This review is for the Recorded Books audiobook version of The Return of the King, read by Rob Inglis.

In this last installment in the story of the War of the Ring, Tolkien brings together all his storylines for a thrilling finish. All the members of the Fellowship are strategically placed like pieces on a chessboard, awaiting the final outcome of their plans. Gandalf assumes command of Minas Tirith in its siege. Merry offers his service to the king of Rohan. Pippin becomes an esquire of Gondor. Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas take the Paths of the Dead. And somewhere in the wasteland, Sam and Frodo struggle on toward Mount Doom, almost losing themselves on the journey.

What can I say about Tolkien's genius that other reviewers have not? The scope of his imagination, from its vastness to its tiny details, astounds me every time. This was an especially enjoyable reread, as I listened to it on audiobook. I should like to meet Rob Inglis. You can tell he has a deep love for the story he is telling. He gets it, and it's lovely to walk through Middle-earth in company with a narrator who really understands its atmosphere. Sometimes he phrases things differently than I would have, but I almost always like his pronunciations and emphases better than my own. The music he wrote for the many songs in the book is passable; some are certainly better than others. I think he was quite brave to even make the attempt.

Some readers object to the Scouring of the Shire at the end, saying that it is anticlimactic. Peter Jackson cut that entire sequence out of his film version, and there are admittedly some valid reasons for doing that. But as a purist, I love all the story, and find that the invasion of the Shire is both humorous and terribly sad. And Tolkien is making an important point: the hobbits must put into practice at home all the lessons they learned on their journeys. Gandalf tells them they are more than capable of setting things right in the Shire, for "this is what you have been trained for." Merry especially shines in the resulting action, mobilizing the Shire's forces and setting up a successful battle plan.

There is a tension between pacifism and war that Tolkien brings sharply into focus through the differing convictions of Frodo and Merry. Frodo does not wish for any fighting in the Shire and refuses to fight in the battle, but Merry is more realistic, arguing that the Shire won't be saved by them standing around looking "shocked and sad." Nor will the marauders be reasoned with. Sometimes negotiation is not possible. Everything that is precious can be destroyed, even the beautiful Shire, unless it is decisively defended, sometimes by force. Tolkien, who fought in World War I and lived through World War II, certainly had some justification for this view... and yet Frodo's position is a nod of respect toward those who conscientiously object to war even when it is necessary.

There are plenty of battles in this volume, from the vast siege of Minas Tirith to the primitive struggle between Frodo and Gollum at the edge of the chasm, but it is not all action. Tolkien does a brilliant job with the characters' relationships, most notably the Sam/Frodo/Gollum and Aragorn/Éowyn/Faramir triangles. Sam and Éowyn stand out to me especially. Sam's dogged determination and humble loyalty make him heroic right alongside his master and the other more traditional heroes. And Éowyn's development is so beautifully handled; Tolkien, speaking through Gandalf, notes her courageous spirit and how it was hemmed in by her gender. Éowyn — with the help of another marginalized character, Merry — does one of the greatest deeds of the war, something that "no living man" could do. Sam and Éowyn exemplify Tolkien's fascination with the unlikely hero.

This is the longest it's ever taken me to read The Lord of the Rings, because it was all on audiobook. I started near the end of September and have just now finished. I've enjoyed the leisurely pace of this reread/listen. It is no wonder that this book, often scorned by those Tom Shippey calls "the literati," has had such an incredible impact on its genre. It has set the standard by which all other fantasy works are judged.

Thank you, J. R. R. Tolkien. ( )

Warning to those out there who haven't read it - I cannot discuss this book without what may be considered as major spoilers.

Tolkien does not flag at any point in this epic story. He's also the master of the slow reveal, so that as the story goes on, and particularly in the demoument (which is pretty lengthy), we as the reader shift back and back, and slowly come to realise the immensity of the story, and the vastness of what has just been going on. The fact that an Age has come to an end, and the Elves and Gandalf just disappear from Middle Earth never to return, gives a sense of sadness and loss amid the victory. And with Sam left bereft of Frodo after all he did for him, well, I admit it: I cried.

