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Fantasy.
Fiction.
The evil Saruman has been defeated by Gandalf, but in Mordor the battle for the Ruling Ring continues. Wounded by the giant spider, Shelob, Frodo has been captured by the dreaded orcs. Sam, alone and in possession of the Ring, must rescue his master if their mission - to find the Cracks of Doom, and there destroy the Ring - is to continue. Meanwhile, the other Fellowship members are preparing for war against the armies of the Dark Lord, Sauron... Widely regarded as a broadcasting classic, the BBC Radio dramatisation of 'The Lord of the Rings' stars Ian Holm, Michael Hordern, Robert Stephens, John Le Mesurier and Peter Woodthorpe.… (more)
heidialice: Oswald is a tribute to Tolkien and his scholarship, and while strictly historical (fiction) with no fantasy elements, is in my opinion a worthy companion read!
Well, we arrive, at last, at the final entry of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. It is a bittersweet farewell to a classic story, but, at the same time, kind of welcomed. I'm sorry, but as soon as Sauron was destroyed, I wanted the story to end right there and then as that was the end of my cares. Unfortunately, the book just goes on and on for another 110 pages, which is nearly 10% of the entire trilogy. I know Tolkien wanted to wrap EVERY SINGLE THING into a nice little bow, even things no one really gives two shits about, but it was just too much. The entire "Scouring of the Shire" subplot is entirely unnecessary, in my opinion. I see no purpose to having another climax after the end of the main storyline, but it's there anyway, so what am I to do?
Despite all my complaining, this book still has some great qualities to it that I cannot overlook. For one, "Return of the King" definitely has an epic, grand, and climactic feel to it. There are tons of massive battles between Good and Evil in this one. Everything comes to a head, and Frodo finally arrives at Mordor. It's hard not to get excited at all this craziness. However, as I mentioned in my previous review, I don't like how Tolkien constantly tells us how epic and grand everything is. The amount of times the dude used the words "Lo!" and "Behold!" drives me off the wall. Tolkien, let me decide how I feel about this story and its scale, alright?
Though I've stated in my previous reviews that I dislike how Aragorn is "too perfect" in these books, I will say that I did finally somewhat enjoy reading about him in this book. He's not made any less perfect (if anything, just more perfect, majestic, and kingly), but it is nice reading about certain aspects of his character, like his mercy, his generosity, his ability to set pretty much the entire realm of Middle-Earth right, etc. I do get feel-good emotions reading about it at times.
Just like in the previous entry of this trilogy, the pacing isn't that great here. I've already mentioned the 110-page conclusion of this book, but there's also many other parts that drag on. A good example is the beginning. Every time I re-read "Lord of the Rings", I always get the urge to put off reading "Return of the King" for a little while after ending "The Two Towers". Almost nothing interesting happens for many, MANY pages, and it just drains me, man.
Anyway, that is how I feel about this book, and, with that, we're done with this franchise. There are obviously some other books that delve into the extremely intricate and rich lore of this world, but I'll probably re-read and review "A Song of Ice and Fire" next before going through "The Silmarillion", which will actually be a new read for me, though I now a little bit about it from watching tons of CivilizationEx videos. ( )
It took me until my mid-60s to read The Lord of the Rings trilogy. While I certainly enjoyed the imaginative world Tolkien created and the hero's quest, I was distracted throughout by the scarcity of female characters. I realize the series was penned in the 1950s, when women's place was "supposed to be" in the home and men got to have all of the adventures, that alone was off-putting to me. Still a wonderful series and I can understand why it is so beloved. Now I will have to watch the movie, which I also somehow managed to avoid until now.
Reread in 2023 after having seen the movies in 2021. Such interesting characters. ( )
Book V was a slog at times because there were so many parts to the war, but Book VI made me very happy. Getting back to Frodo and Sam and the reason for the journey. I just have one thing to say. Sam is the true hero of the whole damn thing! He was the glue that held things together and, even though he's a fictional character, I love him very much. ( )
On the whole, I love this series by Tolkien. Considered individually, this is my least favorite out of the three books (or four, if one includes The Hobbit). There are nearly 800,000 ratings for The Return of the King, so I highly doubt I have anything original to add into the mix. I did give this story a lower rating because it seems unbalanced. The battle scenes dominate this book. Oddly, there seems to be plenty of time for the characters to chat among all this chaos and destruction. On the upside, many of the conversations are quite touching and even though I know what happens in the end, it still makes me tear up. Although Frodo is a favorite character, I think the real hero of this story is Sam, who never falters and somehow remains untarnished by 'the ring.'
