A review by osomo
The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien

adventurous dark emotional reflective tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

Some parts that I wished were longer were short, while the parts I wished were shorter were long.
Also, obvious racist undertones.

I do appreciate though that after the war ended, we saw the problems the characters faced. Somehow, most of them weren’t too affected though. Except Frodo who had a major trauma. The rest acted like they just had fun and no struggles. I don’t dig that illusory romanticised vision of the consequences of war, or the lack thereof.

P. S. Sam is love, Galadriel is life.
Unfortunately though, Galadriel is the only woman with proper power and agency in this story.

I think, the cast is not diverse. Yet the ideologies and the philosophies they represent are varied, which is interesting to pay attention to. 

Even though I loved Sam and others, in the end I was disappointed with racism expressed by hobbits (and overall in the book).

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