The Return of the King

J.R.R. Tolkien

The Lord of the Rings Part #3

Summary:

The armies of the Dark Lord are massing as his evil shadow spreads ever wider. Men, Dwarves, Elves and Ents unite forces to do battle against the Dark. Meanwhile, Frodo and Sam struggle further into Mordor in their heroic quest to destroy the One Ring.

Plot:

If I had to describe this part of the story in one word it would be ‘epic’. The huge battles, incredible creatures and strange settings all make this a worthy ending for a great story. I liked that there was a bit of romance thrown in in this part, and I also liked the fact that I was never sure that good was going to prevail, which kept me interested. As I said in my previous reviews: Tolkien’s writing is extremely detailed and descriptive, and while I really like that I don’t know if everyone will.

Characters:

I loved how the characters I came to love in the previous parts grew and developed in this installment. I grew to like Sam (who I think is my favorite hobbit in the story) and Aragorn (my favorite human) a lot more. I would’ve liked to read more about Legolas (my favorite elf), but he was not as present in this part of the story as in the previous ones. I still really like how Tolkien made me care for the characters, so that when they were in danger it was really tense and when they were happy I was happy.

Who should read this:

13+, there is no sexual content or language, but there is some violence and some really scary things happening. Also the writing style might bore younger readers. If you enjoyed the previous two parts (or even just finished them, no matter your enjoyment of it) you just can’t stop now. If you’re a fan of fantasy you should have read this already.

My rating:

This book just kept getting better as it went along. My rating would’ve gone up after this part if it hadn’t been for the fact that it’s already at it’s max...so 5/5.

Quote:

“For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”

Read my reviews of the first two parts here: The Fellowship of the Ring & The Two Towers