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| Aspects of Aragorn by Inzilbeth | 15 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| Silivren Tinu | Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 11/10/2009 |
| I have to admit I have never before given any thought to the possibility that Denethor might have guessed at or discovered Thorongil's true identity. It's an intruiging thought! This chapter made me warm up to Denethor a bit. His concern for Thorongil, even after he found out about Thorongil's true identity, speaks for him. Still, I believe knowing about Thorongil's identity will only make him cling to power even more, now that he is aware he might lose it anytime. That must have been a very hard blow for someone as ambitious as Denethor! Author Reply: I think you're right, Denethor is going to make life very hard for his father's favourite from now on. I don't think Denethor was a cruel man by any means and, in different circumstances, I suspect he and Thorongil might have been friends. In a way he was very much a victim of the situation created by Sauron. He just didn't handle it as well as he might. I'm glad you warmed to him a bit here. | |
| Mirach | Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 9/5/2009 |
| The message made me really afraid at the very beginning. And at the end I had the urge to slap Denethor and usher him out of the room: He is weak and in pain, and you pick just that time for inquiring about his lineage! Get out of here before I get even more furious, and let him rest, understood!? A scene with a worried Ectelion coming to visit him as soon as he heard the news to make up for that? No? Ah well… I’ll just imagine… =) Author Reply: Oh you're really making me wish I'd written that scene! No, I wanted to leave things up in the air but I'm glad you felt like slapping Denethor. I hope you felt like hugging the poor ranger as well! I picture Denethor as being easily ruthless enough to pick just this moment when his rival is least able to defend himself to launch his investigation. Thank you so much for your review. | |
| Raksha The Demon | Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 8/6/2009 |
| Can't believe that I didn't review this chapter earlier - it's fantastic, a great culmination of the Thorongil/Denethor arc. Thorongil was by now seriously considering abandoning his efforts to hold down his medicine as his only means of getting rid of Denethor. - LOL, had to giggle at this line. Poor Thorongil, waking up, ill and weak, to have Denethor at his bedside holding the key to Thorongil's identity in his hands. A most well-written and entertaining chapter, with the tension between these two Numenoreans at its peak, and ending in a very credible stalemate. Author Reply: Thank you so much, Raksha, I'm delighted you enjoyed this. These two are such fun to write, I feel really want to go back and play with them some more! | |
| meckinock | Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 11/16/2008 |
| I think what I like best about this chapter is the quiet confrontation at the end, with all that is left unspoken. Oh, and Thorongil's evasion of not knowing the exact name of the Noldor smith in Valinor LOL. Denethor's frantic mental gyrations as he struggles to solve the puzzle of the mysterious ring are also hugely entertaining. As with the last chapter, you make the chess game between Denethor and Thorongil absolutely tantalizing and I hope you write more about these two characters. Author Reply: I think a look at what happens next would be great fun to do. When they next meet they'll both know what the other knows and neither will say a word. That should be very interesting to explore. Of course, I'm dying to know how your Denethor gets himself out of his predicament! Many thanks for your review. | |
| Celeritas | Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 11/7/2008 |
| Eep. I was glad to find that Denethor did manage to muster up a bit of pity for Thorongil when he found him stricken like that. But his discovery afterwards and the way it made all of the pieces of the puzzle suddenly slide into place... Perhaps it was a bit convenient, but it all worked well. And I did not envy Aragorn struggling not to lie, but not to give away the truth, when questioned about the ring! I wonder if he'll realize later, when he's well, that this means that Denethor knows? Author Reply: I'm sure Denethor would have figured out who his rival was without the ring but if was fun to give him a bit of a helping hand. Convenient? Yes indeed, but hey, this is Middle-earth and chance is a strange thing LOL! Oh I think he knew that Denethor knew and Denethor knew that he did too! Not that either was letting on. Many thanks for reviewing. | |
| Linda Hoyland | Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 11/6/2008 |
