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  • The Return of the King

  • The Lord of the Rings, Book 3
  • By: J. R. R. Tolkien
  • Narrated by: Andy Serkis
  • Length: 21 hrs and 52 mins
  • 4.9 out of 5 stars (2,241 ratings)
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The Return of the King cover art

The Return of the King

By: J. R. R. Tolkien
Narrated by: Andy Serkis
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Summary

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.

©1954, 1966 The Tolkien Estate Limited (P)2021 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Critic reviews

"The story moves on with a tremendous narrative rush to its climax...extraordinary imaginative work, part saga, part allegory, and wholly exciting." (The Times)

"A triumphant close...a grand piece of work, grand in both conception and execution. An astonishing imaginative tour de force." (Sunday Telegraph)

"His astonishing inventiveness remains to the end and is continued in a series of appendices" (The Guardian)

Featured article: Aragorn - a Lord of the Rings character guide


From his time as the ranger Strider to his ascension to King of Gondor, this guide has everything you need to know about the hero Aragorn. Perhaps one of the most mysterious and intriguing characters in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Aragorn is known by many names: Strider, Elessar, Estel, and finally Aragorn II, heir to the throne of Gondor and Arnor. From a shadowy tracker who mysteriously comes to Frodo's aid to an essential member of the Fellowship of the Ring to the long-awaited king who restores harmony and peace to Middle-earth, Aragorn plays many important roles in the fantasy epic. And he has quite an interesting history.

What listeners say about The Return of the King

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Wonderful performance, but.....

Wonderful performance, but can someone please tell Andy Serkis that HE CANNOT SING AND PLEASE STOP!!!

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7 people found this helpful

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This is THE reading of the Lord of the Rings.

Outstanding performance. This is THE reading of the Lord of the Rings. Andy Serkis has earnt passage to the Undying Lands for his persistence of perfection. No praise is high enough.

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Enjoyable

I’ve always been a fan of Tolkien’s various works but they are heavy reads! Mr Serkis does a marvellous job at bringing the story to life with good pacing and characterisations, I only wish he could sing as well as he can talk! The singing in al three books was a bit off putting but the overall narration more than makes up for it, we’ll worth a listen for any fans out there.

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4 people found this helpful

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Hobbits sing better than Andy

Andy can't sing for toffee but the rest was awesome. would highly recommend. Grond Grond Grond

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End of it all

I have now watched the films, read the books and heard the audiobooks and wont be for the last time no doubt. Thank you Andy Serkis🙂🙂

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attack of the appendices

a wonderful story delivered by true talent, followed by a wearisome but necessary slog through the appendices, which serve as additional lore to both the six Lord of the ring episodes and to The Hobbit.

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The Lord of the Ring trilogy.

All three of the Andy Serkis narrated Lord of the Rings books were really good, as good as watching the films. I had to make myself turn the book off to go to sleep in the early hours of the mornings, I just wanted to keep listening.

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Incredible

Beautifully read, hearing this version is an absolute must for Tolkien fans, Andy Serkis is a master storyteller and truly does the book justice, There is so much more to this book than the movies, which Andy Serkis effortlessly brings to life. Hopefully someone at Audible can convince him to do versions of all of the tales of Middle Earth.

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Endings are painful

"For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach."

And with that, my first read through of The Lord of the Rings series is at an end. What a journey it has been.

I am dreadful at finishing series, it wasn't easy to say goodbye to the characters I've grown to love. Going on adventures with them in the movies is one thing, but being there for every single moment throughout the books was an entirely different experience.

I cannot praise Andy Serkins enough for his reading of this series. At times I had to remind myself that each voice was read by one person. He truly made it a remarkable experience, one I will never forget and one I will more than likely experience many times over with rereads.

The pace, the flow, the storyline, the viewpoints.. I loved it all.

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Brilliant delivery by Andy Serkis.

Andy Serkis's work is nothing short of colossal. He brings all the characters to life with their own individual voices, accents and mannerisms. Not all of Lord of the Rings is riveting, but it's so fluently and entertainingly delivered here, I was not tempted to skip over anything. OK, I may have sped past one or two of the Hobbit songs. But apart from that, I was enthralled.

A magnificent accomplishment.

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