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| A Black Evil by Nesta | 15 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| Darkover | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 7/11/2011 |
| Wow. This has left me feeling drained. As I was reading this story the horror of it slowly began to dawn on me, so I guessed the conclusion, but that didn't make it any less horrifying. This story is most sad, but very impressive. Very well written. You did a very good job writing about one of the most horrific aspects of Tolkien's world. As he wrote in the Simarillion, Melkor's (and by implication, his heirs in evil) act that was most hateful to Illuvatar was the torment and debasement of Elves and Men to produce Orcs. This was a very emotional and thought-provoking story. Sincerely, Darkover Author Reply: There are indeed horrific aspects to Tolkien's world, which he played down not because he wasnt' capable of writing about them in a horrific way (as the stupider kind of critic sometimes say), but because his book is essentially decent, and thank God for that, say I. Marring God's creatures is the worst work of the Devil, and that's what I was trying to bring out. | |
| Rian Steelsheen | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 4/29/2011 |
| The darkness, the stench, the voice... you've captured the horror of it all very well ! Very dark ambiance ! I really like the idea of the story. And it made me thought about Saroumane as a villain. I've sort of always dismissed him as totally uninteresting, just a pawn of Sauron and nothing more, but he actually may deserve more consideration... (But Sauron is still the most magnificent, most cruel and greatest of all the dark lords in Arda's history... I totally fell for his beautiful evilness in the Sil...) (Oui oui je me sens très bien) Also made me think of the treatment of the horror in LotR. The darkness is rarely obvious, rather hinted at, understated. A good thing that it's here but so discretely that it does not distract from enjoying the book, I think. Faramir is too good for himself. Comming back there every year to remember ? If it had been me I'd have done everything possible to forget the story immediately after the job is done. He's torturing himself. And poor Warden, being left in the dark like that... Must have spent the night asking himself questions... ^^ Favorite quotes: ‘Nineteen have consented. None has refused. Two have fallen silent forever. Therefore I will speak to you, Steward, but you will not thank me for it.’ (not sure why I liked this one so much, I think it's the structure, or the chilling feel...) ‘Believe me, Master Warden, though you labour another hundred years in this House, you will never do a better deed of healing than this.’ (so ironic !) Author Reply: Glad you like the story - though not a pleasant subject, really. I think there's a lot more to Saruman than merely being Sauron's sidekick. He seems to have been 'good' for many years before yielding to the lust for power. And unlike Sauron, he can still persuade unsuspecting or weak-minded people that he really is good, a power that Sauron lost centuries ago. He was thoroughly nasty within, though, and a heartless manipulator. I don't think Faramir was torturing himself by going back to the scene. Rather he was paying his respects, like people who attend remembrance ceremonies for the war dead, or visit the site of Nazi concentration camps. Faramir has too much sense to be morbid. As for the Warden, I think Faramir would have told him all the details. It would take something really drastic for a healer to provide a means of killing people. It's rather like the euthanasia debates of today: some people think it should never be allowed, others think it can be crueller not to allow it. There's no final answer though I suppose Tolkien, as a Catholic, would have been against it. I really think Faramir was right, though. It was the women's choice. I think that if I were in their position I would have done the same. | |
| Cairistiona | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 3/28/2009 |
| A very chilling and uncomfortable story to read, but one that addresses very adroitly a point of canon that most of us tend to avoid. You handled the subject with just the right amount of detail, without straying into gratuitous territory. When I think of all the horrors the heroes had to face... it's a wonder any of them, Faramir not least, lived without nightmares for the rest of their days. Very well done. Author Reply: Horrors don't have to be dragons and giants, do they? And I think the heroes probably did get nightmares, but they learned to live with them. Personally I don't believe that experiencing horrors necessarily destroys people mentally: that's a myth encouraged by the 'counselling' industry. But there are some horrors that are insurmountable, and I think these poor women were beyond 'counselling'. Thanks for the review, Cairistiona! | |
