KathyG
· 11 November 2014
· Chapter 44: Chapter Forty-Four
I've read your book, Moments of Grace and Spiritual Warfare in The Lord of the Rings. It's good. Is this new book you're writing about Bilbo and Frodo's journeys going to be like that one?
Author's reply
Thanks! I am glad you enjoyed it. Could I please beg the favor of leaving me a review on Amazon and/or GoodReads? That would be splendid. Many thanks and hobbity hugs in advance. :) :)
The next book will not have any of the 'all you need to learn about life you can learn from LOTR' stuff but focus on the physical, psychological and spiritual journeys of our favorite Bagginses.
Namarie, God bless, Antane :)
Larner
· 20 October 2014
· Chapter 44: Chapter Forty-Four
A good reunion, and a peaceful transition to their new lives. Thanks for this one, and good luck in your endeavors.
Author's reply
Le hannon, my dear Larner, for all your years of loyal reading and reviewing! I would think I will be back, just taking a break now.
Namarie, God bless, Antane :)
Lindelea
· 20 October 2014
· Chapter 40: Chapter Forty
I read in your story summary today that this story is finished! Congratulations on bringing it in for a safe landing. I am behind in my reading, but I look forward to snatching a moment here and there until I reach the end.
This chapter is bittersweet, but the love shines through.
I'm glad that Boromir will remain when Bilbo has departed, and that Frodo still has the reunion with Sam to look forward to, and that Sam will behold his beloved Master healed.
Author's reply
Glad you continue to enjoy! You only have a few more chapters to go. I hope you enjoy and there is a little gift for you at the end (though it is not named so - but I think you will recognize it).
Nanarmie, God bless, Antane :)
shirebound
· 19 October 2014
· Chapter 44: Chapter Forty-Four
I have loved this story from beginning to end. It leaves me feeling peaceful, hopeful, warm, and full of love. Thank you for sharing this with us.
Author's reply
Thank you so much, my dear! That is an honor as I know it had a ton of angst in it too and I am glad you still loved it and it gave you all it did. :)
Namarie, God bless, Antane :)
KathyG
· 19 October 2014
· Chapter 44: Chapter Forty-Four
It's listed as still being "in progress"; are you going to change that status to "complete" now?
This is a good story! I like how you ended it with Sam's arrival, and their eventual entrance into Heaven.
Author's reply
Thank you! I will be changing the status momentarily. It was fun to have Sam come and be all befuddled and joyful.
Namarie, God bless, Antane :)
Larner
· 7 October 2014
· Chapter 43: Chapter Forty-Three
A gentle and blessed death, and a delightful beginning to Bilbo's next adventure.
Author's reply
Le hannon, my dear Larner! The best is yet to come. :)
Namarie, God bless, Antane :)
KathyG
· 6 October 2014
· Chapter 43: Chapter Forty-Three
Poor Frodo's the only hobbit in the Undying Lands now. It'll be decades before Sam joins him. Then I wonder how long they'll have together before they follow Bilbo to the other side?
Author's reply
The only hobbit physically but certainly Frodo is connected by heart with the brothers he left behind, so he's not so bad off. :) Who knows indeed how long they will have together but enough time to enjoy each other's physical presence and let Sam have a good time back with his beloved Elves too.
Namarie, God bless, Antane :)
shirebound
· 6 October 2014
· Chapter 43: Chapter Forty-Three
Go, my dearest Bilbo, and have your adventure.
This passing is so gentle and lovely, I felt I was there with them, seeing Bilbo to his next and long-anticipated journey. And ohhh, those two final lines! Just wonderful.
Author's reply
Le hannon, my dear! I thought it important that Frodo give his blessing to make it easier for Bilbo to let go as they knew was inevitable at some point. No easier perhaps on Frodo than the first time but with the hope of seeing each other again. I like the ending too. :) Glad it was so real for you.
Namarie, God bless, Antane :)
Larner
· 23 September 2014
· Chapter 42: Chapter Forty-Two
A heartening birthday.
Author's reply
Every day in every way he is getting better and better. The sore blow of losing Bilbo is coming but they are together now. Yea!
Namarie, God bless, Antane :)
shirebound
· 22 September 2014
· Chapter 42: Chapter Forty-Two
Pippin and Merry were determined to turn everyone in the Company into a hobbit that was not already one
What a lovely detail. This is a wonderful chapter for September 22nd!
Author's reply
Le hannon, my dear! I thought it would be something they would do. :)
Namarie, God bless, Antane :)
Larner
· 16 September 2014
· Chapter 41: Chapter Forty-One
Indeed reason to rejoice. Healing has taken time, but has proved better than any of them had anticipated. And Ulmo has cared so gently for Frodo at this time.
