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kayceeisbookish's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Kidnapping, Violence, and War
astrangewind's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
What a lovely, thrilling conclusion to this adventure. As usual, Tolkien's characters are brimming with life; their conversations with one another may be long, but they serve to deepen the reader's connection with them. Each aspect of the world comes alive before the reader's eyes: the landscape, be it lush or barren; the evil plaguing the land and its inexorable pull; every tension and connection. Just beautifully done. Even at the end, when all was said and done, and the Ring was destroyed in Mount Doom, there were 70 pages left! I had trouble imagining what was left, and it turns out there was one last mini-adventure left, which I found equally as compelling as the original quest.
As with The Two Towers, the first half (roughly) of the book concern the war, while the second half is what continues the quest of Frodo and Sam. I tend to be less interested in war, even in fantasy settings, so I found it quite difficult to get through this section of the book. (The rest of it I devoured much more quickly.) Despite this difficulty, Tolkien's writing aligns both halves of the book in time, so that a deeper understanding of both storylines is gained upon reading.
One thing I struggled with is that nearly every female character who interacts with the main company ends up being reduced to nothing.I loved Éowyn for her grit and desire to battle, but near the end, she drops all of that, claiming that she no longer wishes for that, in order to marry Faramir. We were so close to having an awesome female character! I won't complain too much about the characters; while the female representation sucks, there are so many examples of intimate male platonic relationships. Frodo and Sam, Merry and Pippin, and Legolas and Gimli are all major examples of true love - deep, intimate love - between male friends. I find that beautiful.
My one last gripe with this book is really a gripe with the editions of all three books. Occasionally, there are footnotes in the book that read something like, "Appendix F, page 1107." However, being three separate books, there is no page 1107, so the reader is left to either read the entire appendices (which are roughly 150 pages long in total and at the end of the third book), or compute what the page number actually should be. With this edition, I feel like these footnotes could have been rewritten to indicate the actual page number of the appendix. But, of course, this isn't an issue with Tolkien's story - only this edition.
As with The Two Towers, the first half (roughly) of the book concern the war, while the second half is what continues the quest of Frodo and Sam. I tend to be less interested in war, even in fantasy settings, so I found it quite difficult to get through this section of the book. (The rest of it I devoured much more quickly.) Despite this difficulty, Tolkien's writing aligns both halves of the book in time, so that a deeper understanding of both storylines is gained upon reading.
One thing I struggled with is that nearly every female character who interacts with the main company ends up being reduced to nothing.
My one last gripe with this book is really a gripe with the editions of all three books. Occasionally, there are footnotes in the book that read something like, "Appendix F, page 1107." However, being three separate books, there is no page 1107, so the reader is left to either read the entire appendices (which are roughly 150 pages long in total and at the end of the third book), or compute what the page number actually should be. With this edition, I feel like these footnotes could have been rewritten to indicate the actual page number of the appendix. But, of course, this isn't an issue with Tolkien's story - only this edition.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Violence, Torture, Slavery, and Colonisation
Minor: Grief, Xenophobia, and Injury/Injury detail
woweewhoa's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, and War
Moderate: Sexism and Xenophobia
Minor: Slavery and Alcohol
scrubsandbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
"Go in peace! I will not say: do not weep; for not all tears are an evil."
Oh, yeah, I cried. Andy Serkis as a narrator did a superb job, and the bit in the end, a whole mini plot arc that was not included in the movies was a delight to read in that I had a moment of "oh my god there is MORE". I strongly believe this quest would have failed without Samwise Gamgee, the epitome of Best Friend.
Oh, yeah, I cried. Andy Serkis as a narrator did a superb job, and the bit in the end, a whole mini plot arc that was not included in the movies was a delight to read in that I had a moment of "oh my god there is MORE". I strongly believe this quest would have failed without Samwise Gamgee, the epitome of Best Friend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, War, and Violence
Moderate: Racism
hannah_hall's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Suicide, and Violence
giuliana_ferrari's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
The trilogy definitively ends on a high note with The Return of the King. I can't say it's as perfect as The Fellowship because part of me loves more the Shire and the meandering than the War, and Tom Bombadill will forever be the best kept secret of a book that was adapted into a hugely successful movie. But the third and final installment of the story showed character growth, endings and new beginnings, and the beauty of friendship.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
mnstarr's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and War
judassilver's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Death, Genocide, Grief, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Fire/Fire injury, and War
Moderate: Confinement, Racial slurs, Emotional abuse, and Gore
Minor: Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Cannibalism, Colonisation, Death of parent, and Fatphobia
squinnittowinit's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
My least favorite of the three parts. The main story ends less than halfway through, and what should be an epilogue takes up the rest. I didn't find anything they did particularly interesting compared to the movie version.
Tolkien's writing continues to provide very little emotion or depth, so Andy Serkis as the narrator does a lot of heavy lifting with his voice acting. But it was not enough to make this book enjoyable.
Tolkien's writing continues to provide very little emotion or depth, so Andy Serkis as the narrator does a lot of heavy lifting with his voice acting. But it was not enough to make this book enjoyable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Confinement, War, Racism, and Violence