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| Might Have Beens by Larner | 147 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| Antane | Reviewed Chapter: 9 on 1/5/2011 |
| Well, that would have been one unusual party and no mistake. Frodo's heart is in the right place and I love the description that his stay has brightened the Halls and his request after his former enemies, but I think Mandos is having just a little too much fun here... Namarie, God bless, Antane :) Author Reply: Oh, I DO suspect that most of the actual details for THIS party were Namo's own! Heh! Blame Armariel for this one's details! She wanted to see how these guys might have spent Yule together, after all! Heh! | |
| bookworm | Reviewed Chapter: 9 on 1/4/2011 |
| *LAUGHING. CAN'T STOP* Oh dear, oh Frodo, oh my. "if your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. By doing so you will heap burning coals upon his head" indeed XD Author Reply: Oh, if Frodo hasn't figured out that idea, I'm certain that Namo knows it well and is thoroughly enjoying himself using it! Heh! Am glad to get a good belly laugh going! Heh! | |
| Ainariel | Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 1/3/2011 |
| My apologies for leaving such a tardy review - but I found I had to read this a couple times before I found what I wanted to say. The first time I read it, I HATED it (or so I thought) but the idea kept working on me and wouldn't let go. The more I thought about it, the more plausible it seemed...and my mindset went from "Sam wouldn't do that!" to "Could the Ring have done much that to Sam?" He was a Ringbearer, after all, and who knows what seeds It could have planted in the brief time he carried it? And it really isn't that much of a stretch to twist caring/protective into possessive/obsessive, especially when you add a touch of supernatural influence. So...I can tell you I probably won't read it again (Too Creepy) but I've found that I do like the fact that it really made me think about the lasting effects such a thing as the One Ring might have had! Glad to see the new Chapter in "In Empty Lands"!! Author Reply: I don't mind when people find themselves either revisiting stories or coming to them long after they were posted, actually. This was difficult to write, for all that the story, once it began occuring to me, insisted I stay up all night to see it written. It's not in my nature to enjoy writing particularly dark stories, and this was one of the darkest. C.S. Lewis, in The Great Divorce, noted that the greatest of virtues make the worst sins when they are twisted: loving mothers become child-devouring monsters; faithful ministers become intolerant judges for witch hunts and inquisitions; responsible men become wife beaters and abuse their children. And so it is here. In one story I'd just read, Frodo explains to Sam he and the other Ringbearers must leave Middle Earth, as the rings they bore tied them all to the One Ring, which Sauron had inadvertently made an extension of Angainor, and thus they had all become conduits of Morgoth's evil. Only by going to Aman could they protect those they loved in the mortal lands from the direct influence of Morgoth. The idea that Sauron had been influenced by his former master to teach the forging of such rings and that through them Morgoth could gain a toehold in Ennor was a fascinating and disturbing one, I found. And then this story started working at me--what if the virtue of Sam's love HAD been twisted by his exposure to the Ring.... Glad that you found that this caused you to think. I'm just glad I could confine it to a single-chapter story, as I don't think I could have borne writing it over multiple days. And it's not one of my stories I reread often. | |
| 6336 | Reviewed Chapter: 9 on 1/2/2011 |
| Hm, maybe not quite what Frodo had in mind, but from the look of things Namo had a blast setting it all up! And a very Happy New Year to you too! Lynda Author Reply: Oh, but I do suspect Namo is enjoying himself thoroughly! Heh! And may 2011 be kind to all of us! | |
| Teresa | Reviewed Chapter: 9 on 1/2/2011 |
| Shakes head....... that was one of the strangest parties I've ever seen! I loved it! Frodo meant it as a kindness, but methinks the guests are a bit disconcerted! Hmmmmm.....will the orcs give either the Vienna Boys Choir or the Mormon Tabernacle Choir a run for their money? I'd have loved to see one of the rehersals! Thanks for a very interesting might have been! :) Author Reply: It was fun to think it up, once I could figure out how to write a story including all of Armariel's desires. Somehow I just can't see these orcs getting far on American Idol! Thanks so, Teresa! | |
