The Return of the King

This is really the third volume of a single novel divided into three volumes for publishing purposes, so it's probably more appropriate to review the whole thing than to review each volume separately.

February 2, 2025

I thoroughly enjoyed this re-read and have been thinking about how one of the meanings - for me, at least - of the text is that hope is often unlooked for and comes from strange places. Specifically, places that the great "races" of Men, Elves, and Dwarves discount, namely hobbits, women, and Gollum. So much of the story would have gone awry if hobbits, a race that people don't know about or think are made up weren't there. The ents might not have been roused, Faramir would have died, the Witch King of Angmar/King of the Nazgul wouldn't have died, the ring not actually destroyed if not for hobbits, Eowyn, and Gollum. This comforts me. Not all the great deeds are done by men or Men.

Also, living through the rise of fascism in the U.S is giving me a new appreciation for the chapter, The Scouring of the Shire. Evil can happen anywhere and it's all of our duties to stand up to it.

Finally, here's a list of orcs and swords who have named in comparison to women (9 total) who have names. Just for fun!

Orcs (5 that I recall):

Ugluk

Snaga

Grishnakh

Gorbag

Shagrat

Swords (5 total):

Anduril/Narsil/The Flame of the West

Sting

Glamdring

Guthwine

Grond (honorable mention for not being a sword but having a name)

Not nearly as many as named horses but half as much as named women.

:|

5 stars, no notes. Already loved the book but reading it this time with Andy Serkis’ narration was delightful.

This book gains a lot from its predecessors. It’s an excellent book, but as the finale, it’s nearly perfect.

I loved entering this world and spending time in Tolkien’s creation. I’m not generally one for fantasy but this is masterful writing. And to keep me entertained while writing English as if it was formal and ancient shocks me. I’m glad I finally read it all!

That said, I would not say the Appendices were necessary to my enjoyment. They were, in fact, a deep slog and unless someone wanted a truck load of names and dates, I’d skip it all. If - and only if - you felt like Arwen deserved more time, read her story. Otherwise… eh. Skip em.

But the rest of the book is so good!!

Summary of Trilogy: A hobbit named Frodo Baggins must go on a journey with his friend Samwise Gamgee to destroy a ring that, if it were to fall into the wrong hands, could be the end of the happy world they know. They are helped by a crew that includes two more hobbits, a wizard, and elf, a dwarf, and a couple of humans. It is a tale of friendship, self-sacrifice, and bravery.

4.5/5

In short:
This was a very enjoyable read. The most enjoyable of the three for me. Things happened at a slightly faster pace, I felt things were more tense and exciting.

I actually enjoyed the bits that were different or new to me (as seen in Peter Jackson movies), rather than slow or boring. I particularly enjoyed the bits were we get a glimpse of the lives of the Orcs through Sam and Frodos adventures, Sam's rescue of Frodo, and the retaking of the Shire. That was fun to read.

There were still slow bits. Characters were still quite shallow, but you get to see that the journey has changed them.

Having finished The Lord of the Rings now, my overall reading experience is quite positive. I really enjoyed it, more than I expected I would.
I am happy to have read a piece of Fantasy history.


Random thoughts:

The characters do get better throughout the books. And you see the interaction change between them. But as a reader you don't get to read what has changed them and the relationship with their companions. My assumption is the gruelling journey and hellish events has changed them, but you have to fill that in yourself and don't get to witness much of the change in character.

The best thing about these books is the fantastically detailed world, with all its thought out histories.
The worst is the depth of the characters. But I knew that going into the books. It didn't lessen my enjoyment much.

I was afraid that the books would have no exciting bits at all (that was my experience with The Hobbit, where I felt everytime you were told the next section would be dangerous but that Bilbo would come out fine on the other end. And then you were told the next part of the adventure in more detail knowing all would be well. That was not at all the case here, things were exciting at times.

It is a bit of an older book, and it is noticeable that is written in a different time with different values and views. I don't think that affected me much, but it is something to realise and be aware of.

Reading the three books was a journey, the first was definitely the hardest to get through for me, and the second half of The Two Towers (the Frodo and Sam half of the book) were a bit of a grind sometimes, as nothing much would happen besides detailing the world one slow Hobbit step at a time ;)

A journey for the fellowship and a journey for me!

What an epic epic tale ....
I am short of words!

No review can make justice to this tale!

Smokin' that Sam Gamgee, Southfarthing, lembas deluxe, Elbereth Gilthoniel, Skinbark, Bombadil pipe weed

kino.

What a spectacular ending to this most epic of stories!

It started with atmosphere of dread and high tension, went through tough battles - both on the marching fields and internally in the minds of our heroes, and concluded with one of the most thorough and meaningful endings.

