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| A Matter of Honor by meckinock | 14 Review(s) |
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| Suzelle | Reviewed Chapter: Epilogue 2 on 11/10/2019 |
| I will be leaving a longer review of the whole story later but please know that this epilogue absolutely WRECKED ME. Wrecked!!!! Me!!!!!! | |
| Dot | Reviewed Chapter: Epilogue 2 on 10/25/2006 |
| Ah. Now, while much of the last chapter made me smile, this one had me sniffling over my tea. It was painful and poignant and just perfect. It was just so fitting to bring it back to Dudo and Halbarad’s friendship. I really like how you give us little hints about Dudo’s life in the Shire. We get enough of a sense of his story to feel intrigued, and yet satisfied too – we feel we’re looking at a character who has seen and done so many things since we last saw him but what’s important is the person he is now. For a moment the opening scene seems an ordinary, hobbity one. Dudo appears to have settled in and found a place for himself. But there’s a feeling of hurt in him that’s there even before he knows who his visitors are. It’s as though – and I could be wrong – he’s making a life for himself but beyond existing has lost interest in most things because he feels hugely let down. I just love the description of Gandalf as a gleaming, bright Gandalf, like a silver candlestick with all the tarnish scrubbed off. What a wonderful way of describing his change. It must have been pretty amazing to Dudo so I nearly cried when he greeted him without affection and without a trace of his old spirited nature. I like the idea that Gandalf came and connected the threads for Dudo, showed Saruman’s role in events, the long and complicated web of treachery that Saruman wove. But then, does that matter now to Dudo? For the simple, honest and honourable person he is, what matters to him is that hobbits died, as it mattered that the boy Rolly died, and that people he thought were his friends seem to have betrayed him. I suppose too, that there was only a certain amount that the Shirefolk would have known and when you’re fighting your own battles, does it matter what its place is in the scheme of things? Actually, it must have made it harder for Dudo that most of the Shire were unaware of the Rangers’ guard and would not have been waiting for help that never came. Dudo knew and for all his courage and for all that he fought hard to save the Shire, he must have wondered and despaired when they didn’t come. And now that the battle is over, that despair becomes a more personal sense of betrayal. I really felt for him in his belief that Halbarad lied. That moment when Pippin gives Dudo the dagger is heartbreaking. I have a lump in my throat even now at the thought that Halbarad did as Dudo told him – used the dagger to protect Aragorn. Yes, there is irony in the fact that they thought Dudo was going to a safe place but really, he wanted Halbarad to have the dagger because he’d need it to play his part in securing the bright future that had Aragorn on the throne and working towards a world at peace. And that dagger is a symbol of the friendship between Dudo and Halbarad who each, I think, made a difference in the life of the other. I’m so glad for Dudo that he knows now that Halbarad fulfilled his dream and his duty, that he died making hope a reality. Perhaps one day he will travel to see where he lies (and you know, I think he and Hurin would like each other!) but for now it’s probably enough to know that he lies in peace and the open air, in sight of everything he strived for and watched over by Aragorn - and far off in the Shire Dudo can grieve for the loss of his friend. Ack, I’m gone all teary again. This was a very moving and appropriate ending to a wonderful, skilfully written story. The more I learn about writing, the more in awe I am of yours! I enjoyed every minute of this tale. As well as writing an engaging story and downright intriguing mystery, you’ve brought us closer to the Dunedain and given me new insight into the character of these noble, honourable people. You’ve made them colourful and believable and created a community full of different personalities, with their own share of hardships but who stand proud and steadfast in their heritage and their hope. More than that, you’ve taken Halbarad and made him real – a man with strengths and flaws, a man who laughs and loves and fights and dreams and believes and hopes, whose loyalty made him who he was and helped Aragorn become what he was born to be. And hey, the image of Halbarad as a sweaty, dirty Ranger who’s not adverse to a bit of rough-and-tumble in the mud was pretty attractive too ;-) Thanks for the journey, Meckinock. Author Reply: I'm glad you enjoyed the story bending back around to Halbarad and Dudo, Dot. I wanted to bring closure to their journey of friendship that began with that very first inauspicious meeting at the Prancing Pony. Dudo went to the Shire believing he was escaping the evils of the outside world, and it seemed to me he would instinctively yearn for Halbarad when those evils found him again; would remember Halbarad's promise to protect the Shire and feel abandoned. I think Dudo needed Gandalf to remind him that Halbarad gave him a more important gift than the dagger, and to help him see past his own self-pity to appreciate the triumph of spirit that brought down Sauron. Dudo will be OK now, I think. He might even not be as grumpy with Lily the next time he sees her :-) I have very much enjoyed spending time with all these characters, particularly one very special Ranger - your description of him brings tears to my eyes. And hey, the image of Halbarad as a sweaty, dirty Ranger who’s not adverse to a bit of rough-and-tumble in the mud was pretty attractive too ;-) Well, and a smile, too. Thanks, Dot. | |
