So complicated everything is getting! It's a wonder that they can keep it all straight.
‘Someday, perhaps, they’ll know what we’ve done, what you’ve done, and they’ll make a song out of it.’
‘Such songs are always made of the nastiest, most uncomfortable experiences, I’m afraid,’ Rosemary said
True, so true. Exciting to listen too after the fact but never enjoyable to live through.
I am very glad you have contiued this story. It give a whole new perspective to the 'Troubles'
Author's reply
"As usual" will be a great help -- once they have habits firmly established (and as it is, they'll be drawing on old habits as much as possible), then habit will help to keep them safe.
Thank you!
Larner
· 3 April 2014
· Chapter 6: Chapter 6
Well, the plans are well made, at least. Now, to see them put into action.
Author's reply
Knowing Rosemary and Hally, they won't be letting the grass grow under their feet...
Thanks!
Garnet Took
· 2 April 2014
· Chapter 6: Chapter 6
This story makes me think of a suspence movie about some underground cell operating in an occupied country. It has a sort of WWII feel to it.
They really are trying to cover every possible contingency and detail. Of course they have to not just for their own safety but for that of the children as well.
Looking forward to where this will go next.
Author's reply
You're right, it does -- perhaps because the Resistance in WWII is the most familiar or best publicized.
I wonder what they haven't thought of, yet? (Actually, I wonder what *I* haven't thought of, yet? Yikes!)
Thanks!
Larner
· 28 March 2014
· Chapter 5: Part 2: Chapter 5
I love how thorough Ferdi is being. And this is how they came to think of things as "as usual."
Author's reply
Yes, thoroughness is one of the keys to survival. It's the only way he can see to "save" his sister and her family. The Pass was a last resort, really -- if they'd taken it, and somehow the Tooks had managed to achieve their long-term plan, then Ferdi and Rosemary in the end would have been back to things as they were before: with her living in exile, and with him having to visit her in secret or risk banishment himself.
Of course, they could not foresee the changes that would come to the Shire under Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin... (nor could many others, I imagine, except perhaps a few like Regi, who had a flash of some sort of vision or Seeing when Pippin returned from the dead)
Thanks!
Garnet Took
· 27 March 2014
· Chapter 5: Part 2: Chapter 5
Glad to see this continuing.
Every time I read a really good story about the Troubles, like this one, I can't help but think about life in more modern times in an occupied country. Fasinating to read and contemplate, dreadful to live through. I don't know that I could be half as brave as your characters are.
Great chapter, and nice set-up to your other stories.
Author's reply
Happy to oblige!
My internet connection is giving me fits, which makes my goal of publishing a chapter each day a little problematic. Still, will hope for the best!
Thank you for your encouraging words. I, too, thought about life in an occupied country while writing this (my old dad was a WWII historian, with a library to happily get lost in -- lots of fodder for a story about occupation, and resistance). I would love to read more stories about the Troubles when I've finished turning the draft into a final copy, if you have suggestions.
Thanks!
Tari
· 21 March 2014
· Chapter 4: Chapter 4
If your asking our opinion, I for one say continue the story. It's getting really good.
Author's reply
Thank you for your vote of confidence!
Larner
· 19 March 2014
· Chapter 4: Chapter 4
It took such courage to burn that pass!
End it? How can I make that decision. It certainly is carried on now with The Rescue. But it's in your heart whether something yet lies between the two stories!
Author's reply
I need to find that quote once more, where JRRT says that deep at the core of every hobbit, courage is to be found. Or something to that effect!
Yes, I find that Chapter 4 has a very satisfying, if unsettling conclusion. I would hate to add a bunch of chapters and have the equivalent of a very long anticlimax! Still, there's a lot of food for thought in how Hally and Rose set out to accomplish their mission, how they managed a family life in the middle of it all, and how it all came out for them in the end, after the Battle of Bywater and Scouring of the Shire.
Larner
· 19 March 2014
· Chapter 3: Chapter 3
At least Paladin has tried to reverse the wrong done, and is willing to offer this blessing now. I rejoice to see the offer made at last, and I doubt even the most hide-bound of the Tooks will demur once all is restored once more!
Larner
· 19 March 2014
· Chapter 2: Chapter 2
It is good to have an (unknown) Took outside the Tooklands to help with those tasks that cannot be done any longer by the Thain's regular representatives. A good thing that Rosemary's Tookish connections aren't well known to Lotho!
Everlight
· 17 March 2014
· Chapter 4: Chapter 4
Forgot to leave my name! Oh well, that's my review below by the way.
Author's reply
Thanks! Good to know.
Anonymous
· 17 March 2014
· Chapter 4: Chapter 4
Oh Rosemary! She has so much courage and strength yet few see it. It will be a hard path to walk but if anyone can do it they can.
Many people forget about how much those in the Shire must have sacrificed. They fought for their homes, families and country just as the Travelers did, though in different ways.
