| Striderette9 | 08/17/10 02:52 pm | 1: The Mariner's Son | Signed |
A beautiful story, well fashioned. Full of peril and escape from certain death by the barest of margins. Exciting indeed! But what most strikes and remains with me is the wisdom, understanding, and compassion that Aragorn exhibits in dealing with the mariner's son. Although Aragorn is not yet fifty at this time in his many hard wanderings, and even though he labors sometimes uneasily under the weight of his destiny, he has already acquired the strength of character and moral compass necessary to become the great king of Men that he's destined to be. No wonder so many are drawn to him!!! Thanks for this treasure!
Author's Response: Thank you, Striderette! So glad you enjoyed this... and yes, I did want to show that side of him--the wisdom and understanding, and also the forgiving spirit I felt he possessed even before he became King. Aragorn traveled in order to learn the hearts of men, and though most of us tend to think first of him learning the evil in men's hearts, I think he had to have also learned that men's hearts were sometimes better than their behavior initially showed. So much refining Aragorn had to endure before he finally became gold that did indeed glitter and shine for all to see, and this was one of my early takes on one of those refining moments. Thanks for the lovely review! |
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| WendWriter | 12/04/09 02:02 am | 1: The Mariner's Son | Anonymous |
This is a brilliant story, with complex psychology and a believable scenario. It's canon-compatible, exciting and beautifully written. Your prose is vivid and the images really spring to life in the reader's mind. Nice work!
Author's Response: Thank you, WendWriter! This was my first real foray into LOTR fic and it's such a pleasant surprise to get a new review of it! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. |
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| MP brennan | 12/19/08 05:46 pm | 1: The Mariner's Son | Signed |
Wow. This is quite an exceptional story. I'm sorry I didn't come across it in time to help you with MEFA. Your characterization of Aragorn is perfect. I love the transformation he goes through; losing his memories and getting them back one chunk at a time until he's come full circle. The last two paragraphs were particularly poignant. You're a very talented writer.
Author's Response: Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed this little story ... it was one of my first LOTR fics, and I'm continually amazed at how well it's been received. No worries about MEFA; I was just pleased to have had it nominated and place 3rd. I'm glad you like how I write Aragorn ... he's my favorite character and I try to do him justice by keeping him as in character as possible. Thanks again for the review! |
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| Michelle | 05/27/08 09:39 pm | 1: The Mariner's Son | Signed |
Mhm, what a wonderful story! Of course it's no surprise that I enjoyed it - it's Aragorn-centered, it has angst and it explores different aspects of the character. What's not to love:) Choosing to stay with Aragorn's POV helped keep the tension up - especially at the beginning. You're right there with him, trapped but not knowing why or by whom. It's a mystery you desperately want to solve, but that silly bump on the head keeps getting in the way. The mariner is a very interesting character as well - an adventurer in his own right. I imagine that (after this story has ended) Aragorn sits down with him and asks him for stories about his father. They're going to sit around a fire and trade tales. Loved it!
Author's Response: Thanks, Michelle, and apologies for the late reply (I've been out of town and out of range of the Internet, if that's possible in this day and age!) I'm glad you liked it and really appreciate you telling me that you can imagine what may come after this story. That really tells me that my characters (and the story itself) hit the mark. To think that a reader's imagination keeps playing with the characters after my part of the story has ended thrills me no end! Thank you again for the kind words! |
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| Amarok | 04/19/08 07:08 am | 1: The Mariner's Son | Signed |
I've told you already, but will do so again :-). This is a great story! Just read parts of it again, and this time I was especially touched by the conflict of Aragorn not even wanting to become what was foretold to him, but also not wanting to abandon it.
That I love (shivery-love) how it gets worse and worse for the poor guy until he just hangs on that small ledge I said already..., and even after that his ordeal is far from over ;-). What I not mentioned before, I think, is my love for amnesia stories :-)! I like the talk between the Mariner and Aragorn about his eyes, and if he is an elf or not.
Oh well, and how you bring it to an end, how Aragorn gets his belongings back, is great. It shows Aragorn's other abilities, not as warrior, but his knowledge about people. I hope to see many more stories from you, be it here or elsewere :) !
Author's Response: Thanks, Amarok! I'm glad you commented on his destiny & how I have him thinking about it. I'm always so torn between the bookverse and movie-verse regarding that issue. The books hint at his unease with it, but the movies, though I love them, in my humble opinion, sometimes take that a little too far. So I kind of tried to hit a middle ground with it. I tend to think it probably took him quite a while to work out all the issues he had with it all... and that his time as Thorongil probably started to stir the coals, so to speak, of the fire for Gondor that must have always been within him, even if dormant. I could go on for days chatting about that issue all by itself, so moving on.... *grin I didn't know you liked amnesia stories... I kinda like them, too. ;) I think in this case, one reason I went in that direction was that I had no idea myself how Aragorn ended up where he was... and for a while, no idea how I was going to get him out of the mess I dumped him in. So the idea came to me to keep Aragorn in the dark, too. Poor guy. ;) And I figure that Aragorn has to have no small amount of wisdom when it comes to dealing with people--the wisdom learned from Elrond and his mother, from Gandalf, and even from his own heritage. Of course, he's not a perfect judge of character, or else he wouldn't have gotten whanged upside the head with a cudgel to begin with! And yep, you know there'll be more stories from me... eventually! I'm finally getting a little more comfortable with this whole LOTR fic thing. ;) Thanks again for the nice review! |
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| White Wolf | 04/19/08 12:52 am | 1: The Mariner's Son | Signed |
I love this story. It got my first place vote at Teitho, and I'm so happy it won! The plot was original, and the descriptions. It was easy to 'visualize' the physical and emotional elements of the story. I love the way Aragorn dealt with the young man, when it would have been so easy to seek vengence, or at the least, just demand the ring back. A wonderful tale, wonderfully told. I put it on my favorites list. :o)
Author's Response: Thanks, White Wolf, both for this lovely review and for voting for the story! Thanks especially for commenting on Aragorn's decision not to seek vengence--for me, that was a vital part of the story. I see Aragorn as having a deep well of compassion. One of my favorite places in the books that shows that side of him is in the way he deals with Beregond in Return of the King. He could very well have followed the letter of the law and severely punished or even executed Beregond for drawing blood in the Citadel, even if it was done out of love for Faramir. But I love how instead, he almost teases Beregond, implying that he'll be banished, but then actually rewards him by making him captain of Faramir's guard. How can you not love a guy that does that??? So I love exploring, in smaller ways, that side of Aragorn. |
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