2006 Author Reviews for
Kenaz

What strikes me most about Kenaz\'s writing is the way that she uses pacing. \"Until the Stars Are All Alight\" involves a sword fight and so the pacing there is crucial. I was sitting on the edge of my seat all through that. \"Where the Shadows Are\" relies on a different type of tension, where the two characters face their own edooms and the impending battle and the fact that their love is not destined to endure. But it\'s a tension that still requires almost frantic action of its sort, and Kenaz handles it well. This author communicates the necessary meaning without the story slowing down.

Kenaz does men as well as she does Elves! She writes the greatest Elves ever--complex, mysterious, and emotional. (Not to mention never nancy-prancy little creatures--but the men are men (Men or Elves) in her fics.) So I should not have been surprised what she could do with Aragorn and Halbarad. [Until the Stars Are All Alight] is one of my all time favorites and certainly one of the ones that I love the most of newer Aragorn stories (and there are some very fine writers who specialize in this). This one-chapter story could by some be characterized as slash, but it is in fact less than that and much more. There are several layers to this one short piece. It could be characterized an exploration of comradeship, loyalty and one of the most moving and sensitive expositions of the relationship often referred to as the king?s man that I have read in any work of fiction. The characterization of the very young, green Aragorn here is completely recognizable as the same man we love so much in the book at the height of his maturity and power. The pairing of Aragorn and Halbarad could become routine, formulaic, or derivative, but it certainly is not here. It is authentic, real, believable, profoundly human and humane. Other issues taken on in the story, such as: initiation in battle, the first time Aragorn actually kills, his transformation from rather isolated and protected Elvish young man to a ranger and leader of men are all taken on and developed with sensitivity. The attention to canon and insightful usage of the same enrich the story. The pacing, organization and evocative, poetic language have led me to return and re-read this story multiple times?for me the greatest recommendation for any fic.

What strikes me most about Kenaz\'s writing is the way that she uses pacing. \"Until the Stars Are All Alight\" involves a sword fight and so the pacing there is crucial. I was sitting on the edge of my seat all through that. \"Where the Shadows Are\" relies on a different type of tension, where the two characters face their own edooms and the impending battle and the fact that their love is not destined to endure. But it\'s a tension that still requires almost frantic action of its sort, and Kenaz handles it well. This author communicates the necessary meaning without the story slowing down.