Reviews for "The Circles: Book Two: Journey of Sorrow"

Tue Apr 25, 2006 5:54 pm

Agan,

My co-writer Elfhild tells me there is more angst to come in the next chapter. Thank you for your kind remarks.

Angmar

Mon May 01, 2006 4:55 pm

Very well written chapter, Elfhild. And so angsty!

Elfhild seems to be really drawn to the Spirit World - a witch in the making Wink smiley face

Mon May 01, 2006 6:34 pm

Agan,

A quote from Elfhild, since she wrote this chapter:

"Did Elfhild indeed see spirits upon the battlefield? Or was it only her overwrought imagination, a product of her grief? Indeed, it was the four-month anniversary of the battle, but given the sights that the captives had seen that day, and the fear of the future... hmmm...."

Apparently, Elfhild is not going to tell us anything. Smile smiley face

Angmar

Mon May 08, 2006 4:03 pm

Very interesting chapter, Angmar and Elfhild.

What a nice chap, this clerk! Laughing smiley face

I hope he will reappear in later chapters.

And personal numbers... how ingenious of Mordor. Interesting to read what the number was composed of.

Mordor appears to be in many ways a higher (if not nicer) civilization than Rohan.

Please, Update soon!,

Agan

Tue May 09, 2006 12:23 am

Agan,

"What a nice chap, this clerk! Laughing smiley face

I hope he will reappear in later chapters."

The clerk will be back, but not for some time.

Who but Sauron, who always craves order, could figure out such an ingenious numbering system for slaves?

Rohan is probably still in the dark ages, while Mordor has advanced by numerous years.

We will try to do an update soon, but these chapters are very hard to write. They take a lot of research.

Angmar

Mon May 15, 2006 3:59 pm

Great first kiss... One to remember forever. Twisted Evil smiley face

But what about the Directives? Or do they apply only to the army? But isn't it bad planning to treaten the poor soldiers with castration, while letting the guards and civil employees have their way with the State Propery afterwards?

Great chapter, very exciting to read.

Agan

Mon May 15, 2006 4:37 pm

Agan,

The slavery section in The Circles is based heavily on the practice of the Ancient Romans and other ancient people in regard to slavery. There were state slaves who were consigned to such tasks as constructing roads, aquaducts, buildings, etc. Then there were private slavers, who handled agreements with the military to take a certain percentage of slaves from wars and enter them into the private section. The military, of course, would get a cut of the sale. Thousands of slaves went through the port of Osia in a day and were sold the same day they arrived.

These slavers would have great gangs of unfortunate slaves that would travel during planting and harvesting time. This way the farmers did not have to keep their own slaves. They were "rented out" from the private slavers. Some of the worst off were those who were sent to the mines in Spain. Life expectancy there would not be too high.

So in The Circles, there is a definite separation between the military and the civilians. Tolkien never told us how it worked but this seems the most logical to me.

State slaves for government projects and then those other slaves who went to the private sector.

All the military had to do was keep them intact with no spoiling and then in a central location, turn them over to the slavers with sufficient monetary reward extracted from them, of course.

The captives are now in the hands of the private slavers, who will not despoil them to such an extent that their value goes down. A few kisses, hugs, and harassment, but that is about all. More about this will be discussed in the chapter after the next one. Just remember I am basing this on the ancient Roman practices of slavery.

And, yes, that was a memorable kiss for the poor maiden of Rohan.

Sat May 20, 2006 7:39 am

I always complain when WIPs don't update, but you've gotten ahead of me with this one. Finally took the time to catch up this morning and realized I'm terribly remise in reviewing here. [apologies! I *have* been reading!]

I especially love the alternate cultures you're showing and the horrific yet realistic situation the twins find themselves in. Keep up the good work!!

Becky

Tue May 23, 2006 1:51 pm

What a nice friendly cobbler from Rhun. Smile smiley face

Very good name, by the way, must be ancient. It means "little wolf", does it not?

And what a splendid song! Loved it as much as Elfhild did. Smile smiley face

Wed May 24, 2006 4:36 pm

Sulriel,

Elfhild and I try to update every week to two weeks. Of course, there are chapters that require more research and/or are more difficult and take longer.

Expect more explorations of different cultures in the future. This investigation of other Tolkien cultures is a primary theme of The Circles, as a matter of fact.

Agan,

Yes, Volchok means "little wolf" and the name is taken from old Russian letters. Rhûn is going to be a major area for exploration in the far distant future.

As far as I know, there are very few songs or poems about Rhûn. I thought it was time that changed.

Angmar

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Reviews for "The Circles: Book Two: Journey of Sorrow"