The Return of the King (1955)

Even though The Return of the King has some undeniably-great stuff in it, I think that, like the movie, it’s my least favorite of the trilogy, albeit for different reasons  Still, the great stuff is excellent enough that it’s ultimately a very good read.

The war for Middle-earth comes to a head in the final chapters of The Lord of the Rings saga.  The corrupting influence of the Ring threatens to tear Frodo and Sam apart as they finally reach Mordor.  Gandalf tries to assist the human kingdom of Gondor as it’s set upon by Sauron’s forces, and Aragorn works to unite the kingdoms of men to fight together, as the long-awaited king they need.

We’ll start with the main detractor.  This, of course, is that the quest comes to an end when there’s still more than 80 pages left.  This is a problem the movie inherits from the book, but it’s even more dramatic here.  It takes forever to wrap up the story, and while I understand the purpose behind the scouring-of the-Shire sequence, it’s hugely anticlimactic after all that came before it.  There’s no reason it needsd to be as long as it is.

That really is the biggest strike against it, but it does have quite an effect on the overall feel of the book.  It buries the strongest, most compelling scenes and it makes the end of the book feel like a chore.  Instead of riding to a strong climax, it kind of plods to a drawn-out finish.

Which is a shame, because the great stuff is so great.  There’s Sam’s big sequence, which has always been my favorite part of the story, along with Eowyn’s beautiful storyline and the way Gollum factors into the critical moment.  I also like the fall of Denethor and how that plot builds and develops.

This book sees the original fellowship more fragmented than ever, with members scattered across a number of different locales and among different groups – it’s definitely hard to wait until the second half of the book for the resumption of Sam and Frodo’s plotline, although very satisfying when it finally does.  But if it splits them apart, it also brings them back together, and it is one of the good points of the over-long ending; I love these characters, and I especially love them as a unit.

Warnings

Fantasy violence, disturbing/scary moments, smoking/drinking, and strong thematic elements.