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Arcane Asylum
Fanfiction: Merlin (TV)
Modern alternate universe. For the last twenty two years Uther Pendragon has been waging war on magic. Now his son Arthur has been framed for a magical crime and sent to the prison for magic users. Arthur is instantly targeted by the inmates, but mysterious top dog Merlin takes him under his wing. They form a bond, and Merlin decides to help Arthur clear his name.
Word count: 124790 complete
Podfic: http://sophinisba.dreamwidth.org/3770...
Modern alternate universe. For the last twenty two years Uther Pendragon has been waging war on magic. Now his son Arthur has been framed for a magical crime and sent to the prison for magic users. Arthur is instantly targeted by the inmates, but mysterious top dog Merlin takes him under his wing. They form a bond, and Merlin decides to help Arthur clear his name.
Word count: 124790 complete
Podfic: http://sophinisba.dreamwidth.org/3770...
234 pages, ebook
First published September 24, 2010
27 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 21, 2014
Great Arthur/Merlin fanfiction with a dark twisty feel and surprisingly good worldbuilding. Set in modern times, Uther Pendragon (Arthur's father and a political leader) has banned magic and forced all magicians and their sympathisers into terrible prisons. But then his own son Arthur is framed for a magical crime and sentenced to imprisonment in the dreaded Arcane Asylum. His rough treatment is stopped when a young wizard named Merlin decides to protect him. They set off on a quest to bring peace between humans and magic users. There are a couple of overly long flashbacks that distracted me a little in the first part of the book. I was so interested in the present day world that I resented being taken back in time. But it's all easy to read, well written and fairly romantic.
February 23, 2017
Stunningly complex and heartfelt.
It's undeniably flawed - instalove is alive and kicking, and the last 30(ish)% is a little rushed and a little... I hesitate to use the word half-assed, because I feel like it's gonna diminish the value of all the rest in the eyes of whoever's reading this, but yeah, kinda half-assed.
But the first two thirds of this story are fucking glorious, well thought out, beautifully written, clever and hard-hitting. I was so thoroughly engrossed I could not stop reading until I finished the whole thing. One sitting, guys, 124k words. Not that it's some incredible feat, but considering that earlier today I was literally nodding off in class I feel entitled to give myself a pat on the back for this one.
Even the instalove didn't bother me: despite the "insta" component, it works perfectly, because it's a connection forged in wildly unconventional and high-pressure circumstances. And Arthur and Merlin's whole relationship during and after that is the kinda shit that will make you believe in true love, I swear to god.
There's sex, love, magic, politics, humor, substance and creativity. Honestly, I couldn't have asked for more today.
It's undeniably flawed - instalove is alive and kicking, and the last 30(ish)% is a little rushed and a little... I hesitate to use the word half-assed, because I feel like it's gonna diminish the value of all the rest in the eyes of whoever's reading this, but yeah, kinda half-assed.
But the first two thirds of this story are fucking glorious, well thought out, beautifully written, clever and hard-hitting. I was so thoroughly engrossed I could not stop reading until I finished the whole thing. One sitting, guys, 124k words. Not that it's some incredible feat, but considering that earlier today I was literally nodding off in class I feel entitled to give myself a pat on the back for this one.
Even the instalove didn't bother me: despite the "insta" component, it works perfectly, because it's a connection forged in wildly unconventional and high-pressure circumstances. And Arthur and Merlin's whole relationship during and after that is the kinda shit that will make you believe in true love, I swear to god.
There's sex, love, magic, politics, humor, substance and creativity. Honestly, I couldn't have asked for more today.
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April 29, 2013My very first Merthur fanfic which has more than a couple of pages :)
The worldbuilding was great, the idea interesting and I was captured by the story very fast.
Of course, there are "buts"...
Like many people have already mentioned, the beggining (and the first half) was very good, but since the story is very long (too long) it started to drag a little. The insta-love didn't work for me (As far as I know, I'm not the only one with this impression!) and all those flashbacks started to annoy me at some point. I enjoyed reading about Merlin's past, but about Arthur's? Not so much.