“I tried to save the Shire and it has been saved, but not for me. It must often be so, Sam, when things are in danger: some one has to give them up, lose them, so that others may keep them.”

I cried, I rejoiced, I felt understood, and I found so much meaning.

I have loved the story of The Lord of the Rings for the vast majority of my life, but I have never respected it more and I have never understood it better.

ÉPICO mencanta la manera en la q tolkien describía todo y ahora a ver las pelis lesgoooo !!!

Okay, what am I going to say about this book that hasn't been said before besides the fact that everything you've heard about it is true? I always had trouble reading through Fellowship, but I think it just wasn't the right time for me to touch Lord of the Rings in general. Plus, as everyone seems to indicate, Fellowship is the building blocks for the journey ahead and is also maybe the weakest link in the series.
Anyhow, that all seems really silly now because the collective whole of Lord of the Rings is absolutely incredible and this ending solidifies that. Tolkien meets every lofty expectation as a master of his craft, creating believable and alive characters that by the end truly feel like friends facing ridiculous odds who you feel stupidly attached to. I especially love the themes of hope and perseverance; they really resonated. It's worth noting that I listened to the Andy Serkis audiobook, too, and boy does that man make everything come all the more alive.

A fitting end to the greatest literary work of the 20th century.

*listened to the audiobook

Takeaway: Genre defining book, theologically more revealing than I think Tolkien intended. 

There is nothing that I can really write that hasn't been already written, and written better, about the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I am not a superfan. I have read the Hobbit three times I believe, but I think this is only my second reading of the trilogy and my previous reading was more than 20 years ago.

I decided to start the series because the Andy Serkis narrated audiobook was on sale at Audible. I had previously listened to the Rob Inglis version of The Hobbit, but several friends have raved about Serkis' version. Inglis' version is excellent, but I do think that Serkis' version is probably a little bit better. My only complaint about the Serkis version is that when listening with headphones, which is how I tend to listen, the dynamic range was a bit too broad. I understand why the dynamic range is wide, but I tend to listen when I am walking or doing chores around the house, and changing the volume is annoying.

I alternated between audio and kindle. I listened to good portions of the first and third books while reading the second almost exclusively. Song is so much a part of the writing that I am tempted to say that the books should be listened to primarily, but audiobooks do take longer than reading. I don't know how they prepared for the songs, but the singing portions were very well done with appropriate melodies and emotion. It does communicate a very different culture and I think that is part of why the songs are so important to the books.

I was musing on Twitter that war is my least favorite part of the trilogy. And by the end, there are far fewer battle scenes than I had remembered, probably because the battle scenes are so memorable from the movies. It is the quest and friendships that make the story, not the battles.

As I said I am not a Tolkien scholar. I have never read a biography of Tolkien and I have never read a commentary book on the Lord of the Rings, although I do have Fleming Rutledge's book and plan on reading that one. But I have understood that Tolkien did not think he was writing a “Christian” story and did not like people suggesting that there were Christian allegories in the books. That being said, I think that there is a lot of theology. Christian obligation and calling to do good and work toward justice, even if it is personally difficult is throughout. The concept of the way sin breaks not just personal, but social systems is very well illustrated. And the way that even good people with real virtue can be corrupted by access to power. The right use of power and the corruption that power brings is a very significant theme. I think there is some irony to Tolkien talking so openly about power and systems in the trilogy and the fact that there is so much controversy about the “Marxist” roots of that discussion today. There is also a nearly Christian sense of providence or election throughout the books without any referenced God or prophecy that was directing.

One critique is how much Tolkien uses the colors black and white to mean good and evil, and then references how people look to correspond with their goodness or evilness. The bible also uses black and white colors as a reference to good and evil, but the people of scripture were various shades of brown. There was no one in scripture that we would today call “White”. But the trilogy frequently speaks of the beauty and light skin and hair of virtuous characters and of the dark skin of the evil characters. In the context of our racialized history and racial hierarchy, the uniformity of Tolkein's descriptions suggests that there was an underlying understanding of race that was connected to sin in the books even if it was not explicitly described as racialized.

Early on in the books, the fighting was almost entirely between humans/hobbits/elves on the one side and orcs/trolls/other evil creatures on the other. That led to a more lightness, joking quality to the fighting. As time went on, the horrible reality of war was more clearly described. The way that war can impact people over a lifetime was communicated and as many have suggested, I do think Tolkien's experience with WWI was carried through. The broad anti-industrial language also likely reflects the reality of pollution in the UK during Tolkien's life. But I never really understood what these factories were doing other than creating pollution. They did not seem to be producing good, but only darkness. And maybe that was the point.

I think I probably need to read this trilogy again because it is designed to have layers of meaning. I know many people have read it 10 or more times. I won't ever read it that often. But I do think that I need to read it at least one more time. Maybe with my kids in a few years.

