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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.

(P)2021 HarperCollins Publishers Limited Action & Adventure Epic Fantasy Fantasy Women's Adventure Women's Fiction Fiction Classics Magic Adventure Celebrity Funny Feel-Good Bedtime Story

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.

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

End of it all

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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.

The Lord of the Ring trilogy.

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I think I have managed to paint the entire house whilst listening to LOTR and enjoyed almost every second. Andi Serkis certainly adds hugely to the telling of the story although I think he was running short of accents by the 3rd book as I heard Geordie, Irish, Brummie and Cornish to name a few. Given this is a worldwide platform I'm sure there will be people out there that haven't a clue what I have just said!
Only problem now is finding a replacement of equal magnitude.

And now it's over..

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I didn’t think after the first two books things could improve, but Mr Serkis and the team have indeed surpassed themselves. If you are reading this then you probably already bought the first two and you don’t need me to tell how how good they are. You hand already spent your credit on this one…right?

Perfection perfected.

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I have read the Lord of the Rings
many times. I approached istening to it a little sceptically because I realised that a bad narrator could utterly ruin the experience; but as regards Andy Serkis. I need not have worried.
HOWEVER, BEWARE - Audible has another narrator on sale, which I found out when I accidentally bought the wrong Return of the King (last of the three volumes). That narrator is APPALLINGLY bad - I gave him a chance, but couldn't bear to listen for any more than 10 minutes. I bought the Serkis version and wrote off the wasted cost. If you have never read the Lord of the Rings, take care - don't allow a bad narrator to ruin your experience of this wonderful book.

Narration by Andy Serkis is excellent

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