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| The Prisoner and The Hobbit by Dreamflower | 41 Review(s) |
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| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 6/8/2012 |
| Had to reread the last chapter to bring myself back up to speed on this. So, both are having to realign their thoughts to keep the correspondence going. And the experience with Eonwe sounds--disturbing. I can certainly empathize with the Herald's frustrations, as I feel them toward too many of my own family menbers. Hope the next chapter is soon forthcoming! Author Reply: Yes, they've got to re-trench a little. Sauron's decided to be a little less forthcoming (or thinks he has) and Bilbo has decided to be a little more forthcoming! Yes, it was disturbing-- for both of them. Eonwe feels guilty because it was his brief moment of gloating that kept Sauron from surrendering to the Valar, or so he thinks. I am not sure that Sauron still believes that anymore, but at the time it angered him. With a collaboration it usually takes longer to get a new chapter up as two people have to find the time to get it together; but I am hopeful the next one will be sooner rather than later! | |
| Raksha The Demon | Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 6/7/2012 |
| Eönwë leaned back against the cushions and took a long drink. "As for your family? You had absolutely no business becoming so intimate with the Firstborn. You might have spared yourself and others a good deal of trouble if you had kept your vië tucked safely away in your trousers." "Such excellent advice, seeing as how it comes from one whom a number of eaglets in the Misty Mountains could call 'Papa.'" You made me laugh here! Eonwe absolutely had that coming to him! He seems like a self-satisfied prig, but at least has some ability to reflect and regret. Another excellent chapter. I can see why Sauron's revelations that he actually loved a woman and made a child with her, like any other denizen of Middle-earth even elves, men and hobbits, would be something of a shock to Bilbo, particularly when Sauron revealed that his wife died during Sauron's conquest of Ost-en-Edhil. Sauron's memories of his torture of poor Celebrimbor, and the elf's death, are particularly chilling; Sauron is getting the hang of regret, but it is hard for him to admit guilt. And Sauron's antipathy for Frodo shows that regret and repentance are not the same thing; and the latter is still a long way off for Sauron, at least on the subject of his great accomplishments in Middle-earth. More soon, I hope! Author Reply: He was something of a prig, but his heart was in the right place, anyhow! I think Sauron's regret is genuine, but his repentance is slowed by the fact that he's actually proud of some of his accomplishments, and that he does not seem to be able to divide the wheat from the chaff in the things that he did. (Witness his attempts to excuse his enslavement of people by pointing out that he treated some of his slaves well.) I hope so too! | |
| Sunny | Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 6/7/2012 |
| It has been a longish time to wait for the continuation of the story, but the chapter was certainly worth waiting for! Some people seem to just instinctively detest each other, and Sauron and Eönwë here in this fic certainly seem to be two such. I rather like Sauron - he is such an _interesting_ and complicated character - but I haven't really decided about Eönwë yet. He seems to be something of a prig, IMO. Sauron quite honorably marrying a woman and having a daughter with her he sees as deeply unsuitable, but considers his own large flock of eagle chicklets to be perfectly all right. Oh all right - Eönwë is going to have to work for it to get on my good side again! ;-) It seems that both Bilbo and Sauron could give stones lessons in stubbornness. I think they deserve each other! Author Reply: Eonwe did seem a bit priggish, didn't he? Yet he seemed honestly sad about Sauron's situation. I wouldn't mind seeing more of Pande's Eonwe-- like all her characters, he's layered. *grin* Still, Baggins' stubbornness won out in the end, I think! | |
| AleiTheLeaf | Reviewed Chapter: 9 on 4/29/2012 |
| I would just like you to know that I am eagerly anticipating more of this story. I love the connections both of you make and the way you flesh out your characters. Yours, ~AleitheLeaf ^^ Author Reply: I hope you will be glad to see the newest chapter! We are having a great time writing this story! | |
| Aiwen | Reviewed Chapter: 9 on 3/10/2012 |
| I like the idea of a petty-dwarf ancestor. The petty dwarves were treated so badly by everyone else, and I'd like to think that something of them survived. Author Reply: Thanks! I have a bit of unwritten headcanon about the petty dwarf connection to the Stoors, but it is not really something I anticipate actually writing. Of course, I did not anticipate a good many of the stories I've written. | |
| Spiced Wine | Reviewed Chapter: 9 on 2/23/2012 |
