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| The Way Home by Lindelea | 182 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| shirebound | Reviewed Chapter: 44 on 12/27/2025 |
| What a relief! I feel as comforted as our noble steeds. It's fascinating to see the various people through Bill's perceptions. A warm bran mash sounds like a wonderful thing after so much travel and foraging. Author Reply: I don't really know what a "warm bran mash" would consist of – I never found an occasion to feed one to my horse IRL – but I still remember as a very small child when my mother read Black Beauty to me, "bran mashes" were mentioned quite often as some sort of treat or maybe a restorative meal. (Black Beauty was my favorite childhood read-aloud; I have no idea how many times my patient mother read all the way through that book with me before I learned to read it for myself. Enough times that I had the entire first part of the first chapter memorized by the time reading aloud became a thing of the past.) Thanks! | |
| Lady Forlong | Reviewed Chapter: 43 on 12/23/2025 |
| I can't believe Shadowfax put up with that! I guess it helped that the Rangers were so polite. Author Reply: Luckily, Shadowfax is wise as well as wild (in terms of allowing mere Men to handle him), and the Rangers' manners probably helped quite a bit, I should think. Bill, on the other hand, found it all quite astonishing, I believe. Thanks! I am going to try to post the next chapter the 24th or 25th as a Christmas offering if I can find a few quiet moments to finish typing it in from the written draft. In any event, I offer my best holiday wishes to you and yours. | |
| shirebound | Reviewed Chapter: 43 on 12/20/2025 |
| Such respectful and gentle treatment. I feel as comforted as our noble steeds. Author Reply: Oh good. I hope it's believable! (After reading about the first of the Mearas to be tamed, I thought the Rangers would get the best result by treating Shadowfax with the proverbial kid gloves.) I am hoping to post the next chapter on Christmas (Eve or Day). Will have to see if I will have a quiet moment or thirty to type the rest of it in from the written draft. In any event, may you and yours have a blessed holiday. | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 42 on 12/17/2025 |
| I loved the recognizable phrases! Faramir would laugh, too, I think. Now to see how these Rangers deal with the pony and Shadowfax. How many orcs did the sentries kill, I wonder. Author Reply: Maybe Frodo would laugh, too, fondly, remembering Sam's fierce defense when the odds were seemingly against them, surrounded by tall, stern Men in that hiding place. Having been blindfolded to get there, they'd have little idea of how they might make their escape, even if the sentries weren't alert. Which I figure they were. Alert, I mean. (I still crack up at the line, "Are you a bodyguard?" "No, a gardener." I can imagine Faramir telling the story in after years...) Since Bill can't count past four, I can only say it was "many" by his reckoning. Half a dozen, maybe? Thanks! | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 41 on 12/17/2025 |
| Ah, but that last thought left me chuckling. Here I lie with two of the household clowder on the bed with me, and my one remaining pack member cuddling with Penelope while Mithrellas cuddles next to my hip. How happy they are to find themselves aided by three capable rangers. Love Halbarad's recognition of Shadowfax's native dignithy. Author Reply: I love the word-picture you drew here: I can just see you and your household snuggling together in this stormy weather we've been having. And another storm today! I'm going to make some hot cocoa and settle on the couch soon with a good book. That will make the cats happy. While I miss Panda greatly (she used to curl up on the couch right next to me, as close as she could get), I'm glad that the cats seem to be taking their cuddling duties quite seriously. I would so love to read more about Halbarad. I was glad to give him a cameo (or a bit more? since he's in several chapters?) once I figured out that Tolkien's timeline would allow him to appear in this part of Bill's story. Can you recommend any still-accessible fanfic that he features in? (Besides Boz4pm's stories, I mean. I need to go back and revisit Penny.) I had a few Ranger-centric stories bookmarked a decade or so ago for future reading, but they're not there anymore. I missed so much good stuff in going back to work, but we do what we have to do. Anyhow, I'm still plugging away at finishing the WIPs. As I mentioned elsewhere, Thain is written all the way to the end now. I just put it on hold because the battle against the Witch-king is so stressful to contemplate, I don't want to edit the draft chapters at the moment. Real life is stressful enough. Thanks! I hope this reply finds you well. I went back and re-read the last few chapters of your story about the sculptor in Minas Tirith, which is high on my want-to-read list. I don't remember reading them before – for surely I would have noticed (and grinned at) the mention of Budgie Smallfoot and Ferdibrand Took, among others! Perhaps I didn't read the story all the way through as I thought I had, for I don't see any reviews signed by me after the first few chapters. Ah, well, it will be a positive pleasure to start digesting that story chapter by chapter going forward. Did you ever write a follow-up to The King's Commission, such as Merry and Pippin visiting the statue when they retired to the Southlands? I wonder what their thoughts and reactions might be, seen through the perspective of time