Book Review: The Return Of The King (Lord Of The Rings #3), by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Return Of The King (Lord Of The Rings #3), by J.R.R. Tolkien
★★★★★ and a ♥

Synopsis: As the evil might of the Dark Lord Sauron swarms out to conquer all Middle-earth, Frodo and Sam struggle deep into Mordor, seat of Sauron’s power. To defeat the Dark Lord, the pair must destroy the accursed Ring of Power in the fires of Mount Doom. But the way is impossibly hard, and Frodo is weakening. Weighed down by the burden of the Ring, he begins finally to despair.
In A Sentence: An excellent conclusion to an incredible series.

My Thoughts: This conclusion to the trilogy was absolutely brilliant! Everyone had their own important part to play, there was a lot of action that fit in together really well (nothing was there just for show). The writing was really fantastic and the characters were extremely well developed. Overall this book was amazing!
I think what really hit me with this story was the fact that the reason why everyone was fighting the big battles was to distract Sauron while the Ringbearer continued with his mission. They were most likely going to die, but they were still going to fight anyway and keep Sauron looking their way. Another enormous impact was how Gollum’s role turned out to be the most important role of all in the end. It was truly a work of art how Tolkien worked those final moments.
My favorite part, however, was the end when the hobbits return to the Shire and they have to restore it to its former glory. It made the fighting seem a little more real since the devastation of Sauron was able to reach even their home, a place that never seemed to be affected by the outside world before. That was a really nice touch, and I enjoyed watching Sam, Merry, and Pippin rally the other hobbits and clean up the place.
I still don’t like Frodo all that much, however. Sure, he managed to bear the Ring all the way to Mordor, but I still can never forgive him for his untimely failure. I admit that that climatic scene would have been rather boring if he did succeed, but still, he failed! I still think Sam was by far the better hobbit, and I wonder if he would have succeeded if he had borne the Ring instead during its final hours.
Honestly, this book was so well-written, and so well-executed, that I really recommend you read it, along with the other books in the trilogy. As wonderful as the movies are (and they really are good), the movies focus more on the action, while the books have so much more depth beyond the battle scenes. And once again (for the last time I swear), I recommend listening to the audio-lecture done by Michael D.C. Drout, called Rings, Swords, And Monsters: Exploring Fantasy Literature. The lectures on Tolkien and his works give a much more in-depth analysis of the novels and the thinking that went into them, making the books even more fascinating and impressive than what you originally thought. Enjoy!


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