The Return Of The King - Book Review

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Return Of The King blew me out of the water. This is the best book in the trilogy, picking up with Gondor and what happens to Pippin and Gandalf. Let's get into it. 



Half this book is war, another tenth is Sam and Frodo's journey to destroy the ring, and the rest of it is the aftermath of coming home - including liberating the Shire from Saruman. A lot happens in this book. I couldn't sum it up in one sentence if I tried. 

Review

The first thing I made notes about was Denethor, the "charming" father of Boromir and Faramir. There are memes explaining that Denethor loves Boromir more than Faramir for good reason. Later he burns himself alive, after trying to burn Faramir (ill from battle) with him. Denethor was convinced there was no hope of Gondor being saved, thus he decided to end himself. Gondor was saved. Denethor also was a steward of the throne and refused to give it up before lighting himself on fire. He makes Boromir makes sense.

Next we come to "I am no man!" which isn't a direct quote, but is quite close enough to the wordy Tolkien phrasing. This is the best battle scene ever, for real. I loved this scene. I can't speak highly enough of Eowyn's battle with a nazgul. Merry also starred in this scene, stabbing it so that Eowyn could get another hit in to save her own life. 

Soon after, we see the aftermath of the battle. One thing the movies didn't touch was the nazgul giving off a depression sickness. Basically, the sickness of being trapped in your head and dying of a cold-like sickness quickly. Merry and Pippin have the most depressing conversation I've ever heard as Merry is disoriented and hit with nazgul depression. Aragorn brings the cure to it - kings foil - which the herbalist originally thought was an "old wives tale". 

During this war, the light of dawn was darkness. It was brutal. At times the battle in Gondor would have fit nicely in Game of Thrones. Many moments of this book were like that, including Saruman's death in the shire. Wormtongue snaps after the abuse of Saruman and slits his throat. 

I, once again, cried at the "I'll carry you" part of the Mount Doom scene. It's pretty close to the movie, when they get up to throw the ring in. Gollum's voice on my audiobook was amazing (Andy Serkis read it). I highly suggest getting the Andy Serkis audiobooks. He's an amazing voice actor. 

The after math of the book starts at 60 percent into the book. Not what I expected based on the movies. Sam and Frodo get a grand banquet. This leads into Faramir putting Shakespeare to shame talking to Eowyn, Saruman walking with Wormtongue after the ents let him go, and Saruman being killed by Wormtongue after the hobbits take their Shire back from Saruman. Then we get to Frodo leaving for the undying lands and Sam coming home to his daughter and wife. 


Overall Themes of LOTR

I found several themes woven through all the books, all four including The Hobbit. The idea of light defeating darkness is all over the entire series. Galadriel's light is used more than once. Darkness fearing the light is a major theme.

Another prominent one is being terrified, but doing it anyway. Bilbo, Aragorn, Frodo, Sam, Eowyn....all of these characters are scared but stand their ground. The idea of not letting despair win and having hope ties directly into this. Hope is what keeps characters that survive and fight afloat. 

Mercy is a major theme, too. Giving even Wormtongue and Saruman second chances illuminates the idea all should be given mercy. The idea that killing is not the only option is revolutionary. Game of Thrones does not follow that theme, but Tolkien's work does. While his work could fit into GOT (Game of Thrones) at times, this is the defining factor for Tolkien. Mercy, not revenge. Mercy, not killing for killing. While Saruman was killed by Wormtongue and neither lived past the Shire, they had multiple second chances. 

The last theme is perhaps the darkest. Knowing our author went to war, I found a theme that many know from experience. War isn't just where the battles are. It comes home with you, mentally and physically. The homefront changes with the war. Sometimes, the homefront feels the brunt of the war - like the Shire being overtaken by a bitter and angry Saruman. The ripple effects of war are real, mentally and physically. Frodo's wound is evidence it doesn't fully heal just to come home, because Frodo and everyone had changed because of the war. 


Conclusion

Six out of five stars. That's not a typo. I sincerely feel it deserves more than five stars. The first two books (not counting the Hobbit) were merely a warm-up for the main event. This was the real crowd-pleaser. And there is more lore at the end, if you want the history of Middle-earth and other stories. I can read that if I want (I have the physical book), but I stopped at reviewing the main story. 

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Morrow is released! This novella is the story of two women writing a family history for the Morrow family. They find a nasty secret while researching. Will they survive their internship? 

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