The Return of the King Audiobook By J. R. R. Tolkien cover art

The Return of the King

Lord of the Rings, Book 3

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The Return of the King

By: J. R. R. Tolkien
Narrated by: Andy Serkis
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About this listen

This brand-new unabridged audiobook of The Return of the King, the third and final part of J. R. R. Tolkien’s epic adventure The Lord of the Rings, is read by the BAFTA Award-winning actor, director, and author Andy Serkis.

The armies of the Dark Lord are massing as his evil shadow spreads even wider. Men, Dwarves, Elves, and Ents unite forces to battle against the Dark. Meanwhile, Frodo and Sam struggle further into Mordor in their heroic quest to destroy the One Ring. The devastating conclusion of J. R. R. Tolkien’s classic tale of adventure, begun in The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers.

©1983 Christopher R. Tolkien, Michael H.R.Tolkien, John F.R. Tolkien, and Priscilla M.A.R.Tolkien (P)2021 Recorded Books
Classics Dragons & Mythical Creatures Epic Epic Fantasy Fantasy Fiction Adventure Feel-Good Scary Emotionally Gripping
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Featured Article: On Kindness, Loyalty, and Quiet Valor—What We Can Learn from Samwise Gamgee, the True Hero of The Lord of the Rings


Sam is the type of hero not often celebrated in the great canon of fantasy literature—a hero not just unexpected and underestimated in terms of stature or temperament, but a hero driven solely by friendship, loyalty, and love. There's no shortage of heroes in the cast of Tolkien's masterwork; here's why one simple gardener stands well above the rest.

Continue Your Journey Through Middle earth

Continue Your Journey
Through Middle-earth

Timeless Classic • Epic Adventure • Masterful Characterization • Rich Worldbuilding • Emotional Storytelling
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The narrator isn't my favorite. Particularly the voices he uses for Pippin and the Witch King are unbearable. Very breathy.

Narration

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I loved the story and narration. I was engrossed from beginning to end. Will listen again.

Amazing

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simply put.....INCREDIBLE!!!! Andy Serkis is pure brilliance ( as usual ) He puts you right smack in the middle of the story.

LOTR and Tolkien fans......U MUST!!

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Well done on all points! Tolkien and Serkis go together like bread and jam, as my gaffer used to say.

Immersive

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I wasn’t sure about Andy Serkis reading this, but I am most pleasantly surprised! No…he doesn’t do a great job with female voices, but then again, there are not a ton of female characters anyway. He doesn’t have a lot of character changes in voice either, but the man can build an atmosphere like few others I’ve ever heard. He can make the hair stand up on your neck, or bring the bitter tears to your eyes. I’ve read this series probably hundreds of times, but this was my first time hearing someone read it to me and I loved it! Well done indeed!

Wonderful

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fantastic story telling by Andy Serkis with all three books. the best I've listened to yet

trilogy

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This is my second reading of this trilogy (not counting the movies) and I wondered how the books would seem to me decades after my first experience of it. By this third volume, I had tired some of the violence and patriarchy of the whole thing. HOWEVER, what never stopped fascinating me was Andy Serkis and this amazing performance.
He played Shmiegel (sp?) in the film (through computerized animation) so I knew that character was already developed. But there must be 50 characters that have significant dialog throughout the trilogy and Serkis becomes all of them. By the third volume we know the voices of the characters who have been with us throughout the saga and as if by magic Andy Serkis gives us our favorites and our enemies in their complete quirky personalities and habits.
Tolkien is a known literary master and his stories are not for everyone, but I would recommend listening to this volume or any other one, or all the books from The Hobbit, just to experience the brilliant performance of Andy Serkis.

Return of the Master

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Perfect writing. Perfect narration. I can listen to this over and over.

My only complaint is that the Audible chapter divisions do not match the book's actual chapter divisions

THE CHAPTER DIVISIONS DONT MATCH THE BOOK CHAPTERS

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Andy Srrkis is brilliant the story is of course we know what it is This is worth your time

everything you would expect

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I loved it as I did all the previous books in this series. Andy Serkis does an excellent job as narrator. He gives each character a voice.

Excellent Narration

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