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A Matter of Appearances  by Lindelea 8 Review(s)
LarnerReviewed Chapter: 9 on 8/15/2006
So, that was the way of it, was it? Farry recognized and kept as a shield! Of course! I'd wondered, of course.

Bless the child, and those who carry his uncle, for there will be a resucitation, I know.

Author Reply: Thanks, I'm afraid they need all the blessing they can garner.

harrowcatReviewed Chapter: 9 on 8/6/2006
*Duh!* Ok Lindelea, guilty as charged of gulping my reading too fast! I missed what Pippin and company thought - that Ferdi hadn't got to collect Farry! So, more bad news in store for them.

Author Reply: Ah, so you figured it out yourself. Yes, it will be some time before they discover their mistake. (Ah, for such things as telephones! What ever did people do before them?)

demeter dReviewed Chapter: 9 on 8/4/2006
Not a cliffhanger, says someone? do they harm him? How quickly does his father find out he is not safe? How do they track his whereabouts? do they somehow get help from the Rangers? so many ropes hanging! His father, I think, would have been grateful that the memory of the story of the troll gave his son courage to face his own ordeal. Anxiously awaiting!

Author Reply: Not a cliffhanger? Did someone say that? (Author pleads amnesia)

The answers to the questions are in the draft, awaiting release when the plot is ripe. Think good thoughts.

Pearl TookReviewed Chapter: 9 on 8/3/2006
Ah ha! 'Tis how I reckoned, they took the poor wee lad.

"But he was a dead hobbit, all the same, and the ruffians had made no pretence at any promised future for the lad.

He was alive only to provide a shield of sorts . . ."

At least it gives the Tooks time to find the ruffians and beat the stuffin' out of them, after they rescue Farry!!!!

*deep breath, sigh* At least this wasn't as much of a cliff hanger :) I needed a breather ;-)

Wonderful as always, Lin!

Author Reply: Fleshed out the draft of the last chapter today, and it made me smile. So there's much to look forward to.

Yup, if the Tooks are fighting mad now, just wait until certain plot developments happen...

I would not want to be a ruffian caught on Tookish soil, that's for sure, hobbits or no hobbits.

Sheesh.

(Thanks!)

MaidenofValinorReviewed Chapter: 9 on 8/3/2006
Oh, poor Farry! I just want to give him a great big hug...*sniff*
Farry thought in that moment of his father, facing a troll four times his size or more, and he stood straighter.
What a brave lad!
I'm scared for him...

Author Reply: I think he could use a hug about now. And tomorrow, too.

Think good thoughts.

(It is always darkest before the dawn. But I am also a sucker for happy endings.)

FantasyFanReviewed Chapter: 9 on 8/3/2006
Farry is truly Pippin's son, isn't he? Oh, I don't mean in looks, though he is that, enough that even the ruffians recognize it. I mean in courage, and in grace. He will stand tall, remembering his father. I'm hoping he'll be his equal in wit as well, and figure out some way out of the trap.

Pippin has moved into action. He has a clear goal in mind, and he will see to it that the ruffians are driven out of the Shire. Much easier said than done, evidently. Pip is going to be terrifying when he finds out Farry and Ferdi set out from the farm together. And now Tolly is the one giving in to grief.

You're going so fast with the updates - can't wait for the next one!

Author Reply: Just happen to have a little writing time right now, sort of like a mini-vacation, and am taking advantage of it while it lasts. Don't know when the schedule will compact to nothingness once more... (you know, that Black Hole that eats all the minutes until there are none left)

I figure that the Farry here ought to reflect the kernel of the grown-up Farry of "Solid Ground". The events of "Runaway" turned him around, and he never looked back, I think.

And he may be a hobbit lad of ten or so, but he's wise beyond his years...

Thanks!

BodkinReviewed Chapter: 9 on 8/3/2006
No!!!!! He can't be the late Ferdi. He has things to do, people to see, baby hobbits to conceive, trips to Gondor to endure. The reports of his death must be exaggerated. Maybe being face down over the pony will clear his lungs and rattle them into breathing again.

Faramir is a remarkably brave young hobbit. Mature for his age - most of the time - and cool-thinking, but it will take a lot for him to escape this nasty bunch of villains. And he'll be worrying about his parents as he tries.

More, more!

(Thank you for the birthday wishes. And is your public knowledge? Because unreciprocated presents just ain't on!)

Author Reply: Places to go, people to see, things to do. You're right. Somebody needs to have a little talk with the author. Or at least with the editor-friend, who drinks up the author's pocket money in fancy flavoured lattes and pokes holes in stories and suggests impossible things.

But then the author does like to drink cafe au lait, and we live in what has to be the coffee conaisseur's (I know that's spelt wrong) capital of the world, and the coffee is so good. So very good. So very very good that sometimes I drink too much. And I write when I ought to be sleeping and all havoc breaks loose.

In the parenthetical comment, I didn't quite get it. I knew it was your birthday because of the story summaries popping up on SoA. But if you said what I think, I do think that reciprocity is a good thing, indeed. (Though your birthday story is already plotted. You may put in a request if you like, but if the Muse prefers the current plot, that's what she'll deliver. Have to keep her happy, you know, or she takes herself off to Hawaii and doesn't send post cards for the longest time after.)

DreamflowerReviewed Chapter: 9 on 8/3/2006
*whew*

So one of them realized that Farry might be kin to Pippin--or even his son, and so they spare him as a possible hostage.

I can't imagine how Pippin's going to react when he learns that Farry is *NOT* at Whittacres. And I'm very curious as to how Ferdi's going to pull off a miracle this time...

Sure glad you are updating so fast!

Author Reply: You got it. Possible hostage, true, but as Farry realises, only a temporary one, and disposable into the bargain. Nasty ruffians. No wonder there's an Edict.

Thanks!

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