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| The King and the Steward by Itarille | 55 Review(s) |
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| periantari | Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 3/16/2025 |
| It's a talented writer to get so many voices right - from the dialogue in the beginning with Faramir's cousins talking about the princedom to Lord Hador to the hobbity dialogue (which is my favorite). It was a very good chapter. Thanks for the glimpses of everyone who is effected by Aragorn's decision. Author Reply: You are very kind! I hope you enjoyed the different voices. | |
| Periantari | Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 3/16/2025 |
| This is a key conversation that I imagine the king and steward would be having . Indeed there were a lot of responsibilities that Faramir had to shoulder ! I liked the slight tension in the beginning about him being prince . Author Reply: I'm glad you liked the slight tension! Yes, Faramir has a lot of responsibilities, even after the King returns. Thank you for sharing your thoughts! | |
| PSW | Reviewed Chapter: 12 on 3/16/2025 |
| A lovely ending to a really wonderful story. I very much enjoyed getting to know Dirhael better in these last chapters, and seeing his growing respect for and friendship with Faramir (and by extension Gondor). You handled well the concerns and awkward beginnings that might exist between the northern and southern kingdoms. I also loved the donut shop! What a fun look into a piece of Minas Tirith’s culture. Thx so much as always for writing! Author Reply: Thank you for reading and leaving a review! I had fun imagining what shops and other buildings might make up different circles of Minas Tirith. | |
| Lindelea | Reviewed Chapter: 12 on 3/15/2025 |
| You're very welcome! I'm glad the reviews have been encouraging. (For my part, I find that reading reviews often feeds the fires of creativity; if it works the same way for you, I will be delighted at the idea of reading further stories of yours!) Donuts are a wonderful but necessarily rare treat. They taste heavenly but make me feel physically awful. Therefore, I most often enjoy them vicariously, seeing and smelling them and telling people who are eating them to have one for me, too! (Oddly enough, I could eat almost anything when we recently visited the UK – except raw tomatoes, for some reason – without triggering an autoimmune flare. Much of the food in the US is not safe for me to eat, and I have to be very careful or it makes me miserably sick and leaves me in pain for days. Such is life. I don't know if it might be the pesticides that are banned in Europe, or perhaps the GMOs? I avoid any foods labeled "GMO" here, but I wonder just how "natural" and safe even organic foods are in the US. We are talking about what we'd need to do to move to the UK... it's almost overwhelming to contemplate, but my partner thinks it would be worth it just so I could eat anything I wanted again. But it would also mean leaving our adult children behind. I don't want to think about that. Sorry if this is TMI.) Author Reply: Lindelea, I'm sorry for my late reply. Yes, of course reading reviews feeds the fires of creativity-- I'm always grateful for yours :) Oh, how unfortunate that you couldn't enjoy much of the food in your locality. I hope reading and writing provide some consolation. As for your question about what happened to the basket of fried doughs: Faramir bought them for the masons, so he left the doughs with them. | |
| Lindelea | Reviewed Chapter: 12 on 3/13/2025 |
| I'm very glad to see this chapter today. I was feeling very low when I brought up the laptop, but reading this final chapter has been heartening. Oh! Now I want donuts! (I will have to enjoy them vicariously. I hope at least one of your characters sinks their teeth into one and the text describes the flavors and textures and smells and all that.) "This is part of the work." I'm not at all surprised. Now I want to see the crooked house, too! Imagining a city tour conducted by the Steward is an intriguing thought. “I have to go now. I must uphold my renown against the ants, after all” and Nothing in the City seemed to escape the Steward’s notice. Not to mention his skill and diplomacy in reconciling the builders to accepting Dwarvish aid. And not his fault, but his responsibility. It is no wonder that those of the City, especially his Men, love and revere him and would follow him to Hell and back (in a manner of speaking). I love your characterization of Faramir; have I mentioned that before? I lost track of the basket of fried bread; where did it end up? (Did I miss something in reading? It happens more often than I'd like it to.) Oh yes. Invite Gimli to that meeting. And your description of the building process is fascinating. I appreciate your description of the lessons Faramir has been learning from the Northerners. The renderings of Annúminas are a thoughtful gift. In my own imaginings of the restoration of the Northern kingdom, I have seen part of the old ruins left as a warning and a lesson and a monument to the folly of Men (sort of along the lines of the Gedächtniskirche in Berlin), another part restored, and much new construction, culminating in "New Annúminas". This has been an absorbing, encouraging, wonderful treat! I'm sorry to see it end but remain hopeful that more ideas will tug at your sleeve and ask to be written down and shared. Author Reply: Lindelea, I'm so glad you found this chapter heartening. I hope you got your donuts--unless you've given up such treats for Lent? You mentioned enjoying them vicariously. "I must uphold my renown against the ants, after all" and "Not my fault, but my responsibility" are my favourite lines from this chapter, too. You are right-- Faramir's men love and revere him and would follow him to Hell and back. I'm thrilled you enjoy my interpretation of Faramir! A city tour conducted by the Steward --ah yes, maybe one day I'll sit down and write it. I love your idea of leaving a part of the old ruins as a warning. That is very fitting. Thank you so much for reading and leaving a review on every chapter! It's been very encouraging. | |
| shirebound | Reviewed Chapter: 12 on 3/13/2025 |
| I enjoyed this story so much, and this is a lovely ending. Such a bond has now been formed between north and south! Dirhael relished the familiar taste: nothing fancy, only homely comfort. This makes me hungry. :) Thank you for sharing this wonderful tale. Author Reply: Shirebound, Thank you so much for reading and leaving a review in each chapter! I really appreciate it. | |
| Erulissé | Reviewed Chapter: 12 on 3/13/2025 |
| Wow. I could not have imagined a better ending myself if I had tried! That was an awesome finish!!! I loved it. It was wonderful to have this view of their friendship growing. Good for Dirhael, if he could help Faramir see that he needn't always make do and be content. And of course Faramir would be up late into the night to gain a glimpse of the Northern Kingdom in its heyday, especially to gift to a friend. Thank you so much! That was amazing. Slán go fóil! Author Reply: Thank you for reading and leaving a review! I'm so glad you enjoyed the story and the ending. Yes, Faramir needs others to remind him he doesn't always have to be the one giving. | |
| Erulissé | Reviewed Chapter: 11 on 3/6/2025 |
| I love this story. It all feels so right! I was so excited to see Dirhael and Faramir make it up and the beginning to what could be an amazing friendship! Dirhael is correct, the more you know about him, the harder it is to dislike Faramir. I feel as if I know Dirhael already, even though I don't know that much about him. I love the interaction with prickly old Lord Hador. He is quite a character! He certainly has some cheek. Thank you for the encouragement! I am so excited to see it published and finally get to hold a physical copy of all that hard work. It's been a long time in the making. Author Reply: Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed the story. The more you know about him, the harder it is to dislike Faramir-- exactly! | |
| UTfrog | Reviewed Chapter: 11 on 3/4/2025 |
| Still loving this story. Thank you Author Reply: Thank you for letting me know! I hope you have recovered from your cold and headache! | |
| Lindelea | Reviewed Chapter: 11 on 3/4/2025 |
| (or perhaps the Steward is not the messenger but simply making condolence visits? Even so, it speaks to his conscience, empathy, and sense of duty to his people) Author Reply: Faramir purposely visited the boy. Not to break the news of his father's death (that happened much earlier, the father was killed during the siege), but to reach out to him. | |