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.

Music Monday (164): Aurora, Diana Ross, Biz Markie, Lisa Shaw

Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

Breana: Aurora released a new song called Cure For Me. It's one of my favorite songs by this artist.

Adri: I don't think I mentioned it before, but, I found a ton of new songs and artists by going down a rabbit hole of deep / chill / ambient / downtempo house. That's where I found the likes of Copyright, Kathy Brown, J. Axel, etc. I also found the artist I'm talking about today, Lisa Shaw. Two of my favorite songs right now are, All Night High (Vocal) and I'm Okay.

Andrea: Hi all! This week I'm listening to Thank You by Diana Ross and Just A Friend by Biz Markie.

RIP Biz Markie (April 8, 1964-July 16, 2021)

What are you listening to this week?

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: Your Favorite Band Cannot Save You by Scotto Moore

Title: Your Favorite Band Cannot Save You
Series: n/a
Author: Scotto Moore
Source/Format: Won from a contest; Paperback
More Details: Science Fiction; Fantasy
Publisher/Publication Date: Tor.com; February 5, 2019

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

Your Favorite Band Cannot Save You is a story of music, obsession, violence, and madness by Scotto Moore

I was home alone on a Saturday night when I experienced the most beautiful piece of music I had ever heard in my life...

Beautiful Remorse is the hot new band on the scene, releasing one track a day for ten days straight. Each track has a mysterious name and a strangely powerful effect on the band's fans. A curious music blogger decides to investigate the phenomenon up close by following Beautiful Remorse on tour across Texas and Kansas, realizing along the way that the band's lead singer, is hiding an incredible, impossible secret.

When Your Favorite Band Cannot Save You initially came out, I completely missed it. But better late than never, right? So I have finally read this book, and it was nothing like I was expecting it to be. The summary on the back is vague and kind of implied a story that might be somewhat surreal and mysterious (think contemporary fantasy). Yet that wasn’t totally the case, and I will get to that in a minute.

Your Favorite Band Cannot Save You was a really good read. I would describe the story as like looking at an album, or more specifically as going through the stages of listening to each song—seeing how you react to it. The music is mysterious in the beginning—from the identity of the band, to the effect it had on people who listened to the songs—but the story doesn’t have much of a central mystery. Instead it had a feeling to it, a certain kind of atmosphere that was built upon as the story went along. Somewhere along the way, it quickly took a turn into cosmic horror with a musical edge, and it never left that track.

What I liked best about this story was how hard Moore leaned into the love of everything about music—with characters who knew their stuff—as well as the speculative elements. It culminated into a fast paced, page-turner of a read.

Music Monday (163): Magdalena Bay, Brownstone

 Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

Breana: There has been so much good music released between the end of June and early July. I cam across a group called is Magdalena Bay while exploring my Spotify recommendations. I really like their song called Chaeri, and I look forward to checking out their album when its released in October. Note: there is a strobe warning for the music video.

Andrea: Hi all! I'm listening to If You Love Me by Brownstone. Have a great week!

What are you listening to this week?