Review: The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien

Title: The Return of the King
Series: The Lord of the Rings part #3
Author: J.R.R. Tolkien
Source/Format: Purchased; 50th Anniversary edition 
More Details: Fantasy
Publisher/Publication Date: First published October 20, 1955

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

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. 

I haven’t read The Hobbit. But, I can finally mark The Lord of the Rings from my TBR list, because I have, at last, read The Return of the King. As a whole, this was a long but great story about the struggle against an evil so large it was the stuff of legends, as well as the cost of war on a large but also personal scale.

In The Return of the King, all the threads that were laid in the first two parts of the story came together for an epic confrontation that not everyone made it through. There was a moment of calm early on, but the tension was high. It was the proverbial calm before the storm, and once the story and action got going, it never seemed to stop. The character arcs came to a satisfying conclusion, and it seemed like everyone ended up where they were meant to.

I’ve known about the discussions surrounding the overarching themes of the story, even before I sat down to finally read The Lord of the Rings. Even so, the point of Frodo’s journey—and the way it came to its eventual conclusion—was done so well. The ending was achingly bittersweet, and yet it was a fitting final chapter to bring this story to a close.

The Friday 56 (203) & Book Beginnings: The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading.

Synopsis from Goodreads...

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.

Beginning: "Pippin looked out from the shelter of Gandalf's cloak."

56: "A young man, Merry thought as he returned the glance, less in height and girth than most."

Comments: I have finally read The Return of the King, and so I can mark The Lord of the Rings off my TBR list. I had a great time reading this story. What are you reading this week?

Review: The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien

Title: The Two Towers
Series: Lord of the Rings part #2
Author: J.R.R. Tolkein
Source/Format: Purchased; Anniversary Edition
More Details: Fantasy
Publisher/Publication Date: First published on November 11, 1954

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them...

Frodo and his Companions of the Ring have been beset by danger during their quest to prevent the Ruling Ring from falling into the hands of the Dark Lord by destroying it in the Cracks of Doom. They have lost the wizard, Gandalf, in a battle in the Mines of Moria. And Boromir, seduced by the power of the Ring, tried to seize it by force. While Frodo and Sam made their escape, the rest of the company was attacked by Orcs. Now they continue the journey alone down the great River Anduin—alone, that is, save for the mysterious creeping figure that follows wherever they go.

Reading The Lord of the Rings has been a marathon so far, but I’m making progress on my reading goal and will be done with it before this year is over. Continuing where I left off, I finally got around to The Two Towers, and so much happened in this part of the story. I wouldn’t say that anything rapidly changed, but it did get there eventually. And by the end of The Two Towers, the story does progress quite a bit. 

The scope of the story has always been broad and complicated, with a timeline that spans across years, weeks, and days at any given time. The Fellowship of the Ring was a much more linear story, going from the early days in the Shire to the end of that part. In The Two Towers, each end of the fellowship had their own undertakings. So it was broken down into two parts, Book Three and Book Four, which were individually dedicated to those aforementioned ends.  

The Lord of the Rings is a well-known story, so I won’t surmise too much about the plot. The Two Towers involved a lot of walking, long conversations, and going places by horseback—as well as eating—yet the story maintained a sense of urgency. For instance, it started right after The Fellowship of the Ring ended, and thus it felt as if the pivotal scene was just continuing instead of starting at a different point. And at times, there was some fast paced action, as well as scenes right out of a horror movie (if you’ve read The Two Towers then you know exactly what I’m referring to).

One aspect I truly enjoy about this story is the friendships. Some of them came up in unexpected places, but the one that stands out the most is between Sam and Frodo. They were in-between a rock and a hard place for much of their page time, and there was no better way to show the loyalty between the two than during tough situations.

The Fellowship of the Ring was the beginning of the war, where the threat of it was only a shadow off in the distance. Whereas The Two Towers was where it really began in earnest, and it was here where some of the most notable battles/incidents took place. 

At the end of the day, there were a lot of aspects about the story that I’m having a great deal of fun with. So I plan on reading part three sometime soon.

The Friday 56 (200) & Book Beginnings: The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkein

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading.

Synopsis from Goodreads...

One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them...

