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| The Wars of the Valar by Fiondil | 13 Review(s) |
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| Hildigrim | Reviewed Chapter: 9 on 9/18/2007 |
| I think overall this is a very good action chapter, but I wonder if you might consider an "Are you an adult?" yes/no preface query, given the last five paragraphs? Please feel free to delete this note whichever way you decide, as I don't consider it a true review. Author Reply: Thanks Hildigrim. I appreciate your concern. I think the preface query a waste of bits as there's no way the computer can tell if you are lying if you answer "yes". I have, however, added a warning to the Author's Note at the beginning of the chapter, letting people know that the next few chapters are rather dark and may prove disturbing to some readers. That, I think, is all the warning anyone really needs. If they do find the story too disturbing at this point they are always free to stop reading. I look forward to reading a proper review from you when you get the chance. | |
| Tira | Reviewed Chapter: 9 on 9/18/2007 |
| oooooh, poor Námo! how does he get out of this one? Oh, I know...wait and see. "Sometimes being good and noble really sucks." Author Reply: Poor Námo, indeed... and yes, you just have to wait and see. *grin* | |
| Edlyn | Reviewed Chapter: 9 on 9/18/2007 |
| Meldonya, how am I supposed to coherently review this chapter? It is so emotionally powerful that I'm still shaking even a quarter hour after reading it. Well, I 'll try. Perhaps trying to put things in words will help me sort out the feelings it engendered. The oathtaking of Ilinsor and Vairë's other Máyar (coomplete with Eönwë witnessing! I think this is the earliest chronological appearance of the Máya in that particular capacity that you've shown us) made me feel the way I did the first time I swore fealty to the King of the Middle Kingdom. I am still feeling like I am ready to burst into tears from a surfeit of emotion and have a lump in my throat that makes it difficult to speak, just thinking about it. Námo's comforting of Ilsinor was wonderful to see. I can see hints of who and what he will become in this chapter. Being Manwë's deputy has given him more confidence but as you showed us he still has doubts about his ability to make the right decision. Actually, I think he made the right decisions throughout the chapter, even if they weren't necessarily the "smart" decisions. He managed to rescue Vairë and Therindë which was his intent. "Greater love hath no man than to lay down his life for another." Well, greater love hath no Ayanuz than to put his soul at risk of corruption to save another. I completely understand Vairë's being upset that Námo came to rescue her. She knows exactly why she's been captured and was willing to stay Melkor's prisoner if it meant her love wouldn't come into his hands. It wouldn't surprise me a bit to find that she is suffering the effects of guilt and anger at herself once she is back with the others knowing that she is safe at the price of her love being in horrible danger. I reluctantly have to say that Melkor's plan was clever and a total surprise. And I have to say that Acairis just totally creeps me out. Shudder! And Melkor... well, there are no words to describe how much more exponentially even reading about him disquiets me. Oh, when Námo was overwhelmed and Melkor kissed him I was on the brink of being very ill. The entire scene was written in such a way it felt as if I were the one being held and violated along with Námo. And then the follow on scene where he was left to Acairis' attentions... Shudder! I hate to have to say that Námo's feelings of confusion over just who the feelings of loathing were aimed at was spot on. Self-loathing is an immediate result of belief that society has forced on us that we can control everything in our lives and if we are raped, beaten up or otherwise assaulted and abused that it's due to an inherent flaw in ourselves. It's not a rational response but it's the way it works. Námo can't help the physical reactions of his incarnate body (they are hardwired in after all) but he feels that he should, hence his mixed feelings. Even if he manages to escape or gets rescued before anything else happens to him he will have a lot of healing to do. I hope that Vairë and he can help to heal each other when this is over. And I hope that he doesn't end up automatically connecting the sight of butterflies with the horrors of this time. I am feeling emotionally exhausted now. Working through what this chapter did to me was hard work. But that is a good thing. Far too often fan-fiction is bubble gum for the brain and requires less energy to process than blinking an eye. Good fiction makes one think about things, sometimes things one doesn't *want* to think about, other times things that one wouldn't have even considered thinking about. This fic has done both for me. I am still looking forward to finding out what happens next, and am metaphorically perched on the edge of my seat, my soda and popcorn forgotten as I wait for hte next scene to unfold. Edlyn Author Reply: Not quite as long as the chapter, but nearly there. *grin* As emotionally draining as it was for you to read this chapter you can multiply that by a factor of 100 to get an idea how I felt after writing it. Melkor creeps me out too and I dread the scenes where he shows up and I have to steel myself not to react to him the same way Námo does. Sometimes, even in the middle of writing a Melkor-Námo scene, I have to go away and cuddle with a couple of stuffed toys that I have for comfort before I can return to finish writing. When Námo is finally freed, however that happens, he and Vairë will indeed have much healing to accomplish between them and I think the memory of the butterflies will be one of the things that will sustain him during this time. This is the first time that Eönwë formally acts as a Recorder of Oaths, though in the previous chapter he demonstrates his ability to recall all oaths when he repeats Námo's curses directed toward Manwë verbatim. *grin* "Bubble-gum-for-the-brain" fan-fiction does have it's place and uses, but even when writing "light" pieces, I prefer to leave my readers thinking, whether it's simply seeing something in a new light or learning something new about themselves. If I don't come away from reading a story with a new perspective on some aspect of my reality, the story has failed in its purpose, whether the author ever intended the story to have a purpose or not. That's why Tolkien's writings are so amazing: no matter how many times I may read LoTR or any of his other works, I always come away with a new perspective and being able to write stories set in the LoTR universe allows me to share those insights with others. | |