Reviews (317)

Author's reply

Yes, yes! You’re the first person to really latch on to the title and its significance. You are right – the story isn’t really about the river, but it is at all times a central “figure”. It’s not as if it just made an appearance in chapters 1 and 2 and then vanished; it continues to play a role now and in future chapters. I think that that role with its many facets will become more clear as time goes on. You’re very right about Legolas not being a superhero, though he’s capable of quite a bit when pressed. He’s not done acting the strongarm, either, in part because of the role he has assumed for himself – that of Sam’s protector – and in part because he won’t have much choice. Eh; you’ll see what I mean soon enough.

Author's reply

Thanks, French Pony! I’m glad you’re finding the story to be so engaging. I really like writing the whole Fellowship together. They’re such a mixed bag of interesting personalities.

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I figured that Gandalf must have had to make plenty of difficult decisions during his long stay in Middle-earth, and this one surely couldn’t be the worst, despite what it could mean for Frodo (and Sam). Gandalf has such a soft spot for hobbits. Frodo can accept it better now than he’d be able to if he were actually faced with the turning point – with the parting of the ways, as it were. Everyone seems to be worried about the Men… but that’s because you’re all smart, and you all know your fanfiction. Everyone in the Fellowship is pretty much stuck where they are (as long as they hold to their present intentions, anyway). For now, all they can really do is move in two straight, parallel lines.

Author's reply

Yes, the dogs definitely make it tougher to avoid being seen by the Men. Most of the Fellowship is lucky enough to be well out of their way.

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Thanks, shirebound. Really, what other choice does Frodo have than to use the time that he has remaining to the best of his ability? If Sam is dead – as Frodo fears – then they might never find his body. At least Gandalf is willing to go on until they have lost all reasonable expectation of finding Sam alive. It would be hard for Frodo to go on knowing that he hadn’t done everything he could do for Sam.

Author's reply

Oh, if you only knew how difficult it was for me to get inside Gandalf’s head! This story was stalled for fully three months while I tried to write chapter 5. I ended up writing large chunks of later chapters because I barely made any progress on the task at hand. Gandalf was a VERY tough nut to crack, and it’s a relief to have his chapter done. He’s not slated to have another. You know how fanfiction works, all right. :-) And chapter 6 is from Sam’s POV.

Author's reply

Thanks, Tithen! I’m glad that someone really noticed that paragraph. I was trying to fully convey Gandalf’s restlessness in this chapter – not just in his mind, but in his body, too. Yes, I have spent lots of time camping! Boulders aren’t much fun to sit on. The moment you move, you lose whatever comfortable seat you managed to find to begin with. The backdrop for this story – namely, the gorge and the river – is taken from my own memories of hiking and climbing in such places.

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Thank you, Amy, and welcome! I think it’s easier for everyone to be brave about the possibility of losing their friends now when they still have some time to search. If Gandalf decided that time was up… well, that would be truly hard to bear.

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I know I’ve said this before in one of my responses, but I didn’t originally know that Legolas would be the one who would be going downriver with Sam. As it turned out, getting to write him and Sam together has been really enjoyable. There’s so much for them to learn what with all they don’t know about each other. You’re so right – they are a real contrast – but they’ve got some important similarities, too. Like the hearts of lions. Ha! Love your comment about the “smelly men”. My thinking is that there’s just something off about their scent, along with the usual unwashed body smell that Legolas must have to put up with all the time.

Author's reply

Thanks for reviewing, Elwen! It’s great to know that you’re reading – and enjoying yourself! (Chapter 2 is a favorite of mine; I’m very happy with it.) I’m honored that you call this work “professional”; it’s very encouraging to hear. Maybe if I can come up with a good, original idea, I’ll write my own book someday. That would be incredible.

Author's reply

Everyone seems to be worried about the Men, but then, you’ve all been around the fanfic block a time or two. :-) I didn’t want Sam or Legolas to get too beaten up, as this isn’t a ‘gratuitous suffering’ story. I want it to be believable, interesting, and grounded in realism, so Sam and Legolas are just a little the worse for wear. Thanks for your positive feedback on their rapport, and I’m glad you’re continuing to enjoy!

Author's reply

Legolas is a relatively undeveloped character in Tolkien’s works. He’s always in the background, and that means that there’s quite a bit for we fanfiction writers to play with. In my mind, at least, he sees himself as a shield for the hobbits, who are not fighters. Now he’s upset because he feels he’s let Sam down. In a way, I think Sam’s admiration might be somewhat hard to live up to.

Author's reply

You’ve picked out two sets of lines that I like very much, myself. I think it’s Legolas who really has the most to gain from his newfound friendship. Sam already thinks the world of Elves; it’s the Elf who has to learn not to underestimate the hobbit.

Author's reply

Oh, I’m glad you like Sam and Legolas together. I think they bounce off each other very well. I enjoyed working on how they learned a few things about each other. Both of them ought to be curious – Sam because he’s always been interested in the Elves, and Legolas because he knows so little about hobbits. And what would this story be without obstacles? :-)

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Cue the menacing music: dun dun dun! I thought it would make sense for Elves to be ambidextrous, as it fits right in with their heightened senses and abilities. I was imagining hand dominance to be a mortal ‘flaw’. Interesting story about your godson – though I wonder why his mother was worried by his ambidextrous tendencies. Then again, such a thing is not very common!

