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Return of the King (Lord of the Rings, Bk 3)
Return of the King - Lord of the Rings, Bk 3 Author:J. R. R. Tolkien What is considered to be the most important fantasy epic of the 20th century roars to a close in this third and final volume of THE LORD OF THE RINGS. The armies of the West mass for their final assault upon the forces of Sauron, but they have little hope of prevailing against the Dark Lord. All depends on whether the Ring-bearer Frodo will comp... more »lete his quest, and destroy Sauron's Ring of Power in the fires of Mount Doom. But Frodo is imprisoned in the dungeons of Mordor. Are the quest--and Middle-earth--doomed? There are very few fantasy writers who can claim to be as detailed a world-builder as Tolkien was, and that comes to the fore in this book, as it contains over one hundred pages of appendices concerning the history, cultures, and languages of the peoples of Middle-earth, including the ultimate destinies of most of the main characters in the story.
In the third volume of The Lord of the Rings trilogy the good and evil forces join battle, and we see that the triumph of good is not absolute. The Third Age of Middle-earth ends, and the age of the dominion of Men begins. "An impressive achievement, unique among the imaginative works of our times." -- New York Herald Tribune« less
What can I say? If you've come this far with Frodo & his buddies, you can't stop now! this is the most amazingly well written story! I have read all of these books at least ten times since I first picked up The Hobbit in the fourth grade. A MUST READ!
The story ends...and the appendices are as richly detailed as the story itself. This trilogy is hard to break into pieces--I have never been able to read one volume and not pick up the next immediately after.
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.
It's difficult to write comments about such a wonderful read. I shall include only a few details which hopefully encourage others to read the book. I will begin with the siege of Gondor.
Gondor is besieged by the dark and the brave men defending it are discouraged and desperate again and again as the gate is bombarded. Finally, the gate falls and the only defender is Gandalf the magician. Many have died horrible deaths and the fear of the future pervades all. Then a cock crows and a horn is heard in the deep, dark silence. Help has arrived!
As the allies arrive the tide turns and seige of Gondor is won but many of brave defenders died in the process. The fight was furious but the men of Gondor and their allies succeed. Gandalf is now in charge and recommends that an army chase the enemy from the field to distract the enemy from the quest undertaken by Frodo and Sam. At the end of this section the army is surrounded by the enemy and Pippin falls into the dark. He wishes his friend, Merry, was by his side.
The king and his men fought on and are surrounded when Frodo and Sam at last gain the mountain. When the ring is destroyed so also is evil throughout the land. The king won his battle, returned to Gondor is crowned and wed. Frodo, Sam, Pippin, and Merry returned to the Shire to find mayhem to clear. Once the ruffians and Sharkey were gone, Sam set about organizing cleanup and planted the beloved trees to bring the shire back.
These are only a few of the highlights of this wonderful read. I read the earlier books months ago. My only recommendation is to read them closer together as one tends to forget the geography of these mythical lands. One cannot, however, forget the characters.
for several years as a preteen - teen I read the trilogy each year, started at Christmas and read The Hobbit, and then these three. Oh how I loved the time spent immersed in Tolkien's world. One of the best gifts anyone has ever given me.
