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Flames  by Lindelea 6 Review(s)
Nienor NinielReviewed Chapter: 58 on 8/20/2006
I just finished this fic, and I don't even know what to say. You had me in tears several times: poor Ferdibrand goes through so much! It's really unusual for people to let a character go such a difficult way in fics, at least in those I've read. There may be angst, but it's usually resolved relatively quickly. I like how it is different with Ferdibrand. This way it gains much more significance when his life starts to brighten.

The amount of detail you put into the Took's culture and customs is incredible, and I enjoy the many things you invented: the competitions, the little changes Pippin makes to Tookish customs, the hierarchy under the higher-ranking hobbits... the list is endless.

I'm going to read the companion pieces next, and then the stories that follow. I desperately hope you'll allow poor Pippin to get fully healthy again in one of them!

Thanks for your writing! Nienor

Author Reply: You're welcome! Thanks for sharing it with me.

The only reason I can write Pippin so unhealthy without too much of a pang is because I have a timeline, of late Third Age and Fourth Age happenings in the Shire. (I made it up, incorporating every hint I could find of JRRT's). On this timeline is Pippin's healing. You'll find the details of that in two stories: At the End of His Rope, and A Healer's Tale.

Hope that's a comfort!

The pony races were the seed of the culture that grew itself in these stories; Jodancingtree was writing a pony race (in Sam's Rose) and asked me for suggestions, and after reading her description of the Free Fair at Michel Delving I found my imagination stretching and flowering and hobbits and the Shire becoming more real. So a great deal of credit goes to Jodancingtree!

Thanks!

BodkinReviewed Chapter: 58 on 3/10/2005
Ferdi - my favourite hobbit.

I'm glad he got his reward in Pimpernel. Not that it stopped his suffering, of course, but at least he could look forward to the nursing!

Author Reply: Y'know, Ferdi's one of my favourite hobbits as well. Merry has always been my favourite, though I find it hard to write him for some reason. (Perhaps I fear I won't do him justice.) Pippin's been an interesting character study. D'y'know, I started writing Ferdi because I'd written so much Pippin-angst I thought I ought to pick on someone else for a change? Poor Ferdi!

DreamflowerReviewed Chapter: 58 on 3/9/2005
Well, I've whiled away the afternoon on this, start to finish, and not taking the time to review each chapter as I go--sorry about that, but it's just been too absorbing, and I'm still a bit brain dead from too little sleep last night. It's been lovely to see the story from Ferdi's POV--I like to see the same thing from different points of view. It's very satisfying to see how all the events hang together. You are an expert on that, and I take my hat off to you.

Ferdi is so well-depicted, I tend to forget that he is an OC! His pride, his stubborness, his gradual overcoming of all the obstacles, his growing friendship with his cousin and Thain are so very well done.

I loved it. Congratulations on another wonderful addition to your epic. (For to me, all your stories are like one long story.)

Author Reply: So glad you took the time to leave a word! I'm not going to burden people with reviewing every single chapter, for nobody would likely read my stories if that were the case! (Even though I love reviews, some are crunchy and some smooth and creamy and all are delicious with chocolate sauce.)

Y'know, I've had that feeling before, that it's all one long story and I'm just taking snapshots (or in some cases something much bigger) at certain points along the way.

Thanks!

Author Reply: p.s. There's just one little detail (that I've noticed so far) that doesn't quite "hang together". In "Flames" Farry is four, turning five when his father becomes Thain, but when I calculated it later he ought to have turned four that year. Also, in "Jewels" (actually, "Seeing the Forest" which spun off from "Jewels" and was written concurrently) Farry's birthday is in the Spring, and in "Flames" it is in the Autumn. So one of these days I need to go back and figure out how to adjust that and reconcile the two.

But happily it doesn't seem to have bothered the readers any.

SalsifyReviewed Chapter: 58 on 9/7/2003
I finally got time to read some long stories and this was high on my list. I really enjoyed the way you expanded on the society of the Shire. The way of life you showed was believable, and the Shire managed to be a good place without being sticky-sweet. Not to mention that I really liked Ferdi and the other hobbits - you did a good job with the character development.

You asked elsewhere if this could stand on its own. This is the first of your stories that I read, and I didn't feel lost in it. The only thing that gave me some trouble was that I didn't realize how badly Ferdi's father was injured until pretty far into the story.

On possibly a related issue, I was pushing a little to finish this before the kids got up, and blew right past a couple of places where several years passed in the story. A little more transition when a long time has passed would be appreciated, since I don't think I'll have time for leisurely reading anytime soon!



Author Reply: Goodness, don't even know if you'll get this. I think, when I posted this, that I didn't know about the review reply feature at SoA. In any event I see I didn't reply to any of the reviews posted around the time you wrote yours.

I suspect I emailed a response to you, for I seem to have a dim memory of discussing that "passage of time" you mentioned.

But if I didn't... Deepest apologies. And thanks for taking the time to leave feedback.

MirielReviewed Chapter: 58 on 8/7/2003
Wow. that was terrific.

Author Reply: Thanks, Miriel. I don't know if you're still reading fanfic or if this is a current address, but I just wanted to let you know I appreciated all of your encouraging and helpful reviews.

eilujReviewed Chapter: 58 on 8/5/2003
I have very much enjoyed this whole story, as I have all of your stories.

[It feels a bit like cheating to have read all the last several chapters here, all at once instead of every other day, when they haven't been posted on ff.net yet!]

I continue to find your hobbits, and their society and customs, entirely realistic and true to canon. It is always a shock to realize how very much you have simply intuited....

Thanks again.





Author Reply: A very belated thanks! (Just stopped by to respond to a review left this week and saw this unanswered one.)

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