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| Concerning Sam by Kara's Aunty | 77 Review(s) |
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| Antane | Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 10/9/2008 |
| It makes perfect sense that Sam would have a touch of PTSD as well and that it would come out at a time when he wasn't distracted by taking care of Frodo's. Darn that hobbit "fear to say too much" that plague them both. I hope Sam will overcome that as I hope Frodo did when he went West. No way am I going to miss the next chapter! Namarie, God bless, Antane :) | |
| Agape4Gondor | Reviewed Chapter: 7 on 10/8/2008 |
| A good chapter. Answered a few questions. I did have to laugh at the beginning though... 'Two weeks earlier' reminded me of a Seinfeld episode I just watched.... One wee quibble - the Elves, I think, would not have used Rivendell for Imladris.... Good chapter. Author Reply: Hello again! I don't watch Seinfeld, so don't quite get the reference, but I'm glad nonetheless it tickled your funny bone! Writing the brothers was fun and a wee bit of humour was needed, I think.... Rivendell. Absolutely no arguement there. So why didn't I change it if I agree? I have actually finished this story and am posting 2 chapters an evening to SoA, but I 'clean' each chapter before posting it here so that it's the 'best' it can be. When I'm satisfied, I follow the usual procedure of adding the chapter on to the site, reading through it again then adding it to the actual story and finally previewing before I publish. But whenever I press the Preview button, I find out that the Javascript which 'worked hard to clean the chapter' has actually rearranged some of the words/paragraphs! Every time I re-edit when this happens, and then preview again, the original error is fixed, but Javascript has kindly given me a new ons in its place!! GRRR! I have to read through each chapter 5 or 6 times before I post it to make sure its in the correct order before I finally publish. Frustrating beyond belief because what should only take 30 mins is dragging out to two hours each time I post. So last night, I did spot the Rivendell reference - after the 5th time reading, previewing, re-editing and generally being sick of the sight of my own writing and I just thought 'stuff it, it's staying!" Not v. professional, I know. But it was either that or pull my hair out and you know what happened to Sam when he did that.... Glad you're reading, liking and reviewing. It makes my day when you do! Maureen | |
| Agape4Gondor | Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 10/8/2008 |
| I too cringed at the thought of the 'forced' feeding... but I had a feeling that was going to be your 'reason' for having it done that way. I can accept it, yet I did cringe. Also, I was a tad disturbed that Merry would have shared so much with the doctor... it just doesn't ring quite 'safe' even tho the Travelers are returned and the Ring is destroyed... just felt odd. However, Sam's state and Merry's horror at finding him thus made those things seem small compared to the rest of it. I enjoyed this chapter (if one can say one enjoyed poor Sam suffering so) and will continue to read. Author Reply: Hello Agape4Gondor, Thank you again for your review (every single chapter so far - wow) I should have thought to put a medical disclaimer on Chapter 5 perhaps, I did actually put the 'forced' liquids in to state the (sometimes dangerous) naivete of Hobbits - especially the older generation who would be stuck in their ways - but I just assumed that people reading it would know NEVER to do such a foolish thing, given our society's medical knowledge. However, I'll refer to a disclaimer in this evening's chapter and that should cover it. I don't trust myself yet to amend a published chapter in case I delete it! Regarding what Merry told the healer. I see your point, but I felt it was important to Sam's healer that he should have a general idea of what the root cause of his illness may be in order to best evaluate any treatment he may give. Merry did only give him the basic details and as the Ring was already destroyed, I deemed there to be no danger of such a confidence to a 'medical professional'. I worked on the assumption that healers take some sort of Hippocratic Oath (officially or otherwise) and that any info shared with them regarding patients health would be confidential - as it is with us. I hope that these explanations ease your mind somewhat. I know how you feel though - if I spot something that doesn't feel quite right, I'd say something too!! Anyway, I'm really glad that you enjoyed it despite everything and I hope that future chapters keep you entertained just as much :) Take care, Maureen. | |
| Celeritas | Reviewed Chapter: 7 on 10/8/2008 |
| Well, that answers Merry's questions/worries about everyone who can help getting left behind. Go Radagast! (And go Gandalf for his amazing foreseeing skillz.) Glad to know that help is arriving in a timely fashion. Once this nightmare delirium is over there's going to be a ginormous Sam Appreciation Club Intervention in the Frogmorton Inn... which will doubtless please the proprietess, since because he's a stubborn Gamgee I doubt it'll take less than a day! I liked the sidenote on athelas--especially how it becomes less effective when self-administered. Somehow I'm not surprised. | |
| SurgicalSteel | Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 10/8/2008 |
