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| Elf, Interrupted: Book Two: Glorfindel's Quest by Fiondil | 12 Review(s) |
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| Imhiriel | Reviewed Chapter: 57 on 6/22/2009 |
| I always love well-written "strategy/politics/etc. discussions" among more than two people, and the discussion about the politics among the Tol Eressëan Elves by the whole group is such a one: there is a natural flow and back-and-forth-and-intercuts between speakers, the topic under discussion is illuminated from different angles, and the point is gradually teased out and the plot driven further, with some sidebars that make the dialogue feel very natural. Arafinwë said sincerely, leaning over and placing a hand on Finrod’s lap, May I suggest you replace "lap" with "leg" or "thigh" or "arm" or some such? "Lap" makes for a rather odd mental picture to me. I especially liked this exchange: "For better or for worse," Arafinwë said with a nod, "the Valar have made it clear, at least to the kings, that our internal affairs are our own. They will only directly interfere when their own Peace is disturbed." "But where does their Peace end and our responsibilities begin?" Sador asked. "That is a good question, yonya," Arafinwë replied, "but I have no easy answer to it. I can only say that we must do what we can and let the Valar worry about the rest." This chapter brought home the sad reality that there truly is no peace even in Aman, if they have to have such serious discussions about guarding with the best, proven, battle-tested warriors against potential assaults. "Any Maia hanging about, will you kindly inform Lord Irmo that the Noldóran wishes to speak with him? Thank you." This had me bursting out with laughter; and Arafinwë's rejoinder was priceless, too! Author Reply: Hi, Imhiriel. I've made the suggested change in the text. Thanks for alerting me. Glad you enjoyed the discussion and that you found it natural and realistic. Getting such to flow smoothly and naturally and make it sound like a real-life give-and-take discussion isn't easy and I'm grateful when readers let me know that it actually works. And the ending was just pure Glorfindel. *grin* Thanks for reviewing. I really appreciate it. | |
| Agape4Gondor | Reviewed Chapter: 57 on 5/11/2009 |
| A great chatper. A lot of stuff to cover, but it was done beautifully. I still struggle with the different 'types' of Elves, but this really helped... hardly confusing at all ROTFL.... Really excellent! Author Reply: Hi, Agape. I'm glad you enjoyed this and I'm glad this chapter helped you with all the different types of Elves. Thanks for letting me know. | |
| njomo | Reviewed Chapter: 57 on 5/11/2009 |
| Hi Fiondil, I found this chapter most interesting, not least because of Glorfindel's comments regarding the origin of the Houses of Gondolin. If the head of a House was elected from within its members, that would mean that Glorfindel was elected to his position as Lord of his House. So in spite of his "pranks" with Ecthelion, Idril and Tuor, he must have had qualities that his house felt would make him a good leader for the House. That may seem self-evident, but I have speculated for a while as to the origin of the Houses of Gondolin and always thought of them having a hereditary leadership. I think we would all agree that Glorfindel must have been more than able to do the job to survive as he did, but being elected, in my view, would be even more gratifying and humbling than coming to the posiiton through heredity. Your solution to this question is eminently sensible on many levels. Now to see Glorfindel's defense plans take shape. One hopes that his brothers will begin to see a bit of the sense and maturity he has within himself, even as he keeps his sense of play and mischief. It will be interesting to see how the Tol Eressëans react to a visit not just from two kings, but Finrod and Glorfindel as well. Thanks Fiondil for a most interesting chapter. Joanne Author Reply: Hi Joanne. Your analysis about the Houses and how their lords came to be is most interesting and very true. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me and the other readers. We'll see shortly how the Royal Progress proceeds and how everyone reacts to it. Thanks for reading and reviewing. I greatly appreciate it. | |
| Tari | Reviewed Chapter: 57 on 5/11/2009 |
| It looks like Arafinwe is headed down a rocky road. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. I just shook my head as I read about Glorfindel shouting out to the Maiar. I wonder how they felt about that. I would think they were quite amused. Author Reply: We'll see shortly just how rocky the road is for them all. I'm sure the Maiar were laughing themselves silly at Glorfindel's antics.*grin* | |
| Thalanee | Reviewed Chapter: 57 on 5/11/2009 |
| People in this room probably think me crazy: I started laughing myself silly when Glorfindel "contacted" the Maiar *grin* But then most people here at university (those who know me) already know that I´m weird ;-) It was a fine way to lighten the mood at the end of a more serious chapter. The part about the origins of the twelve houses of Gondolin was interesting. I never really thought about were they came from... "always the best dressed" *snicker* So a load of reborn from lorien? the mischief that is likely to happen is unimaginable (any Noldorin friends we are going to meet? Like Celepharn? *sly smile* Already looking forward to the next chapter! Greetings, Thalanee Author Reply: Hi Thalanee. As to which Reborn show up... we'll find out soon enough. Anyway, I'm glad you enjoyed this chapter and that you're looking forward to the next. Thanks for letting me know. I appreciate it. | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 57 on 5/11/2009 |
