Reviews (60)

Bodkin · 28 December 2005 · Chapter 27: Day 24.4 - The Lady of Halabor

Herumor and Erendis would have dealt well with each other - it's a shame that they didn't manage to have a short while together. Herumor's reasons are very valid, too. Erendis would have made an excellent Lady of Halabor. Orchald seemed quite pleased to get things settled. I loved this series of tales about the inhabitants of Halabor - even if most of them had a really sad postscript! Sorry to be late reviewing the last ones - but Christmas got in the way!

Bodkin · 28 December 2005 · Chapter 26: Day 24.3 - The Dance

I approve of his choice! I wonder if she will approve, too - or whether she might resent being a substitute for his true desire. On the other hand, what other career choice is open to her? This sounds to be a very complicated social system - with severe limitations on those who subject themselves to it. Must go and read the conversation now!

Bodkin · 28 December 2005 · Chapter 25: Day 24.2 - The Feast

Excellent show, Oswin. And the feast sounds remarkably lavish - and, just after Christmas, it sounds just too much! Herumor seems to have made up his mind. I wonder who he has chosen.

Dreamflower · 27 December 2005 · Chapter 27: Day 24.4 - The Lady of Halabor

A lovely and practical proposal, and very sad that it came, as I suspected, to nothing. It has been very strange to read these little stories, so cunningly interwoven, and so beautifully and lovingly researched, yet each one chapter with its own sad little footnote. Very realistic and true to life--destruction, whether from war or natural disaster, falls randomly as it will, on the good, the bad, the rich, the poor, the sick and the healthy, and some are spared little more than personal inconvenience, and some lose all they have, while others lose their very lives, and whether the disaster is called the forces of Mordor or a hurricane called Katrina--it makes no difference in the end. Thank you for these stories.

Dreamflower · 27 December 2005 · Chapter 26: Day 24.3 - The Dance

Oh, I do love the courtly dances! This particular one is not one I've done, but some of the elements of it remind me of a couple of other ones. Very well done! And I think that Erendis may be a wise choice, though it's possible that it all may be moot.

Dreamflower · 27 December 2005 · Chapter 25: Day 24.2 - The Feast

Oh, "Goode Cookery" is a lovely site! I've used it more than once! I love your description of the food, and the song is very appropriate! I am looking forward to seeing young Herumor's choice.

Dreamflower · 27 December 2005 · Chapter 24: Day 24.1 - The Lord of Halabor

I really liked your little not about Sean Connery being "cast" as Lord Orchald. It made it very easy to picture him, and I could picture "young" Sean as his son! Lord Orchald seems not only a good ruler to his people, but a good person in his own right, ready and willing to do what is right, and when he *cannot* (as in allowing his son to wed the healer) he does all he can to make up for it. I am somewhat resistant to finding out his fate--I am much afraid he will not survive--and yet if anyone deserves to see the days of the King restored, it is he.

Dreamflower · 27 December 2005 · Chapter 23: Day 23 - The Scoop and the Trickster

Oh, I'm so glad these two escaped, though I am sad to hear of the rest of his family! I am unfamiliar with the term "scoop" (used in just this way)--I know the Saxons often called a bard a "skald", and that most Rohirric is based on Anglo-Saxon. What did you derive the term from?

Dreamflower · 27 December 2005 · Chapter 22: Day 22 - The Bakers

I am very fascinated still, by the honeymen. Is the recipe actually available anywhere? I enjoyed the gossip of the two women. It's a shame their speculation will come to naught.

Dreamflower · 27 December 2005 · Chapter 21: Day 21 - The Dice-Maker

Interesting that you have an OC who apprenticed as a toymaker among the Dwarves in Erebor, and then moved to Gondor! Me too! Mine however was not a woodworker, and he settled in Minas Tirith.

Dreamflower · 27 December 2005 · Chapter 20: Day 20 - The Beggar and the Dimwit

This is a very interesting set up with the hospital--Mistress Angharad is clearly a wise woman. I would think that Galhir probably welcomed the chance to die in battle--all a former soldier in his position could hope for.

Dreamflower · 27 December 2005 · Chapter 19: Day 19 - The Farmer

Well, at least they had a happy last Yule...

