Oldies but goodies...
Jun. 20th, 2011 04:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dreamflowerI've been uploading a lot of my favorite old fics onto my Nook and re-reading them. It's pleasant to discover that the stories are as interesting and moving as they were when new, and since it's been a while since I read most of them I have forgotten enough since the last time that I'm still a little surprised by parts of them.
The main criteria I have been using (other than "I liked them") is that they are longer stories—multi-chapter, or if not, connected into a series so that I have a nice long block of reading, for when I am riding in the car, or in the waiting room at the doctor, or having lunch out by myself, and I can get engrossed in a story that will not end too soon.
Anyway I thought I might rec some of them. They've been posted long enough that perhaps some of you newer folk on my flist have missed them, or perhaps some of you who remember them from before might like to re-read them too.
I just finished a series by Jeodo Brandybuck. I have not seen anything new from Jeodo in a very long time, but these stories not only are favorites of mine as stories, but also they are my favorite type of story: pre-Quest friendship fic featuring our four lads!
There are four stories in the series, which so far as I know, can only be found at the old West of the Moon gen archive. Jeodo's author page has the stories listed alphabetically, but chronologically they are: "Currents", "River Stones", "Earth", and "Hearthside".
There were things I noticed on the re-reading that I failed to notice the first time around. The way that Jeodo connects them thematically is brilliant—"Currents" is a story of the element of Air, and it is mildly Pippin-centric. Pippin's quite young in this, and I have to say that Jeodo captures the feelings of a young child wonderfully, both the angst and the joy. Bilbo is still present in this story, and I like the way he is written in this so much! But the other three hobbits, Frodo, Merry and Sam are written with spot-on precision. The story begins when Merry, who has been looking forward to some one-on-one time with Frodo during his visit at Bag End reacts with less than sunny enthusiasm to Pippin's sudden and unexpected presence. It's not that he doesn't love Pippin, but that he wanted Frodo to himself for a while, and a bit of freedom from responsibility. Unfortunately Pippin picks up on Merry's feelings, and things escalate from there…the story builds up to a nice tension before all is resolved in a way that lets you know that the cousins have reached a new and more mature level in their relationship at the end. A satisfying five meaty and well-written chapters.
Originally I did not read these in order, and "River Stones" is the first one I read. Perhaps that's the reason it's my favorite of the four, or perhaps it's because this one seems longer and is little more adventurous, although it too is five chapters. The theme of "River Stones" is Water, and there is plenty of that: rain, dunkings in the River, more rain, more dunkings… The story is slightly Merry-centric—a Merry who, we are glad to see, is a little more mature and a little more able to deal with young Pippin's vagaries than in the first story. The lads are on a walking trip, not quite a year after Bilbo's leaving, and it's Pippin's first time to join them. Frodo's an adult now, and able to be responsible for the other three as they venture out. They get thoroughly wet, visit a fair (where in a marvelous bit of foreshadowing they encounter a mysterious fortune-teller), and end up staying at an inn where there is a rousing encounter with Lotho Sackville-Baggins and his cronies! Lotho is satisfyingly despicable in this, and downright cruel to young Pippin, and it's lovely to see him get his come-uppance! There's quite a bit of h/c as well, for both Pippin and for Frodo. Read immediately after the first story, there are also nuances I missed reading it the first time!
"Earth" as you might guess from the title is decidedly Sam-centric, and though it has its solemn moments, has quite a bit more humor. Set at the Hobbiton Lithe fair, we learn that Sam has entered a very special plant in competition. Frodo finds himself finagled into judging the wine competition, and all four of them somehow find themselves roped into the tug-of-war competition, which turns out to be a lot more complicated than it sounds! What makes "Earth" stand out from the other stories though, is the inclusion of other friends who make up the wider circle of Frodo's and Sam's acquaintance. Fatty Bolger has quite a prominent role, and we see the Cottons also as part of the action—not just Rose, but also her brothers Tom and Jolly, who have very distinct personalities. The Sackville-Bagginses again make an appearance, and are as nasty as usual, but the main villain in this one is Ted Sandyman. Sandyman's selfishness and greed almost spell disaster for Sam, but Sam discovers that good friends are sometimes necessary to making it through difficulties! And the things Sam's friends do to help him—especially Merry—make up a lot of the humor as well as the joy of this story.
The last one, "Hearthside" is Frodo-centric, as is only appropriate. This one is set entirely in Bag End, and is a few years after the previous story. Frodo has grown into his role of Master of Bag End, but he's finding himself lonely. It's a big smial for one hobbit to rattle around in alone. Sam's worried about his Master, but can't pay the attention he would like to, because his mother is ill. The story manages to revolve partly around Frodo's efforts to translate an Elven poem. The poem, about the brevity of mortal life to an Elf's POV, is giving Frodo trouble. But he is soon distracted by the unexpected arrival of Pippin. It's clear that Pippin is upset by something, but Frodo can't quite put his finger on things. Then Merry arrives in the midst of a blizzard. Pretty soon the hobbits (including Sam) find themselves snowed in at Bag End, and before long a series of mishaps begin to make the spacious smial feel claustrophobic. All four hobbits come in for their share of both hurt and comfort! There is, again, some subtle foreshadowing, as well as a clever use of the elements that make up the themes of the connected story. As disaster after disaster befalls the hobbits, the alert reader is beginning to wonder if a certain Object may be manipulating things… This story can really make the reader think. We see that Frodo can be vulnerable, and yet the friendship of Merry, Pippin and Sam make him (and them) stronger. The motif of the poem is beautifully resolved, and the result is a nice piece of work that could easily stand alone.
