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| When Winter Fell by Lindelea | 158 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| Bodkin | Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 10/26/2005 |
| I love seeing young Bilbo. I don't think I've ever read another young Bilbo story. He is really rather a sweetie. I like his good manners - he'll be the toast of the market traders. Unlike Siggy - who is a bit too much the Thain's grandson. Just a touch too cocky. Poor Isengard. There's a lot of pain in his story, I'm sure. He needs to have a few affectionate young Tooks who are interested in his stories rather than embarrassed by him. It's one thing being a disreputable old relative - and quite another being a disreputable and despised old relative. Fingers crossed the old man in grey (Gandalf, I take it) is able to do something about it on his way to corrupting another generation of adventurous Tooks. Oh and "prey tell" and "pray tell". Pray tell. Because you are using 'pray' in the sense of asking as you ask somebody to impart information. Author Reply: I don't remember reading about young Bilbo, either, though there may be stories out there. (And I may even have read one or more of them. My brain is not working well at all at the moment, and it's a wonder I can write and keep track of story threads and continuity. Huh. Perhaps I can't, but only think I can, and I will read this a month or six from now, whenever it'll be that I can get the migraines under control again, and kick myself.) I know the first I ever thought about him was in the first and last chapters of "Shire". Somehow I see Bilbo as being raised with an emphasis on good manners. I don't know if it's from my first glimpse of him in "The Hobbit" or something else. Poor Isengard. There is an awful lot of pain in his story, some of which will come out if I manage things properly. Things are about to get very rough, but after that I hope they'll get better. I think Gandalf feels partly responsible for what happened to Isengard, but he's been rather busy of late. He probably wouldn't be making this visit now, if he weren't bringing news. Thanks! | |
| Dreamflower | Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 10/26/2005 |
| I love this glimpse of Bilbo at that stage of adolescence where he can't embarass himself, but anything someone who's with him does causes intense mortification. (I can remember my son being thoroughly embarassed in the library one day by my mild suggestion that it was time to leave, LOL!) I see you've also paired Bilbo with Sigismond as good friends--makes sense with them so close in age (same year on the famiy tree, I think.) And *whoo-hoo* looks like Gandalf is making an appearance! What a treat to find this in the wee hours! Author Reply: Glad to brighten your wee hours! I am up much too early after being up so late, but my inner clock is set to arise before this time, so I am royally messing myself up it seems. I figured Siggy and Bilbo would either be best friends or worst enemies, and chose to go the "friends" route. Although that doesn't preclude disagreements and even fisticuffs! I am having the dickens of a time finding the difference between "prey tell" and "pray tell". I'm seeing both equally sprinkled throughout google. Haven't been able to pin down the etymology (that means "word origin", doesn't it?) of the phrase. Do you happen to know? Yep, it's the Old Man in Grey himself. He is, after all, responsible for so many lads and lasses going off and having adventures. (Had to write a bit on a lighter topic to alleviate the angst in the Glisters sequel, whew.) | |
| Anso the Hobbit | Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 7/7/2005 |
| It can be hard to remember winter`s chill on a very hot day. Those hobbits reminds me of us Norwegians, lol. Despite the hot day we stay outside because it`s sun and warm and how it`s supposed to be. And then we ask when it`s going to rain because the nice summer can`t possibly last (and rarely does either). :D Author Reply: And now you're having very chilly weather, indeed... *hugs and hot cider and warm snuggly blankets and a roaring fire on the hearth and a good book to read* | |
| Bodkin | Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 7/3/2005 |
| If it is too hot to ride a pony, is it not too hot to send a grandson? Answer: no. Ponies cost money. Grandsons come without direct payment. Though the hot summer definitely augurs the bad winter. Author Reply: Ah, that makes things very clear. I'll pass that on to Fortinbras. Why is it that a hot summer augurs a bad winter? It was the same in Laura Ingalls Wilder's "Long Winter". Of course, we cannot have any old "Indians" walking into the scene, warning about the bad winter to come with sign language. Will have to figure out some other device. | |
| Dreamflower | Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 7/2/2005 |
| Poor abused Fortinbras, having to run errands for his grandfather! What horrible fate will the old Thain deal out next? LOL! You've painted the perfect picture of aggrieved youth! *giggle* Author Reply: Thanks for the quick review! Poor abused, put-upon youth. There really ought to be a law... | |
| Anso the Hobbit | Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 6/21/2005 |
| Not easy being a young hobbit when the Thain`s got his eyes on you! I laughed out loud at the journal entry though! :D Author Reply: Yes, I'd say Bilbo took a page out of his ancestor's book! | |
| Inkling | Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 6/15/2005 |
