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| Sundry Scrolls IV by Raksha The Demon | 90 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| Periantari | Reviewed Chapter: 13 on 9/7/2015 |
| Beautiful, vivid, thoughtful AU. A lot of things would be different if Finduilas lived, i feel. The family dynamic would change a lot and i think Faramir would be different as well. Loved seeing this through PIppin's eyes! Author Reply: My hobbit muse has been a fickle one, but Pippin is my favorite hobbit, and I thoroughly enjoyed writing a fairly dramatic AU through his eyes. Not sure how different Faramir would be if Finduilas had lived; much would have depended on his relationship with Gandalf and if Finduilas would have supported that bond or not. Also, Finduilas might have had her hands, between struggling with health and managing Denethor, at least to the extent she could. I do think she and Denethor loved each other; and that love could have brought Denethor off the pyre alive along with Faramir. Thank you for the review! | |
| Periantari | Reviewed Chapter: 9 on 9/7/2015 |
| I loved this ficlet because it shows that even when time passes, there are cause for nightmares. I'm glad that Eowyn is there for Faramir though. Very gentle and calming ficlet. Author Reply: Thanks for reading and reviewing, Periantari. I don't think that any of the defenders of Gondor and Rohan slept entirely free of bad dreams throughout the rest of their lives, especially those who passed under the shadow of the Black Breath. Victories all have their cost. But Faramir was lucky enough to share his bed and life with a woman who had fought that shadow and nearly died of it, as did he. Very likely he would also have occasion to comfort her sometimes. I'm glad you enjoyed the piece. | |
| Inkling | Reviewed Chapter: 13 on 4/23/2011 |
| Great AU, Raksha! So many nice touches: “she swept into the House like a blue-grey wave off a stormy lake,” the arguing in Elvish, Gandalf holding his breath, and the tender submission of “The Steward bowed his head over hers.” Makes me wonder about another “what if”…What if Tolkien’s mother had not died when he was 12, utterly devastating him? Might his stories have featured more mothers? Author Reply: Finduilas came on very strong in my mind as I wrote this, I think that she would have, as Denethor's consort, been a woman who chose her battles well; and was above all the one person who could 'handle' her husband when she chose to make an argument. And this confrontation would have been her greatest, most desperate argument... Tolkien's treatment of women, in real life and in his fiction, might well have differed had his mother lived. I always find it curious that Tolkien's friend C.S. Lewis, whose mother died when he was ten, wrote a scene in "The Magician's Nephew" where the young hero saves his sickened mother with a magic apple; while Tolkien's Middle-earth landscape and history is littered with mothers who died, or left, during their children's childhood, from Miriel and Elwing to Elfhild of Rohan and Finduilas and Primula Baggins. Thanks for reading and reviewing, Inkling! | |
| Virtuella | Reviewed Chapter: 13 on 4/19/2011 |
| This is a very interesting thought indeed, that Denethor would not have ended the way he did had he had a wife by his side. Very convincingly done, and usign Pippin's perspective works really well. Author Reply: Thanks for reading and reviewing, Virtuella. I'm pleased that you found the storyline convincing; Pippin's perspective really was perfect for it, I thought; he was our original eyes and ears in Minas Tirith... If anyone could have brought Denethor off of that pyre, it would have been Finduilas... | |
| Virtuella | Reviewed Chapter: 12 on 4/19/2011 |
| Oh, excellent. Very atmospheric piece, and one of the best Finduilas fics I've seen. I found some of the phrases really delightful, like "sparks of colored cloth over pale flesh" or "beneath the sullen sunset." Beautifully crafted! Author Reply: I'm very pleased that you liked this story, Virtuella; I had wanted to write of Finduilas fighting her own good fight against the Shadow rather than being a passive victim of unspecified withering - the idea has been in my head awhile. I see her as a woman who was fiercely devoted to her husband, and not without pride in herself as well as him, though not an arrogant sort; she knew her own worth and deeply loved Denethor. Thank you for reading and reviewing! | |
| Virtuella | Reviewed Chapter: 11 on 4/19/2011 |
| Sorry it's taken me so long to get round to these, they've been bookmarked but then I was busy. Charming story, and my mind went off on a tangent, because my father collects cats (of glass, porcellain, wood, anything really) and I only dusted them last week and had to defend them against the greedy hands of children. ;-) I have one or two things I wouldn't like to see broken, but ultimately, as you say, they are only reminders of relationships and cannot replace them. | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 13 on 4/6/2011 |
| What a beautiful might-have-been! I can see it happening, with Finduilas at last talking sense into her maddened husband! Author Reply: A belated Thanks for reviewing, Larner. I think, at this point, Finduilas might have pulled off the near-impossible feat of dissuading Denethor from destroying himself and Faramir in such a terrible fashion. Much might have been different if she had lived...I'm glad you liked the piece. | |
| curiouswombat | Reviewed Chapter: 13 on 4/2/2011 |
| I am fascinated by this glimpse of a different story for the House of the Steward had Finduilas survived. I would be really interested to know more - how would Denethor have served Aragorn? Would he have retired and left Faramir in his stead? I do hope, one day, you go back to this possibility. Author Reply: I'm actually not sure if Denethor would have been Aragorn's Steward. In the other AU I have in my head, where Finduilas died long before and Denethor lets Gandalf talk him off the pyre, things get worse for Denethor before they get better and Faramir becomes Aragorn's Steward while Denethor is alive and kicking and angry. But if Finduilas is alive, that changes things for the better...Not sure I'll ever write either AU; though there is always a chance. But thanks for the vote of confidence; Wombat. I'm glad you enjoyed the piece! | |
| shirebound | Reviewed Chapter: 13 on 4/2/2011 |
| It's wonderful to see this 'might have been' through Pippin's eyes and heart. Author Reply: I did enjoy writing it through Pippin's point of view. My hobbit-muse speaks to me very rarely, so I'm always glad to try out what inspiration it sends me. Besides, Pippin is my favorite hobbit... Thanks for reading and reviewing, Shirebound. | |
| shirebound | Reviewed Chapter: 11 on 4/2/2011 |
| “You are my good boy.” And he was. No glass trinket was worth her little boy’s tears! It mattered not that she had lost her home and missed her people. To safeguard Aragorn, Gilraen would gladly have borne him to the halls of the Dwarves or the icy fastnesses of the Blue Mountains. The emotions in this story ring so true. What a difficult time for a grieving young wife. Author Reply: I think Gilraen managed to get through it all as her boy was growing up and needing her; but she seems to have fared far worse when Aragorn went out on his own. It's so sad that she went back to her people, but still couldn't be happy enough to sustain her own life. Thanks for reading and reviewing, Shirebound! | |