fyvel's Full Review: J. R. R. Tolkien - Return of the King: The Lord of...
With this novel, J.R.R. Tolkien does an excellent job summing up the story he began in The Hobbit, Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers. The quest that nine set out to do is successfully completed by two of the original members, Frodo and Sam, who were separated from the rest of the group at the end of The Fellowship of the Ring. Frodo had tried to sneak away from the group during an attack by orcs, but Sam caught him and went with him. Sam's loyalty proves to be Frodo's saviour, for without him, Frodo would certainly have failed in his quest to destroy the ring at least a few times.
The Basic Plot
In this novel, there is a siege at Gondor, which culminates in a battle in the fields of Pelennor. Here the lady Eowyn, disguised as a warrior, makes a fearless stand against the lord of the Nazgul, and with the help of Merry, they manage to defeat him (it?). Aragorn manages to save the day after arriving in enemy ships to help defeat the forces of Mordor.
But for the first half of the novel, the endless battle did make me a bit restless. I wanted to know what was happening with Frodo and Sam. The last I had heard about them was at the end of The Two Towers when Frodo was poisoned by Shelob, and captured by orcs. Sam proves to be the real hero over and over again in this book. He goes into the midst of the orcs (who happen to be killing each other), and manages to save Frodo. They then escape into the wilderness of Mordor, if it can be called wilderness since it mostly consists of barren land and withered shrubs.
Their travel through Mordor is extremely difficult; they have to be wary of enemies who are searching for them, food and water is scarce, and to top it all off, Gollum is following them (or rather, he is following his "Precious", which happens to be carried by Frodo). Frodo is weak from his experience with Shelob, and he is exhausted from carrying around the weight of the Ring. Sam saves his life, and the quest, by giving Frodo much of his share of the little food and water they have (without letting Frodo know, of course), and at one point he actually picks Frodo up and carries him because Frodo is too stubborn to let Sam carry the Ring for a bit.
I won't tell the rest of that part of the story, but I will say they are successful in their quest, and they do manage to make it home to the Shire.
When they arrive in the Shire, they find that not all is as they left it. I won't tell all the details, in case you haven't read the book yet!
My Favorite Character
For any of you who have read my reviews of The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers, you may have noticed that my favorite character changes from book to book. That's because I said who my favorite character is, just in that book, as it had changed over the course of my reading. The character I liked best in The Return of the King also happens to be more overall favorite for the trilogy. That may just be because he left the final impression, or not. My favorite character is Sam. It's too bad that he is largely unrecognized as an important character in the novels. He's the real hero of the story, not Frodo. He's strong when Frodo wants to give up. He carries Frodo when Frodo can't go on. He gives Frodo his food and water. He fights a giant spider for Frodo, and goes into the lair of orcs to rescue him. What does Frodo do other than complain about how hard it is? It galls me that Sam is hidden in the shadow of Frodo and Aragorn and Gandalf.
What I Liked About the Book
I liked the way all of the loose ends were tied up at the end, but at the same time not giving a definite ending to the tale. I was happy with the ending of this book, it was satisfying. Some of the characters went through a great deal of development in this book; Merry and Pippin both showed themselves to be much more brave than when they began their journey. Sam really shines in this book, and Frodo, though trying his hardest, can't quite manage without his loyal friend.
What I Didn't Like About the Book (Not to be confused with "cons" of the book)
Just a couple of things I didn't like about the outcome;
-Aragorn doesn't marry Eowyn after all;
-No mention of the entwives.
Appendix
At first glance, this book appears to be quite long, but in fact, a full quarter of the book is taken up by the Appendix (or rather Appendices A through F and the Index). This is a confirmation of the detail put into these books by Tolkien. Here is an overview of what is covered here:
Appendix A: Annals of the Kings and Rulers;
Appendix B: The Tale of Years;
Appendix C: Family Trees;
Appendix D: The Calendars;
Appendix E: Writing and Spelling (Including Pronunciation of Words and Names);
Appendix F: The Languages and Peoples of the Third Age;
Index: Want to know where you can read about anything that happens in the books? This is the place to find out where! From ents to Eomer, and from oliphaunts to orcs, this list tells you the pages of where you can find songs, people, and places, as well as beasts and monsters.
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My other Lord of the Rings Reviews:
The third volume in J.R.R. Tolkiens epic adventure The Lord of the Rings. As the Shadow of Mordor grows across the land, the Companions of the Ring ha...More at Christianbook.com
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