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| The Siege Of Minas Tirith by Morwen Tindomerel | 24 Review(s) |
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| Elaine | Reviewed Chapter: 26 on 2/15/2005 |
| I am loving this story... most especially because it is leading toward the story of Eowyn and Faramir's courtship. I hope this part will come soon! I have been searching the net for stories of that, and have found next to nothing. Please continue! Author Reply: See the sequel: 'The Steward and the Queen' for Faramir and Eowyn's courtship. I hope you won't be disappointed. | |
| pipinheart | Reviewed Chapter: 26 on 9/7/2004 |
| Really loved this story especially with pippin and his thoughts in it..... Can't wait till the sequel....Great job | |
| FantasyFan | Reviewed Chapter: 26 on 8/19/2004 |
| Oh my! There's no more! Even thought he title says, The Siege of Minas TIrith, and the siege is clearly over, I wasn't expecting this to end here. Yet this was a fitting place to end it, and an wonderful ending it was. Pippin isn't the same as he had been, which is both a blessing and a pity. I can be proud of his growth at the same time mourning his loss of innocence. And such a cute joke to end it with. Very well done. I guess I'll just have to go read the rest of your stories while I'm waiting for you to write the Black Gate. Hope you get some inspiration soon. | |
| Dreamflower | Reviewed Chapter: 26 on 8/19/2004 |
| This has been a amazing read! Start to finish a gripping blend of book canon and movie-verse, plus other elements, that in spite of marking it as AU, seem to ring true to JRRT's vision. You are extremely well versed in the history of the Two Kingdoms. My congratulations to you, and I look forward to the sequel. | |
| RAKSHA THE DEMON | Reviewed Chapter: 26 on 8/18/2004 |
| I don't understand why the Steward's chair was removed? It strikes me as poor payment for nearly 1000 years of the Stewards holding Gondor together during the Kings' absence. And unless someone said something that I missed, Faramir is still Steward of Gondor, though not a ruling Steward. I liked Pippin's remarks about Aragorn's hair. Nice touch, the three ladies dressing and arming him, very ceremonial... Looking forward to the sequel. Author Reply: Hurin had the chair removed as a sign the Stewards no longer ruled in Gondor. You understand it was not an original fixture but put up by the ruling Stewards because they would not sit on the throne. And considering that the whole reason the throne has been empty all these centuries is the Stewards' refusal to accept Isildur's Heirs as their king they really can't claim all that much credit for holding things together. | |
| FantasyFan | Reviewed Chapter: 25 on 8/1/2004 |
| Faramir is looking closely: at Beregond, at Elessar, for signs that they despair. He doesn't find either of them looking for death, but what will he do when he sees Eowyn, who clearly is? There's a lot of high drama in this section of the book, and your chapter reflects it well. You also continue to do a wonderful job of using the movie storyline and visuals but adding the deeper richness of book canon. Such a tricky thing, and you're doing it so well. I'm eager to see the events before the Black Gate through your eyes. | |
| Amy Earls | Reviewed Chapter: 24 on 7/24/2004 |
| Wanted to add to my earlier review: How I enjoy the rangers' presence in this and in I Have Made My Choice. Even when they're not named, they're sleeping/guarding/showing amusement in dry Dunedain fashion. The return of the king is like a marriage, in a way, not just two people uniting but two families, and in this case two cultures that have diverged quite a bit over the millenium. No wonder Aragorn is looking around for someone to oppose his claim to the throne. It seems awfully convenient that his fiercest opponent committed suicide, his greatest rival in the army died on the quest, one of the most powerful and richest lords close to the throne is old enough to appreciate his service as Thorongil, and he saves the new Steward's life. Just luck? Amy | |
| Raksha The Demon | Reviewed Chapter: 24 on 7/23/2004 |
| I continue to enjoy your version of Arwen immensely; she seems so much more real, without having lost much of her allure, than the pale and silent Evenstar we saw in the book ROTK... Do my eyes deceive me? Idril, the Iron Maiden herself, is thawing towards Faramir? Nice that she thanked Aragorn for saving him. It wouldn't hurt her to wear mourning for her foster-father; he didn't have to take her in and give her the high estate she's enjoyed. And it seems like he tried to be kind to her, kinder than he was towards his own child. I wonder what will happen when Idril meets Eowyn. I have the feeling they're not going to become best friends... I like that Faramir instantly guessed why Aragorn was taking the armies to Mordor on an ostensible suicide mission; i.e. to divert the Eye away from Frodo and Sam... | |
| Amy Earls | Reviewed Chapter: 24 on 7/23/2004 |
