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| Beneath a Gibbous Moon by Bodkin | 58 Review(s) |
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| utfrog98 | Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 3/24/2007 |
| That was the best night-before-battle story I ever read. Beautifully written. It would be a terrible cliff-hanger if I did not know the ending. Lovely, lovely was to start my day. Thank you. Author Reply: Thank you very much! I'm glad you liked it. It must have been such a dark night - so long, and yet with all those there dreading the dawn. Thank goodness we know the outcome! And that those whom we feel we know survived the day to build a new and better world. | |
| perelleth | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 3/15/2007 |
| LOL! thankfully you explained what it was all about, for I was at a loss seeing again chapter one! I loved the paralell between the two tales, and Oropher mourning the land under a gibbous moon. Elros comforting and counselling the elf sounded very fitting and the landscape as usual almost took over the scene. I really loved it. Author Reply: H'mm. Sorry. It just seemed better to put them up chronologically. But it is confusing! There are remarkably interesting parallels between the three pairs of elves that I never even thought of until after I had written the Second Age section - a bond between two families that makes the Aragorn/Legolas relationship inevitable - and, quite possibly, might help reconcile Thranduil to his son's disappearance to Ithilien. Or at least help him understand it. The land definitely took on its own personality in the First Age. Such destruction. The courage of those who survived these cataclysmic times to fight on is so impressive. Thank you, perelleth. Third Age coming soon. | |
| French Pony | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 3/13/2007 |
| I'd been meaning to review this, but end-of-quarter got in the way. After I figured out that you'd put it before your other chapter instead of after, things were great (I can be a little slow that way). Elros and Oropher make an interesting pair. They both seem to have been terribly scarred during the war and are dealing with it in similar ways, but they have such different personalities. It's neat to see the points where they connect and the points where they don't. Author Reply: Well - chronology! (Sorry - I didn't even think to point out the reversed order until much later!) Fortunately the Third Age will come last, so I won't muddle anyone there! I think Oropher was scarred - by more than the war. Maybe dating all the way back to the earlier battles and Denethor's death. And he has the kind of personality that hugs hurt to himself and takes it personally - while also being much kinder and more generous than he wants anyone to know. While Elros - how can he and Elrond not have been scarred by their childhoods? In some ways, it is amazingly courageous of Elros to be prepared to abandon all he knows to start again - but it is a way of dealing with the past by excision ... while Elrond prefers the poultice. Oropher would have found it hard to deal with Elros and Elrond - they are, in two people, the sum of so many houses and hopes. How can he reject Elu's descendants - Luthien's great-grandsons? But, on the other hand, they are also heirs of the Men Elu tried to keep out of Doriath and - even worse - share the blood of Exiles with the Kinslayers. But with Elros going West and Oropher East, he probably managed to come up with some mental compromise that let him deal with it. For now, anyway! Author Reply: And at least they didn't have any Dwarf blood ... | |
| elliska | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 3/10/2007 |
| Loved this! Oropher is so perfect in it. I really think you capture the way he would have felt immediately after the loss of Doriath so well here. And I love this conversation paired with the one in the next chapter. Wonderful! Author Reply: I can't help but feel that Oropher was quite an angry elf - at times, anyway - but who can blame him? By this point he has lost almost everything, except his wife and son, and is being forced to confront a world that has changed. It would, I think, make him very protective of what he had left. And yet - Elros and Elrond are the only grandsons of Elu's grandson. Old loyalties would war with old resentments - because they are also the grandsons of Fingolfin's granddaughter. And part-reared by Feanor's sons. While to elven eyes they are still little more than children - younger than Thranduil. I'm glad you like the pairing of two families meeting at the end of the Ages. And the Third Age will be along soon ... | |
| Redheredh | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 3/7/2007 |
| Well, you already know how I love Oropher in general, and your version of him remains very appealing. His inner thoughts of turning eastward were well phrased and believably weighed out from his own pov. On the other hand, a youthful Elros, which is a good depiction of him at this time, is way too casual with his elder, if afar, kinsman, imho. Although, in the most likable way imaginable. Yes, perhaps already practicing the privileges of his kingship. ;) Especially, there at the end! I loved the atmosphere you painted here! The stunningly horrendous and spoiled landscape, yet clearly the processes of cleansing is occurring just as the Valar intended. Earendil's light was wonderfully described. An elf would perceive it so bright and present, more so than a mortal. ...eventual reconciliation... sooo neatly said! ... a light to keep burning in dark places... light imperishable... Frodo will come to that appreciation one day too! Great episode! So, the Third Age is next? Author Reply: Well. Elros is rather more irreverent than his brother, I think! And there are times when all barriers come down and the mere fact of being there, in the same place at the same time, overrides differences and allows people to say things they would normally keep to themselves. It must have been an absolutely horrific time - one of those moments when everything pauses before heading off in a different direction. With all sorts of people brought together and enduring on top of each other, before trying to get back to interrupted lives. And, in some cases, pretend that nothing had happened. Glad you liked it, Redheredh. And yes, the Third Age is simmering away. (It's much more difficult, in some ways. You wouldn't believe the amount of stuff about the moon and stars and where they are in the sky at what times of year!) | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 3/7/2007 |
