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| The Tenth Walker by Lindelea | 835 Review(s) |
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| Virtuella | Reviewed Chapter: 77 on 4/14/2025 |
| Well, the first footer is supposed to be a tall, dark man, but I suppose under the circumstances, a hobbit will suffice. ;-) Author Reply: Hmm, then it would make sense for a Hobbit first-footer to be either tall (for a hobbit) and dark, or short and fair? (Actually, Ferdibrand Took as I write him is dark-haired and tall for a hobbit, which sort of fits with his first-footing story. LOL!) | |
| Virtuella | Reviewed Chapter: 76 on 4/14/2025 |
| Ooooh, first-footing! What a very Scottish thing to do! :) :) :) Author Reply: When I heard about first-footing, it sounded so hobbity to me... I must admit to borrowing freely from and blending together various Celtic customs and turns of phrase in shaping Shire life. (Hopefully the blend is pleasant and not jarring!) | |
| Virtuella | Reviewed Chapter: 75 on 4/5/2025 |
| I can so relate to that. I have fallen in the water many times as a child... Author Reply: Someone close to me recently suffered a severe case of hypothermia while hiking, and I sent them the link to this chapter to read in hospital. They were quite amused and said, 'Yup. Pretty much.' Thanks for dropping a note! I can certainly empathize with the whole miserable business of falling in water and being cold and wet while travelling between places of shelter. | |
| Virtuella | Reviewed Chapter: 74 on 4/5/2025 |
| Yeah, I do wonder about Aragorn as well... What did the pony smell? Was it the swamp? Or a hint of Saruman's influence, of orcs or wargs? Author Reply: Looking back at the chapter, I think Bill was smelling a swamp or bog, and it reminded him of the Midgewater Marshes. And, yeah, one might wonder about Aragorn and his familiarity with travel in this area, considering how much backtracking they seemed to have done – and not all that far from Rivendell! "The paths were little known to anyone except to the people of Rivendell" the text says. And Aragorn lived a fair number of years in Rivendell, so did he never explore these paths? Inquiring minds would like to know. One part of JRRT's admittedly brief (two paragraphs!) description of the first fortnight of walking includes this sentence: Paths were few and winding, and led them often only to the edge of some sheer fall, or down into treacherous swamps. | |
| Virtuella | Reviewed Chapter: 73 on 4/5/2025 |
| [I try to imagine what it might be like, to be small and afraid, with larger creatures blundering past…] Yes, I guess the world holds many terrors for small creatures. :( [How fearsome They would be, if they rode upon winged creatures!] Nice foreshadowing! In the book, very little happens between Rivendell and Moria, so I am looking forward to finding out what you have done to fill the gap. Author Reply: I hope it works! There is so little description, and yet they were travelling miles and miles through pretty rough country! I'm sure it wasn't just monotonous put-one-foot-in-front-of-the-other trudging along for the whole time! (Of course, I've read so many gapfillers over the years, it's equally improbable that so many things happened along the way – but certainly fun to read!) I anticipated the same problem with the continuation, Bill's journey back to Bree. So I'll just have to see how well it sits with the reader when I finally start posting chapters. Hopefully, it won't stretch people's incredulity too much. Thanks for reading and taking the time to share your thoughts! | |
| Virtuella | Reviewed Chapter: 71 on 4/5/2025 |
| Oh-oh, Boromir put his foot in his mouth! Author Reply: He certainly did! But he'll learn, I'm sure. (I wonder, was Faramir a faster learner than his brother?) | |
| Virtuella | Reviewed Chapter: 70 on 4/5/2025 |
| nutmeats - something like a modern protein bar, I guess? [he has an answer to each and every one, though he often pauses, as if to ponder, before offering a reply. I marvel at his wisdom] You know, I used to find Sam quite irritating, so subservient and needy, but on my last reread I gave him a different voice in my head and suddenly, he was this young but capable hobbit with his head screwed on right. Lovely to see this sweet interaction with Boromir! Author Reply: I'm tired today, so this reply is rather rambling and thinking aloud. Disregard as you wish, or feel free to discuss! I love pondering details of Tolkien's world-building, and it's always fun to gain additional food for thought to chew on. Pretty much like a protein bar! Or maybe trail mix. Concentrated calories for hiking, anyhow. I'm glad to hear you came to see Sam in a new light. I've