Fantasy Buddy Reads discussion

This is a Buddy Read for The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien starting August 10, 2023.

Jumping in today... looking forward to the conclusion... this is probably the book I remember the least.

Through chapter 6--(view spoiler)[When Eowyn strikes down the Nazgul king... that part still gives me shivers down my spine.

And the speech she gave Aragorn earlier, of the role of women... that too. And that went word for word into the movies.

It just took Tolkein four books to finally give a woman a good role...

This also makes me think of how different these stories would be, if they were written with even a hint of Grimdark... Eowyn would have had to undergo grueling training, there would of been scenes of her hiding her gender and almost getting caught.... (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 7--(view spoiler)[The image of Denethor climbing up on his own bier... I feel so bad for Faramir, who could never live up to his father's expectations... even if you know it is your father's fault, not yours, the little voice never goes away... (hide spoiler)]

Into part two, "book 6" Chapter 4 (view spoiler)[Wow, that went so fast. I wasn't expecting this segment of the story to come to the climax so quickly.

I had happy shivers when Sam delivered his line "I can't carry the Ring, Mr. Frodo, but I can carry you!"

For the first time since the party split, we got some little scenes spliced in from the other side.

I might be getting a tear or two upon the recognition of Frodo & Sam...

And I keep thinking... if this were a modern novel, this segment of Frodo & Sam's journey would have been much more terrible, and filled with great pain... (hide spoiler)]

Finished! (view spoiler)[I love how the ending gives us plenty of time to enjoy the aftermath, and to say goodbye. I feel like this book has the denouement part of the story down pat.

Tear up again at the end, when the four are together again, and Frodo reveals that he is not returning to the Shire, but going on across the sea...

Makes me remember this song, and just how perfect it was for the ending:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ejQP...

I have to admit though, I find it a bit weird of a detail that after using Galadriel's magic dirt, a lot of blonde-haired babies get born in the Shire... somewhat disconcerting... (hide spoiler)]

((so sorry I missed this series read you guys. I hope you enjoyed it!! Life has been blah. I lost my job recently so I haven't been in the reading mood. But I hope to get back to things soon and escape in some worlds~))

Oh crap! So sorry to hear that Katie. I will keep my fingers crossed for better things to come your way...

I for one am still following all the old discussions, so if your whimsy leads you back towards these BRs, you won't be alone!

Finally started.

I think this is the grimmest of the trilogy; Fellowship is more lighthearted, and Towers has more adventure (arguably - I'm sure some people would disagree), but this book seems harder and less 'nice', if that makes sense. I know it's nowhere near grimdark, but there always seemed to be a feeling of darkness and almost-certain defeat hanging over the first part of the book (this is all simply my opinion; others may well think and feel differently!)

Chapters 1 - 3: I remember finding these chapters a bit of a slog when I first read this. I can appreciate it's setting the scene for later, but it was very hard going for the young fantasy fan I was at the time. I was never very keen on Denethor, and still don't particularly like him. (view spoiler)[Even though I understand his grimness and despair rather more now, and find him more of a tragic figure. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 2: Yay, rangers! The Dunedain have arrived! (view spoiler)[And Aragon pulls another neat 'heir to Isildur' trick out of his bag with the company of the dead. It did occur to me that it's actually very 'under-written' by today's standards: if that was written now, I think they'd be page after page about the look and feel of the forsworn dead following them in the dark - it wouldn't only be Gimli who was feeling terror like madness following just behind him.

That said, I think I still find the log book they find in Moria more chilling. That last note: "We cannot get out...drums in the deep...they are coming" really creeped me out when I first read it! (hide spoiler)]

((Thank you Nirkatze! I hope so too >_< I will definitely be checking back on the forums for when I do these reads ^~^))

@Katie--yay! ^^

@Shaitarn--really interesting analysis of the three books--I can see what you mean, about the feeling of each... though my gut impression of Two Towers is darker than yours--mostly because of where Sam & Frodo end up at the end... but if I think primarily on the Fellowship (group, not book) half, I definitely agree.

re: Denethor--(view spoiler)[Totally agree... I never really understood what Pippin saw in him... but it does do a good job of setting him up as a tragic figure... and a cautionary tale for the appeal of power... (hide spoiler)]

re: Chapter 2--I also can't help but compare scenes to modern writing... it seems like writing was... maybe "less is more"? I get this same feeling in the Zelazny Chronicles of Amber BR too. And it's kind of fun to imagine what this story would be like if written by one of the modern greats...

Oooh, that is a great line from Moria... there are still a lot of great lines in these book that give me shivers...