[Child of the 7th Age]

I am seriously wondering if the "cartoonish regiments" that are mentioned in this review refer to PJ's screen depictions rather than the actual content of the books. That seems to be a consistent problem in the post-movie era. Now and then, when people are having a book discussion, an image from the movies sneaks into the argument, sometimes even without the participants being aware of what is going on.

It's difficult for me to envision JRRT's "evil" creations being characterized as "cartoonish". This is not a complaint I've heard before even from those reviewers who are innately hostile to Tolkien, unless it's just a rehashing of the old broken down, been there done that viewpoint that all Tolkien's characters are stark rpresentations in black or white.