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| The Heir Apparent by Mirkwoodmaiden | 156 Review(s) |
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| daw the minstrel | Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 9/28/2003 |
| This meeting of Elves and Dunedain was interesting on both sides. The Elves, of course, have known the heirs of Isildur but these people still managed to surprise them, especially Gilraen's mother who is a striking figure here. And the men and women were predictably fascinated by the elves. Well, who wouldn't be? I liked the fact that Gilraen's father thought about the authority of his son when he decided to accept the Elven guard. | |
| daw the minstrel | Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 9/28/2003 |
| One of the things I like shows up in this chapter in particular: this story doesn't undervalue women's work and contribution to their people. Lots of LOTR fanfiction seems to assume that if the woman is not a warrior, then she is somehow boring. The detail of work and life here is a wonderful negation of that attitude. Also, I like the idea of Arathorn and Gilraen kissing in the heather, even if he is being crabby about weed picking. Author Reply: I'm really glad you picked that up. I thought that it was important in the describing of this Dunedain society to show the role of women in the life of the settlement, to show the work that women, really throughout history, have done. In a society that has been built around the simple ideas of defense and survival the women's ability to make and keep house and all that entails was just as important as the soldiering of the men. After all it is the way of life back in the settlement or the village that the men were striving to protect. While I myself with my modern sensibilities, would chafe under such restrictions I thought it essential that the women in my story understand and accept this. After all it is a different world we all write about. On a lighter note Arathorn and Gilraen kissing in the heather was just too fun to pass up! Wee-hee! MM | |
| daw the minstrel | Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 9/28/2003 |
| I think it would be awful to be able to see the future of one's children. Surely there is sorrow for all of them, although you hope it's not only sorrow. I don't blame Gilraen's parents for feeling anguish over this. Author Reply: Yes. Especially if it is a harsh future that you cannot change. That would be H*ll. I had to be careful to not display their trepidation and pain too much because then Gilraen, who already suspected something, would logically want to know why they were so upset. I've still yet to decide whether Gilraen will ever realise that they knew what would happen, and how she will feel about that. Betrayed? Anger? Will she understand and accept? Answers to these questions I'm sure she will share with me sometime during the story. MM | |
| daw the minstrel | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 9/28/2003 |
| I've been eyeing this story for a while now, trying to decide if I want to commit to reading it and I finally gave in to temptation. What a great opening chapter. I loved this glimpse of life among the Dunedain. And Arathorn is a fascinating figure. The details are so realistic here. Author Reply: Thanks Daw! Glad you've decided to join me in this insane odyssey of multi-chaptered fanfiction! I thought about what the Dunedain culture would have to be like 1000 years after the destruction of their last kingdom. Simple settlements loosely bound by a Saxon-y (at least less structured than the Norman social system) confederation, but also with a fierce sense of identity and destiny. Then I did some research into Saxon settlements. With Arathorn's character I wanted to portray a leader who was not a proto-typical warrior, a man with compassion for others, echoes of the personality traits that Aragorn later will display. MM | |
| Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 9/28/2003 | |
| Beautifully done. If I say this chapter is hard to read, it's only because of the approaching doom, made more poignant by the cute!-unaware!Aragorn. Wonderful to see Arathorn as father, and good to see Gilraen developed as a character so important in Aragorn's life, despite the fact that many fanfic writers kill her off with Arathorn to avoid the difficulty of writing her! Thank you; I'll prepare for sniffling soon. Amy Earls Author Reply: Amy! You and me both! I've really come to love Gilraen and Arathorn,I'm going to have kill off Arathorn there's really no way around it, but I'm going find writing Ch. 7 rather painful to write! I wanted to show Arathorn and Aragorn having some connection before....*sniff* So glad you like it though! :-) MM | |
| Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 9/26/2003 | |
| That was a good story. Very well written, and keeps to Tolkien's characters well. | |