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| My Brother's Keeper by daw the minstrel | 26 Review(s) |
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| pipinheart | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 10/1/2005 |
| Legolas is worried abour Eilian and no wonder his hands shaking, the shadow has pulled him down. Author Reply: Legolas is indeed worried. He knows Eilian can get into trouble, and as you will no doubt see, he wants to help. | |
| Estel_Mi_Olor | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 8/21/2004 |
| Great start so far, Daw. I like the plot. At least, what I guess of it. Please don't tell me Legolas is going to give Eilian dangwath. It sounds like something a concerned elfling would do. Oh dear, well I'll just have to wait and see. But on a happy note, I love Legolas at this age. He is beginning to mature and I think it is more interesting than his childhood. But that's just me. :) We've read about Legolas breaking the rules before-so maybe this time he'll resist and not listen to Turgon! Going out at night is not right. And somehow that rhymes. Poor Eilian, shadow-sickness sounds very un-fun. But the fact that his hands were shaking is worrisome-but I'm proud of Legolas for noticing it. I hope he gets better. Well I wonder what my favorite Elf is up to in the next chapter. Maybe I'll go and see. Cheers! Author Reply: I like Legolas at this age too. You can see him even getting more sophisticated intellectually (hence the essay with no 'right' answer about Isildur). But in lots of ways he's still a kid and doesn't understand everything he sees. Of course it doesn't help that his family withholds so much information. Eilian is still suffering, poor guy, and Legolas loves him too much not to notice. | |
| Emily | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 8/18/2004 |
| Wow! I'm amazed! Your characters are so real. Such personalities! I love it. Poor Legolas, having to run and do push-ups all day because of his classmates. Not exactly fun. I can sympathize with him, as I went through the same thing myself several times during basketball practise. It's very hard to afterwards not be angry with the instigators. I like that Turgon, though. He seems as mischevious as a monkey! Legolas's brother I like a lot. Eilian, I think his name is. How sad that he's sick from merely being in the south! I loved Legolas's concern for him. The essay was a very nice scene. I liked how Legolas struggled over what he thought. Maybe that's one of those essay questions that doesn't have a "correct" answer (and how irritating those essays are!. That plant looks very suspicious to me. Could it have something to do with Eilian? I think it does, but I really don't know how you're going to work it in. Is Legolas going to try to play healer? I guess I'll read on and find out. Author Reply: Thank you, Emily. I've been working with these characters for a while now, and I shyly admit that they feel real to me too. Do you mind if I ask if this is the first time you've read one of my stories? Because if it is, I'd really be interested in hearing if everything made sense to you. I've written a bunch of stories now and I'm afraid I might no longer be making things clear to readers who stumble on them for the first time. Eilian is my favorite OC. I like writing about him in himself, and I like the relationship between him and Legolas. Eilian has a tough time sometimes, and he really values the uncritical love that Legolas gives him. If there's a correct answer to that question abous Isildur, I sure don't know what it is. But I thought that as the son of the king, Legolas would be learning some politics and history. | |
| meckinock | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 8/17/2004 |
| Daw, I asked Karen to distract you for a few hours so I can try to get caught up, at least with the current story, before another chapter alert drops into my mailbox. Hope she's doing a good job! Loved seeing the sociology of adolescent boys at work. Their IQ drops by a factor of 2 with each additional member, doesn't it? Legolas KNOWS this unauthorized archery competition is s bad idea, but he not only does nothing to stop it, he's loyal to the bitter end when it breaks bad. Well, that trait will serve him well later, I suppose. Eilian goes Goth! What a picture that must make. Actually, maybe I've seen it somewhere recently....on your shiny new LJ icon, perhaps? And poor Legolas wtih his sweet teenage self-absorbtion again, first imagining that he was the topic of his father and brother's private dialogue and then crushed when Eilian gives him the brush-off. Poor little guy.... Author Reply: My memory of my son and his friends at 14 is that they were good kids with no brains. How that happened, I don't know. And I think Legolas is very loyal and, as you say, that shows up later. I think that is Eilian in the icon. In my imagination, anyway. I've always liked writing about the relationship between Eilian and Legolas, and here poor Legolas is missing his brother and worrying about him. Nobody tells him anything! | |
| esamen | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 8/13/2004 |
| Yes,” Legolas agreed, “but I did not think Isildur or his warriors would have let that happen very easily, and it would have been wrong for Elrond or Círdan to kill Isildur. And then, I thought that the Men and the Elves might end up fighting with one another, and I did not think that would be a good thing. They were supposed to be allies.” Daw, you continue to amaze me. This is a great story. I always love all the different family story lines (I have a tender spot for Eilian's sufferings), but this way of working in the history of Middle earth is pure genius. Fantastic! I love reading your work. Thanks for sharing your vision with us. Author Reply: Thank you, easmen. I thought that at this age, the son of a king would be learning about history and politics, and his tutor would be encouraging him to think about them with increasing sophistication. So a question with no answer is always good! | |
