The Return of the King cover art

The Return of the King

The 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 audio book 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 Action & Adventure Classics Epic Epic Fantasy Fantasy Fiction Magic Celebrity Adventure Thought-Provoking

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)
All stars
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Andy Serkis is a legend, and has performed phenomenally, yes, yes he has precious. Well worth the listen my loves! Gollum! Gollum!

Narration

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Read admirably and with great command of his acting craft, Serkis is Superb! The absolute pleasure as he flits from character to character, delivering the words of Tolkien with a Mastery and range that is exceptional.

The great expectation too of hearing Serkis reprise his voice talents as Smeagol/Gollum does not leave you disappointed, gifting even more depth and emotional range to the character from the film adaptation.

Absolutely outstanding.

Andy Serkis is the Master of Voices!

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Andy is a true legend. Long time fan of LotR. This version was absolutely perfect!

phenomenal

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Absolutely brilliant. Such a great end to the trilogy as read by Andy Serkis. Can’t quite believe it but I even listened to the appendices at the end. I’ve never read them before as found them too dry, but with Andy’s reading they were fascinating! Highly recommend.

So good!

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Great voice by serkis, characters are so well played. Really makes the book come alive

Bloody good

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Brilliant series, if a little too long for my liking. Book 3 goes on, and on, and on....... However, the Lord of the Rings series is that which all stories in the same genre since are measured against. The narration is perfect

Brilliant!

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This last installment did not disappoint. I thoroughly enjoyed it, as I did the preceding books as read by Andy Serkis. He brings extraordinary depth and feeling to his narration. The story is, of course, as classic as ever, but brought to life so skillfully in this reading. Loved it and I look forward to immersing myself in it again.

Sublime!

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A brilliant reading and so powerful! While Rob Inglis did an excellent job of the trilogy, Andy Serkis’ reading was full of feeling - I learned so much more through listening of the back history of all ages. Thank you!

Andy Serkis - Lord of the Rings reading

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It was such a pleasure to listen to Andy Serkis reading LoTR - he gave each character a distinct voice and brought the story to life. I’ve read the books 4 times, and listening to this version was like experiencing it anew - I picked up on so much detail I hadn’t before, much to do with Andy’s skilful and engaging reading. When Gollum started speaking, I was grinning ear to ear hearing that voice reading Tolkien’s words in full. I also loved the effort that went into the melody for each of the songs in the book - Andy Serkis’s singing voice may not be the strongest, but the tunes brought Tolkein’s lore to life more than I’ve ever heard before.

Outstanding

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Another incredible narration by Andy Serkis. I’ve always loved these stories, but they have been given new life. Even the appendices were so lovely to listen to and I usually struggle to read them with all the names and dates. Beautiful work.

Amazing

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