Anyway, reading them all together makes for a nice twenty chapters of hobbity goodness. If you've never read any of them before, I highly rec them, and if it's been a while, you might want to refresh your memory!
The main criteria I have been using (other than "I liked them") is that they are longer stories—multi-chapter, or if not, connected into a series so that I have a nice long block of reading, for when I am riding in the car, or in the waiting room at the doctor, or having lunch out by myself, and I can get engrossed in a story that will not end too soon.
Anyway I thought I might rec some of them. They've been posted long enough that perhaps some of you newer folk on my flist have missed them, or perhaps some of you who remember them from before might like to re-read them too.
I just finished a series by Jeodo Brandybuck. I have not seen anything new from Jeodo in a very long time, but these stories not only are favorites of mine as stories, but also they are my favorite type of story: pre-Quest friendship fic featuring our four lads!
There are four stories in the series, which so far as I know, can only be found at the old West of the Moon gen archive. Jeodo's author page has the stories listed alphabetically, but chronologically they are: "Currents", "River Stones", "Earth", and "Hearthside".
There were things I noticed on the re-reading that I failed to notice the first time around. The way that Jeodo connects them thematically is brilliant—"Currents" is a story of the element of Air, and it is mildly Pippin-centric. Pippin's quite young in this, and I have to say that Jeodo captures the feelings of a young child wonderfully, both the angst and the joy. Bilbo is still present in this story, and I like the way he is written in this so much! But the other three hobbits, Frodo, Merry and Sam are written with spot-on precision. The story begins when Merry, who has been looking forward to some one-on-one time with Frodo during his visit at Bag End reacts with less than sunny enthusiasm to Pippin's sudden and unexpected presence. It's not that he doesn't love Pippin, but that he wanted Frodo to himself for a while, and a bit of freedom from responsibility. Unfortunately Pippin picks up on Merry's feelings, and things escalate from there…the story builds up to a nice tension before all is resolved in a way that lets you know that the cousins have reached a new and more mature level in their relationship at the end. A satisfying five meaty and well-written chapters.
Originally I did not read these in order, and "River Stones" is the first one I read. Perhaps that's the reason it's my favorite of the four, or perhaps it's because this one seems longer and is little more adventurous, although it too is five chapters. The theme of "River Stones" is Water, and there is plenty of that: rain, dunkings in the River, more rain, more dunkings… The story is slightly Merry-centric—a Merry who, we are glad to see, is a little more mature and a little more able to deal with young Pippin's vagaries than in the first story. The lads are on a walking trip, not quite a year after Bilbo's leaving, and it's Pippin's first time to join them. Frodo's an adult now, and able to be responsible for the other three as they venture out. They get thoroughly wet, visit a fair (where in a marvelous bit of foreshadowing they encounter a mysterious fortune-teller), and end up staying at an inn where there is a rousing encounter with Lotho Sackville-Baggins and his cronies! Lotho is satisfyingly despicable in this, and downright cruel to young Pippin, and it's lovely to see him get his come-uppance! There's quite a bit of h/c as well, for both Pippin and for Frodo. Read immediately after the first story, there are also nuances I missed reading it the first time!
"Earth" as you might guess from the title is decidedly Sam-centric, and though it has its solemn moments, has quite a bit more humor. Set at the Hobbiton Lithe fair, we learn that Sam has entered a very special plant in competition. Frodo finds himself finagled into judging the wine competition, and all four of them somehow find themselves roped into the tug-of-war competition, which turns out to be a lot more complicated than it sounds! What makes "Earth" stand out from the other stories though, is the inclusion of other friends who make up the wider circle of Frodo's and Sam's acquaintance. Fatty Bolger has quite a prominent role, and we see the Cottons also as part of the action—not just Rose, but also her brothers Tom and Jolly, who have very distinct personalities. The Sackville-Bagginses again make an appearance, and are as nasty as usual, but the main villain in this one is Ted Sandyman. Sandyman's selfishness and greed almost spell disaster for Sam, but Sam discovers that good friends are sometimes necessary to making it through difficulties! And the things Sam's friends do to help him—especially Merry—make up a lot of the humor as well as the joy of this story.
The last one, "Hearthside" is Frodo-centric, as is only appropriate. This one is set entirely in Bag End, and is a few years after the previous story. Frodo has grown into his role of Master of Bag End, but he's finding himself lonely. It's a big smial for one hobbit to rattle around in alone. Sam's worried about his Master, but can't pay the attention he would like to, because his mother is ill. The story manages to revolve partly around Frodo's efforts to translate an Elven poem. The poem, about the brevity of mortal life to an Elf's POV, is giving Frodo trouble. But he is soon distracted by the unexpected arrival of Pippin. It's clear that Pippin is upset by something, but Frodo can't quite put his finger on things. Then Merry arrives in the midst of a blizzard. Pretty soon the hobbits (including Sam) find themselves snowed in at Bag End, and before long a series of mishaps begin to make the spacious smial feel claustrophobic. All four hobbits come in for their share of both hurt and comfort! There is, again, some subtle foreshadowing, as well as a clever use of the elements that make up the themes of the connected story. As disaster after disaster befalls the hobbits, the alert reader is beginning to wonder if a certain Object may be manipulating things… This story can really make the reader think. We see that Frodo can be vulnerable, and yet the friendship of Merry, Pippin and Sam make him (and them) stronger. The motif of the poem is beautifully resolved, and the result is a nice piece of work that could easily stand alone.
Anyway, reading them all together makes for a nice twenty chapters of hobbity goodness. If you've never read any of them before, I highly rec them, and if it's been a while, you might want to refresh your memory!