A review by miak2
The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

 
"We cannot achieve victory by arms, but by arms we can give the Ring-bearer his only chance, frail though it be."


This series really just came into my life and took over, huh? What an epic conclusion to this great series. I'm consistently amazed at how readable Tolkien's writing is, despite its flowery descriptions and detailed lore. The Return of the King had some big battle sequences, but also felt true to the rest of the series, which has been about travel and companionship.

I loved that Merry, Pippin, and Sam got to take bigger roles in this. They've all grown so much since their time in the Shire, Frodo too. I was satisfied with the arcs that the rest of the Fellowship received as well, as well as the side characters that I'd grown to love.

What Tolkien did that diverged from much of modern fantasy that came after it was spend time with his characters after the climax of the plot. I really appreciated seeing how their stories wrapped up, and the consequences from the war that needed to be dealt with. I'm so happy to have read this series. I said this in my past two reviews, but I can absolutely see how this became the granddaddy of modern fantasy. Up next: The Hobbit (because, yes, I went out of order. Shhh). 
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