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| Better than Frodo Baggins by Inkling | 12 Review(s) |
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| demeter d | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 11/15/2005 |
| Awesome! No one ever starts out life miserable. It has to start somewhere. The picture of Lotho staring at his lank reflection in the water sounded sooo much like Gollum. And poor Lotho eventually loses himself even more-so than Smeagol, who found redemption in the end. Your word pictures are lyrical, lovely. I read your review of Chapter 26 of "The Grey At The End of the World." Thank you for the nudge toward Werecat's Dolor Meus. I have read and loved much of Werecat's work both here and at HASA, but had not read that one yet. I hope that your "part of the story" will go on for a long time. Best wishes, Demeter D Author Reply: Hi Demeter D! I’m glad you liked “Dolor Meus,” and glad you found and liked my story too! :) You’re right, Lotho’s actions and ultimate fate are worse than Gollum’s because no good comes of them, only much sorrow. But the fact that Frodo expresses pity and understanding for him in “The Scouring of the Shire” seems to suggest some prior relationship that might have been like the one I imagined here. Thanks so much for reviewing! | |
| mews1945 | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 11/7/2005 |
| What an interesting and different view of Lotho. I think many of us tend to think of him as a bully, but it made sense to me that he was the victim of bullying, and Frodo his defender. Lotho's inability to accept the hand Frodo extends is understandable and makes me feel sorry for him. He truly is his own worst enemy, and he can't help being that. It makes him much more sympathetic. A very well-plotted and beautifully written fic. Author Reply: Hi mews1945, well I just got to thinking about it and it made sense to me too. As someone pointed out in another review, Frodo’s compassion for Lotho and desire to save him is something we see in “The Scouring of the Shire,” so it seems quite possible that this pattern could have begun in their youths. And I like your point that Lotho is his own worst enemy…he must have had plenty of inner demons. Thanks so much for your kind words! | |
| Lotrgirl1415 | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 11/5/2005 |
| I must say this is a wonderful switch from many fan-fictions I have read in the past. Just about EVERY one of them had Frodo as a complete outsider. It's actually rather refreshing to think of him as a more sociable person. Lovely job! --Katie Author Reply: Hi Katie! I guess I’ve always felt, and was pleased to see some other reviewers here agree, that the Frodo we see in LOTR would most likely not have grown up an unhappy, persecuted loner, but rather would have been surrounded by love and friendship. Sure, he probably went through a difficult patch following the death of his parents, but I think he would have been strong enough to recover from that, with the help of those who loved him. I think little Merry would have figured prominently in this recovery…as indeed he does in my first fanfic. Anyway, I’m glad you enjoyed this take on him, and thanks so much for letting me know. | |
| good_one_pip | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 11/5/2005 |
| Yay! Another story from Inkling! You are probably the best Frodo-author I've read about thus far. Yet, as usual, this story has a layer of sadness. You did a good job of capturing the mind of Lotho. We don't like to think of what stories are like from the "bad guy's" point of view, but thinking about that always raises some interesting questions. What would lead people (or hobbits) to destruction? After all, Lotho was a hobbit too. He had a personality, had feelings. And I can tell you drew from the "Scouring of the SHire" for this story. I always wondered why Frodo would have pity on Lotho even after all of that. Maybe I understand why a little better now. I like your writing style, Inkling, and I still remember your other stories well. Keep writing:) P.S. "As you wish"? that made me think of the movie The Princess Bride LOL Author Reply: Wow. Your praise leaves me feeling humbled…there are so many great Frodo authors out there! I’m deeply honored by your regard. As you say, it can be interesting to look at a familiar story from a different perspective, and I’m glad if my fic inspired you to do this. And, I promise you that *some day* I am going to write a completely angst-free story! Just…not yet. ;) Thanks so much, Pip! | |
| Dreamflower | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 11/4/2005 |
| What an amazing turnabout--Lotho being bullied, rather than being the bully. Interesting insight into how he might have *become* a bully himself, through his own experiences. The touch of his mother's comments on drink also lends a different sort of motive to his later act of tearing down the inns. It's a very unusual take on the hobbit who later betrayed the Shire, and into some of the things that might have led to it. I love your Frodo. This is how I have thought of him--confident, kind, firm and intolerant of bullying. Very nicely done, and a story with a good deal of originality, turning what would be cliches on their heads. Author Reply: Hi Dreamflower! It is a bit unusual, isn’t it? But it struck me that Lotho seemed to fit the classic profile of an emotionally disturbed bullying victim. Had he lived in our society he’s the one who would show up at school with an automatic weapon… I’m glad you like my take on Frodo…I’ve always seen him as strong. And yet, at times I’ve been as susceptible to certain fanon cliches—Frodo the victim, Lotho the bully—as anyone else, and it was in questioning these assumptions with another author that this story came about. Thanks for reviewing! | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 11/4/2005 |