| Oh, such a wonderful look at Elros before he left Ennor, a youth new-come to his choice.... Wonderful, to think of finding that hope that sustains and is, all to often, all that sustains yet is enough. Lovely, Bodkin. Author Reply: Elros had to have hope, I think, to do what he did. It was almost a choice in reflection of his father's, really - to sail away at the behest of the Valar and begin again, apart from everyone he knew and loved. And something similar, maybe, pushed Oropher towards the east, where he could take up his own battle. Thank you, Larner. | |
| Denise | Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 3/7/2007 |
| This is beautiful, Bodkin! The parallels between the two chapters (ancestors/descendants, mists/wights, the massive impending changes) are very well done, and you wove in the bits of foreshadowing masterfully. Scanning some of the previous reviews, I must add that I also think a Legolas/Aragorn Ch.3 would be supremely fitting, and tie all three ages together marvelously... :) The only slightly confusing part for me (not having read the story when Ch. 2 was the only chapter) was that I started out Ch. 1 expecting it to be at night due to the title. However, the images of the blood-red ocean after Beleriand's destruction, and then of Elros washed by the light of Earendil's Silmaril, were both just perfect. I loved Oropher seeing aspects of all of Elros' different ancestors in the young mortal at various points in their conversation; and Elros' comparison of the Valar to eagles raising squirrel kits (snort!). Elros' request of Oropher to look after Elrond ties nicely to Oropher's participation in the Last Alliance, when Thranduil's opinion might very well have reflected that of most of the Wood-elves. I (happily) read the second chapter twice in order to catch all of the references, before we see who the two characters really are. Very moving and humorous exchanges! I particularly liked the bit about intemperate Wood-elves, and Isildur's reflections on how elves always expected men to stand watch while the elves undertook any action. No matter how bleak or challenging the future looks in either age, your quiet but firm underlying message is one of hope and friendship, and I love that most of all. Thank you for sharing this. Author Reply: Thank you, Denise! I should have pointed out in the summary that the first chapter was the new one - and then it might have shown that the title was actually attached to the second! The third chapter won't have the same problems! (Because, yes, there is going to be one. It's more or less done!) Oropher / Elros - in some ways it was the most difficult meeting, because they were probably least likely to spend time in each other's company. Although - random thought occurrence here - maybe that fits, too. Elros/Oropher - big age difference (in the barely adult to before-Anor-rose kind of way), not very well acquainted, probably not much in common; Isildur/Thranduil - both mature, been allies for seven years, even if they didn't know each other before, come to friendship; Aragorn/Legolas - friends to the point where Legolas remains in Ithilien and Middle-earth beside the king restored. The whole Hope thing makes a great tool - from Gil-Estel down to the child raised in Imladris. I'm glad you enjoyed this. | |
| Raksha The Demon | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 3/7/2007 |
| Ooh, what a lovely vignette. I don't think I've ever seen a conversation between these two before; and it's written beautifully. Though young, Elros shows the insight that will help make him founder and first king of Numenor; as well as a certain vulnerability. The bit about Elros and Elrond only being able to connect to their family through the sight of their long-gone father's star is wonderful and sad. There really should be a third chapter, with Legolas and Aragorn the night before the battle of the Black Gate or something. Author Reply: Thank you. Elros is young, but he is still the product of a lot of powerful lines coming together - and the progenitor of kings. His experience must, I think, have given him extra resilience in some areas, but also left him vulnerable - especially where relationships are concerned. It is a shame that Elros and Elrond were separated - and it must have been harder on Elrond who was left behind - since about the only family they had left was represented by Earendil's star. The third chapter is pretty much done. It just needs to rest awhile. | |
| daw the minstrel | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 3/6/2007 |
| I know I'm supposed to see the Valar's curse as justified, and the Sons of Feanor did some terrible things, but when you see how other suffered for it, I have trouble seeing the justice. It seems right that Oropher mourns for the land as well as the people. Elros's youth is interesting to me here. I don't usually think of him as that way when he went to Numenor, but it's obviously entirely possible. Author Reply: Yes. It's such a sweeping thing - and includes so many who never did anything wrong. And so irrevocable, too. The destruction of Doriath and the drowning of Beleriand would, I'm sure, have made Oropher very angry and resentful (- it doesn't take much, I feel. He is ... mercurial.) Elros is young. He's about 60, I think. Which in elven terms is nothing. Barely adult. And he lives another 400 years or so (dredging faint memory here). He has, of course, been through a lot - but he's had quite a fractured youth. I think he would be - old in the way of war, but young in other ways. Probably family-related. The choice he made, too, seems to me to have something of the optimism of youth. And he hasn't actually gone to Numenor yet - there's a fair period of preparation, as I recall. (Goodness, but I'm being incoherent! I'll stop now...) | |
| ellie | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 3/6/2007 |
| What wonderful chapter! Very insightful and full of hope in the face of despair. I wasn't expecting the change in Oropher and at first I kept thinking the boy was Elrond. I love your writing! Author Reply: Thank you! It must have been a terrible time. The aftermath of war is - it seems to me - often more shattering than the war itself. I suppose it's the time when emotions have the chance to catch up with actions. Elros makes a better link here - after all Isildur and Aragorn are his descendants. Oropher can be difficult - but I think he would not be able to avoid feeling sympathy for Elros and his brother. Or be able to forget that they were Elu's only living descendants. | |