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| A Horse for Bandobras by Lindelea | 45 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| shirebound | Reviewed Chapter: 19 on 2/21/2025 |
| What a lovely conclusion. I hoped that Wanderer would return! Thank you for sharing your wonderful stories. | |
| PSW | Reviewed Chapter: 19 on 2/20/2025 |
| Aw - glad that all ended well! And that he and Ruby are together and Friend is back w his master (even if it is a little sad he’s going). I enjoyed this story - thx for sharing! | |
| Leithian | Reviewed Chapter: 18 on 2/20/2025 |
| Dear Lindelea! I have waited so long to read a fanfic on this Battle, and you have delivered beautifully. 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘸 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘰𝘣𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘨𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘬𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘯-𝘴𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵. Hobbit battle tactics were fun to read, but I tried and failed to avoid the mental image created by this line, LOL. Golfimbul's (I pictured him as Bolg from the Hobbit trilogy) appearance was really impactful, I held my breath for the two paragraphs it took for Bandobras to deliver justice. And we finally have the famous head-flying scene that inspired golf (I love JRRT's humour). Do you know that in some earlier drafts Golfimbul was called Fingolfin? Ewww. Cheers for Ruby and Bandobras, they definitely deserve the happy ending. And now you must tell us how Bandobras ended up being called the "Bullroarer Took". Take care Author Reply: Thank you! I'm so glad it clicked. I've been pondering the Bandobras-thing for a long time. (How did he get a reputation for riding a horse that lasted into Pippin's time? How could a *club* do the damage JRRT described?) In fact, I first wrote about hobbits mentioning Bandobras and his "illegal entry" in the All-Shire race back in 2004! But I didn't begin to imagine how he ended up with a horse until sometime in 2020, when I first started posting this story. (It was deleted in the Breach of January 2025 and recreated since then.) Full disclosure: the melon thing kept coming to mind after I watched The Accountant, where the target melons seemed symbolic as well as practical and have stuck with me since seeing the film some years ago. When I can get away with it, I minimize writing description where the films were very specific (like Frodo's blue eyes; I think JRRT called Sam's eyes "brown" but never named the color of the other hobbits' eyes, unless I missed it) and the books' descriptions were less detailed, to allow readers to give full rein to their imagination and mental picture-building. For my part, when I'm reading, I almost always get momentarily thrown out of my mental movie-building when I run across "Frodo's blue eyes" in a story since my mental image of Frodo (formed decades ago) is quite different from the Frodo of the films. (Don't get me wrong. I found Elijah Wood very cute. He just wasn't the Frodo I'd "known" for decades before the first film came out.) I don't know where the idea came about that the annual archery tournament in the Shire was deliberately designed to train warriors for the defense of the Shire even if the Shire-folk should forget the reason behind it after a long time of peace and plenty. It might even have sprung from our preschoolers' ballet classes where the teacher led the little ones through all sorts of games that would build muscle memory and lay the foundation for ballet skills, eventually, when they were old enough to understand and apply their skills. (These classes were long ago, when two of our wee hobbits – now all grown up – were both under age five.) Anyhow, I've envisioned the designers creating the various events as "games" that would put to use the same skills that hobbits would need in battle. Sorry about the melons. Try not-thinking about a pink unicorn, instead, to distract your imagination? Y'know, I probably read about those changes in the goblin leader's name some years ago, but I had forgotten, including forgetting that the goblin chief had "Golf" in his name! LOL. Aargh. I should have put something in about Bandobras roaring like a bull as he struck off the goblin's head, but it didn't occur to me. I have no idea (at the moment) how he got the name! If the Muse is ever in a mood to answer questions, I will ask her. She's a bit Gandalf-ish in that respect. Not so close as she used to be, but laughs more than she talks these days. | |
| PSW | Reviewed Chapter: 18 on 2/19/2025 |
| What an exciting battle! (Though I wasn’t a huge fan of that melon-splitting analogy …eww. 😂) Just in the nick of time to save the day - and to get a kiss along with it! Good for them! Author Reply: Seriously, I tried not to think too deeply about the melon analogy. The main point is that the first Thain and the chiefs under him designed the annual archery tournament with tests that demanded training in skills that would translate well to the battlefield. They also specified rich prizes for the top finishers for extra motivation in times of peace. By this means, Thains down the centuries were able to ensure that there would always be skilled, trained archers to be mustered in defense of the Shire. (But, yeah. I try not to think of the melons. Ew.) I have the feeling that Ruby and Bandobras have been kind of dancing around each other for a while. The strain of battle certainly broke the ice! (Thanks.) | |
