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| Splintered Reflection by MP brennan | 9 Review(s) |
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| Agape4Gondor | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 1/30/2013 |
| OHG. I love the black scratches of hair. Perfect description. I'm in awe! This was exquisite. Honestly. The tale of two sons. And the ending just tore all else to pieces. Well done. Bravo! Author Reply: Thank you! This was my first LotR fic, so I'm very glad you liked it. | |
| TheDreamer | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 10/6/2012 |
| Lovely story yet (of course) sad. Espacially this: "Set your face to the Wilds. Leave Gondor behind you. Return to the dark places where you pass like a wraith. Return to the fear, the scorn, the life of a wandering Ranger. Don’t think about the life you almost had." Big thanks for ending this with hope. :) | |
| Darkover | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 9/29/2010 |
| This is my first time at this website, and I just finished reading your story, "Splintered Reflection." It was wonderful! You have a beautiful style of writing: very descriptive, and the story just flows along. The compare-contrast between the lives of Aragorn and Denethor was very good. A highly original idea. Thank you so much for writing and posting this story. | |
| curiouswombat | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 2/15/2009 |
| I really do enjoy reading your writing. You draw such skilful pen-pictures of the characters, both those we feel we already know, such as Aragorn, and also those who are little more than a name, such as Ecthelion. This is true of all of your stories that I have read here and you are fast becoming one of my favourite Tolkien-based writers. Author Reply: Thanks for the great review! I can't tell you how much it means to know that people are enjoying my work. -Brennan | |
| Raksha The Demon | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 1/5/2009 |
| Very nice contrast/comparison between Denethor and Aragorn from birth until Aragorn's healing of Faramir. I would protest that Denethor did have nobility, that Faramir himself (at least in the books) as well as many others of Gondor, were living proof that nobility was not gone from Middle-earth; but that is a small quibble in an otherwise very compelling narrative. I loved the glimpse of Arathorn, and his and Ecthelion's both feeling that the greatness of their people's past had diminished in the present era (which was true, through no fault of either lord). And poor Denethor, stuck in the too-quiet schoolroom, quietly stilling his dreams. Author Reply: Thanks for the review! It's always been my opinion that Denethor is indeed a noble, but flawed character. It's unfortunate that he chose to end his life the way he did, but with what he was facing, his despair seems very understandable. I tried to keep this portrayal as sympathetic as possible, but in retrospect, it may have been a poor choice of words. I get tired towards the end of my stories ;) Anyway, I'm glad you appreciated this little bit of storytelling! cheers, -Brennan | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 1/4/2009 |
| Wonderful symmetry with Gandalf here--if Gandalf has become what Saruman was meant to be, so has Thorongil/Aragorn become what Denethor was intended to be as well. The burning is movie-verse, then, but well depicted. Alas that such should be the last vision of Faramir of his father. But the love of the father was not lost--merely transferred to the one better suited to expressing it. Loved young Estel sparring and finding his path with live steel in his hands. Grieved for Denethor forced to sit in a high tower room and see nothing but sky and clouds through the high windows. No matter he lost touch with living, having been kept from living fully for so long. Author Reply: Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for commenting on the Gandalf symmetry; that part's subtle, and I wasn't sure if it was coming through. I tried to keep this as book-verse as possible, but somehow, movie-verse kept sneaking in :-P The book-verse dialogue in "Pyre of Denethor" was a bit elaborate, so I decided to go with the streamlined version. Glad you liked the little Numenoreans! cheers, -Brennan | |
| Calenlass Greenlaef | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 1/4/2009 |
| Well, I've read this again and it's still as intriguing as ever. The sheer language of it is simply beautiful... ~Cal Author Reply: Glad to hear it! Thanks for all your support. -Brennan | |
| Ainariel | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 1/3/2009 |
| Wow...Love this. Characters are solid and very much in keeping with canon. My only disappointment was that you only have 2 stories posted! I do look forward to more - such well-written pieces are a joy to read. (I guess I'll just have to be patient & keep my fingers crossed...though I'm not very good at it!) Well done! Author Reply: Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed this piece! I do have a couple more stories in the works: a two-shot pending beta approval, and two longer pieces still on the storyboard. I'm not the fastest writer, but I hope you keep reading! peace, -Brennan | |
| Marethiel | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 1/3/2009 |
| Oh. My. Gawd. Brennan, I am deeply impressed. Your counterpoint is masterful, and the comparison of Aragorn to Denethor is intricate, like filagreed ironwork. I absolutely loved your Arathorn... I really hope you will put your hand to a Dunadain story; he's just wonderful, so real and so believable. I loved, too, your careful construction of how differently and in what total contrast of philosophy Aragorn and Denethor had been reared. The comparison of a totally loving Elrohir (interesting you chose the younger twin for this... :-)... any special reason behind that? Just lovely. I'm sorry... I suppose this looks like adolescent gushing, but I love to read work that is so well-written. Thank you SO much for sharing your talent!! ~Marethiel Author Reply: Thanks for the review! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'm . . . struggling to get my head back to its normal size . . . :P I originally didn't plan to publish this little piece. I was working on a multi-chapter fic featuring Aragorn and Denethor in Gondor and I realized I wasn't really getting the two characters. So, to try to grasp the animosity between them, I tried to think about what their lives would have been like--what they would have shared, what might have been different about their upbringings. Eventually, my musings became a bunny, the bunny became a story, and I couldn't resist posting. So, I'm glad you enjoyed reading! peace, -Brennan | |