I'm so grateful fandom is blessed with great writers like you. Thank you for this story. I read it all in one sitting, now my back hurts, but I was thoroughly entranced. Wonderful characterization all around and such a great story!

I am so floored by the story. Your portrayal of Edmund is wonderful. I think I'm falling in love! (As if I could love these two kings any more than I already do - but you just might have made it possible!)

Truly, your charcterization of Edmund is beautiful, and funny, and incredibly tender, and just impressive, all the way around. I love his sarcasm, his humor, his ability to negotiate delicate situations. Very well done. Thank you, and I will continue my journey through this wonderful world of yours.
HarmonyLover

Wonderfully heartfelt, both light and deep. The few mistakes I caught are not even worth pointing out.

great story, exelent in every way.
Bartholo

Very very well written. I enjoyed every word I read. You've made the somewhat mundane process of learning into something so much more beautiful. Loved the way Brickit's warmed up into a giant softey. :D
Love,
Lady Merlin

Well. Wow. I'm not going to waste time telling you what a good story this is (you should know by now, you've had 983 reviews telling you so).

I really admire the maturity with which you've treated both your characters and the reader. So many times, while I was reading Lewis' original work, I felt like I was being talked down to; everything was simplified and G-rated. This may have been because I read the books when I was twelve instead of eight or nine, but it really annoyed me. But that's the great thing about fanfiction: problems like that go away. (I really like Tolkien's work too, and he has the opposite problem: he's difficult to read.)

I like that you chose Edmund for your main character. He is by far the most interesting of the four Pevensies (in my humble opinion). I like that you put him in a situation where he couldn't count on his siblings; where he had to fend for himself. (I also like how he adopts the Dwarfs' speech patterns without realizing it and Peter imitating him at the end was funny. Did I catch a "la" in "When We Were Kings"?)

It took me a while to have the courage to read this story; I thought "30 chapters" and shuddered. Now, at least, I understand the joke in WK when Edmund calls Peter Nancy and Eustace has no idea WTF they're talking about. How does Peter learn of his nickname? The Dwarfs don't call him that to his face, surely?

So, my final comment (and what I've been trying to say all along): C.S. Lewis would never have written this, and so I'm very glad you did.

Cheers,
Greensleeves

I loved this story, and can't wait to read anything else you've written! cx

Okay, so I've been reading all sorts of Narnia fanfic all night, bouncing from one favourite list to another, and I've seen this fic everywhere. And justly so. It's one of my favourite fics, not just in the Narnia fandom, but overall, across all fandoms. I've read it a couple of times in the past months, and it occurred to me that while I may have reviewed some of your other stories, I don't think I've reviewed this one.
A travesty that I am now correcting! :)
This is an utterly FANTASTIC story, well written, easily read and enjoyed, and a great plot interwoven with hilarious interchanges and moments of such depth that I honestly gasped. Pardon my language, but it is quite frankly, bloody brilliant.
I don't have any problems with OCs in stories - they are necessary and can be fun to read about if well written, and I have high standards for things like that - but in this case, I swear sometimes I needed to consciously remind myself that these dwarves are not actual characters in the books. I absolutely adore Brickit.
The last chapter is heart wrenching, because in having read your other stories, I know perfectly well what happens next. I really wish, and in fact I request, if I may be so bold, that you write something about the stabbing from Brickit's perspective - and even better would a short story involving the dwarves and set during those horrible few months when Edmund was afflicted with the curse. I'll admit I'm a sucker for hurt/comfort, usually of the Edmund-hurting, Peter- comforting sort, but, like I said, I love Brickit, and would love to read something about him worrying, and comforting Edmund (in his own unique manner, of course).
I'm going to stop now, because if I don't I'll go on for pages and pages, and it is now extremely late (or early), and I really should sleep - I just wanted to tell you how much I love this story (and your others as well). Your Peter and Edmund are, by far, the best in the Narnia 'verse. Please keep writing more for them!

You know, I don't know why I hadn't read this before. But finishing your stories leaves me with an ear-splitting smile on my face and a warmth cocooning my heart. Thank you. :)

teeheehee! pure genius!

I LOVE this story. You weaved the events of Edmund's first diplomatic mission together with humorous and witty exchanges between Edmund and the Dwarves, the exploits of drunken bats, and the learning of some important lessons. I also have to add that I loved the image, in the last chapter, of Peter talking to the Platypus farmer. I don't know why, but that struck me as rather humorous.

I love Edmund's devotion to his brother. I love the knife he forged and what it represents: everything he feels for his brother combined with their diplomatic success at the Blue River Smithy.

This is actually my third time reading this story all the way through, and I enjoyed it just as much as, if not more than, I did the first time through. Thank you!

I loved this story! It was awesome! It's hard to find a decent Edmund story and this is a real treasure :)

Loved it!

SQUE Love it!

Dwarves. Edmund. A king covered in mud and running coal. *All in one story*. My day has been made *countless* times over! There is more to love in this story than I have skill to articulate. I felt like an adventurer, walking out upon the grand tour of Narnia, enchanted by the absolute joy and enthusiasm of the story. Grinning fruit bats and the ever fussing Queen Peter, Edmund waking up a perfect beast and that dreadful beer: what isn't there to adore? There are stories I keep an eager eye out for, only half realizing that I do, and to finally have the happiness of reading such a story... Well, I supposed the sheer number of adjectives in this review make my point where further words will not, :]

One of the things that always moved me about the Narnia series is Aslan's first question to the Cabby in "The Magician's Nephew", when the Cabby was protesting being named king: "Can you use a spade and a plow and raise food out of the earth?" It was a question that struck me as being just right, as embracing all that kingship would be about at its core, and I've always wanted to see a story with that question as its driving idea: a respite from the romance and glamour of royalty, that involves a bit of dirt and spadework. "Black Dwarfs" answers my fancy perfectly. My particularly favourite part is the Lithin chapter, and the consequences of Edmund's visit. I just love how Edmund earns respect by being a perfectly decent person. This is beautifully apt, and wonderfully inspiring - such decency and honesty is a far more difficult and rewarding feat than the show of power heroes usually employ to win respect in stories. The extraordinary power of ordinary virtue is another thing I adore about the Narnia series, and it fills me with joy to find that same spirit here.

And now, having exhausted my allowance of adjectives and adverbs and ecstasies, I shall conclude. It is an honour to have entered the Narnia fandom as a newcomer and discovered a tale as inspiring as "Black Dwarfs, Blue Rivers" has been. Thank you.

Much luck in all your other writings, :]

This is beautiful. I enjoyed it all tremendously. Plot, characterisation, excellent writing. I know this is too brief for so much work, but thank you!