TithenFeredir · 13 November 2005 · Chapter 1: 1/1
The thing I like about Minuial is that she goes on and says what many elves must surely think when they encounter the edain. Yes she harbors prejudice, but I think there is more an element of fear in it than unreasoning hatred. Though she is in no danger herself, she fears the consequences that she sees falling upon Arwen and Legolas. (my humble interpretation) In her grief for Arwen her compassion shows and he emerges as a much deeper character than she seemed in Adagio. And Legolas, with typical male cluelessness, acclimated and uniquely blinded by his mortal friendships, sees only the good time he had in fellowship with good people at the wedding. I love it that Minuial finally does get through to him so that we get this statement of the ultimate dilemma that all the elves face: "He folded the elf women into his embrace and simply held her for a while looking into his trees and feeling the grief; that corrosive emotion, that nibbled and nibbled until elf-kind departed or faded." I know this little story is intended as a bridge between two larger ones, but I think it stands alone very well in the point that it makes, and the way you make it is a pleasure to read. ~TF
Author's reply
Well the sequel to all four is now banging on the doors of my (hah) mind wanting to get out, and I am going to bite the bullet and write the hard stuff. (How to lose readers and bore everyone, Rose). Still my cast of thousands, and Minny herself, are demanding speaking roles, stand up parts and action, dammit! The first few lines and the title (Coda) have even made it to disk. My poor notebook is nearly full of cryptic notes that will mean nothing to me until I have written a whole chapter and find I forgot to put the ideas in, and I predict my paid work is going to suffer, again, for months and months and months. Sigh. First bit will not be able to be up until mid-December sometime as Theresa is working on her 'book in a month' project. It may give me time to think up a plot (pwp?)and shut some of the clamouring hoardes up. Thank you, as ever, for your wonderful kind words, and just for 'getting' my writing with such enthusiasm. I am a very happy person thanks to you (You wait until I try and actually get into this new story, the felicity is unlikely to continue. I have writers block to deal with, no sleep when the story is running to explain to my husband and boss, and some sort of reasonable in character explanation for the Red Book's account of the end of Aragorn and Arwen's story to write. I should take up knitting as a hobby.) Rose