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| The Farmer's Son by Lindelea | 129 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| Dreamflower | Reviewed Chapter: 29 on 4/25/2014 |
| Oh, poor Fatty! He's got to make himself understood enough to get them to raise the alarm! Things are happening now! Author Reply: Yes, he's got to! Merimac's pretty sharp, and so is Berilac (even though he's not yet married and still living at home), but they've been wakened from a sound sleep and Fatty's pretty incoherent at this point. JRRT said it took some time for them to make out what he was going on about, and they got the idea that there was some kind of attack from the Old Forest, so even when they did get the gist, it wasn't terribly accurate, even so... Thanks! (hope to have a new chapter of Proposition finished tomorrow and ready for you to look at when you get the chance!) | |
| Everlight | Reviewed Chapter: 28 on 4/15/2014 |
| Oh dear! Poor Freddy! Stuck in Crickhollow with the Black Riders coming, how awful. Paladin is rather suspisios but not enough to do anything just yet. It won't be a pretty scene when Paladin finds out that Freddy lied to him. I'm feeling very sorry for him. Happy Easter to you. Author Reply: And Happy Easter back at you! The little bit of description JRRT wrote, of Freddy waiting for the Black Riders to come (though he might not have realised it so clearly at the time), reads like the finest suspense. I'm glad it doesn't cross the line into horror. Imagination is bad enough! Thanks! | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 28 on 4/12/2014 |
| It would be such a worrisome turn of events, to not get any real word from Frodo and no mention of Pippin at all. Then, poor Freddy as he sits while the Black Riders approach the house, their Fear preceding them! (Shuddering myself!) Author Reply: It would be worrisome, although these hobbits tend to look on the bright side, and so they've found logical explanations for things. Of course, we know what's what, but they don't -- and won't really know what's happened until the Travellers return a little more than a year later! All they can do is piece together the information they do have. Poor Freddy... I think he's about to get more than he bargained for. Thanks! (Did you say you're coming down Easter week?) | |
| Garnet Took | Reviewed Chapter: 28 on 4/12/2014 |
| Well, Paladin is starting to get suspecious that all isn't right but he's not worried enough. Maybe he should have headed for Buckland accept that it's already too late. It appears that Freddy is going to face his worst nightmare in a very short time. Of course, he face another nightmare when Paladin finds out he forged that letter and when both Paladin and Eglantine find out that he knew that Pippin was gone and didn't let them know. Maybe he'll escape that fate. Things are going to get interesting. Author Reply: You are an astute reader! I had to smile, reading your review. It's funny, but as I was writing this chapter (and a couple that follow), combing LOTR for clues, I learned something new about the whole Conspiracy-Crickhollow angle of the story. This turned out to be an important point, but it was something that had never struck me before! (And thankfully I so completely missed it when writing earlier stories, that they didn't turn out to be accidentally AU to JRRT's work, and I'm not going to be contradicting my own previous writing by noting it in this story, which makes the OCD part of myself much happier.) So, amazingly, the story remains new and fresh even as I re-read it for the umpteenth time. Tolkien was amazing. Thanks! | |
| Dreamflower | Reviewed Chapter: 28 on 4/12/2014 |
| Oh dear! Oh dear! Oh dear! Poor Freddy! And Paladin is going to be so confused when the timing of things comes out. I suppose he will eventually realize his note was not from Frodo, but in the meanwhile it muddies the waters considerably. Author Reply: Poor Paladin. I don't think things are going to clear up anytime soon, either... And poor Freddy, indeed! JRRT gives us just enough detail to be able to imagine what things were like in the little house at Crickhollow, the 29th through 30th. It sounds like something out of a horror movie. Good thing there doesn't seem to have been a cellar. ("Freddy! Don't go in the basement!" -- How many times have we said that to people on the big screen, who ignore our warnings and proceed to do just that! ...not that I've seen many horror movies, but I've heard many such plots recounted by siblings and friends... "Freddy! Don't open that door!") ...and now I'm reminded of those Angel creatures that my Whovian children tell me about. I was a Whovian when Tom Baker was the Doctor, but haven't seen much of the show since. | |
| Dreamflower | Reviewed Chapter: 27 on 3/29/2014 |
| Ah, Freddy, so clever and full of initiative; perfect person for the role he's taken! And yet, it might have been better for Paladin if Freddy was a little less clever... Author Reply: Alas, poor Paladin... Still, must stick within the constraints of canon, which implies that nobody found out until after the attack on Crickhollow on the 30th. Thankfully, the Quick Post eats up some time -- it's still going to take the better part of a day, and maybe two, to take a message from Tookland to Buckland. A super-urgent message might travel a bit faster, but Paladin didn't give the rider any reason to "kill the horses" so while he's riding faster than a mail-carrier on foot, or a wagon, he's still going to take some time to cover 50 miles without straining his pony. The Pony Post relays in my stories are set up much later on the timeline, when Pippin becomes Thain. (I love thinking this stuff through. Now if I could just attack housekeeping with the same thorough mindset...) | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 27 on 3/29/2014 |
| Well, a definite turn of events here. Freddy is doing the job he signed up for, at least. Most interesting! Author Reply: I pondered for a while while writing this part of the story. Freddy stayed behind to make it look as if Frodo were still living at Crickhollow. There's no indication how long he expected to keep it up. (Pippin and Merry's parents would eventually be expecting their sons back home, after all, so that would be a dead giveaway in the end.) However, he had to be prepared to accept and answer messages, and once I realised that, I decided he'd better do a bit of forgery practice. Seems to fit with his later lawbreaking activities as well. Thanks! | |
| Everlight | Reviewed Chapter: 27 on 3/29/2014 |
| Oh dear, that letter could be trouble if Paladin gets suspicious. He is perceptive enough to notice that Frodo didn't write it but he might be too distracted to notice right away. He's going to be awfully mad at Freddy though for lying to him about his son and the letter. That was a good idea (of Freddy's?) to practice his cousin's handwriting and it came in handy. They put in so much effort into their conspiracy to ensure its success; too bad people don't write more about it. Author Reply: Paladin might be perceptive enough, but Freddy is quite a skilled forger (or at least I'm imagining him as one). Now it makes me want to write (or preferably read!) a story about an earlier forgery -- maybe a childish prank, writing a note purporting to be someone wanting to meet up with someone else... What fun! | |
| Garnet Took | Reviewed Chapter: 27 on 3/29/2014 |
| This is NOT good. I'm half thinking that it would have been better if Freddy hadn't sent that answer but, if he hadn't, Paladin, Saradoc and all the rest would have converged on Chickholl faster than the wind. Things could have been even worse. I can't help but think that Paladin is going to see through Freddy's forgery and then things are going to get really interesting. Can't wat to see what's next. Author Reply: You're right! If Freddy hadn't sent the answer, the game would have been up much sooner. As it is, they won't have an inkling until after the attack on Crickhollow on the 30th. Paladin might see through the forgery, but he's got no reason to be suspicious at this point, and so he might only see through it in hindsight. Thanks! | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 26 on 3/22/2014 |
| It must be a hard blow to Ferdi, to lose two wonderful ponies in such a manner. I am glad that Paladin is letting him know how things happened so gently. As for the offer to Frodo--well, as we know, a bit late. Author Reply: It would be a hard blow, especially when he'd been working with them since the spring, would have gotten to know their little quirks and foibles, befriended them, taught them, etc. I know when we raised a guide dog puppy, even though we knew the whole time he lived with us that we were raising him in order to let him go to a new owner, it was still hard when he left us. Thanks! | |