A glorious conclusion to the most influential fantasy series of our time.

SO GOOOD

WHY: My cousin's royal blue ‘Voyager Classics' edition of ROTK has sat on my bookshelf for almost a decade, next to a fat FOTR movie tie-in edition of the LOTR. With uni break, lockdown, my girlfriend's reminiscence and that annual itch for an Extended Edition rewatch I decided to finally finish the literary trilogy that I struggled with so long ago due to its pacing and detail, and found myself pleasantly surprised with how epic this was.
DIFFERENCES: Since most are already aware/ others have covered it before, I'll instead recap the differences between the film adaptation and this genre classic - spoilers ahead! The war with Aragorn and ring with Frodo storylines are split between Books 5 and 6 respectively in ROTK. Book 5 picks up with Gandalf en route to Minas Tirith with Pippin, warned by the Palantir and Saruman from TTT of the danger coming to Gondor. They spot the lit beacons on their way, and Beregond and his son Bergil serve the Steward Denethor who is not mad but tired from warring with Sauron through his seeing stone. Meanwhile Theoden is already mustering the Rohirrim to arrive, and our favourite multi-race trio takes the paths of the dead alongside the very cool Grey Company of the Dunedain (rangers from the North). Everyone meets in combat with a change of wind and there is a whole other Prince Imrahil of Dol Amroth, a whole other group & city! Whilst this beefed-up storyline ends on a depressing cliffhanger, Sam is attempting to rescue Frodo from the clutches of an orc stronghold. Together they embark through Mordor and orc-company swinging from depressed to happy, reaching Orodruin in a surprisingly fast manner. There is a lot more wrap-up when compared to the films, describing the House of Healing, coronation and lengthy walk back to the Shire. As the elves and Mithrandir depart Middle-Earth, the hobbits face a final trial by taking back the Shire from Sharkey (aka Saruman). Frodo is severely shaken from the tolls of the ring, and finally departs Middle-Earth in peace.
WRITING: But wait! It doesn't end there. Like a literary paper, Tolkien added the Appendices. These are honestly insane, describing the history of Middle-Earth and whole bloodlines of Kings and Hobbits. We find out more about what happened to all of the fellowship members years after the LOTR, especially Aragorn whose backstory (including his romance with Arwen and travels to the North and South) is tantalisingly covered. I will admit I skipped through the entry on language, as the extremely thorough explanations just failed to add value to me, although I definitely appreciate their existence. These all just reframed to me how beautiful Tolkien's writing could be, and made me respect all the small details from his comprehensive worldbuilding.
WHO: Having read a lot of modern novels recently, it was refreshing to experience Tolkien's at times poetic and unabashedly detailed writing, in what I feel was the strongest entry in the trilogy - it is highly cathartic in one of the darkest times possible. For me, the final ranking stands: Hobbit > B4 > B5 > B6 > B3 > B2 > B1. What surprised me the most was that I am now keen to read the surrounding lore through the Silmarillion and the rest of Tolkien's works!
—
“It is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succour of those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields that we know, so that those who live after may have clean earth to till. What weather they shall have is not ours to rule.”“There is no real going back. Though I may come to the Shire, it will not seem the same; for I shall not be the same. I am wounded with knife, sting, and tooth, and a long burden. Where shall I find rest?”“Well, here at last, dear friends, on the shores of the Sea comes the end of our fellowship in Middle-earth. Go in peace!”Then a great beauty was revealed in him, so that all who after came there looked on him with wonder; for they saw the grace of his youth, and the valor of his manhood, and the wisdom and majesty of his age were all blended together. And long there he lay, an image of the splendour of the Kings of Men in glory undimmed before the breaking of the world.

Once again it made me cry. Oh sam.

Just amazing

Clearly I'm in the minority here but this was just okay. I understand that it was written in 1955 and completely respect that it has inspired the fantasy genre as a whole since then, but as an actual story to consume its just not the style I enjoy. I'm glad it read the series as they are classics by this point in history but I'm happy to stick to the films, because they are the rare examples of the films being better than the books!

Yeah, I never thought I'd cry reading this book but I did. Twice.

The book picked up almost at a bit of weird place, where The Two Towers left off. Pippin has gone ahead with Gandalf to Gondor, Merry is left with Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli and the Riders of Rohan, and Frodo is now in the custody of Mordor orcs while Sam ventures to save him. Sauron is already on the alert, mustering up all the armies of Mordor to march upon Minas Tirith in Gondor.

There were parts of this book that I skimmed, particularly the battle scenes which I wasn't a huge fan of. The bits where Tolkien goes on for pages describing the scenery and landscape through which our adventurers are traversing is still happening in this book, but instead of whimsical and beautiful places like the forests of Lothlorien or the Old Forest of Tom Bombadil, we're generally getting the dark, stifling, ugly crags and deserts of Mordor, so those were much harder to read as well.