Overall Rating: 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 Audiobook Rating: 5 stars for outstanding narration by Andy Serkis! Original Publication Date: 1955 ( )
Nobody seems to have a moderate opinion: either, like myself, people find it a masterpiece of its genre or they cannot abide it . . . The demands made on the writer's powers in an epic as long as 'The Lord of the Rings' are enormous . . . but I can only say that Mr. Tolkien has proved equal to them.
Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky, Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone, Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die, One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie. One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them In the Land of Mordor where the shadows lie.
Dedication
First words
Pippin looked out from the shelter of Gandalf's cloak. He wondered if he was awake or still sleeping, still in the swift-moving dream in which he had been wrapped so long since the great ride began.
J.R.R. Tolkien's complete work The Lord of the Rings consists of six Books, frequently bound in three Volumes:
Volume 1: The Fellowship of the Ring, consisting of Book I, "The Ring Sets Out" and Book II, "The Ring Goes South";
Volume 2: The Two Towers, consisting of Book III, "The Treason of Isengard," and Book IV, "The Ring Goes East"; and
Volume 3: The Return of the King, consisting of Book V, "The War of the Ring," and Book VI, "The End of the Third Age," with Appendices.
This LT Work consists of Volume 3, The Return of the King; please do not combine it with any other part(s) or with Tolkien's complete work, each of which have LT Works pages of their own.
CAUTION: It appears that most copies of the title O Senhor dos Anéis: O Retorno do Rei in Portuguese translation are the complete Volume 3 of "The Lord of the Rings," published in English as The Return of the King. However, a Brazilian edition of the same title reportedly includes only the second part (of two) of Volume 3, roughly corresponding to Book VI of the larger Work, The End of the Third Age; see O Senhor dos Anéis. Please be mindful of the difference, and only combine records for Works having the same content. Thank you.
Fantasy.
Fiction.
The evil Saruman has been defeated by Gandalf, but in Mordor the battle for the Ruling Ring continues. Wounded by the giant spider, Shelob, Frodo has been captured by the dreaded orcs. Sam, alone and in possession of the Ring, must rescue his master if their mission - to find the Cracks of Doom, and there destroy the Ring - is to continue. Meanwhile, the other Fellowship members are preparing for war against the armies of the Dark Lord, Sauron... Widely regarded as a broadcasting classic, the BBC Radio dramatisation of 'The Lord of the Rings' stars Ian Holm, Michael Hordern, Robert Stephens, John Le Mesurier and Peter Woodthorpe.
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Book description
While the evil might of the Dark Lord Sauron swarmed out to conquer all Middle-earth, Frodo and Sam struggled deep into Mordor, seat of Sauron’s power. To defeat the Dark Lord, the accursed Ring of Power had to be destroyed in the fires of Mount Doom. But the way was impossibly hard, and Frodo was weakening. Weighed down by the compulsion of the Ring he began finally to despair.
Haiku summary
Frodo destroys Ring/ Sauron gone forever more/ Carry on, dear Sam (amaedel)
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(4.47)
Wikipedia in English (8)
5
Despite all my complaining, this book still has some great qualities to it that I cannot overlook. For one, "Return of the King" definitely has an epic, grand, and climactic feel to it. There are tons of massive battles between Good and Evil in this one. Everything comes to a head, and Frodo finally arrives at Mordor. It's hard not to get excited at all this craziness. However, as I mentioned in my previous review, I don't like how Tolkien constantly tells us how epic and grand everything is. The amount of times the dude used the words "Lo!" and "Behold!" drives me off the wall. Tolkien, let me decide how I feel about this story and its scale, alright?
Though I've stated in my previous reviews that I dislike how Aragorn is "too perfect" in these books, I will say that I did finally somewhat enjoy reading about him in this book. He's not made any less perfect (if anything, just more perfect, majestic, and kingly), but it is nice reading about certain aspects of his character, like his mercy, his generosity, his ability to set pretty much the entire realm of Middle-Earth right, etc. I do get feel-good emotions reading about it at times.
Just like in the previous entry of this trilogy, the pacing isn't that great here. I've already mentioned the 110-page conclusion of this book, but there's also many other parts that drag on. A good example is the beginning. Every time I re-read "Lord of the Rings", I always get the urge to put off reading "Return of the King" for a little while after ending "The Two Towers". Almost nothing interesting happens for many, MANY pages, and it just drains me, man.
Anyway, that is how I feel about this book, and, with that, we're done with this franchise. There are obviously some other books that delve into the extremely intricate and rich lore of this world, but I'll probably re-read and review "A Song of Ice and Fire" next before going through "The Silmarillion", which will actually be a new read for me, though I now a little bit about it from watching tons of CivilizationEx videos. (