The Return of The King (1955)

An excellent read, as expected. The storytelling technique was definitely a bit different than what you would see today. Like the previous book, the adventures of Frodo and Sam were split off into a completely different book from those of the other characters (up until they converge in the end, of course). Also, the end lasted much longer than I would have expected. Nearly every character brought up in the whole trilogy gets revisited at the end, and there's even a little mini-plot that unfolds once they return to the Shire. Nowadays, books tend to wrap up in probably 20-30 pages after the climax, so that was a bit of a surprise.

I will say that I also didn't take the time to read the appendices. They were very long (~150 pages) and being in school with very little free time, I spent want to spend it studying, even if it's studying Middle Earth history. That said, I would like to go back and read them some time in the future when I'm not so pressed for proper relaxation. ( )

Finalizando la Obra Maestra del Profesor Tolkien El Señor de los Anillos: El Retorno del Rey (The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King) es aquí donde termina este viaje a Tierra Media, donde la esperanza se vuelve realidad, donde el "descoronado" se vuelve rey...

¡Un épico final! ( )

I'll give this four *s, but grudgingly. Basically, I got tired of the trilogy by the time I got to this volume. The first half of this third volume was a rather tough slog. The Hobbit is written like a bed-time story, and has lots of variety. As a consequence, it's a very fun read. But the first half of this book is all about battles of the forces of good versus evil, is full of tedious battle scenes, and written in the ponderous style of ancient legends of days of yore with lots of valorous deeds, archaic language, and so forth. So, it's not nearly so charming to read. The parts with the hobbits going along, working out their destinies, is ok. So, half of this volume, the Frodo-and-Sam bits aren't so bad, but the the battle-over-Gondor bits are pretty awful. The basic concept of The Lord of the Rings makes for an interesting tale. But the writing can get tedious.

So basically, Tolkein had jumped the shark by the time he got to his third volume. Interestingly, Peter Jackson's adaptation follows suit. Whereas the first two volumes of the trilogy each take up a single VCR tape, the third volume requires two VCR tapes to retell (even though the third volume is the shortest of the three books). Yup, lots more gratuitous gory battle scenes. I'm sick unto death of the glorification of killing things as being the only endeavors that are worth while. Yes, I understand that killing things is the only way to defeat evil in the set up of this story. But, I have a feeling this kind of mind set helps contribute to the mindless militarism of our current American culture. There are other ways to overcome evil. The problem is, one has to plan ahead a bit. That, of course is not something we're good at. Hell, we can't even plan ahead to overcome controllable evils, such as anthropogenic climate change. ( )

Hello, a classic whether you love Fantasy or not! ( )

The third and final volume of The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King brings the story to a close as many of the original fellowship fight the war for Gondor against the evil of Sauron, eventually Gandalf, Aragorn and the other Captains of the West lead their army right to the Black Gate of Mordor where a messenger of Sauron displays Frodo and Sam’s belongings and demands their surrender. Gandalf sees through the deception and the battle begins. Sam and Frodo, meanwhile escape from the orcs that had captured them and although they are extremely tired and the ring is taking it’s toll, they continue on with their quest. Unknown to them, is the fact that they are being shadowed by the Gollum determined to get his “precious” back. It is now a question of timing. Can Frodo stand against the lure of the ring and destroy it? Thank heavens he has the loyal Samwise at his side watching out for him.

The Return of the King is a great ending to this tale and I was pleased with the satisfying closure that Tolkien gave his characters. All the loose threads were gathered but not tightly tied, there were some floating ends that could be expanded upon if he so desired. I can now fully appreciate the love that this treasured tale has generated since it’s original publication. With it’s adventurous story, descriptive narrative, and fascinating characters Lord of the Rings is indeed fantasy at it’s best. ( )