Author's reply
Better than even I had thought originally at this point when I first thought of Ulmo's care. Frodo is so loved by all those who really know his worth. :)
Namarie, God bless, Antane :)
shirebound
· 14 September 2014
· Chapter 41: Chapter Forty-One
Every chapter holds something so lovely, and this one caught me with this:
those eyes that were bright with life and joy again and had never been without love for him.
Dear Bilbo. :)
Author's reply
Le hannon, my dear! I do aim to please. :) I love Bilbo's insights into Frodo's soul.
Namarie, God bless, Antane :)
Larner
· 8 September 2014
· Chapter 40: Chapter Forty
How wonderful to see the healing come at long last. And the One has been with Frodo all his life, I suspect.
Author's reply
Of course He has. :) It is wonderful indeed to see this. Le hannon!
Namarie, God bless, Antane :)
KathyG
· 7 September 2014
· Chapter 40: Chapter Forty
Is this story almost over? It has been a moving work of fanfiction to read!
Author's reply
Thank you! Glad you have been enjoying it. It's my first time to write Boromir and it's nice to see it liked. It's been interesting and fun to write. I think it's almost over - got a few more chapters at least. We shall see. It seems to write itself. Stay tuned!
Namarie, God bless, Antane :)
shirebound
· 7 September 2014
· Chapter 40: Chapter Forty
He looked back down at Frodo. “I have listened to this particularly beloved melody for many years now.
How utterly lovely.
Author's reply
Le hannon, my dear! Glad you have stuck with me through all the angst and now some peace at last and hopefully lasting peace too. :)
Namarie, God bless, Antane :)
Lindelea
· 1 September 2014
· Chapter 39: Chapter Thirty-Nine
Such an inevitability to this statement: I must return there if I am ever to leave it. I must climb up again before I can climb down. A sort of, to get to the end, you have to go through.
Frodo's words to Boromir, an echo of what he'd said to Sam...
I love the image of Frodo, picking up the pieces, and his joyful realisation at the end. He didn't choose. Indeed.
And I hadn't contemplated Smeagol's ultimate fate. But of course he goes to whatever hobbit afterlife might be, doesn't he? Comforting, somehow, to think of him arriving (rather belated) at the Feast, or a feast of some kind or another, where everything is made clear and he sees clearly at last, and yet there is an underlying love that sustains. For he was made for a purpose, and without him, the Ring might not have gone into the Fire in time...
Author's reply
Le hannon, Lindelea! I was so not looking forward to this chapter because I was so afraid it would be a terrible experience for him because his other revisits had been so incredibly intense but Nienna was there, thank God! I would hope that Smeagol would arrive at long last at the Feast (and have all the fresh fish he could ever want!) but even Tolkien did not want to speculate on that. It is a nice thought though. :) Indeed 'by chance or chance well used' he was an instrument of Providence (I love that quote from Unfinished Tales about Isildur and the Ring slipping from his hand as he fled the Orcs), 'if chance you call it' as Tom said about hearing Frodo's panicked cry for help, we know it wasn't chance at all in any of the three cases. :)
Namarie, God bless, Antane :)
Larner
· 31 August 2014
· Chapter 39: Chapter Thirty-Nine
Indeed, he did NOT choose--he had been swept away, and the Ring took him rather than the other way around. I rejoice that he sees that truth now.
Author's reply
I am so glad too that he sees those words as they really were! :) I so dreaded writing this chapter because he has had such intense experiences in remembering other things I really thought this would just worsen the damage. And we know he dreaded it too but I had an inkling that maybe it would turn out well after all after he spent those hours the night before essentially in prayer to strengthen himself. Nienna's presence at the Fire made all the difference. I don't know what will happen for sure until the words just come out and am glad that this is the last hurdle (I think) that he needs to overcome to become healed and whole at last. :)
Namarie, God bless, Antane :)
shirebound
· 30 August 2014
· Chapter 39: Chapter Thirty-Nine
I just love this:
“We will come to the Fire Mountain today?” Boromir asked.
Frodo’s hand tightened slightly around the man’s. “I must return there if I am ever to leave it. I must climb up again before I can climb down."
Ohhh, this chapter gives us such a splendid, healing, necessary experience for Frodo. Boromir (and we) lucky to be able to witness it.
A comment you made to my review of the previous chapter reminded me of chapter 5 of my story "Light out of Darkness", which I haven't read in many years, where Galadriel realizes that Frodo's own Light will pull him towards seeking out a life in the West where the light will match his own. *happy sigh*
Author's reply
Lucky indeed! I just told Larner how much I dreaded this chapter and put it off but I am glad that Nienna was there for him to show him light and truth. Yea!