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I think Boromir too often gets the short end of the stick. Despite the fact that he momentarily succumbed to the pull of the Ring, he wasn’t a bad man; he was a good man who was under a good deal of pressure. I enjoyed developing a bit of camaraderie between him and Aragorn in this chapter. And I’m glad you picked out that line of Pippin’s. It seemed to be like him – to tell Aragorn that they wouldn’t wait (even though they really need him to track Sam and Legolas). And there is more – right now. You do know that chapter 4 is up, right?

Author's reply

Thanks, Grey Wonderer! You’re so right about Sam being brave in this chapter. I thought that the situation he found himself in – being sucked along by a raging river – would be just the sort of thing that he would have feared from even a gentle river, as he’s not able to swim. Come to think of it, I don’t know if Tolkien ever specifically stated that Sam couldn’t swim, but we know that most hobbits could not.

Author's reply

Interesting how you, like Aragorn, are more concerned about Legolas than about Sam. I stopped Legolas from dunking Gimli because while it’s important to establish their mutual dislike for each other, they’re not children. Legolas ought to have felt somewhat abashed when he realized how his sniping was affecting Frodo. To be fair to Gimli, the river wasn’t exactly raging yet when he came back to tell Frodo, Sam, and Legolas of the location of the campsite, but yes, he’s both brave and (sometimes) brash. As long as the water didn’t go past his nose, he’d probably think nothing of trying to ford across the river while wearing all his mail. As far as what Legolas should have expected regarding the river.... My thought was that he had no more expectation of a flash flood happening than Frodo or Sam did. That’s why flash floods can be so dangerous; they can happen even when it’s not raining at the location of the flood. In one of my responses to a previous review, I mentioned that the heavy rain upstream was what eventually caused the sudden rush of water. And yes, in the next chapter the reason for Legolas’ tardiness in returning will be given. If he didn’t have one, it would severely weaken both the story and my credibility as an author. Skimping on the setup would be a dead giveaway that all I wanted was to do was get to the action.

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Oh, thank you very much, Mordaen! And welcome to the story, too. Your interest is really palpable; I’m glad you’ve found the story to be so involving.

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Like I said in my reply to harrowcat, it was tough for me to write the loss of the bow into the story. Most members of the Fellowship seem to have some kind of iconic item that they carry. Gimli has his axe, Gandalf has his hat and his staff, Aragorn has Andúril, Boromir has his horn, and Frodo has the Ring, among other things. Sam’s got his pots and various homey items, and Legolas, of course, has his bow. Or he had it, at least. As far as Aragorn goes, I’ve obviously chosen to say outright that he and Legolas knew each other before the Quest. I don’t know whether Tolkien ever made their pre-Quest relationship very clear, but it seems to me that there’s not enough canonical evidence to say one way or the other. Personally, I like the idea that they might have been friends, which seems like a logical enough assumption for the reasons that I stated in this chapter. Aragorn was raised in Rivendell by Lord Elrond, and he’s also a Ranger – so he certainly could have crossed paths with Legolas before the Council of Elrond. Anyway, since I’m assuming that he already knew and valued Legolas, then that adds weight to his feelings when he sees the broken bow. And Boromir was right to observe that the hobbits aren’t as worried about Legolas as they are about Sam. It’s my thought that everyone in the Fellowship with the exception of Aragorn is going to worry more about Sam than about Legolas, in part because Aragorn has done such a good job in extolling the abilities of the Elves. Aragorn’s feelings of friendship make it difficult to take the same comfort from his knowledge. As a matter of fact, just who is worried about who – and why – is sort of a running theme in this story. It’s not a theme of Deep Meaning, but it keeps popping up in different ways.

Author's reply

Yes, exactly, Larner! The Fellowship didn’t have much choice but to sit tight and wait for morning, difficult as it was. They didn’t want to do it any more than Sam or Legolas wanted to lose their prized possessions. And thank you very much for your kind compliments. You seem like a person with a pleasant sort of disposition.

Author's reply

Breaking the bow was a hard decision to make, even though it was a perfectly logical thing to do. I thought it very unlikely that it would have survived the trip, being made of wood and protruding from Legolas’ body as it surely did. The hard part of it was the simple fact that the bow is now ruined. Sam’s pots are intact, so having him lose it was more a wrench to him than to me. With regards to the soggy Elf and hobbit, the question now is: how far downstream did they travel before escaping the river? That will definitely affect how long it takes for them to be found.

Author's reply

Thank you very much, Sayre. There are a lot of good stories out there, so if you’re enjoying the story as much as you say you are, then I’m extremely flattered. I’m doing my best to post quickly. There are eight chapters fully written at the present time, and I’m working on the ninth. I plan to post a new chapter every other day until I run out. Then I’ll have to slow down, of course, but nine chapters is more than halfway.

Author's reply

Thank you so much for your comments on the characterization, Tithen! It’s good to know that you think the characters are realistic and true to their “Tolkien” selves. In fact, I think that “good characterization” is one of the highest compliments that can be paid. More on Sam and Legolas in the next chapter.

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Thanks, SilentEagle, and welcome! I’m glad you’re liking the story so far. Yes, I’ve been posting it on ff.net, too.