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A New Reckoning by Dreamflower	10 Review(s)
Mîdhaer	Reviewed Chapter: 30 on 4/27/2010
In this song he did all sorts of improbable things, like ride with Gandalf when he chased away the Nazgûl or light the beacons ( “It didn’t happen that way” he muttered. “The beacons were already lit!” This earned him an elbow from Merry and a giggle from Fredegar.) To top it all off, the song had him single-handedly shoving Faramir from the pyre, and Denethor jumping from the seventh level of the city as he burned. Hmmm... What does that remind me of?... It's always funny to see a characters reaction to their own stories. Author Reply: grin I had fun with that part of this chapter! It tickled me to tweak the movies, while giving them credit at the same time. One of the things that PJ said on the DVD Extras was that he treated the story as more of an historical movie than a fantasy, giving the 1964 movie "Zulu" as an example. Well, it was a great movie, but it wasn't dreadfully historically accurate-- they mostly followed the popular versions of the events, rather like early movies about the Little Big Horn in the States made Custer the hero, because that was the way the popular stories went. So, I could imagine that in Minas Tirith after the War, there would be many minstrels who didn't know the whole story, but wouldn't mind making things up to fill in the gaps, and their versions of things would become popular. And somehow PJ got hold of some of those sources as well as the Red Book. LOL! Of course, that's just me making things up to fill the gaps as well.

Larner	Reviewed Chapter: 30 on 9/28/2006
Now, just weave movie-verse into this story, will you? How wonderful! And all of them are equally embarrassed to have their exploits sung! How Freddy popped the Pimple? Yes, just right! Author Reply: grin I had a good time tweaking PJ's nose. And really, it does seem the sort of inaccuracy that would take on a life of its own, LOL! I thought that made a cute song title. I've never been able to come up with lyrics for it though...

PIppinfan1988	Reviewed Chapter: 30 on 7/14/2005
These chapters have been so FULL of lovely moments! I can definitely imagine Jolly or Tom being renegades with Freddy! After seeing the valour of Tolman in the Scouring of the Shire, it wouldn’t surprise me in the least. I had a good chuckle at Merry’s embarrassment at Danulf‘s song--and Legolas is still making everyone blush! Hehehe I am so enjoying this tale! Just when I think I’ve got the storylines down several more pop up from round the corner! Thanks for yet more great reading. Pippinfan Author Reply: It seemed to me that Farmer Cotton was extremely well-versed in all that was going on, and very well-prepared to do something as soon as an opportunity arose. I thought perhaps his older sons might have been active in the resistance--although they obviously didn't get captured and sent to the Lockholes. Poor Merry and poor Pip, having to put up with those songs praising them. Sore trial for modest young hobbits like them, LOL! You know, that is exactly what I felt like when I was writing it. When I started it, I planned a simple little story of about 20 chapters at most--but the characters had other ideas, grin!

Pipwise Brandygin	Reviewed Chapter: 30 on 10/15/2004
Oh, this is such a wonderful scene! I love the image of all of them singing their songs of far and wide in a Shire tavern, and that everyone was enjoying themselves so much after the initial awkwardness. I especially loved Artamir's song and all the "liberties" he took with the story! What a great idea! I'm so impressed also with Danulf's song. One of my stories is calling for a song or two, but I'm hopeless with them so I figured I'd avoid it - but yours is wonderful! And the end of this scene is perfect - I imagine them thinking about moments like this when they're on the Quest, and it's lovely to see them back home and up there on the table again. :) Author Reply: I am glad you are enjoying "A New Reckoning". This is one of my favorite chapters also. I love to see songs in fic. If you don't feel you can write your own, then how about lifting one from The Hobbit or The Tolkien Reader. You can't go wrong with JRRT, and the idea is that Bilbo wrote all those songs anyway. Or you can do another thing I did in Life of a Bard: go to http://www.contemplator.com/folk.html wbere they have oodles and kaboodles of folk songs you can adapt, sometimes only needing to change two or three words to make them fit into Middle Earth. Nursery rhymes can also be adapted, and they sound nice and hobbity. And don't shy away from trying your own, either. I didn't think I could till I tried it! 8-D

sqrt(-1)	Reviewed Chapter: 30 on 9/1/2004
I'm really loving this story so far! Some of the lines are just so funny - in this chapter I think my favorite part was the description of "The Smallest Guardsman," and Pippin's reactions to it "It didn't happen that way at all," because it was the movie version of events and that was so my reaction to it, yet, I agreed with Targon that while the "minstrel" did take a few liberties for various reasons, it does, in a way, "do justice" to the story (even if the books are still way better). Author Reply: Everyone seemed to love that bit. I have to admit, I had fun with it myself. And let's face it, that's what happens to events when someone gets hold of them and uses "artistic license".

