quick LOTR fic rec
The Dûnhebaid Cycle, by Adaneth.
I seem to expand my tastes in my recent LOTR reading binge, because this one is all original characters and set about a century before The Hobbit. There is some action-adventure, but no epic quest, instead it paints an awesome tapestry of everyday Middle Earth life with regular Men, dwarves and elves, and friction and suspicion as well as friendships and alliances against common foes between the different peoples, and also factions within each group. It is mostly about Dúnedain and dwarves, but elves also feature, and I ended up invested in most of the characters, who have all their own strengths and faults, different interests, cultures and priorities. The first four novel-length stories in this series are finished, the fifth is still in progress.
I seem to expand my tastes in my recent LOTR reading binge, because this one is all original characters and set about a century before The Hobbit. There is some action-adventure, but no epic quest, instead it paints an awesome tapestry of everyday Middle Earth life with regular Men, dwarves and elves, and friction and suspicion as well as friendships and alliances against common foes between the different peoples, and also factions within each group. It is mostly about Dúnedain and dwarves, but elves also feature, and I ended up invested in most of the characters, who have all their own strengths and faults, different interests, cultures and priorities. The first four novel-length stories in this series are finished, the fifth is still in progress.