| RS | Reviewed Chapter: Epilogue 2 on 10/12/2006 |
| Sigh! I know Halbarad's fate and yet it doesn't get any easier when I read about it. You know that feeling when you get when you feel something is wrong and you start sweating, the adrenaline is surging through your body, and you get that cold, tingling feeling crawling up your spine all the way to the back of your neck? Well, I got that feeling when Gandalf pulled out the dagger (and I'm sure so did Dudo). "He dreamt of seeing the King's banners flying over the city." "He saw them Dudo. He saw them long ago." BEAUTIFUL! I don't have any tissues left! I'll just use my sleaves! Thanks for a lovely story! Author Reply: Your description of the creepy crawlies was giving me creepy crawlies, RS! I feel bad now for putting Dudo through all that. I know he did not want to see that knife. Thank you for sharing with me your impressions of the story - it makes me feel glad to know it touched you. I owe you a Kleenex. | |
| Grumpy | Reviewed Chapter: Epilogue 2 on 10/11/2006 |
| Poor Dudo, to find out the reason Halbarad did not come, was because he was dead. Ok, I cryed during this chapter, I alway cry at Halbarad's death, wish I could talk Pr. Tolkien into changing a few lines in his book. " like a silver candlestick, with all the tarnish scrubbed off" one of the lines I like reading so well. Great story, and I do hope someday to read more from you about my favorite rangers. Author Reply: I'm sorry I keep making you drag out the Kleenex box, Grumpy. While I was bringing Dudo and Halbarad together throughout the course of the two stories, I always had this outcome in the back of my mind; but that didn't make it any easier to write. I wish you could talk to Professor Tolkien, too. You know, there aren't too many people who've stuck with me since the beginning, Grumpy. You never fail to brighten my day, and I want to thank you with all my heart for your support, encouragement, and humor. | |
| liz | Reviewed Chapter: Epilogue 2 on 10/10/2006 |
| No words. Again. These two stories are my absolute favorite of the LOTR fandom, and among the best I've read for any fandom. You have the uncanny ability to write descriptively, yet not all goopy and cheesily. Usually people try too hard at that and it ends up making me laugh... not really a good thing. But you can also write in-character dialogue like no one else... it's a double-dip in writing talent that is rare in these here parts. So with mechanics and style that are *that* good, you could write a story about what grows along the side of the greenway and I'd probably still love it. But Halbarad! And Gandalf! And Elrond! And My Husband.. uh, Aragorn! All of my favorite characters -- guys who usually don't end up in the same fanfic, let alone go on such adventures as these. Plus amazing OCs like Dudo. I can't thank you enough for taking the time to pound these out. Yeah, it's taken years, but completely worth every minute. I hope you continue to write LOTR. Oh, screw hope. I beg of you :) Author Reply: No words on my end, either, Liz! You give me too much credit, but I'm blushing (and glowing) to hear that you'd put these two stories at the top of your list. And My Husband.. uh, Aragorn! LOL. I really enjoyed putting all my favorite guys together, too. You do me great honor by saying it was worth your time and mine (There were times that I wondered.) Thank you so much for letting me know. I really appreciate it. Oh, screw hope. I beg of you :) Your making my head swell now! But thank you from the bottom of my heart. I would not want to let you down. I think I'll at least manage to spit out a one-shot from time to time. | |
| Linda Hoyland | Reviewed Chapter: Epilogue 2 on 10/10/2006 |
| A very moving ending to a great story.I always thought Sauraman was behind it all !Thanks for a great read.I hope you will write more LOTR stories. Author Reply: Yup. Saruman is such a tragic character - it's sad how he was consumed by his jealousy of Gandalf. I'm glad you enjoyed the story, Linda. I need a little break at the moment, but I'm sure I'll manage to post something now and again. | |
| The Karenator | Reviewed Chapter: Epilogue 2 on 10/8/2006 |