pipspebble	Reviewed Chapter: 30 on 6/2/2004
You made me laugh out loud - AND AT WORK! - with this: Pippin’s jaw dropped. He was less embarrassed than confused. In this song he did all sorts of improbable things, like ride with Gandalf when he chased away the Nazgûl or light the beacons ( “It didn’t happen that way” he muttered. “The beacons were already lit!” This earned him an elbow from Merry and a giggle from Fredegar.) To top it all off, the song had him single-handedly shoving Faramir from the pyre, and Denethor jumping from the seventh level of the city as he burned. There was a constant refrain of Ernil i Pheriannath as well. ( “It didn’t happen that way at all! And keep your elbow to yourself!”) What a clever way to combine MovieVerse and BookVerse! Bravo! Pips Author Reply: Glad I gave you a chuckle; hope it didn't get you in trouble at work! Everyone seems to like that bit for some reason. 8-)

Pervinca	Reviewed Chapter: 30 on 6/2/2004
I had to snicker at the references to events in the RotK movie in this chapter! How very amusing that those false events should be put into song. Very clever of you indeed. And I also must thank you for posting the Green Dragon ditty. I had not been able to work out the very first line, and now I know it! My family is never going to here the end of it :D (I still haven't stopped singing the Bath Song/Drinking Song crossover from the extended FotR). I don't suppose you could include "How Fatty Popped the Pimple" in a later chapter. I'd really like to see how that goes :) - Pervinca Author Reply: I had a bit of fun with the little movie references. I'm sure that as soon as the War was over, the minstrels had a field day; and if they didn't know how it happened, they probably just filled in with guesses and gossip. But it's kind of my way of coping with the changes in the movie. Since PJ said he was filming it as a historical movie, I just imagine that he got hold of some of these less than accurate (as compared with the Red Book) sources! I spent 20 minutes with the remote pause button and the DVD trying to get those lyrics down. I had purchased the ROTK songbook, and was greatly disappointed to find that was not in it. "How Fatty Popped the Pimple"? I'm not sure I could come up with anything that would fit the hype I put on it; but I'll keep it simmering in the back of my mind. Maybe the next ear-worm I get will be an appropriate tune. By the way, the tune I imagined for the Nimrodel song that Legolas sang was "The Trees They Do Grow High". Seems to fit perfectly.

Grey Wonderer	Reviewed Chapter: 30 on 6/1/2004
Pippin’s jaw dropped. He was less embarrassed than confused. In this song he did all sorts of improbable things, like ride with Gandalf when he chased away the Nazgûl or light the beacons ( “It didn’t happen that way” he muttered. “The beacons were already lit!” This earned him an elbow from Merry and a giggle from Fredegar.) To top it all off, the song had him single-handedly shoving Faramir from the pyre, and Denethor jumping from the seventh level of the city as he burned. There was a constant refrain of Ernil i Pheriannath as well. ( “It didn’t happen that way at all! And keep your elbow to yourself!”) That was inspired! I love how you took what the movie gave us and had Pippin object to it. I loved it. Very good idea! I lvoe this entire chapter, but that goes down as my favorite nod to the book in some time. Author Reply: I was a little apprehensive with that bit, since I was afraid that some who really love the movie might take it the wrong way. But I had real reasons. It is so true about the legends that grow up around famous people and events, and how they are changed (for the sake of rhyme or for dramatic purpose, or whatever). I do love the movie, too, but for me the book comes first.

GamgeeFest	Reviewed Chapter: 30 on 6/1/2004
Loved your little rib at the movie. "They were already lit!" hehe that was great. Fun chapter all the way around. Worth the wait. Author Reply: I enjoy the movies, but I'm well aware of the differences. One of the fun things I like to do, is figure out how the differences could be explained. My take is, PJ approached this as a historical movie, rather than a flat-out fantasy. Obviously his primary source would have been JRRT's "translation" of the Red Book. But maybe he came across some other, less accurate sources, such as old ballads and so forth? I know, it's a crack-brained idea, but I have fun with it. 8-)

FantasyFan	Reviewed Chapter: 30 on 6/1/2004
A lovely chapter: nothing is as hobbity as drink and song with friends. And what better way to make the Men (and Elf and Dwarf) seem friendly than a visit to the tavern! I'm glad you worked in a song for Legolas, as I was always sad that as much as elves sing in the books, Legolas never sang in the movies. I haven't forgotten there's plotting and planning going on around Frodo. Here's the next part of the plot - to get him alone and badger (err, persuade) him into something. Can't wait to see what it is! Author Reply: Thank you. Yes, I thought it would be nice to have the Green Dragon back. (That almost hijacked this chapter, but I'm going to make that a separate story.) A visit there with their non-hobbit friends was just the ticket. I'm glad you liked that I had Legolas sing. Legolas sings a lot in my stories. I don't know why they didn't have Legolas sing either, since both Pippin and Aragorn got to sing ( and Eowyn in the EE ). Yes, Frodo gets put in the picture in the very next chapter.

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