I'd like to add to Child's point that the mood and pace of the book changes to reflect the plot. In the first few chapters the mood is light and 'faerie'. As the real stakes become clear the pace becomes more serious as we realise what the company is up against. The contrast between the action-adventure battle scenes and Frodo and Sam's trip through Mordor is most striking. The pace of the Mordor chapters slows to give the impression of a long, grinding, near-impossible task.
On the question of what Tolkien got wrong, I think he became too interested in explaining the origins of the various species. I don't really need to know exactly how trolls, ors ents and their respective fea were created.
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Rumil of Coedhirion
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