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| Midwinter Forfeit by Gwynnyd | 8 Review(s) |
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| S | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 8/26/2024 |
| I love love love this take on Finduilas. An equal of Denethor with craftiness and political savvy of her own is such a delight. | |
| Pol | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 8/22/2015 |
| Oh my goshhhhh, this is amazing. I love the calculation of Finduilas, the intense intelligence, but also her humanity. I love seeing Aragorn as Thorongil, dancing (heh, literally) carefully around his habitat. The insight into him, hs wants, his thoughts, is fantastic. And I also deeply appreciate how absorbing you made the setting, the actions, the descriptions - the place felt so very real, an ancient and strange place with its own customs. Awesome!!! | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 6/20/2010 |
| I rejoice she is honorable, and that his heart is obstinately constant. She learned much, if little of use. Wonderful! | |
| Linda Hoyland | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 6/18/2010 |
| A fascinating duel of words, which I greatly enjoyed reading. I'm a bit puzzled about Finduilas pregnancy, as I thought Faramir wasn't born until 2 years after Aragorn left, but I assume she could have had a baby that didn't live. I felt very sorry for Thorongil yearning for his impossible love.At least we know it all turns out in the end! I liked his answers,truthful while giving nothing away and that Finduilas kept her word. | |
| Estelcontar | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 6/15/2010 |
| I liked the Midsummer version of this story very much indeed, and liked even more the reviewed Midwinter one. I really enjoy the sharp verbal feints between your two master politicians, and enjoy even more how Thorongil most diplomatically and cleverly manages not to lie, but at the same time not to divulge any important new information about himself. Given that he got his will and his small fleet, and destroyed the Umbarian fleet at its home port, one can only imagine he used the information he gained to very good purpose indeed. It's a very illuminating portrait of Aragorn that you've painted through the eyes of Finduilas. | |
| phyloxena | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 6/14/2010 |
| Wow, that was tense. Shrewd, quick and restless lady Finduilas, and honorably secretive captain Thorongil, most enjoyable. I wonder how Thorongil managed to use the information. Their dialog implies that this is Finduilas' second pregnancy (or that Dunedain are not particularly superstitious in matters of expected heirs, which seems unlikely), so Thorongil doesn't have much time to get his raid approved. It also somewhat strange that Finduilas traded information about Denethor but didn't share with Denethor what she gained. | |
| Shemyaza | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 6/14/2010 |
| Your portrayal raises a few questions about Finduilas's intent on questioning Thorongil. It doesn't seem like just plain curiosity, more an intent to find out Thorongil's intentions for being in Gondor and how they may affect her husband. Especially since it's plain that Ecthelion favoured Thorongil even above his own son. This is the first story that I have ever read about Denethor's wife where she is very different from the weak-willed invalid who withered in Gondor's court for lack of fresh sea air. This woman in this story is defensive for her husband's sake and she doesn't really appear to like Thorongil very much, although part of her finds him fascinating simply because of the cloud of secrecy he surrounds himself with. I personally prefer your depiction of Denethor's wife, because in order to function as the highest lady in Gondor at the time she certainly would have been very astute at court politics and as such would have been an asset to Denethor. I would imagine that she learnt much at the court of Dol Amroth about the politics and no doubt was beautiful enough to be adept at light flirtation a la courtly love style. Of course she wasn't to know that Thorongil was also adroit at deflecting interrogations however mild they might be and that his heart was taken which made him quite impervious to blandisments. Excellent little vignette of court life in Gondor, nicely characterised. You do truly capture the stiffness and intrigue that must have surrounded the Gondorian high society. I imagine that Aragorn's sojourn there would have been invaluable experience of court life once he took the throne many years later. | |
| Sunny | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 6/14/2010 |
| Very interesting, how Aragorn managed to give such deviously misleading answers to the questions when every word he spoke was true! | |