Please...please keep going! There is so much more to tell.
Author's reply
Too true -- it's a lonely road to walk, when almost everyone thinks you're a collaborator. And you're right! We do know that some hobbits fought back, or there would have been no Lockholes needed.
Thanks!
Dreamflower
· 17 March 2014
· Chapter 4: Chapter 4
Oh I do so love Rosemary in this--so brave, so very brave.
You will, of course continue! ;)
Author's reply
LOL! I had thought of finishing this off with the fourth chapter and then posting the following in a "Part 2", or of posting it all as one long story (and it will be somewhat long...). Have a few days to consider.
Dreamflower
· 17 March 2014
· Chapter 4: Chapter 4
Oh I do so love Rosemary in this--so brave, so very brave.
You will, of course continue! ;)
Garnet Took
· 17 March 2014
· Chapter 4: Chapter 4
I vote for continue, but that's just me. I'm finding this look behind some of the other stories very interesting.
It was sad, in a way, to know that she burned the pass, but there was no way she could take it and live with herself. She'll earn her place back instead of running home to hide. Very brave and admirable.
Author's reply
It was either take the pass and use it, for her children's sake, or burn it to protect them from accidental discovery.
More chapters are written, that follow this one -- now I'm just figuring out whether to add them on to this one, or post them as a separate story.
Thanks for your vote!
Everlight
· 7 March 2014
· Chapter 3: Chapter 3
Hmm...choices, choices. Such high stakes for all involved. Hally, Rose, the children, Ferdi, the Tooks and the Thain all have a lot to lose or gain. It is a lot to ask but as they say 'desperate times call for desperate measures'.
I would be interested in hearing the full story of Pippin and Ferdi's disastrous prank. Is it already somewhere on this site? I have been hearing references to it in several stories but have thus far been unable to locate it.
Author's reply
Very perceptive. Yes, high stakes all around. Even for the ruffians, did they but know it.
The disastrous prank has been mentioned many times, but not yet written out in full (except in a draft copy of "Thain" -- someday I'll get to polishing that chapter and posting it... I hope...).
Ferdi is famous for having burned down the old Thain's stables -- nearly burned them down, that is, so that's why you've seen it mentioned in several places.
Dreamflower
· 7 March 2014
· Chapter 3: Chapter 3
This really sets forth and encapsulates the Lindelea universe very well!
Author's reply
I'm hoping it's not too much background... I used to write reams of background material, so that I would have the whys and wherefores of a story firmly in my mind, and then I'd cut most of it out because it slowed things down or whatever.
But because I delight in my hobbits so, it's hard to cut out even boring, mundane, overly detailed background...
I've been thoroughly taken in -- I remember the first few times I read LOTR, I couldn't get past the Party chapter because of all the "boring" detail, and now that's the sort of stuff I absolutely delight in...
Garnet Took
· 7 March 2014
· Chapter 3: Chapter 3
Loved this chapter. I especially liked the flashback to the conversation between Ferdi and Paladin. Is it my imagination, or is Paladin being a more reasonable and foresighted person than in some of your other stories? Maybe I'm wrong and need to reread some of the other stories again. It may just be Pippin who has the ability to bring out the unthinking, unreasonable, immovable side in the Thain. Just wondering aloud there. :)
I for one would like to see this go past the four chapters but I fully understand if that is a perferrable stopping point. Looking forward to more, as always.
Author's reply
No, it's not your imagination. A few stories ago (The Farmer's Son, I think, was the start of it) I began to write a kinder, more reasonable Paladin. I worked out an alternate timeline to the earlier stories, which would technically make "Farmer's Son" AU to the earlier works.
I'll be happy to tell you more about how the two timelines harmonise and converge when I have more of a brain (as in, a bit of tea or coffee), if you're interested.
Thanks!
Larner
· 21 February 2014
· Chapter 1: Part 1: Chapter 1
Oh, but if only more Hobbits across the Shire had done what the Tooks did! If they'd only had the leadership that Pippin and Merry offered later!
Author's reply
If only! The Thain had the right idea, but it seems only the Tooks would listen to him.
Thanks!
Dreamflower
· 21 February 2014
· Chapter 1: Part 1: Chapter 1
*grin* This is such a perfect "prequel" to "The Rescue"! I love how cagy Ferdi is, how protective Hally is, and how fierce Rosemary is!
Author's reply
Thank you! I appreciate your reading through the four chapters that currently exist and offering encouragement. As you said, it can end after the fourth chapter, or it has the potential to continue... Perhaps you wouldn't mind beta-reading anything further, if the story goes on? (Which depends, in part, on readers' wishes. I already have plenty of WIPs that I'm updating in the interest of reaching their conclusions one of these days, and that doesn't even include "Farry and Ferdi Go to Gondor" (Have got to figure out a title for that one before I can begin to post chapters...)