The Return of the King: Being the Third Part of the Lord of the Rings

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.

This is the most amazing book series ever written. I am sad to be at end of this journey, and I wish I could go back to the start. Alas i cannot, but i am glad that all is well in Middle-Earth. I love you so much and goodbye.

For my Year of Nostalgic Rereads, this is a must. I don't recall the last time I read all the appendices, though. I ate those up as a kid in the 1970s, marveling at the incredible breadth and depth of his imagination. I still do 40 years later. I cringe slightly now, at his treatment of romance and how a king intuitively knows how to govern because of his blood, but I can overlook it because of my emotional attachment to the stories.

Now on to one I've not read since 1978 - The Silmarillion

I was very pleased with the Return of the King. So much is revealed in this book. The ending was perfect. I could not imagine it any other way.

Book one of The Return of the KingAs Aragorn and his party comes out of Isengard, the Rangers of the North come and tell Aragorn that he neads to hurry to stop the war that is raging in Minis Trieth. As he leaves the king Theoden with Merry, Gandalf and Pippin are ariving into Minias Trieth as Sarons army marches twords the Capitol of Gondor. Aragorn and the few men that went with him rode all the way to the Rohan to take the fastest way, and to gather an army of dead soldiers to take the rivers back. King Theoden then rides to Minas Triethand charges the advancing army. The army recoils for a little wile, but they lose their leader as he is stabbed in the head by Eowin. As the armies charge each other again, the sails of the corasairs come and attack with their crew with Aragorn in the lead. After the war, Aragorn takes a Army of six thousand to come and fight aginst the armies of Saron at the black gate.I liked this book because it was breath taking how detailed all of the seans were and how graet the battles were.Book two of The Return of the King

There is not much to say about this book; if you liked the movies read the books. If you didn't like the movies, read the books anyway.

Of all three of Tokien's Lord of the Rings, this one is by far my favourite. The Return of the King tied up so many loose ends and I was completely satisfied on that part.

However, I still can't stand that Frodo didn't get his justification in the Shire. And that he never got his happiness. With Sam moving on and starting a family, it made Frodo's situation seem worse. He never got to fall in love or have a family. Merry and Pippin were rightly finished, and I like their ending.

All in all, it was very satisfying. I do want to know where that ship anchors at though...

Tolkien wraps up the final volume in the Lord of the Rings "Trilogy" (technically it should not have been a trilogy) rather quickly. The majority of this book is appendices to help flush-out and enrich the world of Middle-Earth. It includes histories, songs, genealogical trees and the various languages through Middle-Earth to help strengthen one of the most fully complete and interesting worlds of fantasy. But more importantly, it finalizes the epic journey to Mordor and the defense of Middle-Earth from Sauron. One very interesting aspect of LotR is how a reader may perceive certain characters if she re-reads the trilogy at different junctures of her life. Faramir really caught my attention, this time around, as did his father Lord Denethor. The actions of other characters seem weaker or just out-right goofy (Aragorn yelling his fifteen names every time he meets someone). But the last time I read the books my thoughts were different - and they will be the next time, I am sure.Regardless of any downfalls - the very few of them there are - this is an epic journey that no one should go without reading. It is a fantastic story of adventure, courage, compassion, morality and out-right fun. Absolutely fantastic.

As much as I adore the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Christ but does he drag out the ending of this book. Most of this book is just as amazing as the previous two installments, I especially loved the main battle chapters as Tolkien just has this amazing ability to draw you so well into the story you can really feel all the emotions! The chapters with Sam and Frodo once again I found tedious at times and Frodo just gets on my nerves more and more as the story progresses. I love Sam and wish he'd get more credit towards the end as really he was the only reason the ring was eventually destroyed. The final few chapters I found hard going this time round as I just find at times that a lot of the book could have been shortened as most of the happenings along the road on their journey back to the shire were unneccessary to the actual storyline. Sometimes I wonder was it just filling to bulk the book up abit compared to the other two. However despite these few flaws I love LOTR and they will remain always in my top ten favourite books list!

