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Questing  by Thundera Tiger 4 Review(s)
Grey WondererReviewed Chapter: 2 on 1/9/2013
Gimli is such a strong personality even now. I like that he was able to face Thorin and that he didn't back down. I wonder if he thought about his father's quest later when he was one of the nine walkers? It would be interesting to know if they ever sat down and talked about it.
I liked Dwalin here too. He didn't embarrass Gimli. He just tried his best to help him understand it all.

Estel_Mi_OlorReviewed Chapter: 2 on 10/20/2012
Great chapter! I can almost feel the weight of fear and duty bearing down on me, so no wonder Gimli is so upset! I love how you describe the obligations of family as a fire. After reading this, I can begin to understand why Bálin decided to try and reclaim Khazad-dûm later on. Maybe it's just me, but as I read this, I keep drawing parallels to the elves. I think it may be because I just finished rereading (like to the power of 5 here), "While The Ring Went South," so I'm always intrigued to find out how truly similar dwarves and elves are, even when they won't admit it. I think you do a marvelous job of hinting at those similarities as you focus on tradition and family bonds in many of your stories. I'm looking forward to what I know will be a touching conclusion to this story!

LarnerReviewed Chapter: 2 on 4/13/2010
We all understand better, but that does not make the decision less bitter to the heart. Poor Gimli--he has reason to fear, after all, particularly as we know who does not return. At least we know he will see his father again.

Author Reply: Thank you again for the review! I'm so glad you feel like the situation is more understandable, even if hindsight makes it rather tragic, too.

DreamflowerReviewed Chapter: 2 on 4/9/2010
Oh poor Gimli! So torn between wanting to go with his father, and wanting his father to be safe!

I love the backstory of all the motivations here that are revealed by Dwalin: the idea that Dis is behind her sons' going, that Gimli resembled Thorin's brother, the clear evidence that Balin is a close enough friend with Thorin to risk his displeasure-- all of this is fascinating. I am loving this story so much!

Of course, there's another reason that does not actually enter into any of their calculations: if Gimli had gone, they'd have been fourteen, and had no need to seek out a certain hobbit-burglar to fill their number. But that's story-external...

It also makes me wonder how Gloin felt when the shoe was on the other foot about seventy years later, when his son goes on a dangerous Quest, and he's the one left behind. I wonder if he remembers this, and realizes how his son must've felt...


Author Reply: Hey Dreamflower,

I am so relieved that the backstory works for you! I wanted to add some complexity to the situation that started the ball rolling in "The Hobbit," but I wasn't sure if I'd overdone it or underdone it. And I wanted to make these guys real characters. Well, some of them, anyway. Taking on all thirteen dwarves was a bit daunting, but I thought I might be able to do something with at least a few of them. So I'm also glad to hear that this worked for you, too.

As for that story-external number 13 problem...I kept coming back to that and wondering if I should address it, but in the end, it didn't seem to fit. Yes, it's crucial for getting Bilbo involved later, but for this story, the group is more or less fated to begin with. Tacking on anything regarding the number 13 seemed like overkill, and it created problems that I couldn't easily write out.

Anyway, many thanks for the review! I always love hearing from you. You have some amazing insights!

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