"Return of the King" is the worthy climax to J.R.R. Tolkien's epic saga, the fantasy that created the genre as we know it today. Now, as the blockbuster movie adaptation is over, many readers are checking out the dramatic story that ends Tolkien's masterpiece and life's work.

Gandalf has ridden to the city of Gondor with Pippin (partly to keep him out of trouble), where the forces of Mordor are attacking. There is upheaval in the city itself, as the steward of Gondor is going nuts. Merry pledges his service to King Theoden of Rohan, not knowing what is ahead for the king and his relatives. And Aragorn is seeking out allies to fight Sauron on a military scale, even if they can't defeat him unless the Ring is destroyed. His search will take him to tribes of forest-dwellers, to Gondor -- and even to summon an army of the dead.

In Mordor, the unconscious Frodo has been captured by Sauron's orcs, and taken to the fortress of Cirith Ungol. Sam is desperate to free his friend, but knows that he can't take on an army, and that Frodo would want him to finish the quest. Sam manages to free Frodo from captivity, but they must still brave more dangers before they can come to Mount Doom, the only place where the Ring can be destroyed. As they travel Sam sees Frodo slipping further and further into the Ring's grasp. Will Frodo be able to destroy the Ring?

Usually, the climax of an epic adventure is a disappointment. "Return of the King" succeeds in almost every way, wrapping up each individual storyline, one by one. The ending has a feeling of finality; this is one story that could never have a sequel; Tolkien shows that in a war like this, there is no true "happy ending." Even if the good guys win, there will still be scarring, and death, and haunting memories of what once happened. And even if a person survives, he will never be the same.

This is the grimmest of the three books in this trilogy. Frodo and Sam are stuck in the vividly horrific Mordor, while the city of Minas Tirith is on the verge of completely crumbling. Tolkien does a phenomenal job of exploring the madness, despair, rage and sorrow that accompany a war, and the way it can affect even the idyllic Shire. And he doesn't forget the slow period of healing that follows -- for people, for civilizations, and even for nature.

Though a section of the book near the end descends into near-biblical prose, which changes post-Gondor, Tolkien does not waver in his ability to evoke emotion. One of the most touching scenes in the book is when Sam finds Frodo naked, unconscious and being beaten by an orc. Others include Merry's farewell to Theoden, Eowyn's slaying of the Witch-King, and of course the bittersweet final scene.

Speaking of Frodo, this trilogy's hero is almost unrecognizable in parts of this book. The bright, naive young hobbit of the first book has been worn down to a pale shadow of himself. As he grows increasingly attached to the Ring, we even see him doing what seems unimaginable: threatening Sam with a dagger. Sam has come a long way from the shy young hobbit who couldn't say a word around the High Elves -- now he's attacking orcs and carrying Frodo to Mount Doom.

And the supporting characters are not neglected either, with the younger hobbits being exposed to the horrors of war, Aragorn breaking fully into his role as the future king of Gondor, and passionate war-maiden Eowyn affecting the war as nobody else could. Some much-loved characters are lost, and others will be permanently changed.

The story doesn't really end on the last page; for more background, especially on Aragorn and Arwen, readers should also read the appendices at the end of the book. Another good addition is "The End of the Third Age," in which the unpublished epilogue of this book can be found. Though this is probably not canonical, it nicely concludes the story and is a heartwarming look at what happens in the years following "Return of the King."

It's difficult, once the story has finished, to accept that one has to say goodbye to Middle-Earth and its enchanting inhabitants. But as Gandalf says, "I will not say: do not weep; for not all tears are an evil."

I got the whole "Lord of the Rings" trilogy for my husband woh loved the movies. He has truly enjoyed listening to the audiobooks and so have I. The reader is excellent and provide different voices for each character. I would compare the reader to Stephen Fry of the UK version for the Harry Potter audiobooks. These books were definatly worth the money.

The third book in the Lord of the Rings trilogy (which was never meant by Tolkien to be a trilogy, but three separate books seem a lot more manageable than one 1008-page volume). I liked this one better than the second book, but not as much as the first. I thought that, like in the second book, the way Tolkien divided the narrative was weird. Rather than switching back and forth between two simultaneous stories, he tells all of one, then all of the other. Still, that's a little nit-pick for an epic of this magnitude. I'm not sure if The Lord of the Rings as a whole would make my personal top 10 list, but it definitely deserves a spot among the greatest novels ever written, if not for the writing then for the sheer imagination and ambition of the project. I've never read a book that so convincingly creates an entire world. It's no wonder this is considered to be the definitive fantasy. There were times when I wanted to live in Middle Earth and other times when I set the book down and felt like I had been in Middle Earth for a while. An incredible escape, and well worth the time it takes to read it.

I won't go into what Lord of the Rings is all about. If you're looking at this book you probably already know. Instead I'll tell you about the version you are looking at. This publication has a wonderful, classic feel to it. Map in the back which provides detail of Rohan and Gondor. The cover slip is great. Wonderful artwork. I purchased this version because it doesn't have the movie art work all over it. Remember, it was a book before a movie. If you're going to read the book, leave the movie behind. The Return of the King also has the Appendices and has a quality hard binding. I would recommend this version (any of three books) to anyone who wants the real Lord of the Rings experience.

I listen to a lot of books on tape. Every once in a while I come across a narrator who is perfectly suited to the work. I don't mean a narrarator who has a good voice, I mean a narrator whose voice brings the story alive. Rob Inglis is such a narrator in all three books in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Each character is clearly identifiable by his uncanny ability produce dozens of distinct voices. I've listened to other audio versions of Tolkien's works. Those narrarated by Rob Inglis are the only ones that I've found worth the purchase.