always seen him as a product of his environment. Maybe because I read a lot of Dickens and Victorian children's stories and watched "Upstairs Downstairs" and "The Duchess of Duke Street" (or something like that) with my mom as a kid before I encountered Tolkien? And then before I started writing fanfic, I read all of Dorothy Sayers' "Lord Peter" books and encountered Bunter, Lord Peters batman (I think?) in WWI. If I'm remembering right, he pulled Peter out of a collapsed trench, and then when Peter was invalided home, basically nonfunctional from shell shock (he couldn't even give orders to his parents' servants because he'd been traumatized by ordering men to their deaths), "Sergeant Bunter" showed up on the doorstep of the mansion and just naturally stepped into the role of Peter's manservant (which included taking photographs of crime scenes and running an organization of informants, if I'm remembering right). He is never portrayed as "less than" – but he is "different", and he may be deferential, but he's never subservient, if I'm making sense. Thus, in my Shire, I've built on Tolkien's hints of class distinctions, but I don't structure it in an oppressive way. Rather, hobbits are creatures of habit. If you're interested, here are a couple places where I explored the idea as part of the dialogue (feel free to read or bypass as you will): http://www.storiesofarda.com/chapterview.asp?sid=796&cid=3472 (Freddy and Frodo separately explain the concept of "place" to Estella from a "gentry" viewpoint: One of the things Freddy says about Sam is Just because he’s of a lower class does not mean he is actually lower—why, I believe he has more influence over Frodo than I do, and I’m Frodo’s kin!) http://www.storiesofarda.com/chapterview.asp?sid=796&cid=3799 (A healer's explanation to Samwise from the "common hobbit" viewpoint: Among the points he makes are Fancy dress and fancy talk don’t cut any ice with Farmer Cotton! Not from a common hobbit, anyhow. He puts up with it from the gentry, for it’s what he’d expect, so long as they don’t look down their noses at him for being a hobbit of honest labour and But rolled-up sleeves and plain talk, they don’t cut any ice with the gentry, you see? If I, as a healer, want them to mind my words, I’ve got to get them to do more than half-listen to me. I have to talk their talk, but if I’m looking plain and speaking fancy it makes them uncomfortable, so I take pains with my appearance so as to make it easier for them to listen. Poor souls, they don’t know any better, and so I make the effort.) | |
| KathyG | Reviewed Chapter: 128 on 4/1/2025 |
| Well, it's happened. As of now, Bill has been separated from the Fellowship and is all alone. And now that April has begun, I look forward to the sequel's first chapter! Author Reply: (Good things he has those words of guard and guiding to fall back on...) The continuation is coming soon! The Rescue is coming close to the end of the story, and after I've posted the last chapter of that one, I'll start posting Bill's journey home. Thanks so much for reading and pausing to leave an encouraging word! | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 117 on 3/31/2025 |
| It will be lovely for all of them to rest at last. Poor Pippin--the youngest and smallest of the bunch, and so desirous of being respected as an adult. At least we know that day WILL come. Author Reply: Rest – what a lovely concept. I'll be so glad when (and if) we've passed through these stressful times. Hopefully to something better. And justice. That wouldn't be too much to hope for, would it? Alas, poor Pippin, this year of adventure is probably equal to a lifetime of growing up in most hobbits' experience. But you're right. It's nice to know he'll survive and thrive and even prosper in the coming years. | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 116 on 3/30/2025 |
| I love Gandalf's compassion toward Bill, as well as Bill's constant concern for the safety of his Hobbits. And it appears that Gimli has more care for Bill than his father's companions had toward Merrylegs and his fellows. Author Reply: I love the framework the Professor provided for us to build upon, where one of Gandalf's talents (is that the right word?) is kindling courage and confidence in others. (Courage is right, at least, while confidence is a guess since I don't remember exactly how he described Gandalf's effect on people, like when he was walking through Minas Tirith during the siege.) Perhaps the company he's currently keeping is rubbing off on Gimli? It's possible that other Dwarves might look at him funny if he were to strike up a conversation with a pony, but he sees the other Walkers doing so all the time. :) Thanks! | |