| Trust Glorfindel to choose the most expedient means of making a request of Lord Irmo. Who knows how many Maiar might be about at any one moment, after all? Interesting debate and explanations for the noble houses of Gondolin--most expedient as a form of organization and protection for the various groups. Turgon did well in that, at least. And the concern for the safety of the two kings is well expressed. Author Reply: Well, Glorfindel being Glorfindel, what do you expect? *lol* I'm glad you found the debate and all interesting. I had fun coming up with how the Houses of Gondolin came about. As for the rest... we'll just have to see. | |
| Sunny | Reviewed Chapter: 57 on 5/10/2009 |
| Arafinwë and Olwë _are_ going to Tol Eressëa. That is quite clear, and they are not going to change their minds about it unless the Valar were to tell them not to go. Which they won’t. But Finrod, Glorfindel and Beleg _are_ going to have their say about the security arrangements. And I suppose that since Arafinwë and Olwë have put their feet down about going at all, they sort of have to let those paranoid – I mean _security-conscious_ ellyn have their say about their safety. And they have decided that they should pick reborn warriors as guards – which makes sense if there are those among those who otherwise would have been picked as guards would actually be considered part of the problem the kings are going off to try to solve. *grins widely* It is quite an interesting way Glorfindel has of sending a message to one of the Valar. But since they do not have cell phones or mail, I suppose it will have to do. Author Reply: There are many things to consider about this trip to Tol Eressëa and what they hope to accomplish there. I think at this point Arafinwë and Olwë are merely looking for answers, to learn what it is that the Tol Eressëan want before making their own suggestions. They know that they cannot force a decision on them, but some kind of decision needs to be made. There needs to be some type of strong leadership among the Tol Eressëans to give them a viable direction for their lives. I think Glorfindel was just showing off with his shouting out the window. As Arafinwë points out, even *he* could have done that. *grin* | |
| Hel | Reviewed Chapter: 57 on 5/10/2009 |
| Just going and shouting out of the window to get a message via Maiar to the Valar ... trust Glorfindel to try a thing like that. And as there are always some Maiar near him this will work too. I wonder if some of them retaliate against him for beeing used as a message-runner. It´s good that Arafinwë listens to the four concerning the security of the group. But some of the Amanians will shurely be offended when the guard of the kings is assembled of Reborns. On the other side the people of Tol Eressëa will maybe react possitive to it. But I can´t see a point in the visit of the two kings and their try to help one group to form a kind of leadership or governmet. Should the visit really lead to the forming of a government, most Tol Eressëans will resent it just because the Amanian kings were involved in the forming. Maybe even as a try of the Amanians to control them via a puppet-regime. And I´m not surprised that it were those Noldor who went back who are resenting the Returnees the most. No one likes to be reminded of the mistakes one made. And the graver the mistake the more resentment agaist the person who brings the memories back. I wonder if one reason the Telri are not against the returning elves is that they have a guilty conscience for not aiding their Sindarin kin and that the Sindar on Tol Eressëa will reproach them for staying away. Author Reply: I think at this point Arafinwë and Olwë aren't interested or willing to make governmental decisions on behalf of the Tol Eressëans. This is more of a fact-finding trip (even if some of the Tol Eressëans don't see it in that light) and they are more interested in hearing the views of the people on the island than in deciding what's best for them. Ultimately, of course, it's in everyone's best interest for there to be a real governing body on the island, whether it's a single person, like a king, or a group of people acting as a council. As Glorfindel points out with regards to the resentment of the Noldor who returned with Arafinwë, guilt can cause extreme reactions in people. I'm sure a number of the Noldor who turned back still have ambivalent feelings about the whole thing. Anyway, thanks for your thoughts on this, Hel. I really appreciate you taking the time to let me know what you think. | |
| Erulisse | Reviewed Chapter: 57 on 5/10/2009 |
| I can just picture Lord Irmo's wry smile at that one :-) Great chapter, and congrats on your newest horse. Beautiful pic. Author Reply: So can I. *grin* Thanks, Erulissë. I'm glad you liked the chapter and the picture of little Oropher (who is actually a Shetland pony). | |
| 6336 | Reviewed Chapter: 57 on 5/10/2009 |
| Well there are bound to be a few hanging about unclad, makes sense to me! The Otorner have some valid fears and some very good suggestions, let's hope Irmo is ameanable to letting his warrior Re-born out to play! Who knows, it may help some of them, but having Laurendil along to keep an eye on them might not be a bad idea! More please, Lynda Who is still having computer woes, I don't think my lap top likes the software any more, at least not the fax bits! Author Reply: Hmm... maybe you should ditch the fax bits. *grin* Anyway, we'll see in the next chapter how Lord Irmo responds to the summons and the request that the Elves make of him. You know that as a Vala, even if he does say yes to their request, he won't be as straightforward about it as they or we would hope. There are likely to be unlookede-for surprises along the way. *grin* | |