Strangers by MP brennan
Reviews (21)
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Linda Hoyland
· 9 June 2013
· Chapter 3: The Way Out
I'm sorry to see this series come to an end as I've enjoyed it very much and would love more tales of Harad from you. I especially enjoyed the irony about Thorongil before they knew who Aragorn was. I love your stories and hope there will soon be more.You are a very talented writer.
As you asked for concrit "and by luck alone I stumbled upon a certain First Age bauble tucked away on a run-down ranch and so picked up your trail.”
I heard the pop of a cork. “Have some wine, Gandalf,” Dakheel said, “It seems you could use it.”
"Ranch" and use it" sound very American rather than M-e to this British reader, "Farm" and "need it, or could do with it" would sound more M-e.
The rest of the story feels like a lost chapter from Tolkien.
Author's reply
Thank you for the lovely review! Thanks especially for pointing out my "Americanisms," they keep creeping in somehow . . .
-Brennan
rs
· 8 June 2013
· Chapter 3: The Way Out
You never cease to amaze me. As usual, the reader ends up wanting more at the end of the story. The conclusion was just heartwrenching *sob*. Your Aragorn is so the Aragorn that I imagine he would be.
The images you conjure up (it's not hard for a scene to develop in my mind with your wonderful descriptions), the emotions, the anticipation...everything!
I'm still dying to know who the "master of the house" is. For the life of me, I can't figure it out, it seems that it might be someone I should know? Or I could be totally wrong and he/she is a totally new character not yet introduced to your stories and you're just doing this to drive me crazy?
I hope I see more of your writings!
Author's reply
Thank you for the wonderful review! I'm so glad you enjoyed this tale! Sorry about the red herring with the "master of the house." I wasn't intentionally trying to drive you crazy, but that character hasn't appeared in any other stories yet. I kept it ambiguous so that I would have that character to introduce and develop if I ever manage to write the Aragorn-POV version of this story. Sorry!
-Brennan
Larner
· 3 June 2013
· Chapter 3: The Way Out
How difficult to have to face such suspicion, and from one thought of as a friend. It must have been difficult to kill Tariq, but to turn against Aragorn simply because he was identified as Thorongil was not a good turn of affairs.
But why did the former boy thief want to tell the whole story now? I find myself wondering as to what in this new comer brought out such frankness.
Author's reply
Thank you for the wonderful review!
-Brennan
Phyloxena
· 3 June 2013
· Chapter 3: The Way Out
A great twist. Please, more!
Author's reply
Thank you! This story is complete, but I may write more in this "universe."
-Brennan
Elentarri
· 2 June 2013
· Chapter 3: The Way Out
"an invasion from the Last Alliance of Concerned Relatives.” " = Priceless :D
Can't wait for your next story.
Author's reply
:) Thanks! I'm glad you liked this one.
-Brennan
Agape4Gondor
· 1 June 2013
· Chapter 3: The Way Out
Wow! What a great way to end this. My mouth was open the entire time. You are such an awesome storyteller. Bravo! Can't wait for more tales.
Author's reply
Thank you for the awesome review! I'm so glad you liked this story.
-Brennan
shirebound
· 1 June 2013
· Chapter 3: The Way Out
A masterful tale, beautifully crafted. It's as if you've uncovered previously-unknown, hidden manuscripts from days that have slipped into legend.
Author's reply
Thank you so much for the lovely review!
-Brennan
Linda Hoyland
· 30 May 2013
· Chapter 2: The Traitor's Rewards
Hooray for Aragorn! This story left me wanting to cheer.I think we both see Aragorn in a similiar light,so I love reading your stories about him. You are inspiring me to write more about this culture!
Author's reply
And this is why I love fanfic: you inspire me to write and I inspire you to write, and pretty soon we have this beautiful continuous feedback loop of more fic. ;D
Seriously, I'm glad you enjoyed this tale, and I'll eagerly await any Harad stories you decide to write!