| The foppish floor flapper continued to flog the floor when Lily Leap-Frog leapt onto the foul floor flowered with filings. "Hey," she called. "Break the broom and bustle on over to your burrow. You got boarders bucking to buzz." The dinky dirt dabber sighed. "I got to tidy the trap, peg the pin, and dump the dust." He directed the dirt around her Dr. Scholl's and whipped it to the wind. Lilly clamped her club on a chubby cheek. "Don't keep this company on cool," she said. "I'll bump the bristles for you." She shooed him off the porch. "Traipse your tootsies toward your tumbledown." Dudo, the dodgy dust dumper, dotesy-doed down to the drab door of his domicile. When he got a load of the visitors' rides, he two-wheeled a retreat, but his flatulent familial folk, Fredagar, flagged him down. "Come in, Doodoo." "It's Dudo," the wee williker said waspishly. The mini mite of a midget recognized the Fool of a Took immediately, but he was more than shook to see Olorin, the science guy, had turn into Mr. Clean. The earring, in the tiny-trouser tyke's opinion, was just inviting the aim of amorous amoebas. The science guy motioned to the itsy-bitsy bumpkin. "Come give me a hug, you runty wreck of a whelp." Dudo felt like a doo-doo, but he did as the dumb dork desired. "I brought you something," the scintillating science shifter said. From his pasty pocket he produced a package. It was the same sheath, the same sawed-off Saturday Night Special the sickly shrimp slurper had slid between the ribs of a salivating wolf to save Strider's hide. "Ain't mine," the bonsaied barnacle brusher boasted. "It belongs to the PI." A sad look slapped the science slupper. "He ain't gonna need it in The Field of Dreams." "Well," the short sallow sprig said, "it you build it, they will come." The wizened wizard whizzed his head in a complete whirl. "He ain't coming back." Tears welled in the microscopic miniature mutt's eyes. "You mean the PI is pushing up pansies in pastoral pastures past the plowed provinces of the princely procurement?" "Yeah," the wily wizard said. "He got gonged in Gondor." The white wizard whapped his whaz with a withered finger. "But you gotta admit, the Lilliputians lit into the lightweights like lightning and licked them good." The pee-wee pantry punk nodded. "True. But tell me, ole winsome wizard, did the PI get to see Six Flags?" The white wizard, formerly know as the Gray Geezer, nodded. Tears brimmed on his lower lids. "He got to ride the Tilt-a-Whirl one last time." He patted the knee-high knave on the noggin'. "There was never no better ranger, no better PI, no better dandy of danger than the man known as Johnny Halbarad. He will be missed." Human reviewer: I can't say much because I'm crying too hard. I'll miss the adventures of Halbarad and Aragorn. This story has been worth the wait. You took a minor character and turned him into flesh and blood. I loved Halbarad's personality, his wit, and his devotion to Aragorn and his people. I loved Eirien, Hurin, Alagos, Brandol, and I especially loved the dice-throwing old ladies. The world of the Dúnedain came alive. Aragorn's struggles were real. He was real. Everything about the story was great. Just great. Thanks for hanging in there when things were tough and finishing it. Author Reply: Oh, lord, I had forgotten how well you do Dudo alliterations. same sawed-off Saturday Night Special the sickly shrimp slurper had slid between the ribs of a salivating wolf to save Strider's hide. *falls down and prostrates self in homage* I love these characters, too. It's amazing how that happens. This time around I'm not quite as sad about leaving them, because a) I am absolutely spent and b) there's a world of one-shots still to be written. But it's sad to say farewell, anyhow. Thank you for hanging in there when things were tough for both of us. I have Ray's Dog to thank for more than just a laugh - he introduced me to the sister I never had. | |
| Ellie | Reviewed Chapter: Epilogue 2 on 10/8/2006 |
| Great touch at the end there with the dagger. Nicely ended and nicely done. Author Reply: Thank you very much, Ellie. I liked the dagger as a recurring thread from the beginning of this epic and the end. I'm very glad you enjoyed it. | |
| Nilmandra | Reviewed Chapter: Epilogue 2 on 10/8/2006 |
| There is something very right about you stepping far away from events, to Dudo some years later, and tying up this final thread. Saruman was a big player in both stories, though he renamed mostly nameless, and you just buttoned all this up. On the other hand, I wanted an epilogue showing the characters you had drawn close to at the end. Back in the angle..... But maybe we can pull those out of you at a later time. :D I reread most of the story last night. It's fantastic, Meckinock. Author Reply: On the other hand, I wanted an epilogue showing the characters you had drawn close to at the end. Back in the angle..... Oh, shoot me some plot bunnies and I'll do one up as a one-shot. I'll be in withdrawal within a few weeks anyhow. I knew I had to do this epilogue since I bonded Dudo and Halbarad in "Hands." Right now I'm on a work stoppage. But I'll be looking for a Ranger fix soon. Thanks so much for all your support throughout this ordeal, Nilmandra. And thanks again for this wonderful site. It is the best. | |
| daw the minstrel | Reviewed Chapter: Epilogue 2 on 10/8/2006 |
| We're so used to news being flashed at us 24 hours a day that it's hard to imagine how little people knew of what happened afar in a culture like this. Poor Dudo. I can see how he'd see events as a betrayal. I particularly liked this line: It is no failure to die fulfilling the duty of one’s heart It was powerful and poetic. Author Reply: It was interesting to work out what the Shirefolk would know about events and when they would know it. Fatty would be more plugged in than most people, I think, but I didn't think Frodo & Co. would necessarily unload a lot of detail even on their friends. The war was won, there was a King again (and I think Dudo knew by now that it was Aragorn,) the bad guys were gone, and everyone wanted to get on with living. Thanks for all the support, Daw. | |