| lwarren | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 8/12/2004 |
| Good Lord, daw! Turgon on the loose? Think of ALL the time he'll have to plan stuff...not good! I'd say his parents need some parent classes, but that would indicate they care...this is just plain neglect, and has been for some time. Push ups and running the warm up track - sounds like running bleachers and wind sprints to me!!! Yuck! I enjoyed Legolas' lessons - have had essays like that before...no set answer, but you'd better prove where your answer did come from! (As for my solution to Isildur, I probably would have tried to turn him into the M-E version of an island sacrifice to the fire gods!) Elian is not in good shape - I'm worried about him and his shaking hand, and your little intro to the dangwath plant...hmmmmm...........Then he shows up in black...what's up with that? Thranduil needs to take a long hard look at his middle son (which I'm sure he will, but sooner, Sire, would be good!) Great little tidbits of information inserted here and there (beginning with the title), daw, and I foresee some upcoming unpleasantness for several unsuspecting elves! linda Author Reply: Turgon with time on his hands is a scary thought, isn't it? We don't know, of course, but I thought it was possible that elves might not have formal schooling for very long because they have forever to learn things and also a lot of their knowledge seems to be passed along in songs and legends that are around them all the time. But no kid needs that much freedom to "amuse" themselves. One of my students takes karate classes and says she's had whole classes where they did push-ups because someone displeased the teacher in some way. That's what I was thinking of with the archery class. But the tutor's assignment about Isildur was kind of fun. Legolas is a king's son and he's at an age where he's becoming a little more intellectually sophisticated, so a question with no 'right' answers is good for him, I thought. Eilian does look like he's still sick, doesn't he? | |
| erunyauve | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 8/11/2004 |
| Lots of stuff going on here - I always like to see comparisons between the present (Turgon) and history (Isildur), and I remember that Eilian is not at his wisest during this period. I do recall that Isildur had decided to give up the Ring when he made his way north to Imladris, but I doubt he could have actually done it at the critical moment. And even if he had, I have to wonder if Elrond could have destroyed it. Legolas passes Galadriel's task, but he is a very different elf from Elrond. Author Reply: You are so clever, Erunyauve! Yes, Legolas has lots to think about in terms of what someone should do when they see a friend going wrong. Somehow I missed that detail about Isildur deciding to give up the Ring. Do you know where it is? I suppose it doesn't make too much difference for my story. I wanted Legolas to ponder a question with no 'right' answer partly as a sign of his growing maturity and partly to connect this small story of mine to the larger Tolkien canon. Elrond would have had to take it all the way back to Mt Doom, right? There would have been lots of time for the Ring to work its corrupting magic. | |
| Elena Tiriel | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 8/11/2004 |
| Hi Daw! Oh, this is great, a new story! Looks like both Legolas and especially Eilian are headed for trouble in this one. Great start, can't wait to see what happens next! - Barbara Author Reply: Thank you, Barbara. And thank goodness both Legolas and Eilian are heading for trouble! I would have no story otherwise. :-) But there's always Turgon to stir things up. | |
| nessie | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 8/11/2004 |
| Yay! Another story! This just gets me excited all over again! Aww, and now I'm even sadder 'cause of Galelas and Turgon. Poor Eilian. The Shadow really must be affecting him than he would like to admit. I just hope he feels better soon. Loved this and update asap! ~nessie~ Author Reply: Thank you, Nessie. It is hard to see these young elves with their lives in front of them when you know what will happen. Eilian does seem to be in bad shape, poor guy. | |
| White Wolf | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 8/11/2004 |
| I was hoping you would start a new young Legolas story. I think seeing Eilian's hand shake like that sobered Legolas up quite a bit and perhaps made him realize that if the Shadow could do that to someone as cheerful as Eilain, it was perhaps more powerful than he realized. Turgon, as we know, never learns. Legolas keeps letting his friendship with Turgon get him into trouble, but I still wouldn't want it any other way. One of Legolas's strongest attributes is his loyalty to those he cares about. I like the scene in the herb garden. Author Reply: Thank you, White Wolf. I'm glad to be writing about young Legolas again. It's interesting to try to see him as an adolescent. Legolas was sobered indeed by seeing Eilian's hand. He's worried about him. If there was one thing Turgon didn't need, it was lots of free time on his hands. I kind of like Legolas's loyalty too, even though it does lead him into trouble sometimes. Poor Legolas. In the herb garden, as elsewhere, he sees what harm Isildur's mistake caused. | |