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| Duty Bound by Bodkin | 18 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| Pipkin Sweetgrass | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 1/3/2007 |
| I've gone halfway with this story and would love to finish it at one sitting, but fate intercedes, darn it! This is wonderful, and so very well written. I love what you're doing with this. I'll pick it back up tomorrow, and will be on pins and needles until I can finish this wonderfully crafted story. Author Reply: I'm glad you're enjoying it! It was one of those stories that jumps into your head almost fully formed - and a pleasure to write. I'm relishing the thought of you itching to get back to reading - and I hope you continue to enjoy it. | |
| Pearl Took | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 11/18/2006 |
| Once again, I just had to comment: "A wife, Boromir had discovered, was not comparable to a junior officer." The surprise shared by military men the world over! Author Reply: Boromir is rather a man's man, I think. Went to the army young and thinks in hierarchies. But no. He wouldn't find a wife leaping to fulfil his commands ... especially as I think he's secretly very soft-hearted when it comes to women and children. And animals. | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 11/15/2006 |
| Even without the true comfort of undoubted love, yet the gift is given them--if she and the child survive the pregnancy and early infancy, of course. Glad to read on in this story. Author Reply: Thank you, Larner. I think Boromir would have softened towards her quite quickly - and he is a born protector. A tentative start would have become trust and turned to love, I think. But the outcome is unlikely to remain happy for long. | |
| Armariel | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 11/12/2006 |
| (Was trying to review this last night and my friends wouldn't let me!) Wonderful characterizations throughout...especially the Brothers...mmmm!!! Don't know how Emeldis can be so...reluctant *ggg* But I'm sure he'd find her more attractive than the leagues of women who'd be more than happy to hurl themselves in his general direction. (Maybe she knows this and is playing hard to get?? nahhhhh.......) Lothiriel is lovely and so are her parents. But I know this isn't going to end happily ever after, of course.......:( ~~~{~@ Author Reply: I think Emeldis might well become reconciled to her fate reasonably quickly - especially as Boromir is a lot less intimidating and scary when he is alone with her than when he's being the rather splendid young captain and Steward's heir. I can, somehow, see him being very gentle with her and far more considerate than might be expected. He has a big soft streak, I think, as shown in his relationship with the hobbits! I enjoyed little Lothiriel! But you're right - there is unlikely to be a happy ending. | |
| Grey Wonderer | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 11/11/2006 |
| Every word of this is beautiful. I love seeing Boromir less secure and the growing relationship with his new bride is lovely. I have also enjoyed his talks with the very wise Faramir. Such a help to his older brother in a very tough time. I have read many stories in which the Thain arranges Pippin marriage but this is the first time I have read anything regarding a marriage for Boromir. I hadn't thought about it, but Denethor would have been the very type to insist on such a thing. I can't wait for more of this one. Author Reply: With the situation in Gondor and the amount of time Boromir and Faramir spent at the front, it is really quite remarkable that Denethor didn't insist on them marrying and producing a couple of sons each before he would let them go into danger. After all, if his sons died without heirs, he was opening the way for that dratted suspicious northerner to come back and steal Gondor from under his nose. Boromir loved his mother, I think - and I can see him being a very gentle husband to a nervous young bride. While she would definitely learn to love him pretty quickly! | |
| harrowcat | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 11/11/2006 |
| Ooh the plot definitely thickens. I feel sorry for the pair of them but there is hope blooming too. Author Reply: Hope remains while the company is true ... Now, where did that come from? I think Boromir and Emeldis are growing closer - but the prospects for lasting happiness are not good! | |
| Redheredh | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 11/11/2006 |
