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| An Autumn Fair in Halabor by Soledad | 50 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| Denise | Reviewed Chapter: Epilogue 2 on 11/25/2008 |
| Marvellous, bittersweet ending to another excellent portrait of the life of this little, beloved town. Just awesome: “And never forget about your promise,” warned Erinti, kissing her brow. “May the blessings of the forest and the running and falling waters and the soaring winds be with you, child. Be brave and be strong, whatever fate may throw at you. For you have it in you to beat fate.” Delbaeth was the only one I could bring myself to look up in "Last Yule" again; and I'd forgotten about the Elves being brought out in that previous work! It really made me appreciate even more the intertwining you've done between the two works. Yeah: great last line. Author Reply: Thank you. I'm glad you liked the story - I liked writing it as well. There will be more, soon. Thanks for taking the time to review. It's much appreciated, and it inspires the muse to work harder. ;) | |
| Denise | Reviewed Chapter: 22 on 11/25/2008 |
| The romantic in me swooned: But when he looked in those large, clear grey eyes, he knew he would marry Breage again. And then there is Loarne's pragmatic wisdom, handled exceptionally well. Author Reply: Sometimes I just can't help being sappy. ;) | |
| Denise | Reviewed Chapter: 21 on 11/24/2008 |
| Great descriptions, as always: I can picture the decrepit Old Sailor both as it is now, and what it will become. Even though you don't have the results of the Orc raid at the end of each chapter as "Last Yule" did, still the bittersweetness of all these hopeful dreams comes through... Author Reply: That's the really sad thing, isn't it? That they have all struggled and laboured so much, they have built up something from the ruins, and for what...? Sometimes I hate myself for giving them such a hard fate, but life is like that. | |
| Denise | Reviewed Chapter: 20 on 11/24/2008 |
| I do feel for The Barn, but Gennys is a nice guy, and there's another families' plans and dreams riding on him as well. I like that we're getting both sides of the whole situation. It's never cut and dried, good vs. bad, in real life, and I really appreciate that you bring it out in your stories, too. Author Reply: Thanks. Sometimes, life is simply unjust, and in order for good people to have a better fate, other good people have to suffer. But "The Barn" is still in business at the time of Halabor's destruction, so Clemow & Co have apparently struggled on reasonably well. | |
| Denise | Reviewed Chapter: 19 on 11/24/2008 |
| Very nice again; I love the lathe operations. | |
| Denise | Reviewed Chapter: 18 on 11/24/2008 |
| It's little asides like this that I love so much in your stories: Somewhat consoled by this decision (one that he renewed every single day), Wethinoc left the bakery to cross the town, leading to the fairground. Just that parenthesized comment says so much! I like the way you laid out Wethinoc's attitude, one that any bound artisan would feel sympathy for. No, one can't blame him for bossing his brother around a bit. :) Author Reply: Well, these are ordinary people and no saints. It's only right to make them a bit bossy and selfish sometimes. ;) | |
| Denise | Reviewed Chapter: 17 on 11/24/2008 |
| Well, I knew after so many lovely families you'd have to throw in a Goran for balance. :) Not that anyone who is strong in his family has anything to fear, but yes: he's totally blind to the difficulties his daughter-in-law is facing. Yay! for dear Mistress Dorlas calling him on it, useless though it was. Of course, I did like Goran's attitude towards the special arrangement between Dorlas and Henderch. As always, you build such appealing layers of complexity into each one of your characters. Author Reply: Actually, Goran is not so bad. He's just one of those people who are never ill, and can't understand that not everyone is made of such hard stuff. | |
| Denise | Reviewed Chapter: 16 on 11/24/2008 |
| Well, naturally I adore Endelliont! *g* And it seems she found a fair husband who appreciates her, to boot. I enjoyed the interactions between Rhisiart, Cadwallon, Durithel and the children very much, particularly when Rhisiart was "lucky" enough to get to take the kids off into the fair. :) “... What kind of hair do Elves use to make bow-strings?” “Our own,” said Durithel with a faint smile. Lovely! Exactly what I would expect! Author Reply: Well, it *is* stated in LOTR that the bows of Lórien had bow-strings made of Elven hair, so I thought a bit of canon accuracy would be in order. Rhisiart deserved to take care of his own daughter once. He's rolled off the whole child-raising burden onto the shoulders of his brother; he ought to fulfil his paternal duties time and again, too. | |
| Denise | Reviewed Chapter: 15 on 11/24/2008 |
| I like this wonderful couple too much - too much, I say - to even take a brief look at "Last Yule in Halabor"! I don't remember their fate and I don't want to. Although I have hope that it seems at least their son lived and somehow made use of this gold. Oh, I love that exchange at the end, from humble craftsman to humble lord. Really, really marvelous work, Soledad. To find mithril in his little shop! (And Gildor remonstrating with his jewel-smith is a nice touch.) Author Reply: Gildor is always great fun to write. I'm glad I haven't ended each chapter with such a depressing note as in "Last Yule", though. The story is a much happier one this way - and besides, they still have almost a decade to go... | |
| Denise | Reviewed Chapter: 14 on 11/24/2008 |
| What a lovely family; I love that Enoder enjoys those quiet times with his daughters. I also like the rundown of just how *much* can and was made of bone. So much never even occurred to me... Author Reply: Yep most of those things we use plastic for nowadays. | |