Other editions of book The Return of the King

THE GREATEST FANTASY EPIC OF OUR TIME While the evil might of the Dark Lord Sauron swarmed out to conquer all Middle-earth, Frodo and Sam struggled deep into Mordor, seat of Sauron's power. To defeat the Dark Lord, the accursed Ring of Power had to be destroyed in the fires of Mount Doom. But the way was impossibly hard, and Frodo was weakening. Weighed down by the compulsion of the Ring he began finally to despair. The awesome conclusion of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings," beloved by millions of readers around the world.

The third volume of The Lord of the Rings, now featuring Tolkien's original unused dust-jacket design. The Companions of the Ring have become involved in separate adventures as the quest continues. Aragorn, revealed as the hidden heir of the ancient Kings of the West, joined with the Riders of Rohan against the forces of Isengard, and took part in the desperate victory of the Hornburg. Merry and Pippin, captured by orcs, escaped into Fangorn Forest and there encountered the Ents. Gandalf returned, miraculously, and defeated the evil wizard, Saruman. Meanwhile, Sam and Frodo progressed towards Mordor to destroy the Ring, accompanied by Smeagol -- Gollum, still obsessed by his 'preciouss'. After a battle with the giant spider, Shelob, Sam left his master for dead; but Frodo is still alive -- in the hands of the orcs. And all the time the armies of the Dark Lord are massing.

This is the final part of Tolkien's epic masterpiece, "The Lord of the Rings", featuring a cover image from the film. Impossible to describe in a few words, Tolkien's great work of imaginative fiction has been labelled both a heroic romance and a classic fantasy fiction. By turns comic and homely, epic and diabolic, the narrative moves through countless changes of scene and character in an imaginary world convincing in its detail. Tolkien created a vast new mythology in an invented world which has proved timeless in its appeal. This is a reissue celebrating the release of the major motion picture trilogy, incorporating images from the films on the covers. The story focuses on the forces of Gondor and Rohan, which must make a last desperate stand against the monstrous armies of the Dark Lord, Sauron. While good and evil engage in mighty battle, the fate of Middle-earth rests in the hands of two weary hobbits.