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A Deck of Heroes  by Larner 8 Review(s)
GamgeeFestReviewed Chapter: 16 on 3/15/2010
If it were possible for the Ringwraiths to exert their own will, I wonder if the Witch King might have hoped for defeat.

Author Reply: That is quite the thought, GamgeeFest. I remember one story I read at TolkienFanFiction in which an orc that had truly begun life as an Elf and barely remembered that fact refused to fight, daring Eru to prove His love. I wonder if such a thing could be remotely possible in one of the Nazgul?

KittyReviewed Chapter: 16 on 12/20/2009
Sauron’s gift transformed him not into the godling he sought to become, but instead into the very form he’d feared most, trapping within the plane of mortality a spirit intended to eventually go free while allowing the body to lose its integrity. That sums it up nicely, Larner. It must have been a fate much worse than death.

Author Reply: Oh, yes, indeed a fate worse than death! How betrayed the Nazgul must have felt when they realized they were being transformed so!

Linda HoylandReviewed Chapter: 16 on 12/18/2009
I liked this very much.It is unusual to see some sympathy for the Witch King, but what a hideous "life" the nazgul led!

Author Reply: It was odd to try to imagine that once he had been a mere human being with hopes and dreams of his own, strengths and weaknesses. What Sauron stole from him as well as from the other Ring-wraiths!

AndreaReviewed Chapter: 16 on 12/18/2009
Trying to cheat death, all he did was to enter into it without the benefits of being freed from the Circles of Arda.

This was a great one, Larner!

It just came into my mind that the state Gandalf describes so perfectly, would have been also Frodo's destiny if Lord Elrond had not healed him in time! A horrible thought!

I like it that Gandalf, who knows the Witch King's past, still wishes for his spirit "to find himself once again". Hopefully it does, eventually.

Author Reply: Oh, yes--Frodo was but a hair's breadth from becoming a lesser wraith himself at one point. And I cannot imagine that Gandalf would rejoice at anyone's total damnation of himself! Thanks so, Andrea.

curiouswombatReviewed Chapter: 16 on 12/17/2009
I have been enjoying the whole series so far; usually in my lunch-break hence no comments!

But I felt compelled to comment on this one - I really think it is the best so far - and the last line is just perfect, with that small hint of hope.

Author Reply: It has been fascinating to see which one each individual likes best. And I do hope there remained hope even for Angmar at this point! Thank you so.

VirtuellaReviewed Chapter: 16 on 12/17/2009
Well done, a thought-provoking piece.

Author Reply: Am so glad you found it so, Virtuella. Thanks so.

shireboundReviewed Chapter: 16 on 12/17/2009
I like your choice of the two to whom Gandalf is speaking. They must have had so many questions at this point.

Author Reply: Oh, I'm so glad you approve of Gandalf's companions at this point, Shirebound. Indeed--many questions!

DreamflowerReviewed Chapter: 16 on 12/17/2009
I think the choice of the W-k as the subject of this one is just right.

I was struck a few weeks ago-- not for the first time, but more forcefully-- with the notion that it's no accident that the outward physical manifestations of the Nazgul was that of the traditional outward physical manifestation of Death. The hooded black robes, the horses, the sepulchral terror they exude-- all of it an ironic contrast to the "immortal life" they had hoped to achieve in the acceptance of Annatar's "gifts".

I think your vignette is a good crystallization of that interpretation.

Author Reply: It was the similarity of Death on at least two of my Tarot decks to the Nazgul that caused me to choose Angmar for this ficlet. Plus I've always appreciated the irony of the fact he named himself as Death to Gandalf, who knew from experience he had nothing to fear of death at all, and yet it was Angmar himself who died that day.

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