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A Matter of Honor by meckinock	6 Review(s)
Laeriel Oranor	Reviewed Chapter: 999999 on 6/30/2011
I have just re-found this story and have re-read it start to finish. I loved it and was thrilled to be able to read it once again! Thank you so much for the wonderful read.

phyloxena	Reviewed Chapter: 999999 on 11/23/2007
I finally got to read this story (and a prequel, too). Probably my favorite line was Halbarad's "Not again" , upon second well-timed arrival of Hurin. It has something Hemingway-ish to it, suddenly dropping the whole fantasy to the level of realistic uncertainty. It is good for us readers to know that the good will prevail, but also good to feel by means of the story that characters do not. Besides, it is terribly funny. I wonder what Aragorn would have done if Bega's son was indeed his half-brother, alive or dead. Numenorian customs are similar to elven, but psychophysiology (what a suitably misusable term!) is human; it is actually doesn't matter much if Aragorn even is Elros's descendant, as long as everybody acts as if he is. You see, I love Tolkien's Numenorians, but very much dislike blood- and birthrights under normal circumstances. My pet AU idea is Aragorn who is nobody, very talented abnormality whom Elrond first took in for protection, later honed to his purposes and even later had to rip what he saw. To everyone else's benefit. Sorry, I am not talking about your beautifully balanced story. Dudo was great. I am glad he didn't make into any impact on the book events -- only I felt some emphasis on the fact that Halbarad was dead by the time the Shire came to harm was missing. Dudo was so bitter he seemed to miss hints. Halbarad, loyal but not at all tame, was even greater. I loved his animated and totally heartless admiration of Aragorn's beheading stroke (in the first part), as well as his abused reluctance to kill people. I loved old witch's proverb about walking in darkness. Rangers' wives were just precious. Did I mention I read this for two nights in a row? Author Reply: Hello again, Phyloxena, and thanks so much for your very interesting and insightful review. I'm so glad you enjoyed the "Hands" and "Honor" saga - two nights in a row? Was your cable out? Just kidding. I loved your comment about realistic uncertainty. When readers already know how everything will turn out in 3019, it's a challenge to will them to suspend that knowledge in order to invest in the characters' uncertainty. And I'm glad you thought it was funny. I like your pet AU. I've always been a little squirmy about M-e notions of racial superiority and birthrights, too. Even leaving aside the Numenorean master-race premise, the whole idea that Aragorn's descent from Elros/Elendil is somehow unique among Men of his age, and that his Numenorean after 40 generations is just biologically nuts. Unless he's inbred enough to have five eyeballs, Aragorn's mathematically just as descended from Elendil as probably every other Dunadan alive in his time - 40 generations from Elendil to Aragorn gives Elendil nearly a trillion potential descendants of the same generation. You might as well crown Randy Schneider of Ottumwa, Iowa the king of the restored Holy Roman Empire because out of the potential billion or so living descendants of Charlemagne, he's the only one with an intact all-male line of descent. Oh, wait, Aragorn can't even claim that. Stop me, I'm ranting :-) I guess what I'm saying is that I agree that Tolkien's world requires a very considerable suspension of our 21st century sensibilities and cynicisms. Maybe because I'm generally so cynical about politics, I sometimes enjoy the escapism inherent in the "Good King" mythology. I think he does redeem Aragorn from that cliche at least partially through his long years of trial and sacrifice, and his willingness to lay down his life in the end. But hey, I'm off on a major digression again. I haven't gone back and re-read the story since I finished it - I rarely do that because sometimes I think I'll turn into a pillar of salt at the horror of it - but I you could have a point that the impact of the revelation that Halbarad was already dead when the ruffians took over the Shire might not have been fully exploited with Dudo. I don't usually edit after the fact but I might go back and take a look at that passage. I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed Halbarad's personality, and the dice-playing grannies. It was a nice change to write some female characters and I enjoyed trying to round them out as people. Thanks again for the very kind and thought-provoking review. Author Reply: Oops, editing glitch. somehow unique among Men of his age, and that his Numenorean after 40 generations is just biologically nuts should have read something like: ...somehow unique among Men of his age, and that he's uniquely Numenorean in his DNA makeup after 40 generations is just biologically nuts.