| Hi Pandë and Dreamflower, I thought I would pop on here to leave you a review. I don't read on this site, (save for one long abandoned story) but seeing your 'verse posted, had to come and review. This is such an unlikely correspondence on first thinking about it, but it has become so fascinating. Of course you know how much I admire your 'verse, your Sauron and Mélamiré, who is a remarkable and vivid character, alone she could make people eat the obnoxious remarks about OFC's within the Tolkien fandom. Little wonder Bilbo was stunned on hearing that she had met Sauron's daughter. Bilbo is a wonderful character in this too, most endearing, but not at all 'twee.' It seems strange that I've never read a story written by a dyed-in-the-wool Valar apologist where the Aratar have a tenth of the sheer personality and charisma of your Sauron. Your exploration of his character throughout your 'verse has made him far more fascinating than all the Valar put together, although I certainly look forward to an as yet unwritten fic with Aulë. d;-) Author Reply: I do love PandÄ—'s interpretations of Arda as well, and it is a fun challenge to try and mesh my own more traditional 'verse with hers. I'm glad you think my Bilbo isn't "twee"! I try to keep him within the rather whimsical style of voice he's given in the source material while adding some depth to him as well. Thank you! | |
| pandemonium_213 | Reviewed Chapter: 9 on 2/6/2012 |
| Thanks so much, Sunny, Lynda, and Bonnie for the reviews and comments! Very much appreciated. Dreamflower captures Bilbo's voice and personality so well throughout the epistolary, and his reaction is spot-on here in Chapter 9. I love the fact that Bilbo often turns to food when discomfited. Seems very hobbity to me! I thoroughly enjoy having a look at how Dreamflower sees Frodo and Bilbo's life in Aman, which remains truly hobbitish. As Dreamflower says, our respective visions of Aman vary a bit in our respective 'verses. I had never given much thought to Aman until I wrote "Flame of the Desert" and "A Rose By Any Other Name" in response to challenges. I've had great fun visiting Aman, and hope to continue. I'd like to think that kind Master Elrond and Celebrían shelter Frodo and Bilbo from the weirder aspects of the Blessed Lands. ;^) @Sunny, thanks so much for the kind words on the Pande!verse. Really glad you have enjoyed my stuff. Before I started writing fan fic, I was a contributor to a science blog (this was in addition to my work-related writing at that time, which focused on peer-reviewed articles and my parts of patent applications, very dry stuff). I tried to convey complex, abstract scientific concepts as metaphor to make these more accessible to the layman. I try to do the same in my fan fic, that is, try to make the science "poetic" and a bit veiled. I'm not always successful at that, but I try! :^D Hmmmm. Could be an apple with a bite taken out of it (who knows, maybe the late Steve Jobs of the Pande!verse harbored the same "eldritch alleles" that Oppenheimer and Watson did). Could be an Eye. ;^) @Lynda. You're exactly right on the trust issues. I gather you've read Light Over the Mountain. Hope to add some more to that this year. Both "Chosen" and "Ulmo's WIfe" tie into "Light Over..." When I read the bit in Parma Eldalmaberon 17 in which Tolkien noted that "Mairon" was Sauron's "original" name, I was a bit puzzled. "Mairon" is Quenya, not Valarin. So I figured his *original* name was buried. I'm hoping Mairëa will make an appearance, too. From what I know of her, she strikes me as a magnanimous sort of person and is circumspect about passing judgment on others. As for Sauron's cruising the 'Net (heh), I suspect Aulë's firewalls are second to none. :^D @Larner. Yep, I'd say there is a stark contrast to how you and I see the Ainur, and I'm well aware that mine is unconventional. In the Pande!verse, the Ainur (both Valar and Maiar) are not "divine, angelic" beings that were sung into existence by a Supreme Being (Tolkien's Valar and Maiar are *far* too fallible for me to buy into them as "divine"), but thanks to their considerable powers and talents, they appear to be so to the Eruhini. In the Pande!verse, both the Valar and Maiar have physical, organic origins, albeit quite remote in their past, much more remote for the Valar of Arda than for the Maiar. It's a more deistic 'verse, too. The Valar of the Pande!verse claim the ability to commune directly with The One, but for all others, Eru Iluvatar is an Article of Faith, not one of proof or evidence. On Melamire's rejection of using power as her father did...when I realized I needed to conceive of an original character to account for the eldritch alleles that Oppenheimer and Watson of "Trinity" claim, I did a bit of research. First, I decided to go for an OFC rather than an OMC as a means to challenge the conventional wisdom that I saw so often a few years back that "OFCs in Tolkien are badly developed characters written by young writers, and they are all Mary Sues." Well, OK then. That was throwing down the gauntlet as far as I was (and am) concerned. For grins, I did a search for "daughter of Sauron." Quite a controversial topic, which was another reason I decided to take it on. Heh. I won't belabor what I found, but one in particular amused me to no end: basically a queen of darkness who follows in her father's footsteps. Right. The individual who came up with the scenario likely was (is) not a parent. In RL, our kids may look like us, and they may have some strong elements of our personalities, but by golly, they are their very own selves. And they do not always do what we think they should. :^) Sometimes a kid follows in a parent's footsteps. Other times, they surely do not. So there's actually something very prosaic going on between Mel and both her parents, esp. her controlling papa, that we, both as kids (once) ourselves and as parents might recognize. But I'll eventually get to that. :^) Again, thanks all, for having a read, for the kind words, and for tolerating my interminable yammering! :^D | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 9 on 2/1/2012 |