-Brennan
Lyana
· 29 May 2013
· Chapter 2: The Traitor's Rewards
Love, love, LOVE your characterizations! I will be very sorry indeed to see these tales of Harad come to an end. You've developed a side of Aragorn that I don't think I've seen in fan fic before (but must have existed for him to have survived the way he did!). And I will now, forever, have "Dakheel" ingrained in my mind as one of his many names.
Author's reply
Thank you! I've had a lot of fun with these fics, so I'm glad you've enjoyed them. I hope you like the conclusion to this one!
-Brennan
Larner
· 29 May 2013
· Chapter 2: The Traitor's Rewards
Aha! Oh, but Aragorn has given this man a good deal of well-deserved grief! And I suspect that nomadic tribe indeed was strengthened by Aragorn's men. And it's likely that this group of "traders" includes some of the missing villagers.
Trust the Eye's people to resort to violence as "discipline" and overkill as retribution.
Author's reply
Yep, it was a pretty good day's work for Aragorn. ;) With this chapter, I really wanted to show how this hyper-violent culture was being imposed on the soldiers and conscripts, basically from the top down. Thus, all the mentions of corporal punishment as well as the whole plot of razing the village--when you're inundated with that kind of violence on a daily basis, I imagine it has a corrupting influence which Sauron would find useful in his Army.
Thanks for reading!
-Brennan
Elentarri
· 29 May 2013
· Chapter 2: The Traitor's Rewards
Delightful chapter. I'm so happy you posted something - I was having withdrawal symptoms. ;)
Author's reply
Haha, sorry to cause withdrawal! I'm glad you enjoyed this. The last chapter is pretty much done, so I should have another fix for you tomorrow or the next day at the latest. ;)
-Brennan
Agape4Gondor
· 29 May 2013
· Chapter 2: The Traitor's Rewards
I love these stories. ,
Author's reply
Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying them!
-Brennan
UTfrog
· 29 May 2013
· Chapter 2: The Traitor's Rewards
"All the honor He deserves" is a great line! So very truthful and so very deceiving. I love your Aragorn. He remains quite honorable, but is a very sneaky devil. This trilogy gets better and better. Thank you for some great reading. You write excellent dialogue. Your characters come alive through their speech patterns.
Hope your exams went well.
Author's reply
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed his underhanded tactics; the situation seemed to call for them. Aragorn is interesting because he does have a very strong sense of personal honor, but at the same time, he shows a lot of cunning. (Look, for instance, at how he "drew Sauron's eye" by convincing him that he had the ring in RotK.) I had a lot of fun playing with that side of him. I hope you like the last part!
-Brennan
Phyloxena
· 29 May 2013
· Chapter 2: The Traitor's Rewards
This is great. I love your stories. You managed to write Aragorn through unsympathetic, hostile perception and to give him all the credit he deserves. He is a great captain and military leader, and these traits are hard to portray through friendly eyes :). Waiting for the next chapter.
Author's reply
Thank you! Yeah, trying to get Aragorn's character to come through despite the narrator's bias was definitely the hardest part of this fic, so I'm glad it worked for you. The last chap should be up soon. I hope you keep reading!
-Brennan
bookworm
· 21 May 2013
· Chapter 1: The Tall Tark
Oh, but that was brilliant, I loved the innkeepers voice! And I was sniggering by about half-way through the story. More? =D
Author's reply
Thanks for reviewing! More should be up in a couple of days.
-Brennan
Larner
· 18 May 2013
· Chapter 1: The Tall Tark
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's 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
UTfrog
· 18 May 2013
· Chapter 1: The Tall Tark
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's 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 Hoyland
· 18 May 2013
· Chapter 1: The Tall Tark
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's 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
Agape4Gondor
· 18 May 2013
· Chapter 1: The Tall Tark
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's reply
Thank you! It's taken longer than I wanted, but the next chap should be up relatively soon.
-Brennan
Matt
· 18 May 2013
· Chapter 1: The Tall Tark
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's 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
Nala
· 17 May 2013
· Chapter 1: The Tall Tark
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's 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