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| Might Have Beens by Larner | 147 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| Bodkin | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 4/15/2007 |
| Oooh. Dreadful thought. It wouldn't have done Sam any good at all in the long run - but I can see him being willing to sacrifice his peace of mind to save Frodo in the last way available to him. And then bearing the burden for him. Sam is strong - and determined. Author Reply: Unfortunately, I can see it, too, Bodkin. The aftermath of such an action would be the question, I think. But I cannot see Frodo wishing to become a wraith, or the rest agreeing to it. | |
| Pearl Took | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 4/13/2007 |
| OH MY GOD, Larner! This is an incredibly powerful story!! And yes, Sam would indeed become a force to be reckoned with. I've still got the shivers! MEWD!!!!!!!! Author Reply: I agree--Sam in such a situation would indeed become a force to be reckoned with, although what he would come to in the end is the question. Thank you so much. | |
| Edlyn | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 4/13/2007 |
| I have not the competence to truly describe how this alternate telling struck me. Terrible, and heartrending don't even come close to describing it. Beautifully crafted, meldenya. Edlyn Author Reply: Thank you, indeed, Edlyn. | |
| Kitty | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 4/13/2007 |
| Uh – that was truly terrible, and I am so *very* glad it didn’t happen that way. Poor Sam! That’s certainly the worst he had ever to do – to destroy the One Ring will be nothing in comparison, I suppose. And I am sure Elrond is right – his hatred for Sauron will give Sam a strength nobody could expect in a hobbit and the immovable will to destroy Sauron. I only wonder if he would get out of the Sammath Naur in the end or jump in after Gollum and the Ring to be reunited with his Master ... Author Reply: I, too, am so glad it didn't come to this. I'm now being strongly tempted to write far more of this story, but I'm doing my best to hold off this nuzgul until my current stories are further on. | |
| Andrea | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 4/13/2007 |
| Oh my God!!! I'm grateful indeed that this never happened! I can very well imagine that Frodo would have chosen death rather than becoming one of the Wraiths. And he would have asked Sam to do it. Sam did what he was "commanded" to do, out of love. But what would have become of him then? ...but in being forced to slay his Master this one has taken on a wrath and purpose the likes of which Arda has never seen. This is no longer the Sam we know. I agree with you, there is only one purpose of Sam's life now: to destroy Sauron. And after having accomplished that or during the process he would have killed himself. I don't think he would have managed to live with that guilt. A very dark story! Once again I'm glad it never happened! Author Reply: I, too, doubt Sam would have chosen to leave the Sammath Naur had this happened. But to see his beloved Master turned to a wraith himself--can you imagine how much worse that would have been for both of them? To see Frodo truly lose himself completely? To know he was being pursued by the Frodo-wraith, seeking to take the Ring back, even if the result would be that it would be taken from him again by Sauron himself? And even if this new Sam were to come back to the Shire, could he have married Rosie Cotton? I truly doubt it. Thanks for the comments. | |
| harrowcat | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 4/13/2007 |
| The Man felt the world of Arda skip a beat, then turned back to look toward the hollow where he’d left the Hobbits. “No!” he whispered in an agony of grief. “Not that!” But in the depths of his heart he knew it had been done, and fury such as he’d never felt before in his life rose in him. “Sauron—what you bring people to! You think that Elendil and Isildur and Gil-galad and Elrond hated you then? It’s nothing to what you will know now!” A definite 'might have been', Larner and a great starting point for another AU spin off that i think many people are willing you on to write. A heart-wrenching/killing thing for Sam to have to do. Author Reply: If I were to write this tale, it will have to be after the Tenant and the Wizards are done with--it's taking far too long as it is to get them written. This would come close to destroying Samwise Gamgee, I think. Frodo's desire to find a small, dark corner in the Halls of Mandos to hide within so he might recover would be nothing compared to what Sam would need, I fear. | |
| Stefania | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 4/12/2007 |
| Whew, what a dark story, Larner. Yet I agree with the other reviewers that it could easily become the starting off point for a great AU tale. I can't wit to see the other "what ifs" that you put in the Might Have Beens space. - Steff Author Reply: Some Might Have Beens are pretty dark, I admit. Don't know when I'll do another; but after rereading "Requesting Mercy" this one sort of wrote itself. | |
| elanor winterflowers | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 4/12/2007 |
| Agghh! That was PAINFUL—poor, poor Sam! Poor hobbits, all! There is an interesting distinction here, in how this might play out. We know that while the Ring hollowed Frodo out, it never really changed his nature, the essence of who he was. But here, we have Sam fundamentally changed from the outset, charged with the destruction of life and set upon the path of revenge that in the end will very likely render him a horror to himself. In such a reality, I expect he would take the Ring over the edge and into the Crack of Doom, happy to die with it. So, so sad!! And beautifully done; I was totally caught up, if kicking and screaming. :) Author Reply: Yes, this is how Sauron seeks to bring about the falls of others. And how Sam might have ended is difficult to say. Would he have been sent back to Tol Eressea, or would he have found himself feeling that what Feanor must endure is nothing to what he himself deserves in the Halls of Mandos? Thank you for the reaction--I know it has been almost too much for at least one other to read, and I grieve for the pain she feels. | |
| Radbooks | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 4/11/2007 |
| Oh, wow... that's heart wrenching! I've seen stories where Elrond, Aragorn, and Gandalf, etc., discussed having to do it if they couldn't get the shard out, but never thought of having Sam having to do such a thing. It makes me shudder inside... it's horrible to contemplate. It's so hard to imagine Sam carrying the Ring on and, yet you just know he would have done so with steely resolve. Author Reply: This is a sort of sequel to "Requesting Mercy." In one of Bodkin's stories during the final defense of Imladris by Elrond there was one by him with a knife, I trust to cut the finger with the Ring on it from his hand should Sauron come back into possession of his own that he not find himself put immediately under Sauron's control. I could imagine that Frodo would prefer to be dead than to become a lesser wraith. Had it come to this, I think that Sauron would have been amazed at just how implacable Sam would have been. Thanks for the review. | |
| Antane | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 4/11/2007 |
| Thank God indeed this didn't happen! Frodo had no right to ask his Sam this - this is going to destroy that gentle heart unless some great grace is given to him to endure his terrible darkness now. It was Frodo's terror speaking, not certainity. Would he have begged, would Sam have done it if they had known Glorfindel and help and salvation were so close? Not even the Wise can see all ends. This is why we should never murder someone simply because they ask for it because they can't or think they can't endure a moment more. I shudder to think what is going to happen to Sam now who is no longer going to be Sam. Don't let him near the Ring! Or else all of Middle-earth will fall and that loving soul will be the first. Not only poor Sam, but poor Merry and Pippin and Bilbo and Aragorn and everyone. Please have some goodness be brought out of this terrible evil and pain. God wouldn't have allowed it otherwise. Namarie, God bless, Antane Author Reply: Oh, I am certainly glad this never came to happen; but had Frodo felt his ability to hold off the taking by the shard slipping, I can imagine that he would prefer to die rather than to become a wraith under the command of the Nazgul. Aren't you glad this didn't happen in the original? | |