| We tend to see the Maiar rather differently, Pande, or so I find. But I do appreciate seeing a more--human--side to Sauron, and as you note it makes the evil he did that much the worse in the end. And I rejoice his daughter has rejected the kind of power he took to himself. I do love Bilbo's response to the letter, and appreciate his decision not to twist the knife further by commenting on Faramir's reaction to the Ring. The idea that the Stoors might have had the blood of the lesser Dwarves is interesting, although as the Harfoots are said to have often lived in a symbiotic relationship with Dwarf colonies I personally would think to find that branch of the family with Dwarf blood rather than the Stoors. Tolkien indicated that the Stoors were the ones most likely to show a tendency toward facial hair and that they wove nets and such, that they tended to be the most muscular and strongest of the Hobbit lines; I'd always imagined them to most likely develop relationships with Men, and to watch and imitate Men's crafts more than the Harfoots or Fallohides did. Anyway, love the descriptions written herein, and look forward to seeing the tale continued as the two of you can get to it. Meanwhile, my Panda and Brendi are looking to Dance with Underwear rather than wolves, and I must go rescue laundry from two small pomeranians. Author Reply: I really love Pande's interpretation of Sauron. She gives him a "human" side without whitewashing his villainy, truly a more realistic view of a villain than the standard one. We hear often in the news of some murderer who was known for his kindness and philanthropy, who yet perpetrated horrible deeds; or of genocidal dictators who love their grandchildren and their dogs. It's the occasional appearance of facial hair and the stocky and muscular body type found in Stoors, as well as the probability that Gollum/Smeagol came from Stoorish stock that has prompted that bit of headcanon for me. I seriously doubt that I will every write more that an occasional hint like this about it. LOL! I have a problem keeping my neatly folded laundry from Sophie! (The only surface I have on which to fold it is our bed.) She has taken to leaping into the bed and plowing into the nice piles of clean clothes! So I've taken to shutting her out of the room while I'm working. She sits on the other side of the child gate and gives me mournful puppy eyes! | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 8 on 2/1/2012 |
| Nice to think that Sauron wishes to please Frodo and Bilbo, and is willing to enlist others to create a golf course and clubs for our two Ringbearer Hobbits. And perhaps I might find that backstory for the pepper pot! Heh! Now, setting plotbunnies loose on others like that isn't necessarily nice! Author Reply: Oh what fun! All I know in my head about the pepper-pot is that it was a gift, possibly from Dora, though I'm not sure. But he was fond enough of it to carry it away with him to Rivendell. Apparently when Pande's Dark Muse (which is her name for Sauron) got a whiff of golf, he became utterly fascinated with it. | |
| 6336 | Reviewed Chapter: 9 on 1/31/2012 |
| Hi, sorry I haven't reviewed in a while, but, I have been reading. This is turning into a very entertaining story, very thought provoking. I do have a thought on why Sauron will not give his own name to any body, the only one who knows is his sister and she ain't telling! If all you have and are is stripped away and all you have left is your name, as young as he and his sister were at the time of their parents death, it makes sense that he would not give it up, he wasn't even sure if these strange beings who had 'rescued' him were not going to turn on him and distroy him the way his parents were. I do like the use of e-readers and now Aule has upgraded both he and Olorin to tablets with all that implies, I do hope Aule has some good security measures in place on Saurons or he will be off surfing the web, or as much of a web as the Valar have in place! I do hope Sauron is able to have a visit from his sister, it would be an interesting scene to watch and listen to, I wonder just what his sister will say to himm knowing what he has done! The interludes with Bilbo are interesting in the contrasts with Saurons life and how normal Bilbo's is even in Aman, it is very like the way he lived when he was still in Middle Earth. His responses to Saurons questions are very insiteful(sp?). Well off to find breakfast and get ready for work, Huggs, Lynda Author Reply: I agree that Sauron's origins in this universe mean he probably had trust issues from a very young age. I like to think that Bilbo and Frodo brought a little bit of the Shire with them when they sailed away-- in their hearts and behavior, at least. And I thought it would be best if Bilbo's life did not change much at his age. He was a beloved part of Elrond's household for many years, so I figured that would continue. | |