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| The Way Home by Lindelea | 334 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| Lady Forlong | Reviewed Chapter: 89 on 10/11/2026 |
| I get a kick out of the way he takes things so literally and doesn't know what they mean -- what's a ticket and where are the ducks LOL Of course, it's amazing that he can even understand what the humans are saying at all. Interesting that his "Voices" picked this moment to come back. | |
| shirebound | Reviewed Chapter: 89 on 10/11/2026 |
| My Voices have returned, and they sound rather pleased with Themselves into the bargain. I love that. :) What a sweet and valuable riding lesson. I think Violet will need to visit Bag End in future years to visit "her" Bill. | |
| KathyG | Reviewed Chapter: 88 on 10/7/2026 |
| Sounds as if you're in for some good times now, Bill! You could use them after all that's happened. Author Reply: (I think we all could use some good times after all that's happened...) This chapter and the next few could be labelled as "fluff". It has been a lot of fun to revisit my misty memories of my earliest riding lessons, along with indulging Bill with good company and fine grazing. Thanks so much for staying with me! I appreciate your comments. | |
| Lady Forlong | Reviewed Chapter: 88 on 10/6/2026 |
| How delightful! The children get to ride him. As long as the ruffians don't make another appearance, life will be good for him until "his" hobbits get back. Author Reply: I can assure you that Bill's next encounter with ruffians will be sometime later, when he has the chance to kick out at Ferny when the Travellers reach the Brandywine Bridge. Many of the rogue Men who dared to attack Bree and Archet and the field-workers have now seen the handwriting on the wall and have left for greener pastures. Though there are still some robbers and "dark shapes" lurking in the woods, hoping to accost solitary travellers, Bree-landers are now alert to the dangers outside their fortified town and villages, and they are prepared for trouble – which has the benefit of making trouble much less likely to occur. Thanks so much for reading and pausing to share your thoughts! I find I'm enjoying the good life right alongside Bill and his current "family". | |
| shirebound | Reviewed Chapter: 88 on 10/6/2026 |
| What peaceful and well-earned days now for Bill. Like his hobbits, he's being appreciated and honored, and well cared for. Author Reply: I think I'm enjoying these days almost as much as Bill is. Whew. Several chapters of pure fluff, that seems to be just what was needed. (Thanks!) | |
| KathyG | Reviewed Chapter: 87 on 9/21/2026 |
| No, no, Bill, not Pippin! That was not Pippin you saw taking the Ring and falling into the magma--that was Gollum. Whoa! Another battle with ruffians? Will they ever learn?? [shakes head] And what a vision Bill had, even as they were all fighting! Author Reply: Alas, poor Bill! My main comfort is that he's in for a joyful surprise when the Travellers return. I suspect that this last battle was the final straw for the ruffians. Though all the villages in the Bree-land had fortified themselves, building or reinforcing walls against attackers and establishing guards and watchers to replace the departed Rangers, the ruffians-robbers thought they could keep raiding the fields outside the towns... until the latest battle showed them that the townsfolk and villagers were prepared to deal with such organized raids. Travellers will still have to be cautious and travel armed and in numbers, of course, as Butterbur mentions to the Travellers, but the bulk of the ruffians (including Bill Ferny) have already departed (or will soon be departing) for the Shire to seek greener pastures and softer prey. Thanks! | |
| Lady Forlong | Reviewed Chapter: 87 on 9/21/2026 |
| Yay! The worst is over. But no one knows what happened yet, at least not in Bree. I wonder how long it will take them to find out. And Bill doesn't know yet that "his" hobbits will soon be on their way home, but he'll be so happy when they get there. So sad that poor Bill mistakes Smeagol for Pippen, but he'll soon find out he's wrong about that. He'll be more than pleasantly surprised when "Youngest" comes back in one piece. Author Reply: I don't think the Bree-landers will even begin to hear about what happened elsewhere until the Travellers return, just from Butterbur's reaction to their storytelling as Tolkien recounts that particular evening in Bree. In reading the rest of your thoughts, I can't help smiling at the surprises and joyful reunions that are in store for Bill. Oddly enough, the onset of October in the real world is making it easier to work the draft chapters into final form. Thus, I have hopes of posting the Travellers' return on or about the same date as is in The Tale of Years. (Think good thoughts. Life has offered disruptions lately that prevented me from finishing my dribbles for LOTR Week – so those have joined the list of WIPs that will be finished, sooner or later, if I have anything to say about it. But, anyhow, I carved out some writing-and-revising time today, so that's something.) Thanks! I appreciate hearing your thoughts. | |
| shirebound | Reviewed Chapter: 87 on 9/19/2026 |
| After a brief eternity, the earth seems to tremble beneath me, and then the merest hint of a breeze caresses my cheek, as if the Bree-land itself has released its pent-up breath in a sigh. That's a marvelous way to transition from one Age to the next. What a story, my friend! Author Reply: Thank you! It won't be long before the Travellers return! The rest of spring and summer, the start of autumn, and then... | |
| Lady Forlong | Reviewed Chapter: 86 on 9/17/2026 |
| So it's happened and so far, Bill is clueless. Gotta wonder what those evil shapes in the fog are all about, but I expect the dark clouds will get blown away soon now. And everyone will probably feel better and not know why. Author Reply: I imagined that half-orcs made up part of the ruffian force plaguing Bree, and that's why their shapes/smell reminded Bill of the shapes in the trees in the Chetwood. And everyone will probably feel better and not know why. They'll probably chalk it up to the fact that the robbers no longer have the nerve to attack the fortified towns or any activity protected by armed guards, even though some continue to lurk in the woods to waylay unwary travelers. They won't know about anything happening in the Outer World until much later, as things stand. Why, they don't even know that the King has come back! (Or will be coming back sometime soon, now that he's accomplished his destiny and saved the world and all that, with the help of a few friends, of course.) Author Reply: p.s. Thanks! | |
| KathyG | Reviewed Chapter: 86 on 9/17/2026 |
| Whoa! It's happening, isn't it? This is it! Author Reply: You're right! It's happening! This is it! (Thanks!) | |