Namarie, God bless, Antane :)
Lindelea
· 18 August 2014
· Chapter 38: Chapter Thirty-Eight
This chapter reads like a respite of sorts. I like the thought of communing with a distant loved one under the stars. Reminds me of a song my mother sang when I was little: "I see the moon and the moon sees me. The moon sees somebody I'd like to see. God bless the moon and God bless me, and God bless the somebody I'd like to see."
Author's reply
Sweet song. :) It's a little break for them, like a night spent in prayer, before a quest begins or in this case, continues.
Namarie, God bless, Antane :)
demeter d
· 17 August 2014
· Chapter 38: Chapter Thirty-Eight
I really do like that this story is giving Boromir much more opportunity to make amends for his brief fall from grace. Yes, trying to defend Merry and Pippin helped him to bring back his lifelong spirit of serving others. But this way, he gets to make peace with Frodo, and enjoy his own peace. The quote, often posted here, from a letter Tolkien wrote, about how the Valar were involved in the lives of Eru's children, but the Creator himself was remote and difficult to approach has always made me sad. If that was how our Good Professor really felt, I feel bad for him. Your stories, however, shine with the light of a Creator and his Heavenly helpers who are lovingly involved in our lives. Thank you for that hope.
Author's reply
Le hannon! I am glad you are enjoying this :). I don't think Tolkien as a 20th century Catholic felt this way about God's distance but in this pre-Christian, even pre-Jewish time, it makes sense as He hadn't revealed Himself fully. I have other stories in which Frodo does have a relationship with his Creator akin to the kind those in the Old Testament did. I like all the love he is getting here too from the Valar. :)
Namarie, God bless, Antane :)
Larner
· 16 August 2014
· Chapter 38: Chapter Thirty-Eight
It is good for both of them to know this respite before the final confrontation. Thank you!
Author's reply
Yes, very good. They did it, especially Frodo. I don't know how it will go for him as he returns to the Fire. I thought I did but now I don't. It may be more hopeful than I originally thought because of the strengthening he is receiving here, a chapter I did not know I was going to write until it started and just came out.
Namarie, God bless, Antane :)
shirebound
· 16 August 2014
· Chapter 38: Chapter Thirty-Eight
I wonder if somewhere deep down, he also had a vague feeling of what would be asked of him and so sought to find out more ways to strengthen himself and found walking under starlight the best way to do that.
I love the marvelous insights and speculations in this story. They make me think.
Author's reply
Le hannon, my dear! You are most kind. I read recently thoughts of others about Frodo's trip West and that it was not just because he was tormented so much by PTSD but needful for the Elven nature of his soul to be there. I have no idea if Frodo really did have these thoughts as Bilbo speculates. We know Bilbo himself did as Gandalf muses in The Quest of Erebor. But Bilbo knows his lad better than any of us could so it could well be. I like how much he himself has grown spiritually from his contact with Elves. Hobbits really are amazing creatures. :)
Namarie, God bless, Antane :)
Larner
· 4 August 2014
· Chapter 37: Chapter Thirty-Seven
To walk to such a death open-eyed was such a great feat, one whose full worth he still cannot appreciate, unfortunately. I rejoice he is not alone now, even as he was never alone then, either.
Author's reply
It was indeed. How many of us could do that? I hope he will realize his worth in the end. That's what I think will happen.
Namarie, God bless, Antane :)
Lindelea
· 3 August 2014
· Chapter 37: Chapter Thirty-Seven
It just occurred to me that Frodo was reduced to seeing only a ring of fire before him, that all else was blotted out, except for the knowledge that Sam was there by his side, or bearing him up, all the way.
I'm glad Boromir is able to offer his heartfelt support and understanding.
Author's reply
Glad to hear back from you, Lindelea! The Ring met its match in Sam as far as a powerful force in Frodo's life, even though it overcome even him in the decision to go West. Scary that the damage done was so deep that not even Sam's love could heal it. Only the Chooser of Frodo could do that. But yes, he is here bereft of all else but not Sam - yea!
Namarie, God bless, Antane :)
shirebound
· 2 August 2014
· Chapter 37: Chapter Thirty-Seven
I knew I could not part with the Ring. I knew that even before I began.
What a realization to have, and to travel with for so many months and so many miles. Your writing brings me a new realization of this inner and outer struggle, and courageous resistance.
Author's reply
Le hannon, my dear! I knew I wanted to get into Frodo's head at this moment but did not prepare anything ahead of time, just let the story tell itself. So sad but gives you even more admiration for his endurance of that hell.
Namarie, God bless, Antane :)