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| Hunting by Nilmandra | 13 Review(s) |
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| Winterwitch | Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 5/5/2013 |
| I'm currently reading chronologically through your Woodland-realm stories, after I put "History Lessons on hold since I'm also currently reading the Silmarllion, and it became a bit muddled to read it both alongside *g*. I've yet to leave reviews on "May the Valar..." and "Journey's End", though would like to say for the moment that I absolutely loved both stories and am in absolute awe of your talent of storytelling and creating and inventing characters, invents, and details to this wonderful culture. As I'm reading fanfic mostly offline, I usually lag behind awfully with the reviewing, too, and can just hope that you forgive me for not reviewing each chapter individually, like here. I've started last night with this next wonderful part of little Legolas' adventures, enjoying myself again immensely and also again admiring your ideas and the way you go about telling them and sharing them with your readers. In the first story about Legolas, you made the pain and difficulties of everybody involved so painfully palpable and real that it's pure joy and delight now to see how well everything worked out for all affected. I'm also much in awe of your ability to balance your characters and give them real depth and life and each one so much individuality without loosing the balance in the arc of each story. Particularly in this chapter, I love so much the way of the communication of trees and the distinction between Woodland and other elves in this ability. Also the reaction of the Imladris elves to that - a feat to be admired and longed for, and with this the respect they show for a different way of living, contrary to many other depictions of differences in elven culture I've read so far. I bow before your storytelling and writing talent and consider myself lucky to be allowed to read, enjoy and love it. Thank you so much! | |
| LKK | Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 3/2/2004 |
| LOL Toss the elfling seems like a delightful game. (But only because I'm positive the elves will always catch him.) I hope Legolas doesn't become too big to toss any time soon myself. I thought it was fascinating watching Elladan learn to hear the trees. So seldom do we get to see the process. Usually the adult elves already understand the trees, so we don't get to experience the first moments. Or the elflings are too young to guide us through what is happening. It was a wonderful change to be able to experience the event vicariously. :-) LKK | |
| rgbj | Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 2/28/2004 |
| I enjoyed the family touches you put in this story. Alagos and his living brothers and sisters got a few mentions. That keeps them alive in your tale. Good thing that Legolas is so easy natured or he would have woken up the wildlife squalling from that treatment. But the end result must have been worth it to him. Warrior Legolas, "Do I get a sword." A chorus of 'NOs'. He knew the answer to that one. Now he has to escape Sadron and recapture him. The love and care showered on Legolas by all involved. Appreciation will be shown be his life course. I really liked that thought. I thought the idea of a circle of care was very nice. All of them caring for each other. The way family and friends do things. They had to console the baby birds, visit a squirrel and garnered a formal introduction to the tree. I love wood elves and their connection with their woods. I love them being 'less wise and more dangerous'. They are my kind of elves. Yes Legolas be cooperative but he does get tired of being tossed. Bregolas wants an elfling to toss for a long time. With the size of Thranduil's family I think they will get lots of elflings. Especially if you factor in Tinania, Earundra and Tathiel who are as much a part of the family as Legolas. Now on to a tracking lesson and more wood elf connections. Grin. OK The twins, Glorfindel and ORCS! I like the isolation you show the wood elves live in. They are strange to the Imladris elves but Elladan would like to get to know them better. The young tree spoke to him. The trees will be happy that elves have come to chase and kill the orcs. As Rawien and his party left the trees singing or talking to them or about them was great and then claiming Legolas as 'their elf' was so nice. The view of Thranduil and his connection to the wood was fascinating. Both good and evil has invaded his forest and he knows that the problem will be cared for soon by his warriors. This is getting very exciting. Thank you for the update. Author Reply: I think if Legolas had not been so good natured, they would never have done that to him! I also think Rawien enjoyed it - a lot- since Legolas keeps startling and pouncing on Tathiel. A little subtle, good natured revenge. I am glad you like the wood elves - Tolkien once said that hobbits are only interesting out of the Shire, and the concept applies to the elves too, in the sense that you can only write them as appearing different or strange if you do it throught the eyes of an outsider. Writing wood elves from the twins' perspectives is fun.....but I must admit, the poor twins are getting the short end of the story! | |
| Naneth | Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 2/28/2004 |
| I was sooo busy the day that this chapter was posted that I read it (with great excitement) and then when I had time, I forgot that I had not told you how wonderful the chapter is. Sorry! This chapter *is* wonderful! I am really looking forward to the meeting of Legolas and the twins. Legolas may track down more than he, or Bregolas, had expected! Author Reply: I am pausing from writing of that meeting to tell you so - and it is quite the meeting. I feel sorry for the twins! Thanks for the review. ;D | |
| eokat | Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 2/28/2004 |
| What a superb chapter. I adore the love between Legolas, his family and extended family. They all look to one another. What an initiation for Legolas and I liked his hope for a sword when he was made an honorary warrior. Can you imagine a sword in his hands at his age? No wonder they all yelled NO. The power of Thranduil is awesome, I never thought of this before, it seems to make him unrivalled in the forest. Still looking forward to the two groups of elves meeting up.Hope tathiel has her elfling soon, that promises to be a good chapter. Eokat. Author Reply: I think Legolas enjoyed his initiation - and the cunning little elfling, he hoped to play on that good will to get a sword of his own! iI think of how his early memories have to be (in my universe, anyway) that warriors are good people - he adores them and wants to be like them. Glad you liked the chapter. Writing about how the wood elves and the elves of Imladris are differnt is great fun. | |
