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| Stirrings of Shadow by Fiondil | 10 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| Nieriel Raina | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 3/10/2008 |
| Okay, I'm behind reviewing everything else, but in being unable to find anything interesting to read, I started reading this finally. *grin* And as usual, you grabbed me and pulled me right in and now i need to know what happens and I'll have to find time to read it all amid the insaneness of cleaning, packing, moving, settling in. Great opening! I look forward to reading more. Author Reply: I figured you would like this if you gave it a try. *grin* Good luck with the move and I'll look for more reviews once you've settled in. | |
| colbysgurl | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 2/8/2008 |
| wow...thirty six chapters, huh? well, I do like how you've laid out the background of the characters in the king's court. so, I'm assuming that Aragorn still doesn't want anyone to know his true identity? that's why he was making his cousin run? Author Reply: Thirty-six chapters and counting... Don't be fooled by the Character List... several people asked for one so as to keep the different characters straight, especially the Rohirrim because their names are very similar sounding and it's easy to mix them up. If and when new characters show up I add to the list. And yes, that's why Aragorn makes Gilhael run, trying to get him out of the habit of addressing him as "my lord". | |
| Telpethoron | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 4/11/2007 |
| Being as fond of history as I am, I find myself thoroughly enjoying this tale from the start. I've always wondered - as I'm sure others have - about Aragorn's backstory...his life as Thorongil, his early years in Rivendell, and so forth. I hope to be caught up with this story either tonight or early tomorrow - I hate to leave a good bit of fiction unfinished, so to speak. Congratulations on an excellent first chapter, and I look forward to reading the rest! Author Reply: Thank you. I'm glad you are enjoying this story so far. Being fond of history myself, it's fun to write about a culture near and dear to my heart (Anglo-Saxon), but giving it a Middle-earth twist as well. And I've always been curious about those "missing" years of Aragorn's life as Thorongil as well. Hence, this story. | |
| viggomaniac | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 4/7/2007 |
| Just read through your first six chapters in the last 45 minutes. Excellent beginning and a wonderfully realistic solution to the 'problem' of Thorongil's background. It all seems so very 'Olde World' in style and I am enjoying it very much. Will try to review more as I have time. Am I to surmise that not all will be smooth sailing? Author Reply: Six chapters in 45 minutes! Even I can't read that fast! *lol* The style of writing is deliberate and you are correct that not all will be smooth sailing (when has it ever been?). I'm glad you enjoyed these chapters and found them realistic. I will be updating every week on Thursdays. | |
| Edlyn | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 3/9/2007 |
| Having had a quarter hour available to take a break this afternoon I decided to read chapter 1 and hopefully get a review done before I have to go back to work. So here it is... As much as I am enjoying your Elf, Interrupted, I am so glad that you have begun this tale. Truly, of the all the peoples of Middle Earth, the one I identify with the most is the Rohirrim. Of course this may have to do wit hthe fact that I have been horse-mad since I was four-years old and the idea of living in a place where the everything revolved around horses suited me to a T when I first read The Two Towers back in 1971 (the paperbacks having been a present from my father). In fact, the only thing I took issue with was that it appeared to my young mind that all the Rohirrim were blond and blue-eyed and if I lived in middle-earth I'd be stuck in Minas Tirith without any horses at all because I had dark brown hair and eyes. Of course, later on I discovered that Thengel had married Morwen of Lossarnach and even in the royal family darker hair would likely show up from time to time. In regards to the chapter, I found that seeing Edoras through Aragorn/Thorongil's eyes helped me visualize the place even more clearly (I admit I had some issues with the depiction of Edoras and the Rohirric villages in the movies, but that is based on my personal independent research in regards to Anglo-Saxon and Viking history in the British Isles, though I would have given anything to have been able to transport Meduseld to a vacant property here in Ohio). I also had issues with the amount of black being worn by the common people in the film since it is a colour that is difficult and expensive to achieve even if you begin with dark coloured fleece. However, as I was reading my mind's eye was seeing the people dressed in colours and undyed cloth waiting patiently for their turn to present thier petitions to the King. Young Theoden is charming and I couldn't help but grin at his figiting during court. You did an excellent job introducing the culture in detail