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A New Reckoning by Dreamflower	8 Review(s)
Larner	Reviewed Chapter: 31 on 9/28/2006
Glad he has the promise of the amusement to help him through the honor he feels he doesn't deserve. This conspiracy is a good one, and intent on helping all, including Frodo himself, to an extent. Author Reply: Yes, for all that he has--and is--going through, his sense of humor is intact. I am quite sure he will find some amusement in shaking up the status quo. It is. But the clincher argument is that it would help Sam and Aragorn. As you know, that argument is one he'd find impossible to deny.

Endaewen	Reviewed Chapter: 31 on 2/8/2006
This is a great story. The emotions are so strong. This chapter practically brought tears to my eyes. Author Reply: This chapter is one I'd had in the back of my mind for a long time before I wrote it. I just thought it was time Frodo realized how much of a father Saradoc had been to him.

PIppinfan1988	Reviewed Chapter: 31 on 7/16/2005
That sad, sweet moment between Frodo and Saradoc was delightful! I am one of those people that thinks the Shire was not exactly Utopia--a hobbit’s emotions running the same gamut as a Man’s. I think it is very plausible after such a heartbreaking tragedy as Frodo’s that the lad would become depressed, even contemplating suicide. Wonderfully done! Pippinfan Author Reply: No, the Shire was never Utopia, though it came closer than anywhere else in Middle-earth to my mind (even over Rivendell and Lorien, whose peacefulness was rooted in the use of the Elven Rings). But there is a lot of sorrow there as well as other problems. I think, really, that for a hobbit being orphaned would actually be more traumatic than for a Man--they are so rooted in family and clan that the breaking of those ties in an untimely fashion must be unbelievably painful. I think that he would certainly become depressed and prone to suicidal ideation. His lack of regard for his own life in later years then becomes more explicable, and it casts light on his actions with regard to Gollum and the claiming of the Ring.

Pervinca	Reviewed Chapter: 31 on 6/3/2004
More hints at Eglantine and Esmeralda's plan - someone with a more alert brain than me might have been able to work it out after this chapter. The conversation between Frodo and Saradoc was beautifully written. You know, I only recently read the letter that spoke of Frodo casting himself into the Fire in Gollum's place. I suppose I always assumed that Gollum was an unsuspecting hero, but I'm glad you included this situation in your story. - Pervinca Author Reply: The Letters are a great source of help to me, giving me some insight as to what JRRT thought about his characters beyond what appeared in the actual story. Still, Gollum was the one who destroyed the Ring; I'm not sure, in spite of his intentions when he got to the Fire, that the Ring would have allowed Frodo to go in with it to its destruction once he placed it on his hand. This is why Frodo's mercy to Gollum was so very important. But I think that Frodo was sure for a long time that in order to destroy the Ring, he would have to go with it, he could not give it up.

Shireling	Reviewed Chapter: 31 on 6/3/2004
I've only just found your story and the tme to read it through from the beginning and I'm stunned. What a skillful mastery of plot and characterisation. Your Frodo almost breaks my heart, so lonely and sad despite the love and care of his friends. Merry and Pippin struggling to adjust, poor Sam torn between his love for Frodo and his love for Rosie!!!!and the families having to come to accept the changes in their loved ones. Very well done Helen/shireling Author Reply: Thank you for the very kind review! This story is just kind of carrying me along with it, and I am discovering things as I go. I am glad that you like my characterizations, as I try very hard to keep them in line with what JRRT gave us. I am so glad that you are enjoying the story!

GamgeeFest	Reviewed Chapter: 31 on 6/2/2004
Well, I'm feeling a little better about this plan of Eglantine's. And Frodo's relatives prove once again to have a knack for picking the right argument. Frodo may not want the recognition for himself, but if it will help Sam, he'll agree to it. Frodo's guilt at being unable to destroy the Ring is instrumental to his leaving and I think one of his worst wounds from the War. Even more so than his anniversary pains, since he would carry his guilt with him all year round. Wonderful scene between Frodo and Sara. Being surrogate parents to a lonely forlorn child could not have been easy for them. Author Reply: Yes, Saradoc understands Frodo pretty well. But he would not have used the Sam argument if he had not felt that Frodo was feeling a bit better about things after their talk. He meant it about not coercing his kinsman; he would have known that was emotional coercion. That's why he only said it after Frodo asked if he really thought it would help. You are right about the guilt, which I think was so hard because I think that in his head Frodo did know he had no logical reason to be guilty over claiming the Ring--but his feelings and emotions were another matter altogether. And, too, he felt guilty about Gollum's death, and about the matter of still longing for the Ring. This last,I think brought him not only guilt, but shame, since he knew how evil the Ring was. I think that Saradoc and Esmerelda loved Frodo dearly, but you are right, his loneliness and sorrow kept him from reciprocating the way that he should have.

FantasyFan	Reviewed Chapter: 31 on 6/2/2004
Frodo is not like the other hobbits. And I always wondered if the death of his parents had something to do with it. They say, that which doesn't kill us makes us stronger. Frodo is very strong, but it seems he had some help in getting there, which is a comforting thought. The lingering melancholy, though, I can see it in the shy loner I've always imagined Frodo to be. And we all know he couldn't have destroyed the ring in the end, but he would have tried to have some plan, and your scenario makes the most sense of all the possibilities. It doesn't surprise me Frodo doesn't want the public recognition, but Sara has played the trump card when he mentions Sam, I think. I will admit to sort of fierce anticipatory pride at the thought of some insular hobbits being forced to see what a hero Frodo truly is, a heart so great that they can't even imagine how special he is (even though I know they won't truly understand even then). I'm looking forward to it, but it's good to know Frodo will have all his friends around him. Author Reply: Yes, you see what I do in Frodo. I think that the loss of his parents made loneliness his constant companion. When the Ring came along, it tried to grab on to that. But Frodo was lonely because he had known love, and so the Ring couldn't use it. I think he probably suffered from melancholy ( or what we in the modern world would call depression ) from the time of his parent's death. He would have sought death not to escape from pain, but to join the ones he loved. He had so much love that his sorrow was beautiful, rather than dark. I'm not sure if I'm explaining this well, but it is what I see in him that made him specially suited to carry the Ring.

Arwen Baggins	Reviewed Chapter: 31 on 6/2/2004
short and sweet - I love it! I love it when authors remember that Frodo was raised by Merry's parents before Bilbo adopted him. I've always wondered what their reactions were to the things that Frodo went through. Author Reply: This is something I try not to lose sight of, because I think it is key to Frodo's relationship with Merry. Merry was far more like a little brother than a cousin to him--in some ways even more than Merry and Pippin, because Frodo and Merry lived under the same roof. It goes a long way to explaining why he has such a close relationship with a cousin fourteen years his junior. But that means of course that he had a special relationship with Saradoc and Esmerelda. They were, in effect, his parents during the roughest and most difficult part of his growing up: right after his real parents died. I think that they never really stopped thinking of him as "another son", even after he went to be with Bilbo.

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