Frodo and his Companions of the Ring have been beset by danger during their quest to prevent the Ruling Ring from falling into the hands of the Dark Lord by destroying it in the Cracks of Doom. They have lost the wizard, Gandalf, in a battle in the Mines of Moria. And Boromir, seduced by the power of the Ring, tried to seize it by force. While Frodo and Sam made their escape, the rest of the company was attacked by Orcs. Now they continue the journey alone down the great River Anduin—alone, that is, save for the mysterious creeping figure that follows wherever they go.

Beginning: "Aragorn sped on up the hill. Every now and again he bent to the ground. Hobbits go light, and their footprints are not easy even for a Ranger to read, but not far from the top a spring crossed the path, and in the wet earth he saw what he was seeking."

56: "Then he began to hum again, and passed into a murmuring chant."

Comments: I finally got around to reading the second part of The Lord of the Rings. The Two Towers was a great read, and I'm looking forward to the last part of this one. What are you reading this week?

Review: The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

Title: The Fellowship of the Ring

Series: Lord of the Rings part #1
Author: J. R.R. Tolkien

Source/Format: Purchased; Anniversary Edition
More Details: Fantasy
Publisher/Publication Date: First published on July 29, 1954

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Synopsis from Goodreads... 

One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkeness bind them

In ancient times the Rings of Power were crafted by the Elven-smiths, and Sauron, The Dark Lord, forged the One Ring, filling it with his own power so that he could rule all others. But the One Ring was taken from him, and though he sought it throughout Middle-earth, it remained lost to him. After many ages it fell into the hands of Bilbo Baggins, as told in The Hobbit. In a sleepy village in the Shire, young Frodo Baggins finds himself faced with an immense task, as his elderly cousin Bilbo entrusts the Ring to his care. Frodo must leave his home and make a perilous journey across Middle-earth to the Cracks of Doom, there to destroy the Ring and foil the Dark Lord in his evil purpose.

Literal, for the longest time, I’ve been meaning to read The Lord of the Rings. It was one of my blogging goals for last year, but I just didn’t get around to it. So I can finally mark the first part off my list, because I have at last read The Fellowship of the Ring.

Going into this one, it was exactly like I thought it was going to be, yet it managed to exceed my expectations anyway. That’s partly because it’s been so long since I watched the movie trilogy, and I didn’t remember much of what happened in them—I’m planning to buy the DVDs so I can rewatch them later, probably after I’ve finished reading the last two parts. And it’s also due to the changes the movies made, which tuned out to be an interesting reading experience.

Generally speaking, The Fellowship of the Ring was a good story. There was a lot of walking and camping across long distances—and some really long conversations—yet the story still had a sense of urgency. The lore was much clearer than I remembered from the movies (take that with a grain of salt, because it’s been years). Still, I had a better appreciation for the attention to detail that went into developing this world.

One of the best aspects about the story was the characters. There were so many different people spread out in Middle Earth, and each one had their own rich history that often had interactions with others—which explained some of the deep grudges or friendships. Frodo and crew were great too. The friendship and comradeship between the hobbits was one of my favorite parts of the story. It came in handy too, considering the scope of the perilous journey they were undertaking.

I have the anniversary edition of The Lord of the Rings, so I will definitely read The Two Towers soon. 

The Friday 56 (198) & Book Beginnings: The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R.R. Tolkien

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading.

Synopsis from Goodreads...

One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkeness bind them

In ancient times the Rings of Power were crafted by the Elven-smiths, and Sauron, The Dark Lord, forged the One Ring, filling it with his own power so that he could rule all others. But the One Ring was taken from him, and though he sought it throughout Middle-earth, it remained lost to him. After many ages it fell into the hands of Bilbo Baggins, as told in The Hobbit. In a sleepy village in the Shire, young Frodo Baggins finds himself faced with an immense task, as his elderly cousin Bilbo entrusts the Ring to his care. Frodo must leave his home and make a perilous journey across Middle-earth to the Cracks of Doom, there to destroy the Ring and foil the Dark Lord in his evil purpose.

Beginning: "When Mr. Bilbo Baggins of Bag End announced that he would shortly be celebrating his eleventy-first birthday with a party of special magnificence, there was mush talk and excitement in Hobbiton."

56: "Gandalf looked at Frodo, and his eyes glinted."

Comments: I have finally read the first part of The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring. I didn't remember much of the movie trilogy, because it's been so long since I first saw them. I had a lot of fun reading this story. What are you reading this week?