Reviewer:Rugi Date:11/30/06
Great chapter - the end made me very anxious to know what would happen next.
I enjoyed Brand's meeting with Boromir. I think you did a good job handling the way the two would behave - Brand as an awkward, slightly frightened, and frustrated adolescent and Boromir as a person whose gone beyond more shallow petty issues, who has a limited amount of time to do something very important, and who doesn't really know his son that well but does care about his future. I liked that Boromir made up for some of his brusqness by the end and gave Brand a blessing. You handled it sweetly without over-sentimentality.
Exciting finish, with Brand handling himself well - death by knife and chamberpot for the sailor. I'm glad that Brand got his knife back, and I was sorry for him that he had to kill a man at so young an age.
Can't wait for the next chapter.
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[22] Passages by:Isabeau
Reviewer:Nargil Date:12/03/06
I liked this one, I think it's my favourite chapter of the story so far. Brand is quite clever in this one, I like the idea of the lamp, good job he didn't have to burn it though, I hope the bad guys get caught though, or is this more one of your letting the villan live to fight another day.
Brand's habbit of dropping deadly insults and the names of people enough to give everyone nightmares if they came to Harad seems to work quite well, I like the idea of the trip expanding his Haradric, although it seems very good already, I can just see him trying to figure out the meaning of those new curses.
His reaction when Andra appeared was well done, although Andra seems rather attached to his spurs. Brand seems to be talking about a lot of things later, killing Haradrim and letting them go, good Judgment though.
Andra really needs to stop jumping to conclusions Imri as well, although I still havn't figured out what Glorfindles message was.
I like Erchirion in this, it's the first time we've really seen him, at least he knows how to deal with Brand.
I can't wait for the Silver Swan to catch up, love to see Heth's thoughts on all this.
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[23] Passages by:Isabeau
Reviewer:**** Date:12/03/06
Brilliant. I love these stories about Brand. And you are just such a good writer.
I'm glad he managed to go a good way towards saving himself - and I'm sure he's grown enough to accept what earlier seemed such a stumbling block.
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[24] Passages by:Isabeau
Reviewer:Denise Date:12/04/06
Ch. 5: An amazing continuation to the story, Isabeau. You must dearly love putting your beloved characters through heck; the upshot, of course, is that Brand has just undergone a forced maturity in a very short time. I hope it is enough to allow him to reconcile with Andrahar (and everyone else who might have been in on the secret) before the impending departure to Dale.
Very nice work on incorporating Dwimmordene's lantern suggestion - it did make a believable way to prolong safety for the children! Catching and boarding a vessel takes some time, and that gave it to them. Loved Andrahar's threat to the smuggling captain, and his "son of Adrahil" declaration - such a nice tie-in to Ultimatums.
I really liked Erchirion in this chapter. I admit, he is the one character that I'm not sure I understand very well. We have not seen much of him yet, so I had a somewhat hard time reconciling the impetuous hothead of Confirmation with the matter-of-fact and controlled captain.
I adore Tullus, too - what a brave, scrappy little kid. I hope he shows up in future stories, and maybe gets that coveted Royal Navy post...
I'm always amazed over how smoothly you set things up for later use, like Brand having his father's dagger, or knowing some Haradric and thinking of keeping it to himself. It all flows so naturally with the unfolding of the story that I don't really think about it until a key plot point comes up.
What a great job of portraying Brand's reactions to everything that just happened, too, poor kid. I'm so eagerly awaiting the next bit, now that he is rescued, and hopefully learning if/how he will confront Andra, et. al., and how much of his confinement he will actually share (like the potential gelding - I shudder to think of Andrahar's reaction to that one). How did they figure out in time which ship had them and where it was? Why was Heth on the ship? Was the eagle in Brand's vision connected to her somehow, or to the Valar and to how Boromir was able to return via vision? Do we get to hear the end of the tale about Callon? *g*
And of course - what was Glorfindel right about???
