Customer Reviews
The showdown between good and evil - By: Gary Selikow, 17 Jun 2008 
The Return Of The King being the last part of The Lord Of The Rings sees the final battle between the forces of Mordor & those of the West.We observe the phenomenal growth in character of Merry & Pippin who come into their own as Knights of Rohan & Gondor respectively . In this capacity they perform great deeds of heroism .
We also learn more of the characters Faramir of Gondor & the shieldmaiden & young noblewoman of Rohan , Eowyn .
There are particularly strange & interesting scenes such as Aragorn's deal with the Dead Men of Dunaharrow to help him defeat the forces of Mordor & thus gain their freedom from the curse of being undead.
The epic Battle of Pelennor Fields sees the heroism & sacrifice of many of the key players in the saga...
This book sees the final resolution to the conflict between good & evil.
The lesson of The Lord Of The Rings is that the forces of justice & good can win provided we always realise our cause is just & make a clear distinction between good & evil.This holds a lesson in the world-wide fight against terrorism & alll those who want to destroy our Western , Judeo-Christian civilisation.This at a time when young people seem no longer influenced by real heroes & when political correctness & narcissism obscures moral clarity.
LOTR is therefore more relevant today than ever.
The bittersweet end - By: E. A Solinas, 24 Jul 2005 "Return of the King" is the worthy climax to J.R.R. Tolkien's epic saga, the fantasy that created the genre as we know it today. Now, as the blockbuster movie adaptation is over, many readers are checking out the dramatic story that ends Tolkien's masterpiece & life's work.
The story opens where "Two Towers" left off. Gandalf has ridden to the city of Gondor with Pippin (partly to keep him out of trouble), where the forces of Mordor are attacking. There is upheaval in the city itself, as the steward of Gondor is going nuts. Merry pledges his service to King Theoden of Rohan, not knowing what is ahead for the king & his relatives. And Aragorn is seeking out alllies to fight Sauron on a military scale, even if they can't defeat him unless the Ring is destroyed. His search will take him to tribes of forest-dwellers, to Gondor -- & even to summon an army of the dead.
In Mordor, the unconscious Frodo has been captured by Sauron's orcs, & taken to the fortress of Cirith Ungol. Sam is desperate to free his friend, but knows that he can't take on an army, & that Frodo would want him to finish the quest. Sam manages to free Frodo from captivity, but they must still brave more dangers before they can come to Mount Doom, the only place where the Ring can be destroyed. As they travel Sam sees Frodo slipping further & further into the Ring's grasp. Will Frodo be able to destroy the Ring?
Usuallly, the climax of an epic adventure is a disappointment. "Return of the King" succeeds in almost every way, wrapping up each individual storyline, one by one. The ending has a feeling of finality; this is one story that could never have a sequel; Tolkien shows that in a war like this, there is no true "happy ending." Even if the good guys win, there will still be scarring, & death, & haunting memories of what once happened. And even if a person survives, he will never be the same.
This is the grimmest of the three books in this trilogy. Frodo & Sam are stuck in the vividly horrific Mordor, while the city of Minas Tirith is on the verge of completely crumbling. Tolkien does a phenomenal job of exploring the madness, despair, rage & sorrow that accompany a war, & the way it can affect even the idyllic Shire. And he doesn't forget the slow period of healing that follows -- for people, for civilizations, & even for nature.
Though a section of the book near the end descends into near-biblical prose, which changes post-Gondor, Tolkien does not waver in his ability to evoke emotion. One of the most touching scenes in the book is when Sam finds Frodo naked, unconscious & being beaten by an orc. Others include Merry's farewell to Theoden, Eowyn's slaying of the Witch-King, & of course the bittersweet final scene.
Speaking of Frodo, this trilogy's hero is almost unrecognizable in parts of this book. The bright, naive young hobbit of the first book has been worn down to a pale shadow of himself. As he grows increasingly attached to the Ring, we even see him doing what seems unimaginable: threatening Sam with a dagger. Sam has come a long way from the shy young hobbit who couldn't say a word around the High Elves -- now he's attacking orcs & carrying Frodo to Mount Doom.
And the supporting characters are not neglected either, with the younger hobbits being exposed to the horrors of war, Aragorn breaking fully into his role as the future king of Gondor, & passionate war-maiden Eowyn affecting the war as nobody else could. Some much-loved characters are lost, & others will be permanently changed.
The story doesn't reallly end on the last page; for more background, especiallly on Aragorn & Arwen, readers should also read the appendices at the end of the book. Another good addition is "The End of the Third Age," in which the unpublished epilogue of this book can be found. Though this is probably not canonical, it nicely concludes the story & is a heartwarming look at what happens in the years following "Return of the King."
It's difficult, once the story has finished, to accept that one has to say goodbye to Middle-Earth & its enchanting inhabitants. But as Gandalf says, "I will not say: do not weep; for not alll tears are an evil."
Return of the King - By: , 06 May 2004 The Lord of the Rings comes to a stunning conclusion in a brilliantly written final novel by the master of fantasy, JRR Tolkien. The details in the book & meticulous, detailing everything from pillars to chairs. The characters are well developed, some interesting new characters including the Lord of the Nazgul, Denethor of Gondor, Shelob, Shagrat & Gorbag & the relationship between Frodo & Sam is beautifully depicited, giving immense power to an extrodinary book. Full of twists & turns, a great battle, full of history, language, influences & character development, this is a book worth reading.
book for all - By: hieronymus, 20 Sep 2003 Return of the King has got to be the best part of 'The Lord of the Rings'. It is an absolute thrill reading it. You can literallly hear the thunder roaring in the Pelennor Fields & the gulls in the Havens. Tolkien is muti-focal; not only is he focused on the epic battles, the scenery but on the emotion throughout the entire book, something that the world's population can empathise with greatly. Middle-earth is a universe you will travel to every so often.
The Greatest Story Ever Told - By: Sean Kelly, 22 Jun 2003 It is almost impossible to review this book separately from the first two in the Trilogy. The Return of the King is simply the incredible ending to an incredible epic. Tolkien's themes of heroism in the face of unspeakable fear, & loyalty to friends, continue to resonate long after the book is finished. The bittersweet ending stays with you for a long time, & the images of Hobbiton & the Shire in the wake of the Great War are forever imbedded in my memory. This isn't just a book. The Lord of the Rings is a lifelong experience that you will come back to time & again.