Okay, TECHNICALLY I don't have this done because I'm still reading the appendixes. But honestly, as much as I love LOTR, have read the books and seen the movies a dozen times (or more - at this point I've lost count) ... I'm just not all that interested in the "history" Tolkien made for LOTR. It's great that he wrote it; you can definitely feel it in the books and in the movies.

But the story. The STORY. I can see why this book changed the genre of fantasy. I'm still a little pissed that I spent my high school years reading the DRAGONLANCE series when it was such a blatant rip off of the real thing. There's such a theme of friendship in these books - a theme that's been prevalent in my own life - that I would give these books five stars for that theme alone. Tolkien was a great writer.

The third part of the best fantasy series ever. The depth and breadth of this series is still unbeaten. Tolkien has created a compelling world, with compelling characters, and brings it all together in this volume.

I really can't add anything to any discussion about The Lord of the Rings series that hasn't already probably been said twice before. Grand and epic in it's scope and telling, The Return of the King is the final book in the series. I'm always impressed by the story, but I can't help but always feel that the ending seemed a little too easy for everyone involved. Of course, the emotion that comes through in the story is just as strong as ever, but this latest reading left me wanting more from the ending; something a little more tangible in the evil forces that threaten Middle-Earth. Maybe I've read it one too many times now, but the enigmatic nature of Sauron just seemed a little, well, too enigmatic for me this time. Still, you can't deny that this is one fine piece of fantasy literature.

The conclusion of The Lord of the Rings trilogy - what can I say - it was fantastic! I read it in preparation for the final of the Peter Jackson movies and I'm glad I did especially since a particular line that resonated with me when I read the book ("the deep breath before the plunge") made it's way into the movie. The last time I read this book was when I was around 12 or 13 so it was great to see that it's weathered well over the last 20 years.

The third and final part of the trilogy comprising of books 5 and 6 as originally written and, at least in this edition, a substantial Appendix - fully a third of the page count. If you've got this far then you've come to grips with the language, you've loved or skipped the songs (not many more to go) and you just want to see how it ends.Book 5 is perhaps the most exciting part of the story. Once again it deals solely with the fates of the companions. War is coming to the human stronghold of Minas Tirith, although no longer ruled by the kings of old, it is still their citadel overseen by the powerful Steward Denathor father of Boromir and Faramir. He is upset over the loss of one son and not pleased with the conduct of the other. The arrival of Gandalf and Pippin on Shadowfax is one ray for the forces of Light, but Aragorn must lead the others, and poor Merry is almost overlooked again. Having defeated the first and least of the hosts of Mordor at grievious cost, thoughts turn to Frodo and Sam. Aragorn decides to challenge the Black Gate itself in order to clear their way. Book six opens with Sam desperate to find and rescue his master after the terrors of Shelob's lair - he was unconscious not dead! Together they crawl, creap and grovel their way thorugh yet more stoney mountains. Thank goodness for the lack of swamps! Until at last in a very contrived sense of timing, (a hallmark of the trilogy) the plot is resolved at the Cracks of Doom. Fortunetly for cynics everywhere Frodo is not too heroic. There is a great reference back to the Hobbit for sharp eyed readers. Yet another example of the terrific detail that makes LoTR such a definative work. Merry could only overcome the King of Angmar with the blade picked up by chance in the barrows some 1000 pages earlier, yet little reference is made to this. Whence Eowyn came by such a blade is one of the few (very very few) plotholes.There are many discussions on the meaning of the final chapters, but whatever else they may be, they are certainly a definative ending with all the loose ends tied up (apart from the Entings - what was seen on the moors and discussed in the Green Dragon way back at book 1?). This is a referreshing change form many more modern writers who prefer to leave the ends sufficiently loose for future sequels. JRR and no plans to write any more. The appendix is fascinating, and if you thoroughly enjoy it, then you should to go on and read the various works of Christopher Tolkein - The Silmarillion and all the rest. If however partial fragments of old history and re-written and changed plot evolutions, tales of descendants etc leave you cold then you can fearlessly skip the whole lot.At times it is a very sad tale. At times magnificant and elsewhere boring. Much like life. Read it, and revel in the artistry of a story and world written and composed over a lifetime. You won't find the like again.

