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| To Labour and to Wait by Gwynnyd | 11 Review(s) |
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| Ainu Laire | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 9/1/2006 |
| Wow. I am not sure what else to say. This story was very, very well written, and so enjoyable! Rarely do you see something so, well, close to canon! You captured Aragorn very close to what I believe is Tolkien's Aragorn. I absolutely loved his flashbacks, especially in the unknown place far off to the east. It is a bit difficult to imagine that these people knew nothing of Sauron, but Arda really is quite large. I would imagine he travelled hundreds upon hundreds of miles to get there. Wow, I did like it a lot. Completely amazing. I really liked this a lot! Author Reply: Thank you! I think that Sauron's minions stuck pretty close to the west end of the continent. They probably only sent out 'missionaries' to the more eastern parts when they wanted to bring in more bodies to harass the Dunedain. And yes, I think of that far east area as being, oh, Thailand-ish to Gondor's Florence. I'm very glad you enjoyed it! I had good betas and a really good editor to keep me in line. | |
| Michelle | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 7/18/2006 |
| A wonderful peak into Aragorn's thoughts to see what makes him tick (well, seems to be Arwen, mostly *g*). Liked the technique of it - the different scenes, kind of a caleidoscope. Author Reply: I admit to being a hopeless romantic. Thank you! | |
| RS | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 6/16/2006 |
| Strolling through SOA and found this! (Clap my hands and squeal with delight!) Had to read it again. I enjoyed it at HASA and I double-enjoyed it here! Every action, every word was pictured in my mind like watching a movie. Heck I think I was! Beautiful, wonderful, awesome! Can't say enough of it! Author Reply: I am also a romantic! LOL Can you tell? I worked really hard on this story for a very long time. (and I can't say enough good things about the beta readers, especially Susan over at Nenya and Tanaqui, who made me rewrite things until they worked the way I wanted them to.) I am so very happy that you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Gwynnyd | |
| Estelcontar | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 6/15/2006 |
| I always love your Aragorn stories because they show the man like I always imagined him. The one schooled for leadership who endured for close to 90 years a life of sacrifice and serving, which in a way prepared him better to be the great, generous and wise king he ended up being. But I think you are right. Those years in hiding must have been very difficult years for him because most of the times I think he laboured and waited without much hope of succeeding just because he felt he had to. But ultimately he never gave up hope entirely and never gave in to despair. Author Reply: We know that he succeeded, but at the time, it must often have seemed hopeless. I'm sure he made mistakes along the way and learned from them. that he never despaired did show the strength of his character. Thank you. Gwynnyd | |
| daw the minstrel | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 6/12/2006 |
| Hello, again. I reviewed this once but on a long drive today I got to wondering if Legolas made a comb for Pippin because Pip wanted an heirloom. In other words, do I have to groan at a bad pun? Author Reply: Darn you! No, I had never thought of that. Now I'm going to be groaning at the pun every time I think of it. LOL Gwynnyd | |
| Bodkin | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 6/12/2006 |
| I loved Legolas's respect for the dogged Aragorn - the man who could make himself admired and respected wherever he went, yet never stick around to reap the benefits. He must have been so lonely. The only constants in his life were usually hundreds of leagues away - and a mental rather than a physical comfort. I'm surprised, actually, that he was able to settle down to being king - I'd have thought that seventy-ish years of being a wanderer would have made it intolerable. And Legolas - his feel for what the wood wanted and his sensitivity to the natural world are lovely. And Pippin's brief appearance, actually! Legolas's automatic support of Aragorn is heartening - even if Aragorn is right in saying that his ancestry is not enough to make him king. Fortunately his character is. Author Reply: You could look at it the other way around and think of Aragorn as a city boy who was stuck in the wild for seventy years and very grateful to be allowed to settle down at last. He was raised in the comforts of reasonably civilized Rivendell, after all. LOL I'm glad you enjoyed it. Gwynnyd | |
| meckinock | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 6/11/2006 |
| Magnificent - what did Daw say (yes, I cheated!) Detailed and yet sweeping? I loved the closeness and detail you gave us about a night in the life of the Three Hunters, and yet intertwined it with scenes from Aragorn's journeys. How poignant that every time he achieved acceptance and success, he was forced to move on. I was particularly touched by his experience in Rohan. Loved this line: As an honor to Thorongil, homeless adventurer, it was favor undreamed of; for the heir of Arnor and Gondor, it was impossible. The account of the battle at Umbar was gripping, too. What an unvarnished picture of war, and Aragorn sickened by it despite the fact that he can remember himself pushing for it. My favorite segment, I think, was the story of the cheating gambler and how Aragorn stuck around for a year to set up a nice, reputable establishment. It was nice to imagine him as the de facto tow sheriff, but sad to imagine that all of these people who grew to love and respect him would have felt confused and hurt at his unexpected departure. I think I could re-read this another dozen times just to catch everything. Author Reply: I can't see Aragorn having much experience with being the agressor in war before he took on the Corsairs. The common M-e experience of piling up the bodies of dead ememies for burning is sort-of understandable when they are orcs, but to see ordinary citizens of Umbar piled up that way on the docks must have been eye-opening. I can see how in Umbar and possibly even Harad they would speak a dialect of Westron, but eventually Aragorn would have to run into areas where he couldn't make himself understood. As for going back, his destiny was elsewhere. He had to. (I freely give you the AU story idea of him staying... ;-) and look forward to reading it) Thank you for your comments! Gwynnyd | |
| Linda Hoyland | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 6/11/2006 |
| This is a beautiful story,which I greatly enjoyed at HASA.It is good to see it here too. Author Reply: Thank you! Tolkien tossed off "and he had great labours" so casually, it was a challenge to come up with a nice back story that, I hope, holds together. I'm glad you like it! Gwynnyd | |
| daw the minstrel | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 6/11/2006 |
| What a wonderful look at Aragorn's long struggles. Detail and sweep of the years in the same story. Author Reply: Thank you. It was a challenge, but a lot of fun, to weave them all together. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Gwynnyd | |
| Nilmandra | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 6/10/2006 |
| A very nice look at Aragorn through this night of unrest as he looked back over his life. All of his plans indeed were 'nothing' until the plans of ones far greater than he were worked out to their perfection... when his time came. I really liked the snippets in Rohan and Umbar and the far east. Author Reply: Thank you. It was fun to work out a reasonably plausible scenario for Aragorn in the far places. I think he would make a really good bouncer in a caravan bar: you know, the big guy, good with a sword. LOL Gwynnyd | |