This story is nearly perfect. It's so nice to see things from Caspian's perspective, especially! And I totally agree with you when it comes to Suspians. (GAACK)

The little details you included (Caspian wanting to name the ship Star Maiden, for instance) really rounded out the story. Your writing was fresh, solid and descriptive and told the story without beating around the bush.

I would advise reworking the ending, however; it's nice by itself, but the tense change and the sudden shift from dialogue and events to narrative was a bit unsettling and really messed with the otherwise perfect flow.

Still, I like this story a lot and I added it to my faves list! Thanks so much for sharing, and I hope you get added to the NFFR directory! ;)

~Sushi

A great story. Very good.

"The Queen Susan!" shouted one sailor who had been entranced by legends of that famed beauty."

(::shudder:: Suspian shippers would have a field day if Lewis had decided to call the "Dawn Treader" by that name.)

"Because we wish to face the East in its home, and walk upon the first sunlight of day, I humbly propose that we christen this most worthy craft the Dawn Treader," finished the Mouse, his dark eyes shining and alive in his fierce face."

(You've really captured Reepicheep's voice here. His steadfast determination, his impulsive bravery, and his loyalty. I laud you.)

""For if you do so, Narnia will have lost its most valiant person since the Queen Lucy departed for her own world."

(Hmm, very true. That never really occurred to me before. Reepicheep the Valient... er, yeah... let's leave Lucy's title with her..)

This was a very fascinating story to read. It's so poignant and pure. You've certainly done not only Reepicheep but Caspian justice. Good job.

~ Rose and Thorn

Perhaps if Their Majesties had ever asked Caspian the Tenth to share the story of the Dawn Treader's name he would recount your work.

Ha! That first line made me laugh out loud. It was certainly true when this was published, but nowadays Caspian gets quite enough love from fandom and has his pick of the many OCs, Mary Sues, self-inserts, and OOC Susans and Peters that he's paired with. ]

This was a great piece, a very nice rounding out of the story pre-VotDT. The dialogue between Caspian and Dr. Cornelius was quite good. It flowed naturally but maintained a bit of authoritative tone from the Doctor - very good! The scene with Reepicheep was likewise well done. It was very touching; I liked that it had an air of parting even then, on the eve of the voyage.

" 'Make merry tonight, men,' he directed to their wild cheering. 'Embrace your wives and children, for you shall not soon look upon their faces again. For tomorrow we sail to the East, Aslan's country, and the Seven Lords of my father, Caspian the Ninth. And tomorrow—tomorrow, we begin the voyage of the Dawn Treader.' " -This was a fabulous line! Perfect in every way, fitting for the story and for Caspian, with an air of Lewis about it.

And I loved the change of tense at the end of the piece! Lovely. The wording was so evocative: the old wanderlust, dizzying the mind with adventure and glory, calloused hands gripping the throne, chafing against the chains of duty. Beautiful; a job well done.

Amazing. You captured Caspian perfectly. And being Reepicheep's most devoted fan, I will say you protrayed the valiant Mouse very well too. I love the word Wanderlust. Sigh, if only Caspian would accept that the life Aslan has planned for him is an adventure in itself. It may not be what he had in mind, but what Aslan has in mind is always the good life.

Very impressive story! I really liked how you portrayed Caspian's love of adventure and how trapped he must have felt stuck at home when other's brought him news of wonders he hadn't seen.

Story: 7.25/10. I love the idea of the Dawn Treader being named in this way, but this is one fic that I feel could have been shorter. I don't feel like your beginning or especially ending add much.

Characters: 7/10. Your Reepicheep is great, but I feel like you have problems settling into Caspian and Doctor Cornelius. They aren't OOC, but it seems like everything they say is some sort of stilted speech. Caspian is best in the last part, but the last part doesn't feel that connected to the rest of the story to me.

Creativity: 8.25/10. At first I was a little skeptical, but this is a very good idea, I'll have to say.

Writing: 6.75/10. You don't really have many mistakes, but at times I feel like you use too many big adjectives and at times it feels dialogue heavy - maybe you just haven't fully developed your style yet.

Believability: 8.5/10. I think that the idea is believable and that it fits into the Narnia world well.

Overall: 7.5/10. Great idea that you write fairly well, but I think that you Caspian doesn't feel as fully developed as he could be.

Professionalism: B . I think that your disclaimer is odd, but your summary is very good and everything else seems to be in order.

I liked this one too, especially Reepicheep. He was always one of my favorites.

~Ani

That was great! :DI still like Meditations better, but i think that's just personal preference. This one was really really well written - i really really enjoyed it!

Poor Caspian though... it would be nice if he could satisfy his curiosity and go wherever the wind may take him. :( Ah well... such is life as a King. Lol

Anyway - great work on this one - it was a good recommendation! :D

Keep up the great work - i look forward to reading more of your stuff! :)

Love Bundi

Finally, a Caspian fic without any Caspian/Lucy! I don't get how that gets into peoples' thoughts!

This is a nice way to explain how the ship received the name Dawn Treader. I don't really think too much about that, but this was a delight. Oh, Reepicheep! It was his idea all along and it's nice to think that Lewis really did make it Reepicheep's idea.

Thanks for writing!

Oh, I liked it all alright. It really seemed like a missing part-your style matched Lewis almost perfectly. I say almost because you don't interrupt the flow of the story with narration that directly addresses the reader as he did occasionaly. Not that I'm complaining, mind you _

I got mad props, yo! Seriously, possibly one of my most exciting moments this year when I saw your shout-out to my story. Particularly since *this* story was so fantastic. The characterizations were spot-on, especially for Caspian, who can be hard to write—or rather, write well. I also like that you have him as a somewhat reluctant king. I never thought of it that way before, but it’s true, and it certainly fits with his character. Caspian’s wanderlust would override his duty—and it fact it does as he almost abdicates.

I also loved the overall tone of anticipation; reading this, I got the same feeling I get when I’m about to take a trip, that tense thrill of the unknown. Getting that feeling while reading your story was great, especially because I knew what was in store for them.

Also, the names everyone suggested were great. I could have never thought of so many names which were so very Narnian in nature and which were so symbolic—Caspian’s choice of the Star Maiden foreshadowed things nicely. Very nicely.

I really can’t say enough good things about this story. Your writing style is so good, the images so clear, that it was really wonderful.

I liked this alot, it is an interesting concept to think that Caspian might have known all along that Reep was going to go on without them. The whole concept is very well written out and I enjoyed it.

Awesome - the idea of Reepicheep being the one to name the Dawn Treader is perfect. You know he would have had to do something amazing to convince Caspian to bring him along on the voyage. I also liked the idea of some of the sailors wanting to name it 'Queen Susan' or 'Queen Lucy'. Hopefully Narnia had other ships in the future with those names.