| So much to savor in this chapter, incl.: Faramir talking about his father's death in a reasonable way (the dreams wouldn't be so easy to be rational about) his surprise at Aragorn's being married and at once asking about an heir upon learning the last stand in the war crimson and gray robes: cleaned-up!Aragorn (but please, not the wig from the movie!coronation. I dislike Aragorn's king!armor, but that coiffed wig really freaks me out. If Strider!hair isn't allowed after he claims the throne, I could settle for the braids, but not the wig) the women dealing with the city Don't have time for more, but wanted to let you know that I really appreciate this chapter. Thanks for sharing! Amy | |
| Raksha The Demon | Reviewed Chapter: 23 on 7/13/2004 |
I'm not going to share Idril's belief that Faramir was responsible for his father's death. The only thing Faramir should feel guilty for perhaps is the loss of his men on an ill-advised mission; and for that loss Denethor is also responsible. <"I told you didn't I?" she said to the unconscious Man. "I hope you're satisfied, Brother. You may have ruined us all!"> Castigating an unconscious man for following his father's orders seems to go beyond even the premise of conveying an 'I told you so' to him. Idril seems to me to have inherited Denethor's bitterness although she is not his blood. If Idril's premise is that Faramir was responsible for his father's madness and death because he put himself in a situation where he was likely to be injured or killed and so send Denethor off the edge, then Denethor was already pretty far gone. Everyone in Minas Tirith had a pretty low life expectancy at the time Faramir left for Osgiliath, and if Faramir had held himself back from all danger so as to protect his father, he would have been cowardly and a poor example to the rest of the City, where there were plenty of other young soldiers in harm's way who might also have had worried, aged fathers. I am not sure whether you're trying to say that you believe Faramir caused his father's death and are using Idril to express the viewpoint in the story, or that Idril believes it. If Idril does succeed in pushing Faramir to say that she was right, then he's an even weaker man than the movie-version seems to be. Denethor chose his own death. Plenty of other people in Minas Tirith lost loved ones, believed hope was lost, but did not abandon their responsibilities. If I had been in Faramir's position, I would not have judged Denethor totally incompetent/verging on madness when he gave the order to retake Osgiliath, just wrong. And a Captain in Faramir's position could not refuse such an order just because he disagreed with its merit. In any case, I'm not going to agree with Idril, and find her insistance in the matter rather vicious and ultimately quite sad. I am enjoying all other elements of the story, especially Pippin's role, and look forward to future updates. Author Reply: Opinions expressed by characters in my stories do not necessarily reflect those of the author ;D Idril *is* bitter during the siege, in her eyes her menfolk are failing both her and their City in its hour of need. This may not be a reasonable pov, but an understandable one. There were good arguments for the attack on Osgilliath, as Faramir points out in his conversation with his sister. There were also some damn good arguments against, as Idril says. Basically she she turned out to be right because the Orcs used a new tactic, massed bows, which nobody expected. It could have gone the other way. Idril thinks Faramir should have stood up to Denethor and not only refused to lead the attack but refused to allow it to be made. For the sake of the two thousand Men as well as D's sanity. She may have an unrealistic idea of what military discipline would allow, however she does claim that Boromir would have done so - and presumably had seen him argue their father into better strategy on other occasions. And my reading of the book's council of war suggests that the council could have legally overruled the Steward but didn't. It should also be said that Denethor apparently comes to agree with Idril's opinion when he blames himself for sending his son into needless peril. Never the less, as I said the whole issue is very iffy - as issues of strategy in war usually are. Denethor's sanity *is* fragile, as he proves in both book and movie by his reaction to Faramir's apparently mortal wound, and his daughter knows it. But in all justice to D his shattering grief for Boromir's death and what he sees in the Palantir are major contributing factors. He could probably have delt with any two of these traumas but all three were too much for him. Maybe Idril is being mean and unreasonable, or at least overly harsh. But that's the way she feels and Faramir is going to have to deal with. And he will, never fear, he knows very well how to get the better of his sister. Thank you for caring enough about the story to comment at such length and with such vigor. And feel free to disapprove of Idril - she certainly isn't what I'd call likeable! | |