So yes, while I did skim through some parts of this book, it also had so many beautiful, heart-warming, uplifting, or just hilarious parts.

I loved the Macbeth-ish part when, during the battle at the siege of Gondor, the Nazgul said, "No living man may hinder me!" and Dernhelm is like, "*But no living man am I! You look upon a woman. Eowyn I am, Eomund's daughter." And then she just swoops in and smites some Ringwraith ass. I love that we had two characters (Eowyn and Merry) that all the other warriors and men were like, eh stay at home and don't hinder us during the battle, who actually rose to the occasion and slayed them some Nazgul.

More than ever, I love the hobbits. All four of them. I love how, even though they've seen and been through some really horrible shit, Merry and Pippin just stayed down to earth and drew their courage from the way they choose to lead their lives simply. This quote from Merry in particular, after he came out through a very dangerous time:

“But it is the way of my people to use light words at such times and say less than they mean. We fear to say too much. It robs us of the right words when a jest is out of place.” - Book 5, Chapter 8 “The Houses of Healing”

choose

Firstly, when Frodo and Sam (or really mostly Sam) have destroyed the Ring and they wake up in Gondor, and everyone's bowing to them, honouring them and going, "Praise the Ring-bearers! Praise them with great praise!". I love that you have a story with all kinds of awesome, great people that could've been heroes of their own stories any day - valiant warriors, noble kings, powerful wizards, immortal and wise elves, hardy dwarves, etc. but in the end it's up to these humble, almost powerless hobbits to save the day. They have no powers, no strengths except that of will, and even that wavered sometimes, and really nothing special to make them "the Chosen One", they were just simply caught at the wrong place at the wrong time. But they persevered and made it through and saved everyone's asses. And it's not like they had superhuman strength of mind - both Frodo and Sam wavered so hard, whether in terms of how difficult the journey was or how they became tempted by the Ring. They both contemplated just giving up, especially the closer they got to Mordor. But they didn't - and they made it through! And I felt so hard the strength of their achievements, and I love how ordinary Tolkien wrote them.

I don't think it needs to be very much explained why this chapter made me cry. The bit when Frodo made his goodbyes to Sam, and they realised that they must be parted forever. And then when Gandalf said, "Here at last, dear friends, on the shores of the Sea comes the end of our fellowship in Middle-earth. Go in peace! I will not say: do not weep; for not all tears are an evil." OH MAN. OHHHH MAN. Just typing it out makes me cry all over. It just felt like I'm on that journey with them and now it's ending and fdslajfdkls;fjkl;asdjfdls;a dissolves in a puddle of feelings

An excellent conclusion to the granddaddy of all fantasy trilogies! I will confess that this is my first reading of this book, and it did not disappoint. I enjoyed the parts of the book that did not make the movie, along with the elaboration of some things that were skimmed over in the book. I liked getting a more complete picture of Denethor, instead of the Peter Jackson version. It greatly helped to see why he was the way he was. I also enjoyed a different version of Pippen, one not so clumsy.

I'm not sure I saw Aragorn as desperate to take his throne, at least not to the degree that some other sources have claimed. Especially where he first refused to enter the city with his banner until invited.

The indexes at the end were a nice touch. I had read before how detailed Tolkien made his world, but until I read that I hadn't seen this, and the material used from them to flesh out the movies was extraordinary!

Overall, an excellent read. I little tough based on modern reading patterns, especially in the indexes, but well worth it!

Again, I really enjoyed this last volume. We always find the same style and we always learn more about Middle-earth.
A real treat.


Encore une fois, j'ai beaucoup apprécié ce dernier tome. On retrouve toujours le même style et on en apprend toujours plus sur la Terre du Milieu.
Un vrai régal.

This book sometimes feels like it will never end for me. I struggled with some of the detail in the aftermath of the battle. Listening to the audio, I found Rob Inglis to be a fantastic reader. Names, songs, he does them all without missing a beat.

So how does one write a review for an iconic book released after this time with so many other reviews? I suppose I can only say what it means to me. Reading this series is an epic journey for me as a slow reader. Listening to the audiobook makes it more attainable.

As I get older, I see more and more how Middle Earth is influenced by small, insignificant acts performed by seemingly insignificant people. I see how those who saw themselves as helpless came to find bravery in their own fashion, away from the safety of home, that enabled them to make a better world at home. I hope to encourage my boy, that he will find his time and his strength to make his world a better place.

Save for the last couple of chapters, this was a dreamy journey till the end. Now it's time for another 12-hour marathon rewatch of the whole series!