An Evil Cradling

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This portrayal of himself, of ‘flesh’ and ‘heap of offal’ is dehumanizing as it reduces him to something repulsive and purely physical, thus overlooking the details that makes him human, such as feelings, mind and judgement.

We were in a taxi together in London, and the driver kept looking at us in his mirror," says Keenan. A shy, modest man, he accepts it when people come up to him in the pub, offering him drinks, asking to shake his hand. He is thus able to take the reader with him through unfamiliar levels of despair and self-discovery. Celegorm’s terse words whispered not hours before flitted through Maedhros’ mind, but grimly he steeled his will against them. Armoured fingers gripped tightly to bowstrings, swords hissed partway free of their scabbards as the Noldorin party watched the proceedings keenly; knuckles whitened as for a moment Maedhros recoiled, but as the taut seconds trickled by, no weapon was yet drawn.He uses a various range of strong descriptions to portray his condition, ideas, thoughts and impressions. Shields locked in grim formation, their boots scraped defiant furrows into the wetted soil as the orcs threw themselves upon their barricade, yet none might penetrate it, and as a fortified company they began to cut themselves free of the slaughter.

Much as Turlough was able to reconcile his two worlds - Ireland the physical place with all its history, "which, though he couldn't see what was going on around him, he could sense", and his own inner life, through music - this book becomes Keenan's reconciliation, the means finally by which he can take control again of his own destiny. Black ichor steamed upon Maedhros’ blade as he cleaved an orcish skull in two, before slashing hard to his right and sweeping free a scant measure of room before his besieged companion, and the elf at his side scrambled backwards to recover himself as the next foe surged forward.Great flails of fire scythed out across the soil, they snared about the legs of the defenders and ripped them asunder, and in shrieks of agony and the sear of bubbling metal the phalanx collapsed to its ruin.