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A New Reckoning by Dreamflower	7 Review(s)
KathyG	Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 6/11/2018
Poor Sam! He feels so bad about leaving Frodo alone on that day. Pippin really does not need to scold him; he's already been doing a thorough job of scolding himself. Hey, what if Merry and Pippin actually had been able to accompany Frodo and Sam all the way to Mount Doom?! I think that someone should write an AU story in which they do exactly that! One fanfiction writer has already written a story in which Legolas accompanies Frodo and Sam. Why not an AU story in which Merry and Pippin do so? =)

Claudia	Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 1/27/2007
I really love the friendship between the four hobbits here. Also how many ways that they have changed. THe little things, like Frodo waking so easily or them just setting a watch. Author Reply: It's in the little things that the changes are going to be more profound, I think.

Larner	Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 9/27/2006
Excellent plan here. Author Reply: Well, waking up the entire Great Smials would be a bit embarrassing, to say the least, LOL!

Gryffinjack	Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 1/5/2006
Saradoc is very wise to keep the Men out of the Shire until gaining the permission of the Thain and the Deputy Mayor. "The first thing they did, after a bite to eat, was to choose watches. Sam offered to go first, and Pippin immediately volunteered to relieve him. He flashed a half-defiant look at Merry, who merely shrugged, saying he’d go next." I love that description of Pippin, flashing a half-defiant look at Merry. It looks as though Pippin found the perfect time to vent his anger and cares about Frodo at Sam. Too bad Sam agreed with him so he couldn't really get a good head of steam up!:P No, really, nobody could have made Sam feel worse than he already did about not being there for Frodo. "“You know, you stayed with him when it was worst. You got to help him then. It wasn’t fair. We left home for him, for Frodo, not to go save the world or something. But it was you who got to stay with him every step of the way, and now we’re home, and you get to stay with him again. We can’t help him again.” Pippin felt tears begin to threaten, and he did not know if they were tears of anger or of sorrow. “We can barely help ourselves. If we can’t trust you to take care of him, what will we do?” Now the tears came freely." I love that paragraph; it's so full of raw emotion. It is very understandable that both Pippin and Merry would be upset that neither of them nor Sam were with Frodo during his illness. Frodo has suffered so much already and they love him so that any of the other three would do anything to spare him even a little of his pain. And what makes it worse for both Merry and Pippin is that they both feel as though they failed Frodo by not being with him when he went to Mordor, even though that was Frodo's own choice. "Frodo lay awake for a long time. He remembered when he, Sam and Pippin had camped the very first night of their journey. It had not even occurred to them to set a watch. Now it did not even occur to them not to set a watch. It was just one more of the many ways they had all changed." They went away as hobbits of the Shire and came back as war-weary soldiers. You pack so much thought and emotion into your chapters that each one of them is a gem to read. Author Reply: No, actually, I daresay he was glad for Pippin's recriminations--he felt he deserved them. Pre-quest, it probably would have been Merry who was angry, and Pippin who was forgiving. But Merry has gained a measure of patience and insight, while Pippin has finally developed his own protective instincts to the fullest. (It was Pippin who drew a sword and threatened the ruffian for calling Frodo "cock-a-whoop" after all. A year earlier, it would have been Merry.) I cannot think that either of Frodo's cousins ever felt anything less than regret that their capture prevented them from following along after Frodo as well. And even though their heads would know that they played their parts, and helped Frodo along the way because of it, their hearts would always feel they should have been there for him. Yes, they did. They learned from experience, which is the hardest task-master of all. And no matter that they have come back to the Shire, they cannot unlearn those lessons in wariness. Their innocent trust in the safety of their homeland is forever shattered. Thank you very much dear.

Lindelea	Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 11/18/2005
So much I'd like to say, and no time! I like the contrast in setting the watch, before versus after the Quest. Pippin and Sam's talk, and "We can barely help ourselves." But glad they came to an understanding. The major production of waking the Thain! Yikes! (Wise Berilac) Author Reply: Just seemed to me that there would be a comparison there, between this time and "Three's Company"; I'm glad they did too, though of course they would. They love and respect one another too much not to. Beri's nobody's fool, LOL!

Lindelea	Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 7/30/2004
Ah, so many little things that caught the eye... Most of the inns haven't been rebuilt yet. How telling that detail is! Inns would be gathering places for gossip and relaxation, as well as stopovers for travellers. Sometimes Frodo knows Merry too well. It did not occur to them not to set a watch. Just because they were home, Sam had let his guard down. (And Pippin's realisation of this, in his conversation with Sam, was very well done.) Pippin's We can barely help ourselves was one of those "hit in the gut" moments. Of course they're still recovering, getting used to being home, trying to become hobbity once more. LOL at the picture of trying to waken the Thain circumspectly (ain't gonna happen). That's all for today! Sure hope I get some reading time tomorrow! Author Reply: Yes, of all the wicked things Lotho did, I think his destruction of the inns was the most sinister. Oh, yes, Frodo knows his Merry. And he moves to forestall him. When I was writing this, I went back to look over "Three's Company" for comparison. I thought it would make a nice contrast of then and now, after having travelled with the Fellowship. I couldn't think of another reason that Sam would have been gone so long just when Frodo might need him. And Merry and Pippin are just recovering from their own anniversaries. Beri's no fool. He had no intention of rousing the entire Great Smials.

Grey Wonderer	Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 4/25/2004
So glad Pippin and Sam worked things out. Poor Sam really does have a lot of worry to deal with and I think the talk made Pippin realize that. The fact that Pippin and Merry feel guilty about not being with Frodo on the quest and then at home in the Shire comes through very well without taking over the story. This is very good. Author Reply: Yes, Pippin and Sam had to talk things out a bit. I know that these four are incredibly close, due to their experiences, but every now and then there has to be a bump in the road. I think that for Pippin and maybe even Merry, too, there is just the tiniest bit of jealousy that Sam was able to stick things out with Frodo, while they ended up getting separated. But Pip, being a Took, is a lot more emotional and less logical about it.

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