Comments on The Jinn

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Pandë, I am so glad to see this piece posted for the SWG's Fifth Birthday Original Characters theme, and to see this glimpse of your superb Mélamírë in something that is everything a truly 'transformative work' should aspire to be.

One can see her powers, but also her very human fear of the “Zigûr”, her intelligence, her courage, and her manifold talents.

She's a marvellous OC, and in this work, you step out of the familiar surroundings of Tolkien's universe and meld this with the legends of our own world. It's simply an exceptional piece of writing.



Thanks so much, Spice.  What with The Man Who Grew Tomatoes posted on the SWG, I figured it would make sense to post The Jinn here.  I'm glad (and relieved) that you like Mélamírë so well.  As we have discussed elsewhere, OCs are dicey ventures in Tolkien fandom, but OFCs even more so.  And you know I love blending mythology like ingredients in a curry. :^)

I agree with Spiced Wine above, delighted that you finally decided pull this one out of the desk drawer and to add it here. It's another one of those flights of creative imagination that make me so jealous. I just have to get over myself, or quite being so lazy and be more daring. I love everything about the setting and characterization and the extension of the world to marvellous and expected places! Lovely work.



Thanks so much, Oshun!  I figured it was about time to post The Jinn here, largely because of the OC theme, but also to link into The Man Who Grew Tomatoes.  You shouldn't be jealous.  You have your flights, too.  I love Ulmo's Palace, and *ahem* Elves in Manhattan is a wonderful flight of fancy and daring if I may say so.

I'd love to write about the Blue Wizards in Bharat and the Lands of the Dawn (Middle-earth China/Japan) but dang.  Not enough hours in the day nor days in the year!

Thanks so much, Steel!  I figured it was about time to migrate The Jinn over here, what with the connection to The Man Who Grew Tomatoes.  I'd love to get the Blue Wizards' journeys tied into this part of the Pandë!verse, too.

"Mélamírë is a fantastic OFC"

And thanks muchly again!  That's quite a compliment from an author who has created one of the most memorable OFCs in Tolkien fandom. :^)

Pande!verse is such a wonderful blend of Tolkien's mythology with many other motives, hints, allusions, and other mythologies that is a real pleasure to discover. I don't know much about the mythology of the East, but being a devoted fan of the Greek and Roman ones, I do appreciate the seamless way you've put them together. The story itself is intriguing, excellently written, and I love the idea of the Blue Wizards as the gods of the Lands of the Dawn.

Beautifully done!

PS. Of course, the Istyanis herself is the brightest star of the story :D

Interesting use of eastern mythology and religion.

 

I really like Melamire. I've seen a few characters that are offspring of Sauron, and she is by far the most interesting. Actually, she is one of my favorite original characters in any Middle-earth based fanfic. Intelligent to the point of brilliance, stubborn, courageous, hating to have anyone control her, unconventional, logical but not so powerful that her abilities warp Tolkien's work into AU, tendency to be very blunt when arguing a point... I really like her.

 

I don't know if I've mentioned how much I like most of your work. It makes me think, and some of the new directions it takes my thought end up influencing my writing. For a particularly noticeable example, after reading the apprentice I started wondering what might have happened if Aulendil had chosen not to make the One Ring and had stayed in Ost in Edhil.

I never ended up writing a story based on that, but the idea would not leave me alone. It eventually warped into a original universe tale involving multiple alien species, time travel, teleportation, faster-than-light space travel, a very large war and assorted other oddities. It also bears precious little resemblence to anything either you or JRR Tolkien wrote. I haven't managed to finish the dratted thing but it has been a lot of fun to play with. Thank you for providing such interesting mind food.



My apologies for the delay in responding, Aiwen...

"I really like Melamire."

Thank you so much!  I strive to make her consistent with her milieu (my imaginary tertiary world of Tolkien's secondary one): human but Other, too.

"I've seen a few characters that are offspring of Sauron, and she is by far the most interesting."

And thanks again.  I did a bit of research before launching into her character.  One "offspring of Sauron" I found was also a daughter and became a powerful dark sorceress. See http://www.invasivedesigns.com/otherhands//archives/articles/5/queen_of_shadow.html.  It's dated 1994 -- some sort of RPG based on a 1989 story -- wonder if that was in a fanzine?  I found that after my conceptualization of Mél and was amused to find a few similarities, but only a few.  The name indicates someone unfamiliar with Elvish.  One thing that struck me was that the originator of the storyline apparently was not a parent.  Kids are odd creatures in that they are not carbon copies of their mothers and fathers, and kids do not do what we, as parents, think they should.  Anyway, that RPG assured me I had a far more mature and perhaps realistic idea.

"Actually, she is one of my favorite original characters in any Middle-earth based fanfic."

That's high praise indeed!  Folks claim it's easier to write original characters in Middle-earth as opposed to canon.  I'm not so sure I agree with that.

"Intelligent to the point of brilliance, stubborn, courageous, hating to have anyone control her, unconventional, logical but not so powerful that her abilities warp Tolkien's work into AU, tendency to be very blunt when arguing a point... I really like her."

I hope there are aspects of her -- very human aspects -- that the reader finds accessible.  

"I don't know if I've mentioned how much I like most of your work."

Well, you have now, and I'm honored.  Likewise, I get a huge kick out of your writing.  Sauron-as-an-owl kills me as do the monkeys in Lindon and five things that didn't happen to Sauron. :^D

"For a particularly noticeable example, after reading the apprentice I started wondering what might have happened if Aulendil had chosen not to make the One Ring and had stayed in Ost in Edhil."

Did the Elves of Eregion wind up concocting rocket fuel and sending a mission to Ithil? ;^)  Your o-fic sounds fabulous (I am in origin a sci fi fan before I discovered fantasy).

Thank you for the wonderful comments, and I am more than happy to keep providing mind food as long as my Dark Muse remains in the kitchen cooking.