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| Passover and Pilgrimage by Larner | 53 Review(s) |
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| shirebound | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 6/10/2009 |
| "...they know when two of their own kind have accomplished great deeds, and they will honor them. And when two who are not of the warrior’s way yet manage to bring about peace without violence, soldiers take notice. You and Frodo mean a good deal to both parties. And when such as the Great Eagles, who are believed to be servants of the Elder King, declare folk Princes of the West--well, that serves to capture the attention of even those lords of the realm who have not been convinced there are Powers dwelling within Aman.” There's such a lot packed into that passage! I love it. This is a marvelous beginning, and I look forward to reading more. How I wish that pilgrimage sights in *this* world had been left mostly as they looked in "the elder days", so we could sense more of what they were like. Simple guesthouses, and a memorial or two, are enough. And ohhh, the Eagles! What a moving experience. Author Reply: There is reason for each faction within Gondor to appreciate what the Hobbits accomplished! Thank you so for admiring that particular passage. And it was wonderful to be able to work the Great Eagles into this story as well. It must have meant a great deal to those who attended the unveiling! I have walked the fields outside Market Bosworth where one of the battles marking a major turning point in British history was fought. There is no memorial save the field itself, and the woods that screened the camps of the defenders--and traitors--from that of the invading forces are now reduced to a few trees where once they were thick stands. So much of honor was lost to England that day, the day Henry Tudor the Bastard took the Crown of England, allegedly found tossed negligently aside into a hawthorne after the butchery practiced on his predecessor, and afterward sought to do the same to his predecessor's reputation as was done that day to his body. So, have made my own pilgrimages. This is not particularly long, you will find--just too long to post in one fell swoop, I decided. Thanks so, Shirebound. | |
| Arwen75 | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 6/10/2009 |
| A promising start to a story that looks set to be as lovely as your previous onhes. I am looking forward to seeing how this progresses and how Merry comes to deal with his feelings as he retraces the path. I have really enjoyed all your stories and have many of the longer complete ones downloaded, converted to appropriate size and on my e-book reader. Will be fascinating to watch how this story develops.... Author Reply: Thanks. The rest is finished, although an epilogue is now working at me (of course!). It will not take an exceptionally long time to post, at least! Merry does need to make some peace with how Frodo left this last time. Bookverse, Frodo does not appear to have spoken much if any after they joined with the Elves, other than the explanation to Sam as to what's happening. He does appear to have hugged Merry and Pippin, but not to have spoken to them at the Havens, nor to Sam. It must have been difficult for the others, and particularly fo Merry right then. | |
| Dreamflower | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 6/9/2009 |
| Oh, this looks like a most promising project! I am eagerly looking forward to seeing more of it. I love the way you show from the start, Merry being a little quiet and apart from the others...and Sam's observations and their subsequent conversation. but then Meriadoc Brandybuck had shared Frodo’s ability to keep his own council until he felt it time to let others know the thoughts and plans he’d already set in motion. All these years later, and Sam is keeping as careful an eye on Frodo's beloved cousin as he kept on his master himself. On the evening before they were to leave the guesthouse to take part in the second unveiling Sam found Merry leaning against the boulder on which Aragorn had so frequently sat, there by the river. He’d drawn out his pocketknife, and with it was shaving a piece of wood to toothpicks with deft and sometimes savage strokes. He gave only the briefest of glances at the Mayor of the Shire as Sam joined him. After a moment he said, as if they were merely continuing a conversation, “There are many places that bring back the memories, of course. It’s not as if this doesn’t happen elsewhere. Down by the Brandywine where he taught me to swim and to handle a boat, in the grove where he did much of his plans for distracting farmers and smallholders, in the old mill where he spent a good deal of time reading, in his old room where Perry sleeps now. Or there in Hobbiton--the place where he interrupted Lotho and Ted Sandyman when they were tormenting me and the two of them turned on him, and it didn’t stop until some lads from the village came and joined us, or atop the Hill where we’d lie out together and watch the stars. Oh, Merry! And Sam's comfort of him holds so much understanding! I hope that it won't be long before we see more of this! Author Reply: Oh, this one is already finished, so will be updated soon enough! This time it's Merry who is hurting worst, and for whom the entire pilgrimage will be most healing, I think. Yes, Sam is caring for Frodo's first brother of the heart this time. And each reminds the other of the one who is now gone, out of reach of their arms. Now to see what healing comes with the various unveilings and their own pilgrimage. | |