| So why am I reading this, and not the gazillion MEFA stories I should be reading? Well, it’s very quirky and appealing. And there aren’t many stories featuring young Bilbo and his parents (that I’ve seen, anyway). But it’s probably because I couldn’t resist the chance to get in on one of your tales at the beginning for a change, rather than having 30 or so chapters to catch up with! ;) I really like Isengar…for a looney, he seems pretty sharp to me. I suspect he will get to be heroic during the Fell Winter… p.s.—And *ahem* if I may just offer my own humble opinion, cuke sandwiches ROCK! Author Reply: O I know, and I ought to be reading MEFA stories as well, but my eyes are tired, the past few days, and so I will go early to bed and hope for better tomorrow. And I know that the "writing mood" will pass. It always does. And then, with the writing dried up for the moment, it'll be good to spend my computer time reading and commenting. One story, for sure, that I want to re-read and vote on is Thundera Tiger's "When the Ring Went South". That was one of the very first pieces of fanfic I ever read! I tried to vote on it last year, but it hadn't been nominated. LOL! And is your story in the pool? I think it is, but I forget. There's another good reason to move it up on my want-to-read list, besides the poignant sound bite clipped from the second Epilogue that I read on an email loop. My goodness, you have very good instincts. How did you know? Isengar is pretty sharp, even with his eccentricities. Or maybe he's eccentric because he's so bright? Thanks! Author Reply: p.s. I like cuke sandwiches if the cukes are very very fresh, the bread is sliced thin and the butter is unsalted. | |
| Dreamflower | Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 6/14/2005 |
| I love the entry that we finally get from Bilbo. Of course it consisted of the most important thing: what he had for tea. And I like your Bungo very much. He sounds like a good father. Author Reply: I figure that whatever else he may be, Bungo has got to be likeable. And I think he must love books. I'm still feeling my way, looking at Bilbo's character and position (What must it be like, for Bungo as a Baggins, to marry the daughter of the Thain of Tookland? The Thain could be just a farmer working in his field, bearing an honorary title, but not the way I've set up the Shire in my stories. Sometimes I want to go back and re-create it all over again, just for fun, without the elaborate society. Wonder what it would be like?), and trying to discern more about his parents through... what is it called, induction? or deduction? Something like that. Thanks! | |
| Bodkin | Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 6/14/2005 |
| I have a very strong hope that Bilbo gets over his fear of poor Uncle Isengar - who seems to me to be a very lonely hobbit, in great need of an affectionate nephew to listen to his tales and look on him as an interesting person in his own right. Bilbo could have become an Isengar - except for a few lucky breaks. His own smial for one. Plenty of dragon gold for another. Good health for a third. Bilbo is a smart hobbit, though. He managed to keep his secret - I liked the by-play about setting up a profitable trade in journals - and still get his tea before he had to write his journal entry. Unsurprisingly food based. This is a fun story - although my heart is bleeding for Isengar. Author Reply: I'm glad you're enjoying the story. I'm afraid Isengar is a tragic figure, though he will have his moments to shine, and he will have some comfort along the way, and at the last, in his ending. But that's a long time in coming, and there will be some very rough parts along the way, I'm sorry to say. I wish the story had written itself in a different direction. I have to look forward to the end, and certain bright spots that happen before the end, or my heart would break for the hobbit. Still, Bilbo's mum loves her little brother very much, and Bungo is a practical hobbit with pity in his heart, and generosity of spirit. Things may be looking up for Isengar in the near future. You never know. | |
| Elena Tiriel | Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 6/14/2005 |
| *Barbara checks her refrigerator:* No bacon, nary a single mushroom, no scones, no strawberry preserves and *definitely* not any clotted cream (this being America), no salmon, no eggs, no seed cakes (whatever they are)... Reading your stories makes me feel terribly deprived... though you can keep the cucumbers, thank-you-very-much... - Barbara, with grumbling stomach... ;-) Author Reply: *Lin pats the poor, bereft beast and hopes for better fortunes in future* We can buy clotted cream at the nearest British market, or Cost Plus World Market, in little tiny jars at fiendish prices. (Or you can make your own approximation, I forget how, but I think the recipe involves sour cream and powdered sugar. Or you can buy raw milk, skim off the cream, let the raw cream sit on the counter overnight and then beat it up. Yum.) Perhaps our city boasts enough people from the UK to make those little jars worthwhile to carry on the store shelves. I know workplaces here that have afternoon tea, and a tea cart that comes around on breaks! Cucumber sandwiches aren't too bad. I do try to include them where I may in deference to "The Importance of Being Ernest". *g* Seedcake is disgusting stuff, unless you like caraway. But Bilbo seems to like it. And it has been fun to give Pippin a taste for the stuff. Makes him more contrary, in my mind, somehow. Thanks! | |