[The Return of the King] by [[JRR Tolkien]] The phrase "modern classic" is oxymoronic, yet applicable in the case of Tolkien's masterwork. Now over sixty years old, it is as popular as ever. It is the standard by which all fantasy is judged. Listening to this audio version, I'm struck by some of the subtleties of the work: 1) The emergence of Merry and Pippin as lords and princes among the hobbits is ironic, considering how foolish they appeared at the beginning. It is not merely coming of age, but also a comment upon how lords and princes arise in history: from lowly, humble people who do what has to be done. 2) The role of Frodo as a sacrifice of a hobbit for hobbits. He gave up his pleasure in the Shire to save the Shire. Along with Gandalf and Aragorn, he is another metaphor for Jesus Christ. 3) The similarities between the end of Sauron and the end of Saruman. Both were originally maiar, a lower level of angels, below the Valar, the equivalent of archangels. Sauron was caught up in the rebellion of Melkor, later named Morgoth. He may have been deceived at first, but he threw himself wholeheartedly into evil by the time of Numenor in the 2nd age. Saruman was a good maiar, sent in human form as a wizard, along with the other wizards, to fight Sauron. He fought many years, but settled down in Isengard and turned first selfish and then evil, perhaps aided and twisted by Sauron's influence through the palantir. Both turned into clouds upon their deaths, which rose up and disappeared.I didn't review the plot, since it is familiar to many, and those who have not read or listened, should do so on their own, beginning with the Hobbit. Afterward, read the Similarion, if you want more backstory. Five stars, as I rate all books that have stayed popular for over 50 years and will probably be popular in another 50 years.

To paraphrase John Lennon, "before Elvis, there was nothing."

My favorite part of the trilogy. I love everything in this book, but especially the parts involving Pippin and the Steward or Aragorn claiming his inheritance.

This book is the third book of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord Of The Rings", and it's amazing!I like this book because it adds a lot of detail and has very interesting characters, like their races, such as an elf, hobbit, or dwarf.This book has a lot of imagry in it, and it commonly adds a few events that you would not expect (such as in the previous books, those who have read, you know what I am talking about).I would recommend this book to anyone who likes fiction, a descriptive, moderately challenging book with a good plot.

While this book details the eventual triumph over evil, there is a real sense of loss. The different members of the fellowship are witness to great destruction and sacrifice in the pursuit of destroying Sauron. Even after the end of the war, many things have changed and been lost. I think that Mr. Tolkien captures in a very real way the consequences that come of war and of the battle between good and evil. The appendices are full of tidbits of knowledge - little bits of history and follow-up, as well as things like explanations of the different languages and notes on translation - all amazing when considering that the whole thing was created in Mr. Tolkien's head!

A fantasy classic. I wonder how many people who have seen and enjoyed the movies made it throught the books though... I imagine the books are most attractive to people who share some of Tolkien's passion for linguistics, European mythology, the Norse Sagas. Although I'm one of those, I stalled out in the second and third books the first two times I started the trilogy, and didn't really appreciate it until I read them as an adult (and, to be honest, I liked both the Silmarillion and the Hobbit better - the Hobbit was more fun, and the Silmarillion was more hardcore mythological.)

The third and final volume of The Lord of the Rings finishes Frodo and Sam's journey to Mount Doom while the rest of his companions deal with armies of Sauron in the fields of Gondor and in front of the Black Gate of Mordor. 'The Return of the King' is where J.R.R. Tolkien gives his story it's epic scope with both battles in arms and in the soul.'The Return of the King' contains the fifth and sixth books that Tolkien divided The Lord of the Rings into. The fifth book begins with further divides the remaining Company into three, but eventually join together at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields before moving on to in front of the Black Gate. The sixth follows Frodo and Sam's journey through Mordor to the heart of Mount Doom before they are reunited with the Company. Throughout Return, Tolkien continually foreshadows, yet surprises the reader with events and scenes that create an epic feel to his story. Although he the separate story arcs until uniting them in the middle of the sixth book, Tolkien references the other arc's timeline to allow the reader to know how each is relating to one another. Unfortunately Tolkien's decision to split one of the story arc's temporarily into three resulted in another flashback retelling of how Aragorn, Legalos, and Gimli arrived at the Pelennor Fields.Although the material in Return was originally intended by J.R.R. Tolkien to be the conclusion of an entire one-volume story, a publisher decision to split the tale into three volumes created unfortunate problems for this book. The latter part of book six taking part in the Shire would have felt like a natural conclusion to the one-volume story Tolkien intended, however the change in scenery and feeling of completeness after Aragorn's crowning is undone do the decision to split. Another unfortunate decision was the title of the third volume, The Return of the King, which essentially gave away everything and gave an anticlimactic feeling to everything. If Tolkien's preferred title, The War of the Ring, had been used even the events in the Shire would have felt like a completion of the whole affair given Saruman's involvement.'The Return of the King' feels incomplete as and individual book with a title that sabotages the story and a giving off the feeling of too many endings instead of the powerful conclusion of one-continuous story like it should have been. In Return, the characters introduced the ultimate clash of good and evil ends with surprising results given Tolkien's unique way of writing the conclusion of the Ring's journey while giving hope to the future. Characters introduced and written about that have survived are given their own exits to give off a sense of completeness. Upon finishing The Return of the King, readers will feel a sadness to the ending Tolkien's epic while longing to know what the story would read in one-volume.

The first thing I should say for those unfamiliar with it, is that The Return of the King isn't a self-contained book, one of three in a trilogy, but the third volume of what was conceived as one novel--thus when you look to the table of contents you'll see it starts with "Book V" and in some editions the page count starts at over 700.The Lord of the Rings is a "must-try" for anyone who likes fantasy if not a must-read. Not everyone I know who has tried it loves it, but as someone who has read widely in the fantasy genre, I can tell you no novel is more influential in post-World War II high fantasy and there are authors, particularly Brooks and Jordan, whose fantasy novels come across as cheap imitations--especially having tackled both those authors recently. The work repays second and third readings because of the depth Tolkien gives his world of Middle Earth. According to the introduction, Tolkien had worked out an entire history for Middle Earth before he'd ever written the first volume and it shows. Other made-up worlds seem like painted trees on a drape--Tolkien's trees have roots. At the end of Return of the King, you'll find appendixes including notes on language, maps, and family trees as well as an index.Some complain of Tolkien's style. And I remember once seeing his prose as stiff, although this time I was mostly impressed with its readability and the glints of humor, at least in Fellowship of the Ring. But when the fellowship splits after Fellowship of the Ring and especially when the hobbits disappear from the narrative, Tolkien often goes into heroic saga mode. Out of characters' mouths come out words like: verily, alas, forsooth, ere, aught, oft, nay, yonder, thee and thy. This only increases in the first book of Return of the King much of which reads like the love child of the King James Bible and Beowulf. I think that is what contributes to the reputation of The Lord of the Rings as stiff (and those songs--which I skip over.)There are antique touches even in Fellowship of the Ring--like Gimli's adoration of Galadriel and how female characters are depicted--notable for their beauty than any other quality. (Although Galadriel is certainly more than a pretty face.) But then there's Eowyn. According to the index at the end of the last book, she can be found on 44 pages of this thousand-plus page novel--and that's more than any other female character other than Galadriel. All but 7 of those pages are in Return of the King where she's the most prominent female character. At first she shapes up to be a kick-ass heroine. Aragorn asks her what she fears and she answers "a cage." She wants to fight--to do "great deeds." And she does. And certainly when she faces an enemy who tells her no living man can hinder him, her answer, "But no living man am I. You look upon a woman," my inner feminist wanted to cheer. But in the end, her ambition and courage is seen as a sickness, and she's healed and "tamed" by the love of a man and declares she "will be a shieldmaiden no longer" but a healer. Goodness knows in this novel war is shown to do damage--and those words wouldn't be out of place having come from Frodo's mouth. And it could be seen as healthy to turn from death to life, from war to peaceful pursuits. But something in the context--of an ambitious woman now "tamed" and happily caged, made me gag, maybe all the more because Eowyn is the only female character with a heroic dimension.On the other hand, some of the most memorable and powerful passages come from Return of the King (including Eowyn's heroic deed). Particularly chapters such as "The Pyre of Denethor" and the first three chapters of Book VI dealing with Frodo, Sam and Gollem in Mordor are striking. And though it's not a favorite chapter and might seem out of place to some, I rather appreciate what I think is the message of "The Harrowing of the Shire" (beyond the anti-industrial message.) Tolkien doesn't end with martial triumphalism, but with the displacement and damage of war--of how a veteran feels to find his home changed on return and that not all wounds heal.Not everything is equally engrossing. Generally, I liked the choices of cuts and compressions the film made. My eyes glazed over at the frequent songs and I skipped over them. So yes, I have my share of criticisms. But so much shines in this novel--not all of which riches you're going to get by watching only the movie.

The best book of the Trilogy

This book ends The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The final battle draws near. The endless hordes of orcs arrive at Gondor where man must make his final stand against them. As the battle draws near Aragorn, Gimili and Legolas try to ask for the help of the ghosts. The ghosts have been cursed, by the former king of Gondor, to never pass on. Since Aragorn is the heir tothe throne of Gondor, he has promissed to lift the curse if the ghosts help them fight the orcs in Gondor. Meanwhile, Smegle leads Sam and Frodo into a trap. He leads them into the den of a gant sider. The spider raps Frodo in its web,but hen Sam fights it off. Orcs come and take Frode (still wrapped in spider webbs) and Sam follows them. As the Gondorians fight their battle, the Rohirins come to help them. The ghosts eventually come and kill the remaining orcs. Aragorn lifts te curse, and they pass on. Aragorn, Gimili, Legolas and Gandalf discover there is one more battle to betaken place at the Black Gate (entrance to Souron's kingdom.) Know man must finish one more battle to save Middle Earth,.This book was my favorite in the series. The two big battles where amazing to read about. The author adding ghosts made the book more exciting. After the humans one the first big war, I thought the book would be over, but then they discover there are more enemies to kill. That part just blew my mind. The giant elephants made the bookmore interesting as well. I liked how Aragorn finally became king. I recomend this book to readers who want action packed books with mystical creatures.

This is the third book of the lord of the rings series. In this book Gondor is attacked by Sauron's orks. After breaking the sidge the forces of good attack the dark fortress of Sauron. At the same time Frodo and Sam go to the crags of fire and drop the ring into them therefore ending Sauron. After a short battle they return to Gondor and crown Arogon king. After that the hobbits return home to see that the shire is under Uriki control. After they orginise a rebelion and free themselves from the Uriki out they all settle down except Frodo who goes acrost the great sea. I thought that this book was well writen. I think so because of the rich vocabulary and dizzyingly good storyline. Though like the two books before it it was extreemly hard to get through because of the lack of emphisis on the battle parts and the painstaking detail at every part.This book though was not nearly as good as the movie. The only thing that held this book up was the story line and nothing else. I thought that the apendicies at the back of the book were just something to prolong the book though so I cannot say they were very good.

This book is the cream-of-the-crop when it comes to the LOTR trilogy. I enjoyed it very much, although i think that The Dead Men of Dunharrow, that big ghost army, was quite weird. The ending to the series is excellent!

The world J.R.R. Tolkien has created is simply breathtaking. It was hard to say goodbye to Middle-Earth once I'd finished the trilogy, but I know I'll be back again someday.

Classic of the fantasy genre...must read

I wanted to love this series, I truly did. I went into LoTR expecting it to be the best thing I had ever read. Not so much.I feel like Tolkien tried to shove too much into too little and sacrificed a lot of the action and adventure as a result.The Scouring of the Shire was probably the single worst part of the final book. It felt like it was shoved in as an afterthought. Almost like it was a fanfiction companion piece that somehow found its way into the book.

The Age of Elves comes to an end after the greatest evil the World faced has been destroyed. Could Tolkien have been acknowledging the decline of Britain and the rise of America after World War II?