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Strangers  by MP brennan 7 Review(s)
bookwormReviewed Chapter: 1 on 5/21/2013
Oh, but that was brilliant, I loved the innkeepers voice! And I was sniggering by about half-way through the story. More? =D

Author Reply: Thanks for reviewing! More should be up in a couple of days.

-Brennan

LarnerReviewed Chapter: 1 on 5/18/2013
And just why do I suspect that those passing through this inn managed to come from Imran's train of slaves? Heh!

Excellently done! Good for the pale faced Tark!

Author Reply: Thanks for the wonderful review, Larner! Also, good for you for picking up on the identity of the innkeeper's audience. I wasn't sure that anyone would find that little easter egg. ;)

-Brennan

UTfrogReviewed Chapter: 1 on 5/18/2013
After I read this last night, I wrote a long (for me) review and tried to post. The server connection timed out before the review was sent. I am going to try to recreate what I wrote this morning. First, much as we all want to keep reading, your exams are far more important. Take good care of yourself in this stressful time and best wishes in the exams.

The story is excellent! Painful to read, but quite exciting as the mysterious disappearances of the slaves keep happening. Your use of the innkeeper as narrator was also a great frame. Aragorn was incredibly brave (or stupid) to turn himself back in to be sold as a galley slave. Thanks for telling us that we may not hear that story. I cannot help but think (hope) that some of the freed Gondorian fighters eventually made their way back to Minas Tirith and added to the mystery of Thorongil. The power of your work continues to grow. Thank you so much.

Author Reply: Forgive me the suuuper-late review reply, but I'm glad you enjoyed this story! I'm glad you enjoyed the structure of this piece; it was definitely a challenge to write (but a fun challenge!). I've finally made some headway on chapter 2, so that should be up as soon as my beta and I have a chance to rip it to shreds and put it back together. Hope you enjoy!

-Brennan

Linda HoylandReviewed Chapter: 1 on 5/18/2013
Love your innkeeper, he reminds me of Butterbur.I loved the way Aragorn outwitted the slave trader, but wished he hadn't had to suffer so much.He is so brave and noble. Would love to hear events from his POV if you feel inspired. Good luck with your finals and thank you for these great stories.

Author Reply: Thanks for the wonderful review! Hah, I did kind of channel Butterbur for this! Before Cairi took her magical editor's pen to it, I kept slipping into Bree-land dialect, even. Well, gregarious innkeepers are the same everywhere!

I am working a little on the Aragorn-POV version as the spirit moves me. It's tough, though, because as you pointed out, this is a very dark time for him. But, maybe something will come of it. Anyway, the next chap of this should be up soon.

-Brennan

Agape4GondorReviewed Chapter: 1 on 5/18/2013
This was absolutely excellent. I can't wait to see the next two chapters.

Wow - a great 'ghost' story and more. I loved every moment of it.

Author Reply: Thank you! It's taken longer than I wanted, but the next chap should be up relatively soon.

-Brennan

MattReviewed Chapter: 1 on 5/18/2013
I just caught up "Ransom" and then read this follow-on. Very interesting and well done. I like your characterizations and your plot is stable with solid and consistent development. Character motivations shift in predictable and reasonable ways which is a nice thing to see in fanfic.....
I'm interested to see how you do the other chapters in this shorter fic and thank you for your hard work on it and its predecessor.

Author Reply: I'm glad you enjoyed this fic! It's good to hear that there weren't too many holes in the plot--getting that to work was the hardest thing about this piece. I hope you like the next chapter. I'll try to have it up in a couple of days.

-Brennan

NalaReviewed Chapter: 1 on 5/17/2013
What a wonderful thing to find on a Friday afternoon! This day is now perfect.

I don't think I've ever read a story written quite that way, but it's certainly a style I can get behind. The storyteller's constantly inserting his bits and bobs of commentary made it very easy to feel drawn into the story, rather than just reading a description of it.

Thank you for continuing to write wonderful things, and good luck with those finals!

Author Reply: Thanks for the lovely review! Sorry I'm so late in replying. Finals was a bit of a roadblock, but I've mostly survived and am writing again. I hope you enjoy the rest of this tale (which should be up soon!).

-Brennan

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