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| A Matter of Honor by meckinock | 16 Review(s) |
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| Nilmandra | Reviewed Chapter: 11 on 6/26/2006 |
| I could just see Halbarad roll his eyes at this: There was a rustling in the leaves behind Halbarad, and a series of muffled grunts. Nothing like the silent ranger, hardiest of men, quiet and stealthy and all that! What is one to do with a stubborn chieftain? He clearly is not ready to be traveling, much less getting into a battle in his current condition. I felt little compassion for the end of Garstic, Halig and Malek. They're gone, the girl is safe. Otoh, she was a little too resigned to her fate. "It doesn't matter" could mean many things, but my first thought was that she felt no matter what happened, it wouldn't be good. The shining moment of the chapter though, was Hurin. What a great kid, willing to take on these men to protect the girl. Not sure his chance would be great if it really had been him alone, but who knows? The kid did a pretty convincing job here. And Halbarad's reaction to him is great. And I like that after that embrace... with the knowledge that comfort would be needed later.... he treated him like the man he has become. And with pride. I also liked the fact that Eriador is not a place where the Rangers go around battling other Men all the time either. Killing still left an impression in their minds and haunted their dreams. 'Rationing his feelings' is a great way of saying that. And Hurin can cook! Nice tribute to Karen's story. :D And Aragorn is still being stubborn about his injuries. You know, he really does need to go somewhere and just recover. Do you suppose the twins might come and haul his butt to Imlraids and they can chain him to a bed? I'd say the angle, but if he commanded them to release him, they might have to. The elves aren't under his command. And lovely men, lovely customs. Great. Restore honor for having your family killed by dying yourself. No wonder the girl said 'it didn't matter'.. her clan likely had the same customs. I hope Aragorn and Halbarad have some great plan to get all four of them away. But then.. what to do with the girl? I admit you have me curious to know how she plays into the larger story of Aragorn's search. Good chapter, well waiting up for. :D Author Reply: There were many places in this story I felt I needed a strategically placed eye roll, and that was certainly one of them! You're right; Aragorn ought to plop himself down with a pitcher of margaritas and recuperate. But he's got some major endurance contests ahead of him yet - maybe he can chalk this up to practice. That stubbornness will serve him well driving Gollum up to Mirkwood in a few years. Until then, we can only hope for twins showing up with handcuffs :-) Glad you found Halbarad's queasiness plausible. In my view, Eriador is too unpopulated to generate much in the way of mano-a-mano warfare. And the Dunedain are kind of at the top of the food chain up there. They can certainly kill if they need to, but most of the time their role is more that of a border patrol or county sheriff than infantry soldier. I enjoyed borrowing Hurin's culinary tendencies from Karen. She really inspired the father-son relationship here. Aragorn is working on a plan. Really hard. | |
| Elflingimp | Reviewed Chapter: 11 on 6/26/2006 |
| Well its so good to hear from you! I hope you had a nice birthday! I sure enjoyed all the stories they wrote for you.But now on to yours,Please dont kill the girl,that is so cruel customs or not surly as Aragon said there has to be another way Please Author Reply: I had a wonderful birthday, thank you very much! I enjoyed the stories very much, too. It was my best birthday ever. Aragorn had no intention of letting them kill the girl. He's just not sure how he's going to stop it yet. | |
| Bodkin | Reviewed Chapter: 11 on 6/26/2006 |
| I love Hurin. And Hurin and Halbarad together. And poor suffering Aragorn - who of course didn't hurt his hand again while lopping off that head! And I love the musings on the difference between leading armies in Gondor and being a Dunedain irregular on the plains of Eriador. And how long it took Halbarad before he could put a face to each man he has killed. This ... He said the words, but still did not want to release this awkward, coltish boy from the safety of his arms; this boy who had kept baby rabbits as pets, this boy who had cried when his favorite hen met its destiny in the cook pot, this boy who had drawn portraits of his family on the planks of the barn, this boy who had just tried to bluff two cold-blooded killers. He did not want to release him back into this world full of orcs and wolves and Dunlendings with knives at children’s throats. And then he did. ... brought a lump to my throat (not easily done). It is so the way parents react - and it says so much about Hurin and Halbarad. And killing the girl because the honour of her family is besmirched! All sorts of things jumped into my head there - apart from 'Noooooooo!' and 'I can't see loving-father-Halbarad and honourable-Aragorn taking too well to that idea'. Although the girl seems resigned. (It hardly seems worth fighting off the Karani if any survivors are going to get the 'restoration of the honour' treatment! ... Oh wait, that only affects women, I daresay.) I was bouncing with glee when I saw this come up - posting twice in a weekend! What have we done to deserve that! This chapter certainly lived up to expectation - and I hope you are inspired to move on to the next right away! Author Reply: As I watch my neighbor's kid skateboard past on the sidewalk with his hair gelled up into a mohawk, I'm thinking how challenging it is to watch your kids grow up under any circumstances. What Halbarad is doing is hard. And honour killings - well, I wish I could say I made them up. The thing that really gets me is that the female relatives are usually right in there swinging along with the men. But back to a happy topic! Yes, it was very fun to post twice in a week. I must try to do that more often :-) | |
| Ainu Laire | Reviewed Chapter: 11 on 6/25/2006 |
| I actually whooped in happiness when I saw this in my inbox. *grins* Finally! :P I am so happy to see this! Man, what an awesome chapter! I do wonder how they are going to convince the villagers that she shouldn't be killed. Man, poor Yenne. That really, really stinks... heheh, women's rights are a blessing... But yea, I am really anxious to see how Aragorn and the others get out of this. I wonder what Aragorn's plan is. And I am also curious if this will tie with the main plot about Arathorn. Gah! So good! *spazzes* Right. I do hope you do update soon... hopefully before summer ends *grin* Cheers, Suvi Author Reply: Hi, Suvi, Wow. I'm glad I could make you happy. The villagers are going to be a tough sell, that's for sure. Aragorn isn't too sure what is plan is yet, other than keep Yenne and Hurin one step ahead of the honor-bound Ruliri. I hope I update before summer ends, too. If I don't it'll mean I had a much worse summer than I plan on having. | |
| Gandalfs apprentice | Reviewed Chapter: 11 on 6/25/2006 |
| Hi, meckinock! What an action-filled chapter! I'm keen to find out how Aragorn and Halbarad outwit the villagers. Is this adventure leading indirectly to an answer to the central problem--Arathorn? Or are yet more plot complications on the way? The longer and more complicated the tale, the happier I will be! You built up great suspense in the scene with Hurin. Kudos! I'm hoping to post chapter six of "Sword," "Rangers and Rivendell," in a week or so. G.A. Author Reply: I don't know how many more complications I can take! Thanks for the review. Looking forward to your next chapter. | |
| Gwynhyffar | Reviewed Chapter: 11 on 6/25/2006 |
| That was awesome! I should be in bed. Erm, you have the next chapter ready, correct? Because I HAVE to know how they manage to get out of this one. Author Reply: Hi, Gwyn! Our boys are resourceful. They'll figure something out. Thanks for staying up to read. | |