Full of Wisdom and Perfect in Beauty by Gadira

Even after reading only four chapters of Full of Wisdom and Perfect in Beauty, I am immersed in the Numenor of Gadira's creation.  I'm particularly drawn to diverse cultural interpretations of JRRT's world, and Gadira's is an excellent one.  The political machinations, the social structure, the theology, the environment itself - all are well realized.  Couple those with well-drawn, complex and conflicted characters (my favorite variety), and this proves to be a well-crafted story.

Keep those chapters coming.  Please!

- pandemonium_213, 29-08-2007

Given that I am on a review-ish tear (multiple MEFA drafts lurking in my iBook), I thought I'd pop in to tell you how much I am enjoying Full of Wisdom and Perfect in Beauty.  You've created a marvelous secondary world out of a secondary world (tertiary world, perhaps?) with a wealth of details poured into both culture and characters.  I devoured these (and subsequent) scenes of Melkyedid - truly an exotic creature despite her distant connections to Numenor.  The final scene of Inziladûn and Zarhil (latest chapter) as the realism that an heir is on the way was well done - laughing at the foolishness of an assumption that caused so much recrimination.  

Your background and interests (history if I read between the lines correctly?)  shine throughout the story and embellish your story arc with such richness so that it reads like original fiction yet with the satistfying additions that JRRT did not sketch out.  I love the interweaving of Mediterranean/European mythology throughout.

And Inziladûn and Gimilkhâd?  Fabulous characters!  Flawed, conflicted but each with his own redeeming traits as well.    You "write" their complexity effectively.  Finally, you capture the constant shroud of darkness and the languid decadence overhanging of the last days (well, years) of Numenor oh-so-well. 

I look forward to the coming chapters. 

A very interesting story.  Would you be planning to continue it?

Good to see you back again. I am curious to see where you take this.

Great to see that you have resumed the novel, Gadira!  The Wolf's Howl was gripping and suitably creepy.  Seeing the events through young Amandil's eyes was effective.

Really like this interlude, especially the scene between young Pharazôn and Zimraphel and their curiosity about one another.  Zimraphel comes across as fey and disturbing -- nicely done! I also found it refreshing that Inziladûn (at least from the children's perspective) is not entirely benign.

So happy that you have decided to resume the story. You've kept it as gripping as I remembered and the wealth of detail of the Numenorean society is fantastic. Looking forward to more chapters (the next generation is as rich and complicated a lot as their parents, aren't they?

Just to say - I haven't really been able to keep up with this, but the bits I've read are impressive. You have a lot of interesting ideas about Numenorean culture and how it shapes your protagonists!

I must admit I am a bit uncomfortable with the concept of Melkor as the traditional and inherited deity of the Numenoreans, though - not that I can't at least to some extent see where you're coming from. And of course it seems to be an integral part of your version of Numenor.

Oh, wow, this is a great chapter!  The pacing is fantastic -- a true page turner (digitally speaking).  The first scene between Amandil and Pharazôn just crackles and snaps. Excellent writing there.  I will say it again: I love your characterizations of these two fellows.  They are so real, so human.   Likewise, the break between Amandil and Yehimelkor is heartwrenching.

The character of Yehimelkor is so well-crafted, but then I find all your supporting cast to be intriguing.  I daresay you could spin them off into their own arcs readily.  The connection of Yehimelkor to Alashiya is a neat bit.  The priest has always struck me as a noble, deeply intellectual yet brittle man.  As painful as it is to see Amandil rejected and turned out by his mentor, I find myself in understanding of why Yehimelkor reacts as he does and sends Amandil away.

Excellent wordsmithing throughout, too, and I love the finality of this last line.

And with this he turned back, and walked inside his rooms with the silent irrevocability of a High Priest after a sacrifice.

Looking forward (as at the edge of my seat) for more.  Well done, Gadira!

I haven't had time to catch up with this, but I was always very impressed with your world-building and am really glad to see you are working on it again!

I've just read the last two chapters, just now, I'm afraid, but, as ever, I am really impressed by your world-building, your descriptions, and your characterization!

So the boys have returned to tie the knot, and there's no way out for Isildur (that is, he could decide to die, but that would be uncanonical). I'm very sorry for his bride, over-talkative though she may be - nobody seems to like her much, though at least Amandil has an eye-opener and finds some pity for her. Isildur is to be pitied, too, though "Malik" is dead right in his assessment of their respective degrees of selfishness (as well as being a bit of a jerk, because it's a human right to pursue happiness). Anyway, it's good that Isildur inevitably got his act together in the end - he had to, or how else would he have ended up with four sons? Hopefully he'll run into someone who can tell him exactly what is going on with him, as the hint that he's in love with a ghost apparently isn't sufficient. Maybe Yehimelkor. Or Númendil. :P

It's a good thing Ilmarë doesn't know what's really happening to Fíriel in the Palace, or she'd be in a frenzy. It was thrilling to see Sauron again, and his conversation with Fíriel was extremely cleverly done. He remains the Deceiver, and he doesn't know what Zimraphel knows, and yet... his suggestion regarding why Zimraphel really wanted Fíriel in the Palace is as horrifying as it seems plausible. Last time I feared for the life of Gimilzagar, now I'm even more afraid for Fíriel. The idea of both of them dying together is less terrifying. Well played.