Dot	Reviewed Chapter: 999999 on 10/25/2006
This is handy! Especially for those of us who are a bit challenged when it comes to keeping timelines straight. I really enjoy reading people's author's notes. Yes, I know I'm weird. But, um, I hope you aren't offended if I have absolutely no intention of e-mailing you to discuss the socio-economic structure of Dunedain society... ;-) Author Reply: I have absolutely no intention of e-mailing you to discuss the socio-economic structure of Dunedain society... ;-) Darn.

Bodkin	Reviewed Chapter: 999999 on 10/14/2006
Very interesting. And logical! Author Reply: I enjoyed it :-) The geography was even more fun but I haven't figured out how to post a map yet.

perelleth	Reviewed Chapter: 999999 on 10/11/2006
What a great idea! Thank you very much, Meckinock, for sharing this detailed job! I love doing that kind of pondering, and also love following other people's efforts. I'm terribly weird, I know! The history of the south eastern lands is very entertaining (to me) maybe because so little is said. I found your Dunledings very convincing. I think I once read somewhere that the Dunedain "capital" at the Angle and the more or less permanent settlement at Tharbad had become fanon canon, and both are only too plausible to me. Now, I have been wondering. Since Halbarad meets Aragorn in Rohan with such a very small force of thirty other Rangers (plus E2, I think) I am now wondering where the rest of the Dunedain were at that time, since they seem not to have been involved in protecting the Shire...Is there anything in the Appendices about that? I do not seem to remember... Maybe the rest of the Dunedain had to repel Dunleding attacks? Or joined Glorfindel to prepare the last defence of Imaldris, should the worst come to happen? Or rather joined the fray in Minas Tirith on their own? But there would surely be some mention of it in the books? See? Dudo made me wonder. I had never before thought about this. Thank you again. I am sure you will come back to us with more tales of the angle. Take your deserved rest! Author Reply: You're just egging me on, aren't you, Perelleth? I think I once read somewhere that the Dunedain "capital" at the Angle and the more or less permanent settlement at Tharbad had become fanon canon, and both are only too plausible to me. The Angle is pretty well-established fanon, with some basis in Tolkien's non-canonical references to a "hidden fastness in the wilds of Eriador" (Michael Martinez was probably responsible for popularizing the concept of the Angle as Dunedain HQ) but Tolkien never really nailed down location of the Dunedain home base, if in fact such a thing existed. where the rest of the Dunedain were at that time, since they seem not to have been involved in protecting the Shire...Is there anything in the Appendices about that? Big old Can O'Worms. Canon is silent, making this the topic of much fervent debate. Halbarad managed to assemble 30 Rangers for the Grey Company, all that could be "gathered in haste." You'd think your 30 guys who could be gathered in haste would be the 30 guys nearest to your jumping-off point, which was probably Rivendell (since the word came from there, and Halbarad had a package to pick up.) But somehow the Shire, which the Rangers had taken great pains to keep safe all these years and which was 300 miles west of Rivendell, was left unprotected, so did the Grey Company deplete the Shire Guard? If so, how come they couldn't get any Rangers from closer to the Misty Mountains? Dunno. I do think that if Halbarad would go so far as to leave the Shire unprotected (which he did), he would not then leave anybody in reserve against Dunlending attacks, etc. He knew he was heading into Armageddon and he would want to give Aragorn every chance. See what you started? As Dudo and Halbarad grew closer, I just found the irony inescapable that Halbarad states in ROTK, "A little people, but of great worth are the Shire-folk"...little do they know of our long labour for the safekeeping of their borders, yet I grudge it not" and yet the Rangers wouldn't be there to protect those borders when Sharkey's ruffians came. And Dudo would be the one person to expect them to.

Linda Hoyland	Reviewed Chapter: 999999 on 10/11/2006
What a good idea, I must try to sometime create a timrlinfe for my own stories Author Reply: Oh, definitely! It's kind of fun to squeeze everything into the canon timeline.

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