| shirebound | Reviewed Chapter: 18 on 2/19/2025 |
| Well done, and bless the Professor for leaving us so many gaps to fill! Author Reply: Thank you! I am grateful for the gaps and also all the hints and clues and crumbs he scattered throughout his works that could be picked up and stitched together to make a plausible gap-filler! (His golf-invention joke always bothered me because I couldn't wrap my head around a club being able to make the goblin chief's head go flying. In many ways, this story is my attempt to resolve the problem to my satisfaction.) I appreciate your coming along for the journey. Just the Epilogue to go, and then this one is finished. | |
| PSW | Reviewed Chapter: 17 on 2/19/2025 |
| Yay, Archie’s alive! 😁 But it’s not looking so good for the next group - ride like the wind, boys! Author Reply: Good thing Ferumbras planned the journey so that the ponies wouldn't be used up by the time they reached Long Cleeve... | |
| shirebound | Reviewed Chapter: 17 on 2/19/2025 |
| ‘Mount up! We ride to battle!’ For the Shire! Eeeee, such suspense! Author Reply: Go Hobbits Go! | |
| Leithian | Reviewed Chapter: 16 on 2/18/2025 |
| Wow, that was quick. The Thain is quite decisive, and when he takes on a course of action, he commits to it. (I might not have worded it properly, it is early mornig here..) Now with Ferumbras and Bandobras leading the Hobbits, the Goblins are in for the surprise of their lives. So excited for the historic battle now. Author Reply: You put it quite well! The Thain is impulsive (which can be interpreted as quick to respond to a situation) as well as decisive (rather like JRRT described one of his descendants, Pippin, on the Quest). He thinks clearly in a crisis. While he would have preferred to keep Bandobras in the Shire, he's no fool, so he immediately began to prepare to send a Muster to the North-lands, whether to escort the Northlanders safely to the Shire to begin again, or to drive out the invaders and secure the North-lands for hobbits. In other words, he's a canny gambler who covers his bets. Thanks for sharing your thoughts! | |
| PSW | Reviewed Chapter: 16 on 2/18/2025 |
| Ferumbras is such a good big brother! They are headed there as fast as they can - worried they maybe, but there’s nothing more they can do. I hope they make it in time! Author Reply: Ferumbras dearly loves his little brother and, with his capacity for love and understanding, he will make a fine Thain someday. Luckily, a lot of diverse factors came together in a perfect storm... from the goblins' perspective, anyhow. Bandobras acquiring Friend, doughty hobbit scouts who brought back crucial information, the goblin incursion happening right around the time of the All-Shire archery tournament (which saved a lot of time since all the best archers were already gathered together on the spot). JRRT wrote a lot of "coincidences" into his accounts while making it clear that he didn't believe in coincidence, laying down an excellent foundation (or do I mean "setting an excellent example"?) for stories based in his world. Thanks so much for your encouraging reviews! | |
| shirebound | Reviewed Chapter: 16 on 2/18/2025 |
| No horde of goblins would anticipate that hobbits could rustle up an organized troop to defend the Shire, or that hobbits could even imagine doing so. Author Reply: Some might see the hobbits' quick and decisive response as uncharacteristic, but I'm remembering that the first Thain was chosen from among the Hobbit chiefs during the recovery period after the Witch-king's forces had overrun the Shire in Bucca's time, and the Thain was "the master of the Shire-moot, and captain of the Shire-muster and the Hobbitry-in-arms". (That's one of the reasons I included the historical overview at the start of this story.) Thus, it is quite possible that even after the Thain became more of a ceremonial position, Thains (and those in training to succeed them) would have had to learn about such things as rustling up an organized troop to defend the Shire! (I love how you phrased that!) There wasn't room to include this detail in the drabbles, but during the journey north, when the Muster stopped to rest, the hobbits practiced with the weapons they received from the Mathom-house, becoming acquainted with their weight and heft. They already used hammers, axes, and bows in daily life for peacetime purposes, so I think they were able to build on that familiarity (as far as an innate understanding of how physics works). I hope this review reply isn't too long and nerdy! I am simply delighting in the details this morning. Author Reply: What I meant to say above was that because the first Thain was chosen after enemies attacked the Shire, they would have been very much aware of the need for a defense force for future generations, and would have set in motion traditions to ensure that the necessary knowledge would carry forward. | |