A review by ninarg
The War of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

4.0

My favorite book of the series so far, perhaps along with the third one (Legolas, Gimli and Aragorn chase Merry and Pippin across Rohan. ) The battle of Gondor takes place and I loved the action and excitement of it all. Merry and Pippin find out that they are made of braver stuff than they supposed, Merry even being essential in the slaying of the terrifying black captain along with Eowyn who is a kickass hellcat. Cool, brave and tough, who knows what might have happened but for her and Merry. If only Tolkien had left out how beautiful her blond hair was as the sun shone upon it. The male warriors didn't get those kind of descriptions...

Faramir is still one of my favorites, despite being ill with a fever most of the time. Denethor is a bastard for constantly belittling and criticising Faramir for not being Boromir, and then intending to burn him alive on a pyre. What a great stewart of Gondor he was... Theoden on the other hand was made of the right stuff.

Legolas, Gimli and Aragorn return in the nick of time, and Tolkien delights in throwing in one nursery rhyme after the other to prove that Aragorn is indeed the true king. Funny how many old verses are still remembered to prove Aragorn's claim. But anyway ...

The troops of the West are now gathered outside Mordor and it is not looking good...