clear in the next chapter. | |
| Citrine | Reviewed Chapter: 21 on 12/30/2003 |
| ‘People!’ the leader shouted, as his Men laughed in derision. ‘They are vermin!..' As I read this I feel ashamed to be a human being. It's a testimony to your skill as a writer that I cried a little as the hobbits were dying on the mountain, and now I wish I could pick up a stick, or rock and defend the ones that are left! What a relief that someone has come to Elladan and the hobbit's rescue! Author Reply: Thank you for reviewing, and for the encouraging words. The treatment of the hobbits by these callous Men made me angry, as well, and I am just glad you want to throw rocks at the Men and not at the author! Respite coming up. Whew. Sorely needed. | |