and life experience and the ripeness of years... Sam would have sailed by that time, if I'm remembering the Tale of Years right. Would Ruvemir have been alive when the Thain and Master gave up their offices to their sons and rode southwards? (Though I read "Time Passing" just now, I wasn't quite sure of the timing of his departure. I must say, I love that he named his son after Samwise. And do any of your stories tell about his time in the Shire?) Might he have been tempted to sculpt the hobbits, considering the character that the passing years etch into one's face? Might he even sculpt Frodo and Sam as they might look from his imagination and insight, or am I reaching too far? (I remember Faramir describing his seeing Frodo as a gaffer in his "dream"/NDE in one of my stories.) If that latter paragraph sounds muddled, it's because it's way past lunch time and I'm badly in need of protein. I've been having way too much fun reading fanfic today. Tomorrow, I plan to go back to The King's Commission and start reading where I left off (chapter 5 or so) and leaving reviews as I go... (p.s. Thanks!) Author Reply: p.p.s. And Beregond! I forgot to mention I rejoiced at seeing Beregond appear in the chapters of your story that I read today! How I adore that soldier of Gondor and Captain of Ithilien. | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 40 on 12/17/2025 |
| They are both capable beings, and in no way is Bill "merely" a pony anymore. I rejoice that they are still together, each seeing the danger and both willing to fight as fully as they can. Bless them both. Author Reply: I love these characters, especially having been able to envision Bill's growth and Shadowfax's "reality check" (which I suppose is also a kind of growth). We're approaching their parting, which I'm not looking forward to, except that they will meet again later in the story, and I can look forward to that moment during all the intervening chapters. Thanks! (I hope all this wind and rain is neither blowing nor washing you and yours away!) | |
| Lady Forlong | Reviewed Chapter: 42 on 12/15/2025 |
| “Spreading the butter more than a bit thick!” LOL A very hobbity way to put it. Gotta love Rangers – in spite of what some people think. The little one is in charge. “I am only a horse.” Seriously?! Shadowfax needs to take his own advice. Your attempt to weave the phrases “seamlessly into the narrative” was successful. BTW, You heard right. Alaska is beautiful, and yes, the mosquitoes are enormous and bloodthirsty – and there are a LOT of them. And indeed snow is “strangely luminous” in the dark – you got that right too. Author Reply: I find it interesting to see Rangers through a pony's eyes, considering what Tolkien told us about their reputation among the Bree-folk. Alas, poor Shadowfax. He lost his head, as you know, and he is still coming to terms with a sense of fallibility that he had never encountered before. Why, (with Gandalf's help, of course), he was able to stand firm against the Fear that the Nazgűl projected! He had developed quite a lot of confidence before his link with Gandalf was so abruptly and devastatingly severed. I think he'll come out of this with a more balanced view and understanding of his own strengths and weaknesses. I am glad to hear your feedback! I worry sometimes about clarity of communication and flow and realism and characters being in character. It's always good to hear when something works. I grew up in a Midwestern state with long, cold winters and plentiful snow. Actually, I think Anchorage is warmer in terms of median (or do I mean average?) temperatures than my old stomping grounds! One memory that stays with me is walking our family dog one night in a December snowstorm... with enormous flakes coming out of the sky, landing on us and floating and drifting around us, looking magical in the light of a streetlamp, like something out of a Hallmark movie. We also had mosquitos, but nothing compared to those found in Alaska, or so I've been told. I don't miss the mosquitos, but I do miss the lightning bugs. | |
| shirebound | Reviewed Chapter: 42 on 12/12/2025 |
| I love the reverence of "my lord Shadowfax". What a nice chapter! I do love Rangers. Author Reply: LOL! Halbarad seems to understand how to get on Shadowfax's sweet side, for certain. And though Bill is a bit skeptical, I've written Halbarad as having a soft spot in his heart for horses and ponies. I find myself wondering if he knew Bill's dam or grand-dam, perhaps? Thanks! | |
| shirebound | Reviewed Chapter: 41 on 12/9/2025 |
| My new friend bows to the lord of horses, and my companion inclines his head in response as if granting the Ranger permission to approach. Which the Man does. I love that small but important moment. Hooray for insightful Rangers! Author Reply: One of my favourite (but tragic) characters when I first read the book was Halbarad. I was so sad when he fell in battle. I'm glad to be able to honour him in this small way. Perhaps Gandalf shared the Ranger's campfire for a brief rest (and with the aim of gathering information from the Watchers) on his way to Weathertop, and Halbarad learned something from the wizard about the best way to approach one of the Mearas to make a good impression. I like imagining such a thing, anyhow. Thanks! | |
| KathyG | Reviewed Chapter: 41 on 12/8/2025 |
| I trust that the Rangers aren't plotting to capture Bill! Thank goodness they saved Shadowfax and Bill from the wolves. Author Reply: I'm sure that Rangers are smarter than that. Or maybe the word I want is "wiser"? Still, they will play a major role in the next few chapters. Thanks! | |