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Land of Light and Shadows by Thundera Tiger	6 Review(s)
Littlefish	Reviewed Chapter: 35 on 2/29/2004
Ahhhh. Littlefish lets out a contented sigh This was so nice. I have been so busy lately that the chance to sit down and read this amazing story was simply wonderful. Awesome job in every aspect. You keep weaving me tighter and tighter into the story. I thought your characters seemed especially alive and real in this chapter, and the continuing development of your plot has my mind spinning. This story is like an intricate puzzle, with each of the characters having their own pieces. Until they all unite and put it all together, things will still remain somewhat of a mystery. Masterful writing. This chapter was perfect for bringing some of the last little threads together before the unveiling of the final product. We see the tribes finally uniting to stand again Khurintu. Will it be enough, however? Will Imrahil arrive just in time to save the day? What part do Gimli and Legolas have to play in the final scheme of things? These are just a few of the burning questions I have regarding this fic. It is fun to speculate on what you are going to do next. One thing is for sure, none of the 'good' characters seem to be in very good condition at the moment, while the 'bad' ones arene't doing to bad. This does not bode well for the future. I am really excited about where you are going with this fic, and I really do love this story a whole lot. Update as soon as you can, and until then, take care! Author Reply: I'm so glad that it seems as though the story is tying together. Part of the problem in writing a story like this with so many varied threads is that it's hard to display the tapestry at the end. As the author, I know what's going on and how it's supposed to look, but because of this, I'm sometimes handicapped by my knowledge and don't reveal what should be revealed or what needs to be revealed. But if it seems to be wrapping up, then good. I'm doing my job. Thanks so much for the encouragement, and may an update be not too far away on your end!

Alisha B	Reviewed Chapter: 35 on 2/16/2004
I have no idea why, but I was able to keep everyone straight in this chapter! I think it was mostly because everyone was exchanging information... But, actually, I completely understand why you don't want to put comments into the actual story. From the looks of things, everyone is more or less getting off the sidelines, so I don't think it'll be a problem anymore. Unless, of course, you do something crazy and twisted. (which wouldn't surprise me) G I noticed you added notes at the top that said where/how certain people were killed. That helped too. A sequel?! Maybe I'm getting worried for nothing but... are you planning on leaving an awful clifhanger here and then going to the Umbar's story!? I can see it now! I'm sure you'll leave it with some evil person with a blade to Aragorn's throat, Eomer unconscious in the background, Legolas and Gimli dying in the desert, and then a nice little TBC at the bottom. THEN, you'll put a little note in that says something like "Well, I've decided to stop this story here and switch over to what's happening in Umbar. You'll be able to find out what's happening to our heros in about a year and a half!" AIE! adopts a Gollum voice That would kill us.... kkkiiillll uuussss...! hehehe. sorry. G I guess, it's your decision, but I may just run head first into a wall if you leave it at a bad spot! Just a little word of warning... G Well, I loved this chapter. Everyone is FINALLY figuring things out, and therefore explaining it to ME! I can be kind of slow sometimes. It was very interesting to learn that Fastahn was the one behind the Orthanc Fire... Did we know that before? So, are we supposed to know why he did it? Was it because he wanted others to think the Khurintu did it? To show the other tribes they could be targets too? That's what I got out of it anyway, I think. Hopefully your computer problems are fixed, and you'll be able to update faster! Keep up the good work! Author Reply: Yea! stages small celebration If you're starting to keep people straight, it means I'm on the right track. A few others have said that to me, and I'm now filled with confidence. Hopefully connections will start to appear left and right and everything will begin coming together. Yea! As for crazy and twisted, nah. There will be a few more twists, but nothing TOO major. We're pretty much down to crunch time for our heroes. Ah, the sequel. No, I intend to wrap this story up THOROUGHLY before moving on to a sequel. The one thread that will be hanging is Umbar's involvement. We'll know generally what was intended but not the specifics, and the specifics are what will come to bear in the sequel. But I'll get everyone out of the desert and patched up before I end. I love cliff hangers, but I believe very firmly in tying a story together in the end. As for Fastahn and the Orthanc Fire...he wasn't behind it. Not specifically. It was triggered because of what he said to Dashnir. And he did intend for Khurintu to act against his tribe, but he hadn't anticipated what they did. Not that he could, really. After all, whoever heard of Orthanc Fire in the desert? That's been touched on before, but it's been primarily through allusions. A few reviewers picked up on it almost immediately after it happened, but those are few and far between, so don't feel bad. In any case, almost everything is going to break wide open next chapter. This chapter was more of a teaser of things to come. Thanks so much for the comments, and all those comments you've left in the past!

