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Land of Light and Shadows  by Thundera Tiger 5 Review(s)
fadagaskiReviewed Chapter: 1 on 3/24/2005
Whee! I'm here a day early, but oh well.

I love how this chapter opens so innocently, with only the merest hint at foreshadowing during the meeting. Legolas and Gimli steal the whole scene with their banter, and it truly sets the story up high enough for the LONG disastrous fall, before they all find themselves (presumably, as you haven't got there yet) back to normal.

I've noticed that Eomer is very much a subject King to Aragorn in this, which is great, because OMG FORESHADOWING. Yay! Ch2 awaits.

Author Reply: All hail the reviewer!

This is one of the chapters I have scheduled for heavy renovation, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. Someday. Maybe. But the relationship between Aragorn and Eomer was something that I wanted to develop very quickly, because it was going to be one of the clues that all was not quite right later on. And hopefully it was going to be something that evolved into something else by the end of the story. Which we haven't reached yet, but I think I'm on track for it.

RochwenReviewed Chapter: 1 on 6/15/2004
Miss Tiger,


I'm very sorry to have to send you another one of these. This isn't really a review; I just forgot to ask you a rather important question.

Do you really want to receive these, or are they just annoying to you and a waste of time for me? If you do enjoy reviews, what do you want people to write about? Do you want them to respond to how the characters affect them? Do you want comments on the entire work, meaning focusing on the story rather than the characters within it? Just tell me what you have come to expect from other reviewers. I wish to reciprocate, at least somewhat, for the great entertainment you have provided me and countless others.


Your humble servant,

Rochwen

Author Reply: Dear Rochwen,

Do I enjoy reviews? Most emphatically yes! Do I ask for them? Well, no, but that's because I'm so bad at giving out reviews of my own that I feel guilty asking for someone else to give me a review. But yes, I really do enjoy reviews. I write these stories for myself but also for others. However, the only way for me to know if my fics are affecting readers the way I'd like them to is through reviews. As a result, I read and cherish every review I get.

I really don't want to tell you *what* to review. It feels somewhat dictatorial of me. But if you're really interested, my best reviewers do a number of things: constructive criticism, comment on new insights on the characters, cite passages that really impressed them, cite passages that really *didn't* impress them, etc. I have reviewers focused on the story as a whole as well as reviewers focused on the characters, and I love feedback from both groups. I guess I'm really looking for what stands out most for you, whether it's a flaw or a gem. Because whatever stands out, that's what I need to focus on. I either need to improve it or figure out what made it tick so that I can do it again. To conclude this ramble, I basically need three things out of reviewers: 1)Stop me if the story or the characters start to move too far from acceptable canon interpretation. 2)Let me know what I'm doing right so I can keep doing it. 3)Let me know what you as readers would like to see further explored or developed.

And with that, I'll let you go because I've rambled on long enough. Thank you so much for the question, though. It made me stop to think, and I love questions that give me the chance for introspection, expecially if it's about writing. Thanks again!

Humbly once more,
TT

RochwenReviewed Chapter: 1 on 6/15/2004
Miss Tiger,


I must say that I am most impressed by your work. Your's were the first fictions that I have ever read, and it is because of you that I have continued to read. Your stories are, above all else, true to Tolkien. That is something I admire, for most authors tend to remove their characters from cannon simply for convenience.

This first chapter of "Land of Light and Shadows" promises to prove itself an admirable companion to all of your other works. I deeply enjoy the quick, dry humor present throughout your stories. However, what keeps me enthralled is the drama. The way you can show deep respect, horror, fear, pain, trust, friendship, and hope is the reason that you excell.

Another thing that makes me already adore this tale is the mention of Faensul. I hope that this intelligent creature appears often in later chapters. He appears to be full of energy, arrogant, stubborn, brilliant, and proud. Rather reminds me of his rider. Please continue to include horses in your works. For those of us who actually know something about them, it's a blessing to find an author who can converse easily about them without makeing us blanch.


Your humble servant,

Rochwen


Author Reply: Dear Rochwen,

I'm going to answer your two reviews separately, so if for some reason the email system stalls out, don't fear. I've got answers to your second review coming in a bit. Anyway...

Thank you very much for your comments about staying true to Tolkien. I will readily admit to the fact that I tweak canon from time to time and embellish in places if I feel it suits the story better, but I do try to stay as true to the source as I can. I breathe a sigh of relief whenever anyone confirms this for me, because I become so involved in my own stories that sometimes I wonder if I've taken things a bit too far. Also, I thank you for your comments on emotions in the story. I try to keep a balance between various emotional highs and lows, but as with canon, sometimes I become too involved and I'm never sure if I've overdone it or underdone it.

As for Faensul, he will play a rather significant part in this story's end, and he'll make an appearance in future stories. I once ran all of my original characters through a Mary Sue litmus test, and Faensul came out as the one closest to a Mary Sue. It figures. But I'm too attached to him, and I figure that if I've already got a Mary Sue in place, I might as well make use of him. Even if he is a horse.

Thank you once again, and now I'm off to answer your second review.

Yours most humbly,
TT

Hisie LomeReviewed Chapter: 1 on 5/19/2004
Well, I was going to read the Seas of Fate....I looked at the reviews and thought that this was serendipitous ....What a strange site that this must be....often times it seems we all read in a circle.


"Imrahoil stated:
do you know that an addle brained Eomer is a threat to Gondor? Rohan needs a dependable king. Gimli doesn't even get a glimpse of Moria and on top of it he's dying. And Legolas, poor Legolas, is rotting in a cave AND in the desert simultanously, nowhere a tree in sight, and it's a wood elf we're talking about. Do you really think that's nice?! So, DO something about it. Middle earth needs you! "

(Imrahoil, please forgive me for stealing your lines....I am trying to 'sweet talk' Thundera Tiger into becoming a)inspired, b)getting a really fast muse ,c) posting really, really soon , and/or d)knowing that some fans are just pests who are quite selfish and don't believe that writers have real lives not in front of their keyboards...)

LOL!

So now you have at least 2 people bugging you. DITTO, to everything Imrahoil had to say...I could not have said it better!

I hope you can see the humor in this-
Minna Sedh, Hisie Lome

Author Reply: *snort*

Two people? Actually, you should take a look at my inbox sometimes. Really fascinating what kind of threats I get from time to time about completing stories, particularly this one.

Anyway, *please* rest assured that I have not abandoned this story. I got sidetracked, violently ill, incredibly busy, and then muses from other stories descended. But I am still working on it, though I'm working on Fear No Darkness a bit more right now. But LoLaS is also getting a lot of attention, because it's next in the rotation after FND. Hang on a few more weeks. I know it seems like a long time, but I really hope it will be worth it. I'm rather fond of the Legolas and Gimli section that will be coming out.

And thank you so much for taking the time to "sweet talk" me. It really does mean a lot. Thanks again!

Hisie LomeReviewed Chapter: 1 on 5/19/2004
Hey, it has been some time and at some other site....I look forward to the next update(36, I think). I understand computer problems. I looked at the translation from chapter one ....E gara um caul a u-broniaa aglaredh, Faensul—He has an affliction and cannot endure your glory, Faensulate , and had to laugh!

Hope all is well....Minna Sedh, Hisie Lome

Author Reply: Well, all is more or less well. Soemtimes less, sometimes more. Difficult to say. Computer problems in addition to health problems have made writing a little lower on the priority scale than I like, but...well, I'm trying to come back. I hope to get a new chapter up for you within a few weeks! That's something, isn't it?

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