| A tragedy that Lotho couldn't accept the friendship offered, scorned what he saw as patronage, clung to his parents' bitterness and selfishness. Beautiful imagery, lovely characterizations, and well, well written. Love it, Inkling. Author Reply: Lotho is truly crippled by his own mean-spirited limitations, and you’re right, it is a tragedy—both for himself and, later, for the Shire. Tolkien’s work is full of such missed chances and spurned offers—Saruman, Denethor, Grima, and Gollum all come to mind—and the result is always tragic indeed. Thanks so much for your kind words, Larner. | |
| Armariel | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 11/4/2005 |
| Marvelous, different and surprising! Feel sorry for poor old Lotho now. A well-written, emotionally gripping and refreshing tale. Author Reply: Thanks, Armariel! It’s nice to be able to surprise readers every now and then! :) I’d been thinking and talking about certain assumptions we tend to have about both Frodo and Lotho, and this is just what came out. So glad you liked it! | |
| estelnalissi | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 11/4/2005 |
| How happy I am I was wrong. Frodo, emotional abuse, angst, young, you'll never be one of us. At that point I had it nailed, they'd torment Frodo, he'd suffer, despair at never being more than an orphan, Bilbo would find him in physical and emotional tatters and bestow love on the tween and tell him there were none better than Frodo Baggins. That's how it's supposed to go, Inkling. I had your story pegged. So much better, you gave us a window in to the source of Lothos' unhobbitlike attitude and behavior as an adult. We see how his parents example of greed, mean spirited fighting, lack of affection and jealousy, suspicion, and constant blaming of others alienated Lotho from his community, and made him unable to play with and accept the friendship of hobbits. What a sad story. You and Frodo made me feel compassion for the hobbit I usually love to hate. When Lotho accidentally steppped in to the duck's nest, but then deliberately destroyed what might have been left of it, then gazed at himself in the water, I felt his kinship with the young Shmeegol. As for Frodo. Had he been unloved and mistreated from the day of his parents' deaths, how could he have had the devotion to the Shire to sacrifice everything to save it? How could he have displayed such leadership, attracting such loving and loyal companions on the quest. The Frodo who so easily diffused the tention among the surly tweens, ignored their hearsay and, kindly but diplomatically attempted to draw Lotho in to a game was a young Hobbit with the makings of a savior of Middle-earth. Thank you for your confident, irresistibly charming and dignified, Frodo and a wonderful story. Author Reply: You’re as perceptive as always, Estelnalissi! That’s exactly what I was trying to convey about Frodo…the confident and charismatic hobbit we meet as LOTR opens does not strike me as someone who grew up being bullied/victimized. Yes, they would have tried after his parents drowned, but he would have fought back. And as you say, it is love, not abuse, that could have produced the savior of Middle-earth. As usual, you notice things that I don’t myself…for you’re right, it is probably Frodo’s compassion toward Lotho that brings out ours. To be honest, I wasn’t all that sorry for Lotho myself to begin with, but by the end I was more so…and it was probably thanks to Frodo’s good example! Anyway, thanks so much for your review. I’m very happy that you enjoyed this, and that you were glad to be wrong! ;) | |
| Ariel | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 11/4/2005 |
| Ah, well done! Reminds me of another Baggins' cousin who resented Frodo's good 'fortune' - heheh! ;) A clever portrait, my dear! Author Reply: True enough…but fortunately, Dody found a healthier way to resolve his jealousy than the destruction of the Shire! ;) Thanks Ariel, I’m so glad you liked it! | |
| Lindelea | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 11/4/2005 |
| Aargh, don't have time to read more than halfway down the chapter, but the beginning is very promising! Very skilful--the reader would think at first that the lad being chased is Frodo! What a surprise to find that it is Lotho, and how ironic that Frodo is his rescuer! (Just as Frodo might have rescued him years later, had Wormtongue not struck first.) I love the portrayal of Frodo as open and friendly. I cannot imagine him skulking about, miserable and depressed and melancholy. Such an attitude would hardly inspire the fierce loyalty that his friends and cousins developed. Looking forward to reading the rest of the story later, I hope. Author Reply: Hi Lin! It’s true, the opening is a bit tricksy…it was just so tempting to play off fanon expectations! *g* Yes, Frodo saving Lotho, or trying to, is a pattern that may have had a long history. And you’re exactly right about the kind of person he must have been to inspire the devotion we see in LOTR. That’s certainly the way I see him, anyway… Thanks for stopping by, and hope you get a chance to come back! | |