Reviews for Elegy for a Fallen Star

Reviews For: Elegy for a Fallen Star

Ekuboryu 2003-11-12 ch 1,	abuseI like this piece so much. I rember yo usendign it to me over IM and readign over it and giving comentary, I'm so glad you posted it, and I think it derves so many more reviews. I love the character you created for Elros's wife, I think she is the strongest charcter in the whole piece, and I love the fact that she is not perfect already like Tolkien femails are wont to be, she has to learn a language yet ;-) Seriously though, I am so happy to find this up and find that others enjoyed it. It's really an original and cool piece.
naltariel 2003-01-22 ch 1,	abusesorry it took me so long to review. I am so glad you decide to post it! This fic is very poetic and melancholic ( in a good way), even more so than your usual writing style. It's very haunting too. By the way, your Varda/Manwe is too cute. :P
Deborah Judge 2003-01-18 ch 1,	abuseThank you for the dedication! Yes, the Elros and the Maglor in this story are the same way that I understand them, but you've done something new and wonderful with them and I am quite grateful. Any qualms I had about the ending in draft form are now quite gone, thanks to your revisions. Even after reading all the drafts the ending took my breath away. I still love the moment when Maglor's servant asks Elros if he wants to make Celebrimbor's choice, and he says he would never dishonour himself like that. He never loses his loyalty to Malgor, and from this story it looks like he never will, but what's wonderful is that he seems to be able to pass on to his children only the good of what he received from his foster-father. (Like the image of eight sons taking turns with seven palantiri...makes you wonder how Feanor's seven sons would have coped with having only 3 Silmarils between them. A frightening thought, actually.) Ilmare seems like a sweet and sensible lady, I bet she's got something to do with that. She's got less baggage of her own, it's easy for her to see that Elros's mother and foster-father really did love him. I really, really like the thought that Elros could hear Maglor singing. It makes Maglor's isolation and destruction much less complete. Beautiful, beautiful story. Thank you.
Woman of the Dunedain 2003-01-16 ch 1,	abuseJulie, this is wonderful! I love it bunches! Your writing is so excellent and your characters fit so perfectly. Looks suspicious You've probably got the Professor locked in a closet somewhere with Elvis. Dead my butootie...hehehe Sorry, I'm a little bit hyper. Trolli Green apple rings and orange slices. Yummy! throws them about for everyone to enjoy.
Le Chat Noir 2003-01-15 ch 1,	abuseElros is wonderful. This character has always interested me for being the only one of the half-elven to choose mortality not because they had to since they fell in love that we know of. The most intense moment in the story, I think, is when Elros says "He's mad, you know." and Ilmarë answers "He just sounds sad." The simple sentences were just beautiful. So sincere. Maybe what sounds so painful in that moment is that Elros can hear Maglor's song, but he cannot answer to it. The moment when the servants of the deceased sons of Fëanor came to Elros with the Palantir almost brought to my mind that one when a Laiquendi brought Dior the Nauglamir in a box in sign of the death of his parents. I can't really say why though. It is just terrible to think of those stones belonging to the seven Fëanorian brothers and being now united in one place only after their owners are all dead (or lost). Anyways. Out of subject, forgive me. I tend to rant in reviews too much. I must say again that I am baffled at the overall beauty of it; the sense of sadness and the characters' own confusion. There is something I have noticed. The first time Ilmarë hears the song, she thinks she cannot mistake it for a lullaby. After that, she thinks she can't remember the melody, yet, when she sings to her child in the end, I guess I am not mistaken in saying that it was the song she had heard Maglor sing. It does turn out to be sort of a lullaby after all. Can this be linked to Elros' words "He's mad, you know.", or is it in fact totally irrevelant and I'm just digging too far into this for my own good? (unrelated: it has just occured to me that through fostering, Aragorn is really Fëanor's great-grandson. Scary.) A true hidden gem, as Ithilwen says. Such deep emotions being so simply worded; that's what I always admire in your writings. [You'll have to forgive the length of the review, but writing pages long literature commentaries is really starting to get to me. I now abord texts with scalpel and scissors and have a tendency to dissect every word that I stumble upon. ^_^]
jillian baade 2003-01-15 ch 1, anon.	abuseOh, how lovely. As a rabid Magolor fan-girl I especially liked it, the wonderful discriptions of his voice, and the way Elros' wife hears him. I can't help but wonder if Elros should have offered his foster-father sanctuary and healing on Numenor.
Finch 2003-01-15 ch 1,	abuseExcellent story, and a very good gapfiller, too. I always wanted to know how the Palantiri came to Numenor, and this is an answer I like very much, inccluding the brief appearance of Maedhros' servant and the way he addresses Elros as son of Maglor. The POV is also well-chosen: easier to identify with than Elros would have been, and with just enough distance from her husband's troubled past to be the voice of new hope (also symbolised by the child). And Maglor's singing was deeply touching. As for the 'irreverence' at the end: Manwe ought to remember that at least one person prayed to him (Fingon)...
Shauna 2003-01-14 ch 1, anon.	abuseHow simply beautiful. The words themselves, the turns of phrase, the description - the story flows easily and yet dwells on each particular point with a sweet sadness. You set Elros up as his own character (though, having not read Deborah's Elros stories, I don't know how much is your and how much is hers) where I had seen but a name and a position before. He is strong and gentle, childlike and wise, and he seems so powerful until he recalls the pain of his mother and Maglor leaving him, and then he seems infinitely, rightfully vulernable. Ilmare is a wonderfully drawn OC (inasmuch as she is an OC). She is at once strong and sensitive enough to be a fit queen for Elros, and also as prettily curious as to make the reader identify with her. Elrond's gift of a book to her seems very right, both for him and for her. Everything works to make this a masterpiece. The simple plot, Elros' slow, painful explanations, the childhood stories and the references to the greatness of the first age - this is a story to remember. ~ Shauna
Ithilwen (too lazy to log i... 2003-01-14 ch 1, anon.	abuseOboe-wan, this is stunning! Your portrayal of Elros as an adult is simply the best I've seen anywhere, and the relationship between him and his wife is touching. And I love the way you manage to interweave the palantiri with Elros's own history. This one's going on my favorites list.
Catchild 2003-01-12 ch 1, anon.	abuse'ello, tis me again. I've read this one at several points in its making, but I have to admit that when I went to review it, I was drawn into reading the whole thing all over again. It's got sooooo many beautiful images and turns of phrase -- I especially love the "jewel-bright images" and "sleep claimed Ilmare not wholly unwilling." Also, "If you had heard the song, you would not mistake it for a lullaby" is just... inexpressibly creepy! shiver You do really well at making the images of Maglor beautiful and frightening and sad, all at the same time. The extra information about Elwing and Earendil helped me -- I'm sorry if you thought it was too much for most people steeped in Tolkien-lore. I'm ignorant compared to those who fanfic it. blush Once again, I applaud a loverly story by you, Miss Oboe-Wan. :-D

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