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annapox's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and War
Moderate: Death, Violence, Medical content, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Gore, Racism, Slavery, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
myronjtataryn's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I love this story. Lord of the Rings in it's entirety obvs, but the Return of the King was always one of my fav movies in the trilogy. I'm a sucker for big conclusions when the story warrants them. Also, I had never read this trilogy until this last year or so, having only known the movies as the main means of intaking the story. That being said...
Andy Serkis is a god amongst men. The range and control of his performances is actually a marvel to me. However, that wasn't enough to ease my surprise at how incredibly slow this book felt with it's pacing. The Siege of Gondor was the first 8.5 hours of the book and yet it felt like there was so much of nothing happening? At least it felt that way. You would think that with this amount of time there would be great detail in the war itself? Nope. Most of it was all dialogue with generalizations of the action sequences, which I was a bit let down with throughout the trilogy actually. The plot points that happen within the battles are iconic and so well thought-out, but because of how good they were, it begged for more attention to be in the details about how people reacted (or lack of reaction) when massive moments happened (Ie Gandalf sprinting out on Shadowfax to meet the Nazgul on the plains).
To the point about the dialogue, some of it just went on and on and on and I kept zoning out.
And The Scourge of the Shire? I really like how it gave Saruman a more full circle arc and storyline. It's actually probably my favourite difference from the book compared to the movie. But to get to that part where we find out he's Sharkey and caused the Shire to erupt in chaos from the inside? Way too drawn out and unneccesary in my opinion. After coming home from this COLOSSAL quest that was so massive it had to take 3 books to tell the story of, the characters didn't even get a proper ending it felt like? This felt like an overindulgence of a cool idea that should have stayed within the earlier drafts. Once I realized that the remaining 2 hours dealt with yet another mini storyline/quest within the main story, at the conclusion, I started to feel mentally drained with it. This is where I appreciate PJ and the creatives behind the movie franchise.
The movie team dealt with the pacing issue perfectly by crosscutting between the Siege of Gondor, Frodo's final ascent to Mount Doom, and the battle at the Black Gate. It kept things always interesting and was able to create tension within itself, just by giving characters and plot points room to breathe. Plus removing the Scourge was probably the BEST larger decision they made across the entire trilogy's adaptation.
This was a great read. It's a treasured story that I will re-experience over and over again. Mostly though, it will be through the extended cut of the movies. I will however want to reread the Fellowship of the Ring again as I wholeheartedly thought that that entry had the most excess details and scenes that elevated the story overall, rather make it feel like a drag. I truly enjoyed that one the most.
Andy Serkis is a god amongst men. The range and control of his performances is actually a marvel to me. However, that wasn't enough to ease my surprise at how incredibly slow this book felt with it's pacing. The Siege of Gondor was the first 8.5 hours of the book and yet it felt like there was so much of nothing happening? At least it felt that way. You would think that with this amount of time there would be great detail in the war itself? Nope. Most of it was all dialogue with generalizations of the action sequences, which I was a bit let down with throughout the trilogy actually. The plot points that happen within the battles are iconic and so well thought-out, but because of how good they were, it begged for more attention to be in the details about how people reacted (or lack of reaction) when massive moments happened (Ie Gandalf sprinting out on Shadowfax to meet the Nazgul on the plains).
To the point about the dialogue, some of it just went on and on and on and I kept zoning out.
The movie team dealt with the pacing issue perfectly by crosscutting between the Siege of Gondor, Frodo's final ascent to Mount Doom, and the battle at the Black Gate. It kept things always interesting and was able to create tension within itself, just by giving characters and plot points room to breathe. Plus removing the Scourge was probably the BEST larger decision they made across the entire trilogy's adaptation.
This was a great read. It's a treasured story that I will re-experience over and over again. Mostly though, it will be through the extended cut of the movies. I will however want to reread the Fellowship of the Ring again as I wholeheartedly thought that that entry had the most excess details and scenes that elevated the story overall, rather make it feel like a drag. I truly enjoyed that one the most.
Content Warnings
Moderate: War
Minor: Violence
natashalg's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
The book was pretty slow, and at times it drug on and I found the politics boring. I admittedly had to skim some parts. However, the characters made the story worthwhile.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, War, and Injury/Injury detail
rachelunabridged's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and War
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Misogyny
rachelunabridged's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and War
Moderate: Misogyny, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death
emmagreenwood's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and War
bree_h_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
I really love this series. It took me seven years to pick it up again and I honestly regret waiting that long.
This was an excellent end to the series and every character had a fitting, well built up to ending. There’s just something about these books that feels very comforting to me. Honestly even if older/longer books aren’t your style I do genuinely recommend people give the audiobooks narrated by Andy Serkis a shot. The only reason I finally finished this books is because of his narration.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Alcohol
miaaa_lenaaa's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Girl this was a tad messy tbh
Stop naming all ur characters the same thing
Just feels like u didnt rly tie have the things up u just like mentioned them again
Also the big battle literallu every three pages is, and then he never opened his eyes again :( jk hes alive :D
Alsoéowyn just being like eh u know what ur right i dont wanna be a solider or a queen 🙅♀️ i wanna be a healer 💁♀️ like are u fucking with me
Stop naming all ur characters the same thing
Just feels like u didnt rly tie have the things up u just like mentioned them again
Also the big battle literallu every three pages is, and then he never opened his eyes again :( jk hes alive :D
Also
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, and War
brogancha's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and War
i_write_on_occasion's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Very good. A satisfying and emotional conclusion to a great series
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and War
Moderate: Animal death, Misogyny, and Sexism
Minor: Slavery