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| A Conspiracy of Hobbits by Dreamflower | 6 Review(s) |
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| Gryffinjack | Reviewed Chapter: 24 on 11/10/2005 |
| Merry may be a worry-wart, but in this instance, he had every right to be worried, and for precisely the reasons he thought of. The only reason that doesn't make as much sense given the gravity of the situation is for Pippin to have been climbing a tree. But then, if one is truly concerned, one should look at every possibility. "The farmer had come to the end of his tale, and was talking with Mr. Frodo now, guessing about why someone would be looking for him. Those guesses of his were a little too close for comfort, Sam thought. From the look on Mr. Frodo’s face, he thought so too. " Ah, yes. There's more to Farmer Maggot than meets the eye. He is like Barliman Butterbur, seems like he would be uneducated and a bit thick, but is more intelligent than meets the eye. Plus, he is friends with Tom Bombadil. A little ale and a nice dinner goes a long way toward making a hobbit, including our Sam, more trustful of others, eh? lol! I'm glad for all of our hobbits, but especially for Merry's sake that the walking party has at last arrived. Author Reply: I believe his more frivolous worries, about the rain and the tree-climbing, were an effort on his part to keep the more serious worries--about *someone* after the others--at bay. If he could occupy his brain thinking about how Pippin might fall out of a tree, he'd be able to maybe forget the possibility of the danger of pursuit. As it was, the strategy only worked for a short while before the *real* worry came to the fore. At least that's what I had in mind. Ah, Farmer Maggot. He's a really intriguing character, much more mysterious than he seems from outward appearances, isn't he? Food and drink always helps with hobbits. I think they are all relieved. | |
| GamgeeFest | Reviewed Chapter: 24 on 4/15/2004 |
| Whoops, that other review was for this chapter. That's what happens when you read and then come back later to review. But as I said, this is a wonderful story and I love the way you're handling it. I've also read your other stories, the ones about after the war, with Merry and Pippin. I just want to say bravo for those as well, they're just beautifully done and perfectly cannon. I felt as if I was reading lost chapters from the book! | |
| Pervinca | Reviewed Chapter: 24 on 4/15/2004 |
| "A Shortcut to Mushrooms" was always one of my favourite chapters (though not quite so good as "A Conspiracy Unmasked"!), so I really enjoyed this chapter. It's good to see them all together at last. Poor Merry and his stressing. I really do pity him for what he had to go through that day, so it's nice to see that some authors have been good enough to write what he did. :) Author Reply: I'm glad you enjoyed it. The first parts of the story are favorites of mine,too. I know some people think he took too long to get going, but I could easily have enjoyed a few more chapters set in the Shire before they left. But then I guess that wouldn't have left anything for us to do! 8-) | |
| eiluj | Reviewed Chapter: 24 on 4/15/2004 |
| "He probably wouldn't be hungry again for a couple of hours." Yes, you do know your hobbits! Author Reply: Six meals a day? That works out to a couple of hours between each, and poor Pip was still a growing lad. 8-) I'm having way too much fun describing meals. | |
| Grey Wonderer | Reviewed Chapter: 24 on 4/14/2004 |
| Well done! You are still putting the book together with your story so very well. Loved Sam in this chapter, not trusting farmer Maggot at first because of the dog incident from years before. Also, Merry's worry about his friends came off very well. I liked it when he thought that Pippin might have climbed at tree for some reason along the way. Irrational fear to cover his real fears. Author Reply: Sam definitely would not be well-disposed to anyone who had lifted a hand to his Mr. Frodo, however long ago it might have been. Although personally, I think I might prefer a minor beating to being dragged home by one ear! Merry had to have been frantic. I'm sure given enough time he could have come up with even more disasters that could have happened. I wanted to bring up the tree climbing, because I had mentioned it earlier in the story, and I'm glad it came off well. | |
| FantasyFan | Reviewed Chapter: 24 on 4/14/2004 |
| I am enjoying the characterizations you have added to flesh out the story Tolkien gives us. Merry is so in control, organized, a worrier, planning ahead for everything that he can. No surprise he's figured out six ways that Frodo and company could be delayed, and that one of them involves Pip climbing a tree. I loved his observation that Sam never gets sick, Sam's comment that Pippin is a bottomless pit when it comes to food, and the easy way Frodo turns on the charm for Farmer Maggot's wife. It's fun to read a story where the famliar scenes play out as if through he eyes of a new observer. Author Reply: Thank you. I knew that if I didn't do the parts with the walking party from differing POVs, that all I would be doing was just quoting big chunks of FOTR; it's been very hard to know what to quote and what to add. Yes, Merry is the practical one, a "long thinker"--but he is so protective that he worries himself to death. Six? Really? I didn't count them, I just put them in as they came to me. I thought Mrs. Maggot deserved a little flattery; imagine those big blue eyes focused on her. She appreciated it enough to put up the extra mushrooms! 8-) | |