Comments on Broken Things

The Silmarillion Writers' Guild is more than just an archive--we are a community! If you enjoy a fanwork or enjoy a creator's work, please consider letting them know in a comment.

Thank you for enjoying the story.

I'm not asking that everyone must enjoy slash on top of a general liking the writing or plot, but I'm sure you are aware that statements like yours have the potential for being fairly problematic, especially when left on a slash fanfiction written for a slash fanfiction exchange, with both fairly clearly stated in the summary and the genre designation. So I'd like to ask you to consider your words a little more carefully in the future, especially given the fact that many slash writers are queer (me included), and you probably don't want to strike too close to home by implying that slash is somehow a reason to dislike a story, or to like a story in spite of. As for reasons for slash writing, there are a number of well-written meta posts listed here. For me personally, I write slash because I do consider Middle-earth our world on a mythical plane, aim for a sort of realism in it, and thus (to say it with the words of Sir Ian McKellen) "Some people are gay, get over it".

That was a beautiful, incredible story! Sauron made me shiver - and the way Maglor seemed to give in to him like it was something natural... you just wrote that progression from resistance to giving in to the eventual realization really well, in my opinion. For some reason the idea of Sauron making Maglor play the harp for him over and over until his fingers were bleeding was the one that stuck with me most.

And, of course, Maglor wouldn't have realized it without his brother. Yay Curufin and yay fic that doesn't portray him as only a villain! Ah, that scene in the Halls of Mandos was great.

I thought the way you portrayed Sauron was really interesting and intense. And the description was really vivid. And overall I just thought this story was sorta perfect? Basically. :) 



Thank you very much for such a detailed and lovely review! :) I'm glad you found the story and its images and characters memorable, especially because this was a very tricky one to write for me - a lot of it was flying blind, so to speak, and that makes me especially happy it succeeded.

(And since you seem to like a more nuanced Sauron, I'll just repeat the encouragement from the fic footer; you should check out Pandemonium213's fics for one of the best Saurons I've ever read.) 

Please don't take my statement to mean anything deeper than it was intended. I read the rating and disclaimer and was not offended by the content. And I should clarify that I did not intend any offense by my review. It is a very well written story. I've only taken to reading fan fiction recently, and am still getting used to graphical sexual content in the Tolkien universe (whether gay or straight). Please keep up the good work, I'll keep an open mind, and we'll all enjoy the art that is created.



This story is as strong as it was on the first read, if not even better! I just love how you mingle canon into the tale, and how Maglor is ensnared by Sauron's seduction. It's so painful when Maglor realizes just how damaged he really is. Yay for bonus Maglor-Curufin brotherly love, Maglor-Finrod friendships, and Maglor/Gildor love!