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4.48 AVERAGE
4.48 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I really wanted to rate this more highly but dear god did the book drag on. The perfect ending would have been chapter 5 (of book six), when Aragorn is crowned and everyone celebrates triumph over evil. But instead there were FOUR MORE CHAPTERS where nothing of real note happened except unnecessary plot tidying, though I did like the final chapter. After listening to all three books, I really appreciate the films and how Peter Jackson cut the crap and left the best bits. Probably sacrilege to say that, and perhaps I'd have felt differently if I read the books first. It felt so stop start though it would have been worse if the books switched POVs each chapter. I think my main issue is that Tolkien spent ages on chapters were not much of note happened but the key moments were done away with in a few paragraphs. For examples I zoned out for a minute and entirely missed the destruction of the ring!
I didn't listen to the appendix but flicked through a printed copy and decided against reading it all.
I didn't listen to the appendix but flicked through a printed copy and decided against reading it all.
I had forgotten how bittersweet the end was *cries a little*
A fun time, see you next year for the annual re-read.
**putting side the fact that he can’t write a female character to save his life, it’s always fun to revisit this series. Though not “cozy fantasy” by definition, it is cozy to me.
A fun time, see you next year for the annual re-read.
**putting side the fact that he can’t write a female character to save his life, it’s always fun to revisit this series. Though not “cozy fantasy” by definition, it is cozy to me.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a solid conclusion to the LOTR. I really enjoyed the first two, and this was just as enjoyable. I found the ending a mix of good and bad; the Scouring of the Shire didn’t feel necessary. I can understand why it was there, a showcase of the skills the Hobbits learned on their journey, but I think destroying the Ring was what was only really needed to do that. The final chapter is particularly bittersweet and rounds out the LOTR in a nice and satisfying way.
adventurous
hopeful
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Finally finished my reread of LOTR and boy golly, was it fantastic. This is the best book in the series, it's the culmination of sooooo much, and everything falls together sooooo well (and I think the film is potentially the most faithful adaptation??) There weren't a lot of changes I preferred in the books compared to the film. I think the two biggest ones were Gandalf, THE SECOND MOST POWERFUL BEING IN MIDDLE-EARTH BY THE TIME OF OUR STORY, being able to stand down the Witch King successfully without his staff getting broken. And Theoden, being such an awesome and loving character to everyone he interacts with in the story, all his interactions with Merry really made me feel a deeper level of sadness when his death occurs compared to the film. Then we have the appendices, my God, there's a lot of lore there. I recently learned that Aragorn was originally supposed to get with Éowyn, but by the end of the story, he was too different a character, so Tolkien substituted her for Arwen. This explains why she randomly appears in the last couple of pages and marries our boy. The rest of the information in the appendices just shows how much love Tolkien put into the world, and makes it feel so fleshed out and real. Absolutely love this series, and I could go on and on about how much I care about it, but anyone viewing my bookshelf could figure that one out. Coincidentally, I finished the series on the 52nd anniversary of Tolkien's death, no reason to add that in, but I thought it was interesting.
alright, I'm dnfing. It's taken me 4 months and I'm still like less than 50% of the way thru. Hot take, Return of the King is an absolute drag and the weakest of the three. It's battle after battle, all rushed through and you're like "that's it?" after all of the talking if war. Honestly, props to Peter Jackson et al for making this into a great film, they did a looooot of fleshing out to make it work. War struggles to capture my attention and the splitting of the Fellowship damages the reason to keep reading. There's enough going on in Towers, with the individual adventures, new characters, and new places to explore, to still be invested in the story after the split. But this book is a slow crawl to what you know is the inevitable end.
Fellowship is GOAT, Towers is filled with escapades and banter, King is a slow death march.
Fellowship is GOAT, Towers is filled with escapades and banter, King is a slow death march.