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| A Horse for Bandobras by Lindelea | 49 Review(s) |
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| Itarille | Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 2/3/2025 |
| Ah, so here we meet one of those Chieftains--valiant, courteous, holding fast to the hope of one day restoring their noble line. Somehow I feel bittersweet imagining Arassuil. No less noble than Aragorn, I daresay, yet not granted the grace of witnessing the fulfilment of his and his ancestors' labour. Author Reply: Ah, yes, your description of a Chieftain of the Dúnedain sounds spot-on. I admit to being heavily influenced by Viggo Mortensen's portrayal in the films, a certain grace in his movements at various points, sometimes seeming deliberate but often appearing to be second nature, unforced, something like that. I've often wondered about the descendants of Isildur, always carrying within them the seed of hope, but never knowing (or did they know somehow?) whether they would be able to break the curse and fulfill the prophecy. Of course, Aragorn was motivated! If he failed, he was going to be the last of his line since he had to succeed to marry Arwen, and if he succeeded, well then, the noble line would be restored. (And now, dimly, I'm making a connection with the "line of Christ" from a long-ago discussion... all those names in the genealogy who knew of the Promise and looked forward to the Incarnation. Something like that. I'm probably putting it badly. I'm much too distracted to sustain deep thought at the moment, as Youngest Cat seems to be seriously ill and the earliest vet appointment we can get might be Wednesday if I can get through on the phone first thing in the morning to snag one of a limited number of urgent appointments.) | |
| PSW | Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 2/1/2025 |
| Aww, what a good horse. A good friend, if you will. ;-) Glad they got out okay, hope the Hobbits treat Friend like a king while Bandobras is in recovery! I found your timeline of stories - I know I’ve read some of them before, but there’s something about having a timeline … Going to go back and check them out (again, perhaps)! Author Reply: *grin* You've made my day. It's always heartening to hear I'm not just talking to myself when I'm writing, LOL! I'm sure Friend will get all the feed and hay and water and grazing his heart desires, considering that he's being hosted by hobbits! He'd probably grow fat and maybe out of shape if he were to remain with Shire-folk for any length of time since horses seem to eat constantly and prefer lounging to working (at least in my experience). It's probably just as well that his rider can be anticipated to return to claim him at some point. Thanks for reading and pausing to share your thoughts! | |
| PSW | Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 1/30/2025 |
| Good horse! And, smart horse. Seems like this is a better and better partnership all the time! Author Reply: Friend is very well-trained, as the horse of the Chief of the Dúnedain should be! I have worked with well-trained horses, and I have endured the company of poorly-trained horses, and it wouldn't be hard to guess which ones I enjoyed more. (Ah, but one abused mare that came into my possession certainly had a lot of personality. We established a truce of sorts; she came to tolerate me, and with the help of an amazing trainer, she actually became a fairly decent mount. Astonishingly, she was patient with children though not so much so with adults. Ultimately, when we moved overseas and had to find a new home for her, we sold her to a grandfather who bought her for his grandchildren to ride, and I think she found a good home there.) Thanks so much for reading and commenting! | |
| Leithian | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 1/28/2025 |
| Seems that Bandobras has one of those wayward descendants of Isildur on his hands... No wonder he doesn't know what to do with him. And why does my brain keep translating Bandobras to Bilbo? Take care Author Reply: Oh those wayward descendants of Isildur. Always looking for trouble, I hear... and finding it! As far as the Bandobras/Bilbo conundrum, well, I'm always confusing names that start with the same letter. I can't tell you how many times I've written "Paladin" when I meant "Peregrin" or "Ferdibrand" when I meant "Ferdinand". Just let me know if I accidentally write "Bilbo" instead of "Bandobras" in this story... I'm glad you're along for the ride. Thanks for stopping to share your thoughts! | |
| Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 1/28/2025 | |
| ‘𝘓𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘳,’ 𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥, 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩. ‘𝘎𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘳,’ 𝘉𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘦. Bandobras' attempts to learn the horse's name are as hilarious as they get. Reminds me of Gandalf's attempts to guess the password of the Doors of Durin. xD Author Reply: LOL! I love where Gandalf throws his staff down on the ground in frustration. It's such a real moment. I have the feeling that Bandobras is only just passing the time. He has no hopes of actually guessing the horse's name. He was quite surprised when he succeeded! Thanks for reading and pausing to share your thoughts! | |
| PSW | Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 1/25/2025 |
| Great name! :-D Glad he got it figured out, though it seems like the horse plans to play along regardless… Author Reply: LOL! Many of the horses I've known responded to a whistle or "Hey, you!" just as well as or perhaps even better than to their assigned name. However, I've also known a few that seemed to recognise their name and respond to it. (It's also quite possible that they were responding to the carrots they expected to receive for coming when called.) Apparently, most horses are capable of accumulating a small vocabulary of human words, including their names. When doing the research for this story a few years back, I read that, like dogs, they could come to understand 200-250 words, but that information might have been wrong. More recently, the articles and posts I've found indicate that horses are probably capable of learning 8-15 words, though some of the more intelligent ones were said to acquire 20 or even 30 words. So we can imagine, at the least, that Friend knows his name in addition to certain commands, such as "down" and "walk" and "go!" and a few others that a Ranger might need to employ in his day-to-day business. | |
| PSW | Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 1/24/2025 |
| Well, Wanderer. I guess we aren’t going to find out your name after all - at least not right now. I was going to say he’s brave to head out without his horse - but I forgot people do a lot of walking in the wilds in Middle Earth … A horse is quite a big task to hand a Hobbit! But I’m sure he will manage. Author Reply: I'm not yet sure if Wanderer reveals himself to Bandobras. It's possible; after all, Bilbo knew Strider's true identity. (Presumably after long acquaintance? Did he meet young Estel in his first visit to Imladris or only become acquainted after he retired to the Last Homely House?). I seem to recall that Aragorn's identity was hidden to shield him from the Enemy's notice and malice, and it seems reasonable that all of Isildur's heirs would have taken similar precautions. I'm a little foggy on this point; it's been some years since I researched the matter, and I don't remember anymore what ideas come from JRRT and which ones are drawn from fanon. | |
| PSW | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 1/24/2025 |
| Right into the action! And who do we have here? The ancestor of someone we know, I think! Author Reply: Ah, yes! You can go back to the prologue and find a link that identifies the owner of the renowned sword at this point on JRRT's timeline. I was so glad to find firm dates for the Battle of Greenfields along with the dates provided in the Annals of the Kings and Rulers (and Chieftains), quite helpful in making the connection. | |
| PSW | Reviewed Chapter: Prologue on 1/21/2025 |
| Well this all sounds very interesting! I haven’t read much set in past times of the Shire, should be fun! Author Reply: It ought to be fun! Such a whimsical story, what with Bandobras being tall enough to ride a horse and inventing the game of golf in the midst of a battle with goblins! Glad you're along for the ride, and thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts. | |