"...the dreary prose style" means "I personally find it dreary" - which is fine, But it also implies "and those who do not, such as Uncle Dave, aren't really up to making judgements about literature", which is less so.

However I agree that "...by the dynamic of the tale, (the final struggle) should happen in the Shire, with everyone's back against the wall." Which is why removing the Scouring of the Shire (which achieves that) from the film version (which I haven't seen yet) feels like it must be a bad mistake.

....

Quite what gargoyle is on about there is puzzling. As threads go, this one is keeping on line remarkably consistently. I don't think there's a single post which isn't about the Lord of the Rings. (Well, I'm not going through with a toothcomb to check that - but certainly not many.) Perhaps this is a case of gargoyle in ironic mode?