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A Matter of Appearances  by Lindelea 8 Review(s)
LarnerReviewed Chapter: 10 on 8/15/2006
Oh, I WANT to be there to see these get their just desserts! And if they think Pippin, Merry, and Sam are that stupid they have a good deal of learning to do.

Think, Farry my lad--you, too, have some strong brains.

Author Reply: These ruffians, be assured, will get their just desserts. It was almost a pleasure to write that part of the story. Goodness, I can be vengeful sometimes. Nearly as savage as "Utah", with the proper motivation.

harrowcatReviewed Chapter: 10 on 8/6/2006
Poor Farry. But, come on someone check on Ferdi again!

Author Reply: Yes, you'd think they'd be more organised about this sort of thing! But then, perhaps not.

BodkinReviewed Chapter: 10 on 8/5/2006
Poor Nell. Poor as-yet-unnamed baby. I'm still crossing my fingers that Ferdi is about to pull off a miracle recovery - but my hopes are diminishing as dawn comes closer. Whatever happens, he's not in a good way.

And those are nasty villains! You can't have any sympathy with them - they have to be stopped - they're slimy and vicious and see no value in Shire rats except a monetary one. Not like Jack and his boys at all.

I liked Faramir's reflections on the number of times he's been captured. Being Pippin's son isn't the safest of positions in society! But he is behaving very well and courageously - and if anyone can come up with a way of escaping or letting someone know what happening, he might! (The old cloak pin trick?)

Very exciting. And sad. And I want to know what happens next!

Author Reply: These are "real ruffians" of the sort that served Sharkey. A dying breed, I hope. Not like Jack and the boys at all, although...

Farry has a head on his shoulders, as you'll see.

Pearl TookReviewed Chapter: 10 on 8/4/2006
Curiouser and curiouser. A goodly mystery you are setting us, dear Lin! MEWD!

Author Reply: Oh, how funny! I just used "curiouser and curiouser" in Chapter 11!

Perhaps you know the same gammer that I know!

Vicki_Turner Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 8/4/2006
And so the ruffians lay out their plan... Will Pippin fall for it, or see through it? Hm...

I'm eargly looking forward to more chapters! It's an amazing story!

Author Reply: Well, Pippin has lived in Gondor. (Hereabouts we'd say he's been around the block a few times.) So he's going to both take it seriously and with a grain of salt.

demeter dReviewed Chapter: 10 on 8/4/2006
OOOhhh! Now Farry knows more of their plan. He is, after all, his father's son. perhaps he can make use of the info. Anxiously!

Author Reply: Farry *is* his father's son, and though physcially weaker and smaller, there's a brain in that curly head...

FantasyFanReviewed Chapter: 10 on 8/4/2006
So the Ruffians think they are going to sneak up to the front door of the Great Smials with a note and a rock. While the muster is going on and a grave is being dug for the dawning. And they think the hobbits are stupid?

I can't imagine that the messenger won't be caught, sooner rather than later. And when Farry's hair is discovered, especially if a little of that blood is on it, I cannot imagine what Pippin will do. He's not reasonable, after all, when it comes to the safety of his family.

Poor Farry. It's a wonder that this doesn't scar him for life. And poor Nell. To lose Ferdi another time, this time forever. When Rudi died, she almost lost herself. How can she possibly manage this grief?

(I'm still being patient to see how you get him out of the winding sheets.)

Author Reply: This is a quick reply as I'm on my way out the door, but needed to correct a misapprehension. The "smial" is not the Great Smials, but an isolated farmhold out in the middle of Green Hill country. Do I need to clarify that in the chapter, do you think?

Thanks!

DreamflowerReviewed Chapter: 10 on 8/4/2006
Sheesh. Stupid ruffians. I won't say "poor" stupid ruffians, for I've no pity at all for what will happen when they get caught. You'd think remembering Sharkey's ultimate fate would be enough for them to get a clue, but clearly they've not got enough brains between them to go around. If they are actually *leaving* to the north, how are they going to get their "clues" left going further southward? Except, I suppose, at the expense of the stupidest and most weak-willed of them all...whom they will willingly sacrifice, I guess.

I will say "poor Farry". The lad has to be terrified.

Come on, Ferdi, snap out of it--you've only got till dawn!

Author Reply: Well, at the moment they're travelling eastward, and a little south, but when their true business is completed they'll head out of the Shire to the north. At least that's the plan.

But they don't know their ruse (making Ferdi's death look accidental) has failed, which is one factor in the hobbits' favour. And the Muse has a few other plot points up her sleeve, which readers of previous stories may or may not call to mind when the time comes.

Anyhow, it's all coming nicely together. Thanks so much for coming along for the ride and leaving notes (much nicer than ruffian notes) along the way!

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