| mistry89 | Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 2/27/2004 |
| Love this: "“Can I have a sword now?” A chorus of ‘no’s’ echoed across the campsite, and Legolas grinned, for he had known what the answer would be." Love the reference to Legolas' arrival and the loss of Alagos. Series work has always been my preference (or at least in the same "universe") - if writers have great characters and interesting situations then there should be back-story and a sense of a future .... I'm greedy! And, to be honest, I would have thought that any reader of Tolkien would have tendencies to "flesh out" the details :) So double thanks. Love the alternate story pacing alongside and the growing tension Thranduil senses. Definitely a shadow and a threat! Love the notifications of story updates from SOA. Thanks, Helen. Author Reply: I enjoy series work too - you have more time to really build the characters and develop the relationships they have. I am glad you like these characters - my little Legolas is a much loved little elfling and great fun to write. Glad you like the site, too! | |
| Esamen/ Karen | Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 2/27/2004 |
| "A chorus of ‘no’s’ echoed across the campsite, and Legolas grinned, for he had known what the answer would be." For some reason, this line cracked me up more than any other! So funny! And so rich and warm with atmosphere! All of the scene just glowed with Elves! I haven't read much Elf fic until this one. This is great! My goodness, that list of characters . . . How long have you been developing this? I will be reading more . . . and looking forward to your next update . . . I have a question, if you have time. Do you think that the Elves in The Hobbit are written differently than the Elves in LOTR? I feel like I see big differences . . . but I'd rather get your expert opinion first. Author Reply: Oh, my, I felt this rush of pity to think you plowed into this story with all these original characters hanging about! Yes, it is the third in the little Legolas stories and each does build on the earlier stories. Although the twins early history doesn't play as much of a role, I have a young twins story too. I think there are differences in how the elves are written between The Hobbit and LotR. The Hobbit is wood elves primarily (although those joyous elves of Imladris that greeted Bilbo and the dwarves seemed different than the elves in Imladris in LotR); and they are supposed to be the wilder, more dangerous and less wise of the elves. Thranduil does not bear a ring of Power, and so has some other magic that he uses to help keep his people and lands safe. The Imladris elves are supposed to be wise, more cultured, perhaps, and in the LotR they are seen in a time of stress, knowing the hobbit Frodo is out alone against the ringwraiths. But I think Tolkien wrote in very different styles - LotR is an epic, written for adults, and The Hobbit is meant for children. I think I remember reading in his Letters that he had not wholly connected the stories until much later. And then of course, the Silmarillion is written more as a history. But, I admit that with the wood elves in this story I am trying to get a little more of a Hobbit feel to their behavior, at least as seen by the Imladris elves, who are of a different tribe or group (or whatever they should be called). The wood elves are Silvan with a Sindarin King; the Imladris elves are a mixture of Noldor and Sindar from Beleriand and later Lindon and Eregion. It is fun to show them as different. Thanks for the review - hopefully you can sort all these folks out! | |
| Gershwhen | Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 2/27/2004 |
| You're builing some nice tension here -- and I can't wait for the twins to meet up with Legolas. I will admit to being taken back by the cruel way Legolas was awakened. I'm afraid he's been through too much for his brothers and friends to take such liberties while he is still so young. (Yes, I'm overprotective of him, why do you ask? :) ) I do hope this doesn't set up a pattern of hazing the elfing in the future. I'll hope not and await the next chapter. Author Reply: LOL at overprotective Gershwhen! That's okay, you can go pound on those big wood elves for a bit and tell them to knock it off. Legolas enjoyed every minutes of it, I think. His early memories are that warriors are Good People and he adores them. He may even get some revenge, soon. You know those wood elves - less wise and more dangerous :D Hm......may have to do more with that! | |
| erunyauve | Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 2/26/2004 |
| I loved the bit with Legolas and Sadron comforting the baby birds. Elladan's interest in seeing the wood elves in their natural habitat was rather touching, especially as the elves of Mirkwood are quite different from their Lorien cousins. Nonetheless, I can't help thinking that it would *not* be good for Legolas to renew his acquaintance with orcs quite so soon. Author Reply: I find when writing wood elves from their POV, their special gifts and magic are hard to write, as they don't seem special. But when I show it through the Imladris elves, then those things seem special again. Legolas will be meeting some new acquantinces soon, but I rather doubt orcs will get too near to him. | |
| Karri | Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 2/26/2004 |
| Those were some very nice touches of wood-elf magic. Thank you! I especially enjoyed Thranduil's empathic journey through the forest and brief communion with the fea of each child. (I enjoyed the brief touches of magic in May the Valar... as well. :-)) But to think you had be feeling badly for poor Sadron....poor Sadron, indeed! He and Alagos must have been quite the entertaining pair. Legolas was adorable, as ever. Poor elfling....but I rather enjoy him getting tossed about, all the same. ;-) Author Reply: I will enter you in the summer solstice championships! Toss Legolas! He loves every second of the attention. He sure seems to be a goodnatured child, too. It is fun to see the woodland realm through the eyes of the Imladris elves - I think their magic is better seen through someone else's eyes. | |