So really, Brand might be safe, but this was another wrenching cliffhanger for me. Needless to say, I am wishing you lots of time and inspiration to finish this... :)
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[25] Passages by:Isabeau
Reviewer:*Star* Date:12/04/06
Yay, they rescued Brand. I loved this chapter. Brand and Andra really need to have a little chat, well quite a big one actually, the whole, I know about you and my Dad and he came to say hi in a dream and that Glorfindle was right and he loves you, still not sure what I think about it all but I'm ok, the Haradrim didn't get up to no good with me apart from trying to throtle me but I killed him instead so you came just in time and...... *Andra passes out in shock / relief*
I see this is one villan who lives to fight another day, although that could also be an interesting conversation, well you see grandy, I didn't have much choice, I had to threaten to burn the ship as it is and I'm sure Erchirion can catch them once he's dropped us off and if not you can threaten to send the king to umbar again with a vie to burning all merchant ships in the district just in case.
I also can't wait to see what Heth thinks of all this, does....... *stops question* (Nargil says I'm not to ask questions till AFTER the story is finnished *roles eyes*)
I liked getting to know Erchirion a bit better, the socially adept comment made me laugh.
I hope your writing went well, and that your muse co-operates with regards to finnishing this
*Star*
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[26] Passages by:Isabeau
Reviewer:Rugi Date:12/04/06
You truely have a talent for neatly ending chapters in a logical way while at the same time giving the feeling of a cliff-hanger (or at least scenes to look forward to).
Poor Andrahar must be in an agony of worry right now - he, unlike anyone else, would have unique and painful perspective on what he thinks might have happened to Brand and he truely loves Brand the most of anyone there. I hope he and Brand have the heart-to-heart that they desperately need. Although the conversation is going to be a bit intense - I mean there's Brand's first kill (which must have upset Andra a little), there's the many Boromir related issues, there's the issue of what was and wasn't done to Brand on the ship ... That is going to be SOME talk.
Oh and SO clever to have Brand threaten to fire the ship - that WOULD make a sailor sit up and take notice and makes more sense than Brand going mano a mano with fully armed grown men. You did a great job with Brand's panic and desperation there - Tullus is charmingly scrappy and competant but the amount of help he would be seems a bit limited.
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[27] Passages by:Isabeau
Reviewer:Denise Date:12/10/06
Ch. 6: On the (briefly) lighted-hearted side, Andra's comments about Imrahil's "delicacies" and having to "settle" him were great.
That conversation between Brand and Andrahar was loaded with potential pitfalls, and you handled everything so adroitly. Even with the intense emotional content, I thought both of them stayed completely true to character. This was just an exceptionally well-handled scene in all respects.
And still, I'm on pins and needles for the next chapter...
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[28] Passages by:Isabeau
Reviewer:Soledad Date:12/10/06
So, do we ever learn what Glorfindel had said to Andrahar? Or are you going to keep us on our toes for years to come yet? *g*
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[29] Passages by:Isabeau
Reviewer:Nargil Date:12/12/06
You delt with this so well, Brand seems to have come out of his semi shell shocked state a bit which is good, I like the way all the issues where handelled, Brand's love for Andra and vice versa shine through. The way Andra wants what's best for Brand is almost heartbreaking, I hope they stay together for a while yet.
I REALLY want to know what on earth Glorfindle said, Andra is really shook up over it, you definatley have to tell us at some point.
I loved the little bit's of humour in this, getting Imri to settle and the Unexpected roast chickens that crop up throughout your work.
A part of me wishes Brand and Boromir could meet again, just to talk a bit,
I'm looking forward with eager anticipation too the rest of this
Nargil
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[30] Passages by:Isabeau
Reviewer:Rugi Date:12/14/06
It's so impressive how well you handled the conversation between Andrahar and Brand. You struck the perfect balance between awkwardness and real affection. I felt a bit sorry for them both - Brand shouldn't really have to be the one to pass messages back and forth between his father and his foster-father but there isn't anyone else to do it. Andrahar is afraid that he is facing losing a relationship and person who means so much to him. It was difficult and sad.
I like that, even during this sensitive talk, Andrahar was still his blunt and practical self. And Brand has a streak of the practicality too - it made me laugh when he said that he'd been a bit too busy (what with being kidnapped by murdering slavers and all) to really think about what his father's and foster-father's revelations meant to him.
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