The last of the trilogy is, I’m sorry to say, definitely the worst. Put aside that a third of it is appendices (I cannot put this aside; this is insane; there’s a whole section on calendars that truly reads like punishment to me for daring to think this would be fun). The story itself just becomes very un-personal, and mythical to a degree that is uninteresting. We stop dealing with characters and instead now are dealing with Legends fulfilling their destinies, and I stopped caring about them. Also, Tolkein REALLY shows how into blood and race purity he is in this book, and he is VERY comfortable with the righteous and glorious slaughter of war. It took me half the year to get through this thing because I found myself dreading picking it back up again, knowing that none of my characters would really emotionally develop in any way as I continued reading. Also, our named female characters (Arwen, Galadriel, Eowyn) in this book all submit to their place as sad, bridal martyrs, which is painful truly every time. Shoutout Shelob for being the only accurate female representation in the series. The movie is better.