There is interlacing in smaller units of the story as well - when Merry and Pippin are separated, one in Rohan, one in Gondor, the chapters go back and forth between them. And the story is told masterfully at the climax, going from the army at the Black Gate back to Frodo and Sam, then back to Cormallen Fields and finally to those waiting in Minas Tirith. That definitely heightens the suspense for me!
__________________
'Mercy!' cried Gandalf. 'If the giving of information is to be the cure of your inquisitiveness, I shall spend all the rest of my days in answering you. What more do you want to know?' 'The whole history of Middle-earth.. .'
|