| Very entertaining, so far. Boromir's nobility comes to the fore, just as it would normally. I really like Emeldis' as an apparently disillusioned young maiden. Fortunately, Aunt and Uncle are good advisors. Lothiriel and Amrothros are darling and should encourage both newly-weds that children are worth the effort. And, Faramir is already too clever - which will lead to conflict with his controlling father later, I am sure. ;) I do like a good romance - in the classic and modern genres both! Author Reply: Boromir has a wide soft streak he tries hard to conceal. Brought out by the sort of women who are like his mother, children, animals and Faramir. And Dol Amroth is somewhere that both of Finduilas's sons associate with happiness and understanding and the absence of pressure. (I suspect Denethor resents they way they are both willing to confide in Uncle Imrahil.) I can't see a happy ending for this romance, though. | |
| meckinock | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 11/11/2006 |
| Lothiriel is just adorable. I loved the scene with her and Emeldis at the beach. I felt so sorry for Emeldis, thinking that it's just a matter of time before Lothiriel realizes she's just a political pawn (and I'm so relieved she's wrong!) But good grief - how on earth did Denethor manage to choose the one society girl in Gondor who wouldn't have sold her baby brother for the chance to marry the heir of the Steward. All they needed to do was hold a debutante ball and marry Boromir off to the last girl standing. It's painful to watch this! And dear Boromir - ‘I daresay you will go off them when you have them round you all the time,’ he assured her cheerfully. ‘I would rather deal with a troop of soldiers – they are far less trouble.’ LOL, so true, so true. I wonder what is going on with Emeldis's mother now... Author Reply: I think Emeldis is beginning to get over feeling pawn-like - after all, being married to Boromir can't be all that bad! Especially since he has turned out to have a well-hidden soft heart. (And Lothiriel's marriage could have been a truly cold-hearted political move. I'm glad it wasn't!) Denethor, I think, had a pretty good idea of what he wanted in his son's wife ... and he might even have had his son's welfare in mind for some of it! He did look outside the predictable families - partly, I think, because many noble families tend to be a bit effete, and not always that productive, child-wise. And he wouldn't have wanted to increase the power of the girl's father. But there must have been a lot of frustrated ladies in Gondor on Boromir's wedding night! Emeldis's mother has a whole back story - and, unfortunately, none of it made it beyond hints! I might have to explain it after the next chapter! | |
| Linda Hoyland | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 11/11/2006 |
| This is a very interesting AU exploring what if Boromir had not been a confirmed batchelor as Tolkien suggests. This is a very vivid depiction of what marriage might have been like for Boromir and the girl his father chose. I love your characterisations of Faramir,Imrahil and the ladies. Author Reply: Gondor needs heirs. It surprises me that Denethor hadn't married off at least his older son. Boromir and Faramir were in such dangerous positions and if they were killed, what would Denethor do? It would open the way to that dratted Thorongil - who was probably only waiting for Denethor to show weakness. Sons, and plenty of them, would make it much harder for anyone to present himself as king without tearing Gondor apart. Thank you. I am particularly fond of Imrahil's family. Well ... And Faramir. And Boromir. | |
| French Pony | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 11/10/2006 |
| Well, there's a promising start to a marriage. One would think that, if one were going to arrange a marriage for one's son without any say-so from the son involved, one would at least wish to give the son a few pointers. But if one did that, one would not be Denethor, I guess. Emeldís is a real mensch, making the best of what has to be a desperately unpleasant situation. I can't imagine that this will be a happy or a successful pregnancy. On the other hand, this: A wife, Boromir had discovered, was not comparable to a junior officer. is just Boromir all over. Author Reply: Denethor would have his eye on the family tree. Heirs are vital - especially as war comes closer and closer. And the more of his line available, the harder it would be for anyone to come out of the north and claim kingship without tearing Gondor apart. And Thorongil wouldn't do that. It's a difficult situation - two barely acquainted people expected to procreate enthusiastically. And harder on her - Boromir at least has his normal life to live while away from the city. Poor Boromir. He seems the sort who might be rather alarmed by the sort of girl Emeldis is. Although I think he has a gentle streak he tries to hide - one excited by women like his mother, children and animals. | |