The Return of The King by J. R. R. Tolkien

As is common with the books of “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, “The Return of The King” is made up of two books; books five and six. The fifth book starts with Pippin, as he rides with Gandalf towards Gondor to meet Boromir’s father, Denethor who rules over Gondor as the steward.

When Faramir returns and tells them of Frodo, Denethor gets angry at his son, Faramir, for not bringing Frodo (and the ring) back with him. He sends Faramir to the battleground, where he consequently gets injured and rendered unconscious. 

Thinking that his son was dead, Denethor succumbs to madness and tries to burn himself and his son alive. Fortunately, Gandalf saves Faramir, leaving the mad king to die on his own. Meanwhile, Aragorn and his companions go to battle in Minas Tirith along with King Théoden and his niece Éowyn (who is disguised as a knight). 

The sixth book starts with an aggrieved Sam leaving Frodo for dead. However, a band of orcs carries Frodo’s body, stating that he is still conscious. Sam then comes to Frodo’s rescue and they continue their marsh to Mount Doom, burdened by the ring’s pull and weakened by hunger.

But, as they get closer to the pit, Frodo cannot resist putting the ring on his finger. This alerts Sauron, and he sends all his forces towards Mount Doom. Gollum reappears and fights Frodo over the ring, however as Gollum obtains the ring, he tumbles into the lava, finally destroying the ring and defeating Sauron.

Tolkien does a great job bringing every character to light and leaving no loose ends in the plot. His poetic style still plays a large part in developing plot and bringing solutions to characters.

The ending was long, drawn and suitable for a story of this magnitude, and satisfactory on all accounts. It is an ending that puts all pieces back together and bids the reader farewell to the rich world of Middle Earth.