Reviewer: Date:06/14/05
Errr... where's the story?
You do know that this tells us that there IS a new story in this universe and that just makes us more nervous and impatient until wecan get at it?
Please please please put it up?!
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[2] The Lost by:Altariel
Reviewer:Altariel Date:06/28/05
Sorry, patient reviewer - I was doing some final edits, and didn't realize the story showed up. You can access it now.
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[3] The Lost by:Altariel
Reviewer:Raksha The Demon Date:06/29/05
Wow. An absolute jewel of a tale.
Brand is not so much a gift, as a catalyst for all sorts of echoes for Imrahil, Andrahar and Faramir. The tragedies and brief joys of Faramir's haunted family history echo back into the lives of the Ring War survivors like ripples, affecting even Aragorn and Eowyn, and now, Brand, the youngest and most innocent.
It was heartbreaking that Faramir frightened Brand, especially since he would not ever willingly frighten a child, and was quite frightened and shocked himself. And equally frightening that Faramir realized that he'd scared Brand - another echo. And Andrahar seeing Denethor in Faramir - another heartbreaking, and quite unfair, echo. (I liked it that you made Andrahar imperfect enough to do this, but my heart ached for Faramir; he cannot help being Denethor's son). Eowyn's forthright nature being, to Faramir, an echo of a quality he loved in Boromir - another echo, as well as her unconditional willingness to foster Boromir's child in her hearth and home. (Faramir could not help being more cautious in his reluctance to accept the child as Boromir's, sight unseen - he is a more cautious person by nature - but he tried to consider the child's feelings even before meeting him and knowing he was Boromir's son)...And Faramir's allusion to his own sorrow for his father, and his inability to unravel the coil of love and pain that was Denethor's legacy, and echo, to him - this too is heartbreaking. Faramir wants to talk of his father, to the extent that Aragorn understood and tried to help him do so; but it is simply too painful for Faramir to open that up to anyone's scrutiny at this point.
And then there's Brand; the noble jewel who is the unwilling and helpless center of this torn family, the echo of Boromir to those who loved and lost him. His scenes with Faramir are beautifully written; as both their futures are endangered by Denethor's echo within Faramir, and the contested love that Andrahar and Faramir both had for Boromir.
What saves Brand from being tainted by the family's tragic echoes is Faramir's own grace. He has always had the ability to step outside the circle of his father's tangled pain and love and reach for something different, take a different path. He can, and does, transcend his father's echo, by embracing his brother's "gift", Brand, and giving Brand back some of his lost father in both memory and the assurance of his own love and protection, as well as the heritage of the White City that Boromir also loved.
I agree, btw, with Faramir - he should have been told of the boy, and met him, before Brand was told of his true paternity. It wasn't fair to Faramir, and most of all Brand, to have done otherwise. But even Imrahil and Andrahar aren't perfect, which also makes them more real.
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[4] The Lost by:Altariel
Reviewer:Rebecca Date:06/29/05
Wonderful chapter -- I imagine it would take a long time to get it written, because your writing conveys doubts, buried fears, good intentions, troubled memories, and tentative hopes very well, no small feat! Hope there will be more.
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[5] The Lost by:Altariel
Reviewer:radbooks Date:06/29/05
Absolutely wonderful! So nice to read a well written Faramir story and to see what had happened with Brand. It was quite believable - the shock of Faramir and the suspicion of Brand and then finally reaching an understanding that you could tell would eventually reach a level of trust and love. Nicely done! Radbooks
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[6] The Lost by:Altariel
Reviewer: Date:06/29/05
Ooh! So nice to see a new Faramir story from you and such a beautiful one at that.
You've managed to convey the shock, surprise, doubts and insecurities of Faramir and Brand at meeting ecah other so well! and I must say I quite liked Faramir as uncle:) I also liked how you managed to merge Denethor in, in not just his latent influence but even the teensy little glimpses of Faramri's feelings towards him.
But, love, loyalty, patience – these were Faramir’s gifts, and when he chose to give them, they were returned, and in abundance. Save once.
Can I squee and have a fangirl moment?:) You encapsulate him so well!
More Faramir? *hopeful*
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[7] The Lost by:Altariel
Reviewer:Acacea Date:06/29/05
Ouch. Forgot to sign my review.
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[8] The Lost by:Altariel
Reviewer:ErinRua Date:06/30/05
As a long-time fan of Isabeau's stories, I wanted to say this is a marvelous addition to the spin-offs she has inspired. You have continued the tale with beautiful depth and sensitivity, and artful handling of the characters. I particularly like that there is nothing pat or easy in the resolution. Just as in real life, everything comes with effort, at cost, and whatever truces are made do not necessarily heal all wounds. Andra and Faramir's guarded agreement is very well done and believable.
In a way, I see them as jealous of each other, each unconsciously envious of the affection Boromir gave the other, perhaps because each owned a part of Boromir's heart that the other could not touch. LOL, maybe Andra and Faramir just need to have a good drunk together one day, and after they get done breaking chairs on each other's heads, they'll be best of friends. ;-)
Anyhow - beautifully and realistically done. Thank you for sharing this gift with the rest of us!
Sincerely,
Erin
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[9] The Lost by:Altariel
Reviewer:Nargil Date:07/21/05
Wow, a story with Andrahar Brand Faramir and Imrahil. you made me a very happy girl when you wrote this. I am glad Faramir and Brand get on in the end and the interaction between him and Andrahar was priceless. You write all the characters in such a realistic maner and I think this adds to your stories. I love the way you write Faramir and the way you let his father come out in him can be heartbreaking at times but gives him a wonderful new identity and allows him to apear a lot more human than how Tolkien wrote him. kepp writing;
Nargil
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[10] The Lost by:Altariel
Reviewer:DKP Date:09/04/05
This is a marvelous story. I love how you and Isabeau manage to work so well together, and this blends beautifully with Noble Jewel and reflects so accurately the characters in your shared universe. I second the other reviewers heartily. But - when do we find out what's up between Imrahil and Erchirion? Is that part of yours or Isabeau's future stories, or contained in some of your other work? Anyway, wonderful stuff - thanks so for sharing!
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