To be honest, I was expecting something darker. Something gloomy. Something... different. Don't get me wrong, it was a nice* read, but not what I was prepared for ;)
* I think that the word nice is essential in this case :P
Would I reccomend it? Yes. Maybe it wasn't as good as it could be, but it had a potential. Definitely worth a shot ^-^
The worldbuilding was great, the idea interesting and I was captured by the story very fast.
Of course, there are "buts"...
Like many people have already mentioned, the beggining (and the first half) was very good, but since the story is very long (too long) it started to drag a little. The insta-love didn't work for me (As far as I know, I'm not the only one with this impression!) and all those flashbacks started to annoy me at some point. I enjoyed reading about Merlin's past, but about Arthur's? Not so much.
To be honest, I was expecting something darker. Something gloomy. Something... different. Don't get me wrong, it was a nice* read, but not what I was prepared for ;)
* I think that the word nice is essential in this case :P
Would I reccomend it? Yes. Maybe it wasn't as good as it could be, but it had a potential. Definitely worth a shot ^-^
August 18, 2018
The synopsis for this had me nervous but it really is a great read.
June 10, 2015
This was wonderfully original. Fascinating modern AU in which anyone suspected of having magic is imprisoned in a special facility.
My favorite thing was how true to themselves Merlin and Arthur were even in this dark and violent world. They were both wonderfully selfless and heroic and idealistic, and it was fascinating to see their world through their eyes.
Some Favorite Quotes:
but he couldn't have really expected his first day of prison not to be a bad hair day.
he was now officially a personal prison bitch of a goofy kid with enormous ears. "But that's okay, Father," he imagined himself saying. "I don't mind so much, because I rather fancy the pants off him."
"Power doesn't make a man scary, malice does. And--new-born baby kittens have twice the malice you do."
"See," said Arthur. "this is exactly what I mean. You can't effectively manage several hundred crazy homicidal warlocks with a defeatist attitude like this."
"Have I already said I told you so? Nevermind, it bears repeating."
My favorite thing was how true to themselves Merlin and Arthur were even in this dark and violent world. They were both wonderfully selfless and heroic and idealistic, and it was fascinating to see their world through their eyes.
Some Favorite Quotes:
but he couldn't have really expected his first day of prison not to be a bad hair day.
he was now officially a personal prison bitch of a goofy kid with enormous ears. "But that's okay, Father," he imagined himself saying. "I don't mind so much, because I rather fancy the pants off him."
"Power doesn't make a man scary, malice does. And--new-born baby kittens have twice the malice you do."
"See," said Arthur. "this is exactly what I mean. You can't effectively manage several hundred crazy homicidal warlocks with a defeatist attitude like this."
"Have I already said I told you so? Nevermind, it bears repeating."
May 9, 2013
4,25
After reading a LOT of Arthur/Merlin fanfiction, I got just a bit bored. There are really some very good stories, but I also read many ordinary ones that left me quite disappointed. But: GOOD NEWS, EVERYONE! This is a good one. It's suspenseful, the worldbuilding is fantastic here and the development of the relationship between Merlin and Arthur is just perfect. Also: the prison setting and the sex with magic is kind of hot. And the story is long and detailed, which is a big plus for me.
Arcane Asylum kept me entertained for days - my favourite kind of fanfic.:)
After reading a LOT of Arthur/Merlin fanfiction, I got just a bit bored. There are really some very good stories, but I also read many ordinary ones that left me quite disappointed. But: GOOD NEWS, EVERYONE! This is a good one. It's suspenseful, the worldbuilding is fantastic here and the development of the relationship between Merlin and Arthur is just perfect. Also: the prison setting and the sex with magic is kind of hot. And the story is long and detailed, which is a big plus for me.
Arcane Asylum kept me entertained for days - my favourite kind of fanfic.:)
September 5, 2012
More a 3 stars maybe because half way it started to drag a bit and there were too many flashbacks that broke up the flow, but the setting and the worldbuilding was really good.
June 1, 2016
I ended up rating this higher because the beginning was so strong. Later parts seemed to be standard fanfic fare.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews