【 THE RETURN OF THE KING 】

book #3 in the Lord of the Rings trilogy

I am unexpectedly heartbroken at having finished this series.

Genre: Fantasy
Author: J.R.R. Tolkien
Published: 1955
Publisher: HarperAudio (audiobook)
Pages: 432 (hardback)

review of book one | review of book two

I think like many people I’d been wanting to read these books but at the same time really not wanting to go to the effort. Doing the audiobooks was definitely a great way to take this on! And I’m glad I now have.

I watched the movies several times before I read these books, and for me that really helped. These books, being written in the ’50s, are not written like contemporary fantasy is. Getting used to the writing style and the split in the narrative between Gandalf (et al.) and Frodo and Sam takes some effort – as well as just generally remembering to pay attention.

The Return of the King is by far the best book out of the three. I think this is likely because there is so much action in this one, as compared to the other two. So naturally, I found it more engaging.

All the battles and deep, deep character development happen in this book – and it really is heart-wrenching as you see your favourites transform from innocent hobbits to these characters with severe burdens on their shoulders that forces them to become something else.

Now that I’m on the other side, I can definitely see myself reading these again. For me, it’s one of those series where you just have to give it a go and try and grasp the whole storyline, then if you were to re-read it, you’ll probably be able to keep up more easily. Placing scenes in the book with scenes I remembered from the films was really helpful in those moments when I’d either zoned out and missed something, or just wasn’t keeping up with who’s who.

If I were to recommend this, I’d recommend solely on the basis that if you are a fan, read them, if you’re not a fan, these will be very hard reads.

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Title: The Return of the King
Series title: The Lord of the Rings
Author: J.R.R. Tolkien
Purchase: Angus & Robertson
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The Return of the King is the third part of J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic adventure The Lord of the Rings.

One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.

The Dark Lord has risen, and as he unleashes hordes of Orcs to conquer all Middle-earth, Frodo and Sam struggle deep into his realm in Mordor.

To defeat Sauron, the One Ring must be destroyed in the fires of Mount Doom. But the way is impossibly hard, and Frodo is weakening. The Ring corrupts all who bear it and Frodo’s time is running out.

Will Sam and Frodo succeed, or will the Dark Lord rule Middle-earth once more?