Dreamflower · 27 December 2005 · Chapter 18: Day 18 - The Lord's Bailiff

Oh my! I rather had a hunch, when Peredur asked about the Sea, that he was going to ask Odhrain to make a journey, but it was a surprise to me as well, that he asked him to escort the children. Remembering his characterization from the previous chapter, I wonder how this will affect his outlook on life--that his life is saved by doing a favor for the brother he was never allowed to know.

Janet · 27 December 2005 · Chapter 27: Day 24.4 - The Lady of Halabor

This was a wonderful tale depicting the lifes of Halabor's inhabitants. I was looking forward to what each day would bring, the joy, the strugle and sorrow. You painted a very realistic picture of these people and their heritage. It was sad that so very few survived. Thank you for a well written story. Best wishes for the New Year, Soledad. Janet

Dreamflower · 25 December 2005 · Chapter 17: Day 17 - The Book-Seller and His Wife

This is spot on! I'm a calligrapher myself, and have also researched some of these methods you described. Making quills is darn hard, and especially making them so that they don't have to be constantly re-cut, and getting them to the exact size and angle, and then not ruining them when you split them. *sigh* Wish I had someone like Bechulle to make quills for me...

Dreamflower · 25 December 2005 · Chapter 16: Day 16 - The Honey-Maker

"Honeymen". What a neat tradition! I wonder how it started?

Dreamflower · 25 December 2005 · Chapter 14: Day 14 - The Head Scribe

Oh my, this is very interesting! I like how you have used the one major character flaw of the Dunadain here: pride. It was, after all, pride which had laid Numenor low, which led to the downfall of the line of Kings, and of course which led to Denethor's downfall. I look forward to seeing how this plays itself out.

Dreamflower · 25 December 2005 · Chapter 12: Day 12 - The Beer-Seller

What a shame that such a nice little family did not survive! But of course, that's the whole point of the exercise, isn't it?

Dreamflower · 25 December 2005 · Chapter 11: Day 11 - The Newborn

What a fascinating description of the childbirth! I had heard of the jasper superstition before, and also the one about closed drawers and knots and such, but the one about the crane's foot was a new one to me.

Dreamflower · 25 December 2005 · Chapter 10: Day 10 - The Fishmonger's Widow

I find myself very curious about Rhybwrast's backstory before she came to Halabor, wondering how she was fooled into thinking the fishmonger was of a higher social status than he actually was, wondering if perhaps she was not encouraged to make a marriage that would take her unpleasant self away from others...

Dreamflower · 25 December 2005 · Chapter 9: Day 09 - The Weaponsmith's Wife

Yes. Being cared for, and healed by Elves would definitely leave a mark on a person, leave them often remembering the joy and grace of the Firstborn, an anodyne for the horrible trauma she had suffered. I like the way you describe the Elves through Dalbaeth's memories. Beautiful.

Dreamflower · 25 December 2005 · Chapter 8: Day 08 - The One-Handed Warden

Well, I am finally getting a chance to come back to these. A very interesting story--I can easily see how an orc bite could cause such an infection. And I like the backstory very much, very plausible. Still, life was good to him. He had a home, a family, he could still protect his people, in spite of having only one arm, and the townsfolk respected him and his fellow Wardens. If only his missing arm would cease causing him any more pain. But again, that was a small price for all that he had gained. A bit of irony and a twist here, as I realized that what seemed bitterness at the beginning of the story is actually grateful recollection. Well done!

Bodkin · 24 December 2005 · Chapter 24: Day 24.1 - The Lord of Halabor

Erendis. Choose Erendis. Not that they are likely to have a long and happy relationship! Lord Orchald seems a good man - not so sure about some of the others (Azrubêl, for example). Look forward to finding out more.

Bodkin · 23 December 2005 · Chapter 23: Day 23 - The Scoop and the Trickster

I'd love to know more about Oswin's origins. He seems remarkably talented at his juggling and tumbling - but he was still lucky to come across Rhisiart. They make an interesting pair. And, for once, being wanderers rather than comfortably settled villagers and tradesmen proved to be an advantage.

Bodkin · 22 December 2005 · Chapter 22: Day 22 - The Bakers

Lovely gossipy episode. I like the way Mistress Eseld likes to keep the power in her hands. No King Lear there!