It's been about 7 months since your last revision, with chapter 9, but you've been busy, so I have no qualms. I really love this story, I've felt very sympathetic for Maddie. How realistic everything is and quite heartbreaking. But we still don't know why Maddie is in this new world, or how she got there. I was rather surprised with how quickly she passed through Lothlorien, I was sure that if anyone could've helped her, it would have been Galadhriel.

I'm immensely curious of what will happen in Minas Tirith, and dying to know what will happen with her when the events of the books begin.

I love this story, and I truly hope you might continue someday.

I really felt for this character, and it's only the first chapter. The scene where she cries in relief really showed how human and normal she is.

This indeed as mentioned by people before me one of the few good girl fall in ME stories. I really do enjoy the way you write it, and so fatr i have no real complaints, except maybe that Maddie is personality-wise somewhat flat, bu you've explained as to why that is and as reader I must accept it. I can't wait for the next chapter so please update soon.

I'm glad I found this story! It is quite a bit more realistic than most of the other girl-bamfs-into-ME stories. The OCs you've brought in are all rather interesting too, it is a pity she keeps travelling on so that we don't get to see much of character development there. Because, it's not only the ME world as such, and its realistic portrayal, that we readers want to see in a fanfic, but also the known and beloved canon characters. So I guess this part of the fangirlness I'm missing most in this story. But other than that, I do love the details you give, how we get to see Tolkien's world through a modern girl's eyes.

I don't quite agree what you said in an author's note about languages. Learning or not learning Elvish has IMHO very little to do with being realistic. The languages in ME, at least Westron and Elvish, are also IMHO less related with races - the Dunedain, for example, would speak Elvish quite a lot, AFAIK. Also, there would be humans allied with Sauron who would probably speak something close to the Black Speech. I think there is also Haradric or something for the humans in the South (don't remember whether that was fanon or canon, though). So, whether Maddie wants to learn Elvish or not is more a case of her personality, how much of a "linguist" she is (I, for example, am quite interested in languages, so I would definitely have picked up quite a bit of Elvish) and maybe also what her plans are or what she wants. I would have accepted the explanation that she finds everything about the Elves so alien and unnatural, including the language, that she simply does not want to learn it - but that was probably not the case.

Oh, never mind. All this language stuff is really not part of the story. Anyway, I do hope this story is not abandoned? I'm putting it on my alert list just in case, because hopefully some day there will be more of it.

your writing style has me hooked! i never thought that a story with this type of premise could have me so impatient for the next chapter.

pleas update soon!]

This has been a really great read so far! I am very excited to see more of this story. I love that you're taking this plot with an eye towards realism. Thank you for sharing!

What a wonderful story! I've really enjoyed it so far, brilliantly written :D well done! I just cant wait to read more :)

no words can discribe how amazing and realistic and canon this story is, and i simply cannot wait until there are more chapters!

Wow. This story is very well done so far. No Mary Sue, no corny "know the future" right off the back.

I'm really enjoying reading about Maddie and her adventures in Middle Earth. The descriptions you write of how Maddies' feelings are surprisingly accurate, I believe. From when she first landed in the grassy land all the way to having one of her first friends die in front of her.

Hope you continue writing! Thanks for your hard work so far!

I miss this... I hope you're able to update soon. ]

I'm not usually one to read LotR fiction, but the summary caught my eye. Overall the 10 chapters were a fairly interesting read although I do admit to glossing through a couple of the earlier descriptive paragraphs.

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One thing I disagree with in your first chapter, about how hard it is to write a "realistic" story while staying true to canon. Bollocks. Sure, you'll need to actually understand the story to be able to weave an OC into the plot, but canon is like a road. Sticking to it is easy. Writing a new story imo would be harder, especially if you're trying to keep everything but the plot canon (characters, history, powers, whatever).

A badly written Mary Sue in a good and near-canon story is terrible, just like a well done character in a horribly violated universe is terrible. Both are bad in their own ways. While you appear to be doing well so far (character is mostly ok, can't comment on canonity although I haven't seen any reviewers pointing out major flaws so I'm assuming you're good here), I can't agree with you at all that a well written OC in a non-canon LotR is easier to write. If anything I'd be more interested in a fresh plot written by someone who actually knows how to write a good story. I'm not saying your story is going to be bad either, it's just that you already said you're sticking to canon so... been there, done that.

While I do like your story and will likely follow updates, I'm not going to like it as much as the stories where the author diverged from canon - and managed to do it well.

Really liking this story. I hope you update soon!

Well,that was pretty good! I got rather nervous when the gang came close, but I am glad that she got away. There is only one problem: you need to update this story! It has been forever since you updated!

She needs to meet Boromir or Gandalf or someone from the fellowship quick. No offense, but I think this story should speed up real soon. Some of your readers may have lost interest since it is so long... Anyways, good story. Can't wait to read more!

Sadly, none of that terminology-Halfling, Westron-is actual Westron either. Read the appendices-Tolkien wrapped it all up in a big tangled linguistic bundle. The Sindarin and so on they give us the real words, but because he wanted to give us the hobbits' experience he supposedly translated every word over to a comparable Celtic or Anglo-Saxon root derivation. And whagarble.

For example, Merry's name was neither Meriadoc or Brandybuck. His name was /Kalimac/, called Kali. Kali meant something like 'cheerful,' so Tolkien back-hacked through that to name him Meriadoc. And Brandybuck is apparently a translation of a joke nickname for the actual family.

Halfling is definitely the wrong word to use. That's an English translation of the /Gondor/ rendering of a term related to their size. Hobbit is an elision of holbytla, 'hole-dwellers,' which is a Celtic 'translation' of the name the hobbits were called some hundreds of years before the time the story is set, and whatever that word is-I don't have my copy of RotK and its appendices to check-appeared in a few stories told by the Rohirrim.

Still, lots of reasonable...ness. I don't think the story can really stand without giving Maddie a lot more personal identifiers; I realize she's supposed to be an unprepossessing everywoman, but you've kept her trimmed down so hard shes actually hard to be interested in. Rather, she exists only within the time frame of the story, so she seems a little flat.

She hasn't any dreams that have been cut off or hobbies she can or cant continue practicing, no emotional bonds to people she misses fiercely, no personal point of view on vegetation or climate shaped by where she grew up. Nothing, or nearly. She has sprung full-grown from the brow of modern America. /Everybody/ had a childhood. She hasn't even compared anything to a specific /movie/ she saw, let alone made reference to particular actual events in her life. This makes her flimsy and unreal. The human is an animal that spreads its consciousness out along its personal timeline while progressing inexorably along it physically.

So, general writing tip. Your lead character needs an internal life and at least two things which genuinely matter to her, though concealing at least one of those for a while and letting it emerge from events and reactions is a good thing. Her inner life is understandably pretty simple when she's struggling to survive, but since she's also spent these chapters linguistically isolated she's had a lot of time to think about what she's lost.

Since about half of what she's lost appears to be modern plumbing, she comes off a tad bit shallow, though sweet and steady with it.

I love this sooooooo much! There is nothing else out there (that I can find at least) that comes even close to this. I can't wait until the fellowship come in. AAHHHHH please please please update!