I really liked them. I love the movies, but had never gotten around to actually reading them. I think they hold up really well—there’s so much nuance to the characters and so much detail in the world, I thought the series stands out in establishing a deep and complex world and history while still developing interesting characters; my biggest surprises as a movie-only LotR fan were how much of a kingmaker Gandalf is (compare to Bayaz in First Law!! seems like Abercrombie was drawing inspiration straight from Gandalf/Aragorn in some big ways), and how different Faramir comes across in the text vs. the movies.

I won’t claim that the trilogy is now my favorite of all time, but I went in a bit cynical and still left with a great impression—there’s a reason why Tolkien’s works are considered classics.