I'm not sure what I think about the communist/fascist angle that suddenly emerges on returning to the Shire. I felt for a while as if I'd wandered into Animal Farm by mistake. It felt a bit like Tolkien was labouring a political point too obviously at that point. But from the story point of view, within the confines of Middle Earth, that part of the story was still absorbing, complex and heroic like the rest of the book.

I appreciated Eowyn's part in the book - woman as a hero, sensitively portrayed. I like how her character has a whole story of its own, though she is not one of the Fellowship.

Merry and Pippin really emerge as characters in this last book - it takes them a while, but once they do, they are truly awesome.

I like how once Frodo achieves his quest, he is spent, and becomes just a shadow for the rest of the book. It's sad, and more realistic than a 'happily ever after' would have been. His burden truly was too great, and the wound he took really did have a lasting effect. This works so well, and takes the story far beyond any last hint of the 'fairytale'.

The scene at Mount Doom is magnificent. I gasped out loud while reading it. The Gollum event is predictable yet inevitable. The eagles coming afterwards, despite their use earlier in the book and Gandalf's role, still feel a bit too much like deus ex machina for my liking, but that's a petty argument. I loved it. All of it. I don't really want to find any fault with it.

I feel like saying I'm sorry I took so long to discover the incredibleness of LoTR, but actually, I think this was the exact right time for me to discover it. Greater than fantasy, much more than escapism, vastly huge and yet masterfully intimate, this is indeed a work of genius.

Herrlicher Kitsch!: Dieses Buch ist pulp fiction auf höchsten Niveau.
Nicht mehr und nicht weniger.
Es ist ein Klassiker der Trivialliteratur. Der Leser erfährt auf einfache Weise Dinge aus der germanischen Sagenwelt. Schon dass ist doch in der heutigen Fernsehwelt ein Erfolg.Es ist doch erfreulich, dass Schüler Tolkien lesen,anstatt GZSZ im Fernsehen als das Maß aller Dinge anzusehen.
Bei der alten Übersetzung erfährt man sogar die Schönheit der deutschen Sprache.Am Ende ist es ein wenig lang geraten.

The Return of the King is far and away the best book in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. In this third chapter, the events of the other two books come together as the land of middle earth is plunged into all out war between Sauron and his orcs and the pitifully fragile humans. Frodo continues his journy to destroy the ring of power while facing trickery from the devlish Gollum/Smeagol. Meanwhile, Sauron is putting together an army to destroy all humans left, focusing on Gondor's capital of Minas Tirith, and with the help of his Nazgul Witch-King, almost succeds in doing so. However, just in the nick of time, Aragorn shows up with an undead army to overwhelm Sauron's forces and restore hope that men will survive, as Frodo grows ever closer to destroying thier source of pain. Finally, after a long and ardous journey, Frodo makes it to Mount Doom, where he casts the ring into its fire, destroying it once and for all. After this success, Aragorn is rightfully named king and Frodo and his hobbit friends return to the shire, only to discover it has been taken over by Saruman, an evil wizard. After a brief uprising they manage to take back thier home, and they can finally live in peace. While the movie adaptaion of this book is ceartainly very good, it leaves much left out, and anyone who was intrested by the movie should definetley read the book as it is truly a classic

The final part of The Lord of the Rings recounts the last stand of the forces of good against the Dark Lord and the rebirth of hope in the decimated Middle Earth. The world of Middle Earth is as richly described by Tolkien as ever, and the appendices provide those truly interested in the world a massive amount of back story and guides that those only here for the main story can safely skip. The diverse set of characters is as rich as ever, and the many separate plots all come to satisfying conclusions. The narration of the audio book, done by Rob Inglis, brings the characters to life with interesting voices, although some may find the singing of the songs within the book to be rather unpleasant to the ears. This trilogy has endured for a long while, and the strength of this final volume shows just how powerful a story it is that will remain on many "must read" lists for time to come. ( )