Fantastic gap-filler in a style reminiscent of Tolkien himself

"Have you ever wondered how the Wizards came to be, or why we are told there are five Wizards but we only encounter three between The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings? You could read the Silmarillion and the LOTR appendices to find out, and you should...and you should also read this story! A very imaginative fan fiction gap-filler, the author has set forth the origins of the Wizards (Istari), the fate of the mysterious Blue Wizards, and even the origins of the ancient rivalry between Gandalf and Saruman. Here too we see why Saruman was so revered by the Gondor-men, and how he set out on an ultimately tragic path toward darkness in his quest to secure the victory of the light, all told in a writing style reminiscent of Tolkien himself. There are no Mary Sues or self-insertions here, and the quality of the tale is far above what one normally encounters in fan fiction. The only fault I can find with the story is the author should have gone through it once-more with a spell-checker, or better yet a manual read, as there are some typos of the sort that spell-checkers tend to miss, but that is a very minor gripe indeed. For we are treated to engaging characters - true to Tolkein's characterization of them where we have seen them before - fantastic landscapes, and peoples from never-before-seen parts of Middle Earth. All this and epic battles are on offer as we follow several parallel plots that are woven into a masterful conclusion - indeed the author has some of the best written descriptions of battle scenes that I have read anywhere. I am not sure why the author has not posted more here, but certainly hope that he does and that he begins to write his own original fiction too!"