| So far, I'm thinking this an interesting concept, and I'm overall enjoying this. I have a medical quibble, though, and it's with the giving fluids to an unconscious person and either hoping they'll swallow (which they almost certainly won't) or stroking their throat to make them swallow. Stroking the throat to make them swallow just doesn't work, and in fact increases the chance of whatever fluid you've given them going into their trachea rather than their esophagus. There are ways of getting fluid into an unconscious person even without IVs, but this isn't one of them, I'm afraid. I do hope you continue the story, because it's enjoyable, but this is a bit of a pet peeve of mine. Author Reply: Hello Surgical Stell, nice to have you on board as a reader (and reviewer). I'm glad you're enjoying the storyt, it's been a lot of fun writing this!. I know exactly what you mean with the fluid intake, but bear in mind that Hobbits do not posses the medical know how or technology we do today. There are no needles, 0.9% Saline infusions or IMEDs to administer intravenous fluids in ME. And even though in the post-Quest years they would have had slightly more contact with Elves & Men, Hobbits were still a rather reclusive race and generally shied away from 'foreign' influences. I used artistic licence for this chapter and imagined what simple folk like Hobbits may do in such a situation in an era set many thousands of years before our own scientific advancement. Healer Tubbit is also an older Hobbit and would have preferred the use of his own tried and tested methods, rational or otherwise to you and me. With our knowledge, we would never dream of doing something so dangerous, but unless someone's invented nasogastric tubes and litmus paper in Sam's time, stroking the throat (however it makes us cringe - and believe me, as a trained nurse I cringed writing it) will have to do. I am really pleased though that you reviewed and especially that you picked up on that point, because it's always made me uneasy and I fell better for having explained my reasons behind it. I hope I haven't offended you;and that you enjoy the rest of the story. M :) | |
| Celeritas | Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 10/8/2008 |
| Ooh, it's cameo time! How did the twins know? Because they're awesome, that's why. :-P (Aside from that I'm not sure. Maybe some Osanwe with their sister?) The chunks o' hair stuff was... ouch. Pretty much my entire reaction to the first bit of everything. The idiom about potatoes was stellar. I love hobbit idiom. Finally, since Sam's delirious anyway I wonder if Merry's good enough at imitating Frodo's voice to fool him into wellness. "No, Sam, you haven't failed me; stop being such a [insert Gaffer's derogatory term here]." Hehe! Author Reply: Celeritas, you are so funny - 'insert Gaffer's derogatory term here' - just brilliant! Glad you liked the roasting mashed potatoes idiom, I made that up, but it's so Sam. I'm about 20 mins away from posting the next chapter (if this Javascript doesn't rearrange the words of its own volition again), so stay tuned. 'insert Gaffer's derogatory term' - laughing my head off! Maureen | |
| Celeritas | Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 10/8/2008 |
| A deviation from canon? Perhaps. But since it's never been done before it's actually quite enlightening. I really did like the AU dream, because whenever I come across one of those "Sam is the REAL hero!" tracts I always like to think of what would have happened if Sam had gone into Mordor on his own. (The final point being, of course, that both Frodo and Sam were equally necessary in getting the job done.) There are four reasons that this potential deviation from canon works. The first one I've already said--it's original. 2. The possibility is not made anathema anywhere in published canon or semicanon or even by logically extrapolating Tolkien's opinion on it based on his ideology--it's just fans' perceptions. Challenging fans' perceptions = very good. 3. It's characteristic of Sam that something like this would take a while to manifest itself. If there's a problem that's of little or no consequence, he just brushes it off and keeps on doing what he's doing--but in this case it's only been allowed to fester. and 4. You can read a lot into this and why it's happening. Residual Ringbearer Syndrome, guilt (my least favorite of all motivators, but there you have it), plain old missing Frodo, or any combination of the above and more besides. I personally favor the idea that missing Frodo has turned into identifying with him (certainly aided by Ringbearing!) has turned into having the same issues he had, over time. Of course, you may end up finally going in and explaining the reason yourself, but for now at least it's ambiguous enough that a reader can justify it according to his or her own interpretations. And nice way to drag out last chapter's cliffhanger a little bit longer! XD | |
| Celeritas | Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 10/8/2008 |
| Yay for Merry figuring it out!!! Even if it weren't for the cliffie at the end of the chapter there would be no way for Sam to clam up about it now. Merry blinked. “Well, that’s what I said, But she believes you to be a fully respectable Hobbit and won’t hear of me unduly influencing the Mayor into behaving like a drunken Bree-lander.” Merry paused. “Odd, though, she never warns me to behave myself around Pippin, and he’s the Thain.” “And a lost cause?” suggested Sam. The above made me sporfle. Very much. I didn't even notice the POV changes--and there's absolutely nothing wrong with 3rd Person Omniscient anyway. | |
| Dreamflower | Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 10/8/2008 |
| Grrr...that nasty Ring! Poor Sam, having to contend with it NOW, after he think's all is behind him. I wonder what set it off? But I don't think It will be any match for him in the long run... | |
| Dreamflower | Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 10/8/2008 |
| On you've done a wonderful job with Merry! Teasing the cook like that was amusing, but it didn't take his focus off his friend. Trust Merry to tumble very quickly to what's wrong with Sam. I had no problem with the POV switch. I like multiple POVs in stories--I like seeing what different characters are thinking. It's not necessarily a flaw to shift POVs, as long as you don't do it in the middle of a sentence, LOL! | |