and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next. And if the university ever gets anyone in the English or history departments who teach Old and Middle English, I'm going ot learn to speak and read it properly! May you live blessed, Edlyn Author Reply: I'm glad you think I did an excellent job introducing the culture in detail. I combined Tolkien's descriptions of Edoras with the visuals from the movies in a way that I hoped would not turn-off the purists. I too would love to have been able to transport Meduseld to a vacant lot anywhere! *lol* As for learning Old English, why wait for the university? There are online courses you can take that will at least teach you the basics. Try King Alfred's Grammar, which I use to double-check my declensions and conjugations since all my OE books are safely stored away back in my brother's house. There are also OE dictionaries online too. | |
| Linda Hoyland | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 3/4/2007 |
| A very vivid beginning.I liked the idea of Aragorn arriving with his cousin.I loved your description of the Rohan Royal family. Author Reply: Thanks, Linda, glad you like the story so far. | |
| Bodkin | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 3/3/2007 |
| Now - arriving with a cousin able to speak Rohirric seems a very good plan! And I like the detail about the Golden Hall and its inhabitants. Good to see Thengel and Morwen - and little Theoden sitting restively between his sisters. Author Reply: Yes, having someone who speaks the language traveling with you is always a good idea, although Aragorn will find out that it doesn't always work. *grin* | |
| Nikara | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 3/1/2007 |
| Excellent new story. I look forward to hearing more about Aragorn's travels. I think my favorite section of this chapter was Aragorn's method for ensuring that he will only be refered to as Thorongil- very effective, it seems! Author Reply: Yeah, I think that part is going to be everyone's favorite scene. LOL I'm happy that you are enjoying the story so far. Thanks for reviewing. | |
| Rhyselle | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 3/1/2007 |
| I rather thought that Aragorn's method of "reminding" Gilhael to call him "cousin" instead of "my lord" was very amusing--but, obviously, very effective! I did pick out the meaning of about a third of the Anglo-Saxon words of the guard's challenge before reading his Westron challenge... that's pretty good for me considering that my actual knowledge of the language is very sketchy. Unfortunately, my university didn't offer courses in it! :) The blending of description from LOTR and the other sources works well, and gives us a clear picture of what Aragorn sees as he comes into Edoras for the first time. The description of Thengel's court also gave an interesting snapshot of politics and culture; the disapproval that he would ask his wife's opinion, for example. The image of young Theoden being fidgety on the bench between his sisters was wonderful! *g* I'd forgotten that Thengel spent years in Minas Tirith... I'm certain that colours his judgments and politics--whether his Witan like it or not! I very much liked his greeting the Rangers in Sindarin--and the comment about his accent being different was an excellent touch. It's easy, when reading the novels in English to forget that different lands in Middle-earth had different native languages, and even the ones that shared a language, would have different dialects due to isolation or separation from one another, even if they had been in contact before. Middle-earth is quite vast, and the language and culture differences point that out. A good beginning. I look forward to see what adventures and interactions that Aragorn has in his life as Thorongil. BTW, I though him identifying himself as the son of Beren was fun... and, when one gets down to it, it's true! :) Author Reply: The "run for three miles until you get it right" method of retraining one's Cousin does have a certain charm to it doesn't it? LOL And something I think Aragorn would do. It's even funnier when you remember that Gilhael is fifteen or so years older than Aragorn. I'm glad that my depiction of the court at Edoras rings true with you, especially the influence of Gondor on Thengel. He is not a "pure-bred" son of Rohan; he's married to a Gondorian woman whose lineage can be traced back to Númenor and he speaks Sindarin, albeit with an accent, as readily as he speaks Westron or Rohirric. Between him and Théoden in later years the Rohirrim will begin to move slowly towards a more refined civilization that will culminate with the friendship between Aragorn and Éomer. I thought Aragorn "borrowing" his cousin Gilhael's uncle Beren a nice touch, too... and of course, he's not really lying, is he? *grin* | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 3/1/2007 |
| A nice introduction of Aragorn to the court of Thengel. Son of Beren is he represented? Apt--very apt. A bit far removed, of course... Author Reply: Thanks Larner. I'm glad you like the way this story begins. It's quite a bit different from my other stories to date, but I've been having fun with it. And having Thorongil be the son of Beren just sounded right. *grin* | |