The Return of the King, by J.R.R. Tolkien
I finally got around to finishing this after reading The Two Towers a couple months ago. Like TTT, ROTK is split into two sections, the first of which details the adventures of the remaining members of the Fellowship, Aragorn's gathering of men of Rohan and Gondor (and the Dead Men) to fight in defense of Minas Tirith (the capital of Gondor, basically, the White City), and then to assault Sauron directly by attacking the Black Gate, in order to buy time for Sam and Frodo to complete their mission to Mount Doom. I recall when reading ROTK at a younger age, caring far more about the first section of the second section - what happens to Sam and Frodo! Come on!
With a bit more age and perspective, I found myself just as caught up in the doings of the King of Rohan, the Stewards of Gondor, and the New King, Aragorn.
I'm very intrigued about what has and has not made it into Peter Jackson's film version -- will Pippin and Merry separate, one with King Theoden and the other with Gondor's Steward? Will the tying up of loose ends, and touring the countryside of Middle-Earth (though Tolkien doesn't call it a king's progress, that's somewhat of what it is), and especially the scouring of the Shire and later departure of the Rivendell elves, make it in at all? ROTK ends the way it should, as the Third Age ends, with great legends sailing off into mystery, and normal EveryHobbits settling down with a pipe and their children and and normal everyday lives.
If its been a few years, especially if you first read the Lord of the Rings trilogy as a youngster, definitely sit yourself down and read them again.
Fellowship of the Ring
The Two Towers
The Return of the King
