Maglor's Harp by ford_of_bruinen  

Wow, this is an amazing piece that captures the madness and deepest horror of the human mind. I like the build up in this story, from seemingly innocent driftwood, Maglor scoures nature until he found the harp he once upon a time had. Over the years his mind also forgot other things, not only the songs he once sang, the instruments he played, but also his morality, respect and his own human limits. You tell the story in steps, very skillfully if I may add, taking the reader just a step further in what they might accept Maglor to do... At the end I just cannot let go, I have to know how this ends and his total obliviant behaviour... it makes sense. We should be disgusted by it, to kill an innocent for such a thing and yet you show us how he came to it. I pity this Maglor and the last line Uli, it gave me the shivers. This is a great piece!

What a marvelously macabre story!  My hat's off to you, ford_of_bruinen.  I'm a horror aficionado (reading it anyway; I'm not necessarily adept at writing it), and you have done a masterful job in creating a dark, gruesome tale and a truly mad Maglor.  Your use of details (dead crabs and mussels as the audience - and the connection the final lines make to that; the search for better and increasingly horrible materials for the instrument) builds the tension and beautifully (or horrifically? :^D) illustrates the depths of Maglor's insanity. 

Thanks a million for an especially toothsome Halloween treat!

Ah! This is an excellent, thrilling glimpse at madness, morbid and fascinating. Great job!

I'm not a big fan of modern horror, but folk-legend I do like. A mad Maglor... and now a bone harp! Could it get any better? That last line is superb... it leaves me with those poor villagers, who are about to have a really bad evening!

A wonderfully grim expansion of the storyline to show what happened afterwards.

Just went to review this story for the MEFA and realized I had not reviewed it here. So, here it is a cut-and-paste for the permanent record.

I highly recommend this story. First, the disclaimers: I do not like horror as a genre in general, nor do I believe from canon or my own extrapolations of it that Fëanor’s sons were mad. Yes, they were driven, compelled, unhappy, committed to something that they might have many times wished they could have undone, but unable to go back and start over again, only able to go forward. The least mad among them for me, probably would have been Maglor, after Maedhros despite Thangorodrim and Morgoth’s torture. They just did too many things that required compassion and hard work to be barking, slobbering mad. No denying that they did terrible things which they believed were necessary to fulfill their duty and that had to be done because of oaths sworn. That does not make a person, in and of itself, insane.

Having got that off my chest, I must say that I would absolutely recommend this story to others who might feel the same way that I did. It is beautifully written. The writer has constructed a perfect little jewel of a story. It is just so horribly dark and yet never graphic, although quite explicit. You really made me suspend my sense of disbelief and be willing to go along with your scenario here for the experience. What a compelling, macabre and creepily gorgeous story. It is just so chilling. The not-so-subtle sexual overtones, just were the final telling detail. It certainly is an antidote for too much fluffy, goody-goody Maglor! Congratulations on a job well done.

You know, even with the somewhat graphic murder, I have to admit I felt more of a profound sadness at reading this than horror. Don't get me wrong, this is one of your best stories by far. The characterization is rich and the narrative is nearly perfect in its excecution, but that same narrative of escalating madness seems more tragic than horrifying. I think this is due to Maglor's significance compared to his victim and the desparation with which he seeks to regain his music. The knowlege that he has killed before also mitigates some of the tension leading into and during the murder despite its gruesome excecution, but it is the line about his vague recognition of blood really hit the tragic irony of the character home.

Like I said, I think this is an excellent story, just more tragic than horrifying.

Not gonna lie, I *really* thought he was going to use his own bones and guts! Still extremely creepy, holy heck. And poor Maglor, in that mental state, when he bent over because his first harp broke! What a delightful read.