A Book Review of the Third Book of Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
"There never was much hope...just a fool's hope.” - Gandalf The White
And so came the closing of the Third Age. The Great Tower of Minas Tirith, a fortress besieged, stands as a small island with storms raging on all sides. There the fading hopes of Middle Earth holds its breath before the bitter darkness of their end.
The clouds are lifted and the jaws of his forces draw forth. From the land of the Shadow, the Dark Lord Sauron brings all to him; from the southern kingdoms, men march into his lands, and from the sea, Corsairs sail to break the final defenses of Osgiliath; all have been brought together to strike the final knell upon Gondor and cover the land, at last, in darkness. Under a desperate alliance of Men, they will fight upon the plains of Pelennor and from the walls of Minas Tirith, fortress of the Kings, the future of Middle Earth will be decided.
In the last of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, we are given a great treasure. They say that man is willing to change only at its precipice - just before all is destroyed -, it his here, the unfolding of the troubles of Middle Earth, that J.R.R. Tolkien writes with a passion I believe was withheld.
This story has been long told and ever praised - the great and final clash between Good and Evil. A time where all force is amassed to the crushing destruction of each other. It has been told and been blunted time and time again, but this is not our case. Our story shimmers in the sun and under the shadow of darkness not a virtue is lost.
J.R.R. Tolkien's Characters, by far and wide, brought into this last chapter their hopes and dreams, their struggles and fears, and most importantly, their desires. From the Witch King of Angmar to King Theoden, the unquenchable malice of Sauron to the unrelenting hope of Gladriel, every character's story was brought forth unbound by any secret. All characters in a story can only be weighed by what you feel about them in the in end, and when you find yourself among the peoples of weightless pages, among the sounds of a silent night, you have crossed a great chasm and walked into the land of wonder; always to be remembered.
When we speak of the bones of a story, we can only knock against their moral foundations. To this, I cannot speak about them without joy and excitement - especially in this tale, without attachment. From the least of peoples came the greatest of triumphs. Each man is born into a world of unknowns, of difficulties, and sorrows, but it is to him to choose what he shall do in the time he has been given. We were not asked for our choice to life or death, but we are demanded to choose what we shall live for and what we will be remembered by.
Our story does not end bitterly, but beautifully; completed to the last sentence in justice, virtue, and wonder. As a trilogy of books leaves a trilogy of reviews, everything will rest upon my final memories:
From the Fires of Mount Doom the helm of Sauron, enemy of Middle Earth, fell to its ashes. All the glory and splendor of years forgotten began to blossom under the coming of spring and welcomed, with a bright morning, “The Return of the King”.
And so came the beginning of the Fourth Age.... And my enjoyment of The Lord of the Rings.
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