Lera	Reviewed Chapter: 35 on 2/16/2004
Question: How in the world do you keep all the stories you're in the process of writing straight in your head? It was cool to get a reply from you. I had just figured maybe you didn't do that, which is ok as long as you keep churning out magnificent stories:-D Something that I think separates you from other authors is that you never take the easy way out. If you did that, nobody would be looking for Legolas and Gimli, the horse wouldn't have died and nobody would have died from the Orthanc fire. Come to think of it, the easy way out would have had Aragorn and Eomer several steps ahead of the enemy all the time, making for a boring story. Thank goodness you don't do that! As much as I enjoyed Return of the King, I'm really sad it's over. But I was thinking, how about sending your stories to New Line or whoever you'd send it to, and having them make movies out of them? :-D Please? Only you'd have to insist they put more than one a year out. lol. One more qestion: have you ever gotten a negative reveiw? I bet you haven't. Ok, God bless and ciao. Author Reply: Nope, I do replies. Sometimes it takes me a while to get around to them, but I'm doing pretty well this week so replies are coming quickly. How do I keep these stories straight? A lot of notes. Seriously. At one point, LoLaS had an outline and possible scene scenario document that was 50 pages long. It's been significantly reduced to 24 pages as I eliminate parts when they're integrated into the story (when the next chapter comes out it will be down to 19), but for a while it was really impressive. FND has about 25 pages in its story outline (down from about 30 several chapters back.) And of course, this isn't including all the supplementary documents that I've created as I go along, not to mention the stories that are sitting on my computer that no one's seen yet. Obsessive much? Yup. That's me. It's also why I refuse to take the easy way out. If I have to go to work, so do the characters. ;) As for the negative review, I suppose it would depend on what you definine as a negative review. If by that you mean a flame, I got one once for "While the Ring went south..." but I haven't had any since then. Now, if you're talking about criticism and suggestions, I get that all the time. And I'm thankful, too, as I am far from perfect. I had several glaring flaws for Chapter 35 pointed out to me over the past few days. Anyway, thanks so much for your comments! I love talking about this kind of stuff (the mechanics behind writing and so forth) so thank you so much for your interest. It makes me feel appreciated!

Estel_Mi_Olor	Reviewed Chapter: 35 on 2/15/2004
The tribes of Portu, Soltari, and Warra! Yes!!! This is amazing! I again beg you to grace your readers with some hint of the reason as to your superior writing. Rarely have we been graced with such superb storytelling. I love it when everybody joins together against the commone enemy. Imrahil will figure it out, he's an intelligent person. Legolas and Gimli? What about them? Perhaps in a month we will get the next chapter....I'm just kidding. I understand computer problems glares at computer and how difficult it is to write something so fantastic. Now that I have attempted writing myself, I can fully appreciate the work of others. Again, what work it is! Cheers for Arabano! And for Fastahn. They deserve awards. Big medals. Eomer deserves the Red Cross Award for helping other, and Aragorn deserves the Most Crazy Plan that will Succeed award. Once more, thank you for this story!!! And for updating!!!! Yay!! You cannot imagine my shouts of joy when I saw that you had updated. I received strange looks from my father. Thank you for this jewel of a story! Keep writing! Author Reply: Reasons for superior writing? blushes profusely You are FAR too kind. Convoluted writing, though, is something I can explain easily enough. I was trained as a political scientist and my mind has never gotten over the need to see multiple levels and hidden agendas in every relationship. This could also be the reason I'm still single, but let's not get into that. Anyway, I love your ideas about an awards ceremony! You are dead on with Aragorn's award, by the way. His plan is going to be slightly altered in upcoming chapters, but not much. And I'll see what I can do about handing out medals. Or at the very least, water. They might appreciate that more. Thanks so much for the review!

Kal	Reviewed Chapter: 35 on 2/15/2004
The character list at the top helped a lot; thank you for putting it there! As usual, a very interesting, engaging chapter. Woah... time out... why did I SO miss Bron being killed? I vaguely remember his name... sorta... eh, I probably need to reread the story (not that I mind; I'm loving it!)! Will be obsessively checking lj for notes on an update. Author Reply: Bron was a character who showed up early in the fic. He himself is not especially important, but his tribal connections are. If you're curious, he died in Chapter 9. Chapter 8 gives some of the more important information about Bron and the Portu tribe, though that information will be reviewed in Chapter 36. (Which has yet to appear.) Anyway, thanks so much for the review and I'm glad the character list helped. I realize that there is probably too much time between updates for people to track these characters, so it's good to know that something is working. Thanks again!

Lera	Reviewed Chapter: 35 on 2/14/2004
I am so thrilled to see an update to this story! When I read your promise of an update by Saturday, I started counting down the days. I hope Aragorn's hearing is not an indication of really serious inguries. I'm not really sure what to say about this chapter, except I can't wait for the next one. Author Reply: Hey Lera! Nah, Aragorn's head injury is not really serious. Just inconvenient. The arm is another matter, but we'll get into that later. As for waiting for the next chapter...well, I'm working on it. Does that count?

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