| Nimloth | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 3/20/2009 |
| Hey Nesta! Phyloxena linked to this and I had to read it of course...it's deeply deeply disturbing and you're right, it follows on very logically from the book. It's also occurred to me. Good work! Author Reply: Thanks, Nimloth. Yes, something of that sort logically had to happen. I think it's interesting that Saruman did this particular evil and not Sauron - Sauron may be the great tyrant, but Saruman is the great corrupter. I've just been reading a book that suggests that Sauron engaged in 'genetic engineering' to produce the original Orcs. The author seems to be confusing Sauron and Morgoth, but that doesn't matter too much to the argument because they are both 'the Enemy'. I don't think what Morgoth did can be called 'genetic engineering' - the concept didn't exist in Tolkien's time anyway - but one wonders what did have to be done to make an Orc (who would breed orcs) out of an Elf. To Tolkien, evidently, the important theological point is that 'the Shadow cannot make, it can only mock'. Only Eru/Iluvatar can 'make' a living, rational creature. | |
| phyloxena | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 3/19/2009 |
| Great terrible story. So unsentimental. Author Reply: That sort of thing is beyond sentiment, I think. You might as well get sentimental about concentration camps, which partly inspired this story. You have to get angry, ut justly angry, and do something about it. Sadly, for these women it was too late, but at least a stop was put to Saruman's activities and he got what he deserved. | |
| Edlyn | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 3/18/2009 |
| You made me weep with this chilling and sorrowful tale. Powerful, frightening and oh, so sad. I can only hope that those women found peace and healing beyond the Circles of Arda, and that they are not forgotten. EDlyn Author Reply: I'm sure they did, Edlyn! Elves (and a few very special people like Frodo) can pass into the West, but I think that for Men (and women) there was ultimately something better. That's certainly what Aragorn believes. | |
| cathleen | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 3/18/2009 |
| Chilling story, and extremely well-thought and well-written! Author Reply: Thanks Cathleen! | |
| Dreamflower | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 3/18/2009 |
| Sad, scary and nasty, and wholly the sort of thing a corrupted Saruman could have done. Faramir was the best choice indeed, to deal with this. I am sure that the King would have tried to heal these women in spite of themselves. But Faramir's pity and wisdom would be different than Aragorn, who had been trained to healing. And yet, I am glad to see that he took Faramir's advice in this. Imagine years and years of being used as breeding stock for Saruman. *shudder* In some ways I find Saruman a more abominable villian than Sauron himself. I've only seen one other story to deal with this issue--and that, obliquely and not directly. Author Reply: I wonder if Aragorn would have tried to heal them. When dealing with Eowyn he says quite clearly that he has power to heal her body, but not her despair of mind, and if she isn't saved from her despair then she will die. I think he'd realise that there are some horrors that you just can't recover from. I couldn't help asking myself what I would do in those circumstances, and I don't think I could bear to go on living after such experiences. That's why I made the women choose as they did. | |
| Violin Ghost | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 3/18/2009 |
| I've never thought about it too closely, so this conclusion - and now that I'm forced to ponder it, it seems the right one, or a very likely one at the least - never hit me. I didn't think - but you handled such a terrible topic beautifully - and this was sad and ugly and beautiful all at once. Brava. Author Reply: Ugly it certainly is. Tolkien steers clear of sexual matters in his books, and I think they're all the better for it, but he must have been aware of what Saruman was doing. I think some readers believe that Celebrian suffered something similar when she was 'tormented' by orcs, and that's why she left Middle Earth despite Elrond's healing of her body. This seems quite likely, and if it did happen, evidently even an elf-queen couldn't stand it. And she would have suffered less than these women. | |
| Nieriel Raina | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 3/17/2009 |
| Masterfully done. It is a topic that few can handle realistically. I think you have done so. Author Reply: It's not a pleasant topic, but it has been troubling me so I had to write it out. One presumes there must have been such things as orc females, unless orcs are immortal like the elves they were perverted from. Since Azog the Goblin is the father of Bolg in The Hobbit, it seems that the creatures must have some sort of family life! | |