| A great chapter,though I could hit Denethor for taking advantage of poor wounded Aragorn.I think is a very plausible explanation of how Denethor guessed. Author Reply: Thank you so much, Linda, I'm so pleased you enjoyed it. Yes, Denethor might not wish him dead, but I certainly had him down as taking full advantage of the situation. He can't have improved Aragorn's headache one bit. | |
| Ainu Laire | Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 11/6/2008 |
| I like your Denethor. Yea, he doesn't like the man, but he's not cruel enough to wish him to be dead; he also realizes that his presence does uplift the spirit of the men, and he knows that that is important. So even if he doesn't like it, he doesn't wish him dead because he's a decent guy, in the end. No wonder Thorongil booked it out of there as fast as possible. XD I imagine the moment he was better he was like "right, time to attack the Corsairs and leave!" Though now I am thoroughly convinced that Barahir led to the discovery of Aragorn with both your tale and Meckinock's tale. It really is the most logical theory. Author Reply: Yeah, I think you've nailed Denethor there! I certainly couldn't see him wishing Thorongil dead, either. You do have to wonder how Aragorn ever managed to keep that ring a secret for so long. Surely someone would have questioned it. Absolutely right! And he's off to sort out the Corsairs in the next chapter! Many thanks for reviewing. | |
| Tracy | Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 11/6/2008 |
| Thank you so much for this next chapter. I'm really enjoying reading your story. Author Reply: Thank you so much for letting me know and I'm glad you're enjoying it. | |
| Virtuella | Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 11/5/2008 |
| This chapter is just as well written as the others and compelling in its own right. I have some misgivings, though, about the idea that Denthor would succeed at finding (or even attempt to find) this description of the ring in the archives, and in such a short space of time, too. It makes sense that he starts with the oldest, which also narrows down the number of texts to check, but by the same token these oldest documents would have been very difficult (and therefore timeconsuming) to read. The script and the language would be very different from what Denethor knew, the documents would have been damaged, faded etc. Also, since you say he doesn't normally go to the archieves, he would be inexperienced in the use of them, and if he's not in the habit of using them, it is unlikely that the option would occur to him quite so easily. At the best, I think he might find what he is looking for after many days of searching. That part of the story seems contrived to me. What pleased me is that you don't make Denethor into a villain. You give him true compassion for the injured rival, and you make him back down at a pinch. I like this characterization of him. Author Reply: No, I certainly don't see Denethor as the villian. He was a good man who was overwhelmed by the hand that fate dealt him. I certainly think he would have been moved by Thorongil's plight. Those are interesting points you raise here about the archives and I'm sorry they made the story less convincing for you. I think the important thing to remember is that the weariness of the world was less in the earlier Ages of the Sun than it is now at the end of the Sixth or beginning of the Seventh Age [Letters]. Nowadays, documents written three thousand years ago would most likely have turned to dust long ago. Everything [buildings, cities, roads] lasted much longer then. Even so, I do suggest that Minalcar [chosen because he was known to have been an industrious king] would have had copies made to preserve the oldest documents. As to familiarity with the language, Elendil was a scholar and would have been very well versed in Quenya which changed the least of all the M-e languages and I'm assuming that any official documents made under his instruction at that time would have been recorded in that tongue. Denethor might not be a regular visitor to the archives but I bet he knew his way around them and where else would he look for answers , especially if he didn't want anyone to know what he was looking for. I imagine anything to do with Thorongil would have lain heavily on his mind and he wouldn't have rested until he solved this riddle. This whole story is, in truth, rather contrived as I doubt Denethor actually figured out who Thorongil was by this means but it was an interesting idea to run with as I felt that taking that ring with him on his travels was potentially a very risky thing for Aragorn to do. If anyone was going to stumble across it, it just had to be Denethor! Many thanks for your thought provoking review. | |
| jgmsccc | Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 11/4/2008 |
| "light was kindled in the depths of his grey eyes. It was keen and commanding and Denethor knew it was a challenge. " Wow. I was wondering how you were going to end this, but this line said it all. Terrific. Author Reply: Hi jgmsccc, thank you so much for reviewing and I'm thrilled you enjoyed that ending. I do love writing Aragorn rising to the occasion! | |