| Ellynn | Reviewed Chapter: 9 on 1/2/2011 |
| Interesting twist in the end! :) Great story, Larner, I love the atmosphere, and the images were very vivid as I read this. Author Reply: Am so glad that it managed to capture the imagination, then! Heh! Thanks, Ellynn. | |
| eiluj | Reviewed Chapter: 9 on 1/1/2011 |
| And a merry Yule was had by all.... Author Reply: Indeed! Heh! | |
| Erulisse (one L) | Reviewed Chapter: 9 on 1/1/2011 |
| You have a wicked sense of humor that came through in this story magnificantly. What a twist. The chorus - wonderful. The "firepot" being a Balrog - perfect. The animal carrier and the form of Ungoliant - appropriately celebratory. And the guests of honor - the pots are ideal. I suspect that Namo was laughing all the way to Taniquitel after this small celebration. - Erulisse (one L) Happy New Year to you, Larner. May 2011 treat you kindly. Author Reply: Armariel was pretty specific as to what she wanted in a story, so it took me a time to consider how I'd write the tale. Am so glad you enjoyed it. And I'm CERTAIN that Namo enjoyed himself thoroughly, even if the guests of honor found it--questionable--entertainment? Heh! | |
| Kara's Aunty | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 11/23/2009 |
| Hello Larner, OH MY GOSH!! I [i]loved[/i] that! Absolutely loved it!! Poor Frodo! Knowing that he was losing the fight - knowing he'd have to ask his dearest friend to do a deed that could possibly destroy him. Knowing it was for the very sake of that friend (and all his dear ones) that Sam would have no other choice but to do it. Poor, poor Sam, who'd sooner kill himself than his master, sccepting the inevitable after his friend [i]begs[/i] him for death's release. And ohmigosh, poor Merry and Pip having to witness their cousin's fate! I loved the short discussion with Aragorn and Elrond, about Sauron making the most dangerous of enemies in Sam, after what the Hobbit had been forced to do. Tragic, dramatic, exciting, beautifully written stuff. I would LOVE to read this as a longer, stand-alone fic, to see how the quest would develop and if Sam really could make it all the way to Mordor to destroy the Ring fuelled by by the desire to avenge his friend. Would he go alone? Or would he have company? If so, who? And how would his companion's absence from their own part in the Quest affect whatever events they would normally have played a part in? Ooh, sounds too delicious for words! Other projects (and real life, of course) permitting, would you consider developing this as a multi-chaptered fic? M :) Author Reply: Hi, Maureen. I answered this--or attempted to--when you wrote your comment, but then my server timed out, and getting back to it has taken forever, it seems. This was written to follow "Request for Mercy" in the "Moments in Time" collection, in which Sam hears a conversation between Frodo and Aragorn as to what will happen if the Morgul knife does it's intended work, followed by Frodo making his request of Sam. It's quite angsty, naturally enough, and won a MEFA, IIRC. I've considered writing up this full AU; but Adrienne, who used to post on this site and now posts on FF.n, has asked permission to write hers first, so I'm letting her do so. I've not heard from her for a while, so am not certain how far she's gone. She finds she writes best in vignettes, and she's written the beginning of Sam's transformation as he rises from his stupor I described and starts setting things into motion to the Sammath Naur scene. That one she's posted, and it's pretty brutal. The ones she's written on Sam in the Halls of Mandos are sad as well. I'd write it an entirely different way, of course; but that's how things go in fanfiction, which is how we can all write about the same events and still seem fresh and new to one another. So, one day I may write this, but have too many stories on the fire right now to take up yet another. I HAVE to finish Stirring Rings, The Tenant from Staddle, and Or Perchance before I do any more long ones. I promised! | |
| Kitty | Reviewed Chapter: 8 on 11/21/2009 |
| This left me with a mix of emotions. On the one hand, it is a *nice* AU for a change, to have Gandalf rescued from the Balrog. On the other hand, it's true that this Balrog may join the fight later on (not that he necessarily has to, of course) and could cause a lot of trouble. That leaves a lot of leeway to think up different scenarios how things could turn out. Interesting! Author Reply: Yes, one cannot foresee precisely where this situation might lead. Will this Balrog remain underground, or might it decide to join forces with Sauron? But at least the rest are spared a good deal of pain in the immediate future. Thanks so, Kitty. | |