The Return of the King (Book Three, Lord of the Rings Trilogy)

The Battle for Middle-Earth has begun . . . almost. First, Gandalf and Pippin must journey to the grand city of Minas Tirith, capital of Gondor, a realm of men. They must warn the Steward of Gondor, Denethor, that Sauron's army has left Mordor and is now approaching the city. However, still bitter after his son Boromir's death, Denethor commands Pippin to become a tower guard to pay his debt for 'what he did'. As his other son is nearly slain defending  the surrounding lands, and a force of some 200,000 Orcs gather around the city, slowly Denethor descends into madness. When the full forces of darkness finally converge, with the Ringwraiths (also known as Nazgul), the lieutenants of Sauron, in the lead, all seems lost. However, Aragorn, rightful ruler of Gondor, has a plan. There were once a nation of men that pledged allegiance to Isildur, the First King of Men. When he called on them for battle they refused and were cursed to spend an eternity waiting for their rightful ruler to call on them once more. Aragorn hopes to enlist these men in battle against Sauron and the Orcs. If he fails, the world falls. Meanwhile, in Mordor, Frodo has been taken prisoner by the Orcs and is being held in the tower of Crith Ungol. Sam rescues him, but Frodo, weak after his imprisonment, is unable to carry the One Ring of Sauron. So, in his stead, Sam loyally carries the Ring. As the seconds creep by, they come closer and closer to Mt. Doom, the one place where the ring can be destroyed. However, every second they waste is another second that Sauron gains power and another second that the Ring slowly corrupts their souls. Will they reach Mordor in time and blot evil from the land at last, or will the darkness overwhelm all good and all that it stands for?

The Return of the King is the final installment in the Lord of the Rings epic. The prequel to the prequel, The Silmarillion, was published after Tolkien's death. So the order, chronologically at least, is The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.

The Two Towers (Book Two, Lord of the Rings Trilogy)

The Battle against the Uruk-hai is over. Boromir is dead, slain by the Orcs. Merry and Pippin have been captured by the enemy and are taken to Isengard. Sam and Frodo have moved, fled rather, to the east so they may enter Mordor unnoticed and destroy the Ring of Sauron once and for all. All that seems to remain of the Fellowship are Legolas (the Elf), Gimli (the Dwarf) and Aragorn (the Human). However, while escorting their prisoners to Isengard, the surviving Uruk-Hai are attacked by the Rohirrim, the people of Rohan, and Pippin and Merry flee into the surrounding forest. There, they meet the Ents, tree-like creatures that are the 'Shepherds of the Forest'. They tell Treebeard, the Ent leader, of the destruction Saruman has caused. Enraged, the Ents march on Isengard and lay siege to the main tower, leaving Saruman trapped. Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli and a surprise character who has been resurrected, arrive on the scene and reunite with the two Hobbits. Sam and Frodo are all alone, save Gollum, the twisted, monstrous, corrupted former owner of the One Ring. The two friends have almost reached Mount Doom, but with Gollum constantly conspiring against them, will they make it there alive?

The Two Towers is my personal favorite of the Trilogy. Between the Ents and Shelob (the giant spider that inhabits the caves of Mordor), the Battle of Helm's Deep and Gollum, this book is jam-packed with content and characters that will keep you up into all hours of the night, craving for more.

The Fellowship of the Ring (Book One, Lord of the Rings Trilogy)

It has been many years since the events of The Hobbit. Bilbo is now celebrating his 111th birthday. The strangest part, he hasn't aged since his marvelous adventure. At the celebration, he gives his home, land, wealth and possessions, including a strange golden ring to his relative, Frodo Baggins, and leaves to live with the Elves in Rivendell. Gandalf the Grey, whom all of the inhabitants of The Shire now know as a friend, is at the event and afterwards instructs Frodo to keep the strange ring 'secret and safe'. Frodo does so for seventeen years (contrary to the movie in which he does so only for about a week), after which Gandalf finally returns, but with grave news. The ring that Bilbo gave to Frodo is actually the One Ring of Sauron, the ultimate evil. Sauron was banished from this world generations ago, his ring lost. If Sauron manages to retain his ring once more, he will have enough power to conquer the world. Along with his three friends, Sam, Merry and Pippin, Frodo accompanies Gandalf on his quest to destroy Sauron's Ring. As they continue their trek, they encounter powerful allies and dangerous enemies, risking their lives every step of the way. As the days speed on, the races of the world realize that they need to band together if they want to stop Sauron once and for all. They will need to form a Fellowship, three Hobbit, two Human, one Elf, one Dwarf, and one Wizard, The Fellowship of the Ring. The one problem, the Ring can only be destroyed by the fires from which it came. To be precise, the volcano Mt. Doom in Mordor. The only OTHER problem, Mordor is the seat of Sauron's power.

The Fellowship of the Ring is the first book in J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings Trilogy and was made into a movie in 2001 by Peter Jackson. I loved both and highly recommend the book and Peter Jackson's visionary interpretation. The Hobbit, the prequel, will be made into a two-part movie in the upcoming years, also by Peter Jackson.

The Hobbit (Prequel to The Lord of the Rings)

Bilbo Baggins of Bag End is a Hobbit, a race of creatures like humans, but not quite half as tall, that live in The Shire in Middle-Earth. One fateful day, Bilbo meets Gandalf the Grey, a mysterious Wizard who has a proposition for Bilbo to  join him on a 'little adventure'. At first, Bilbo refuses. After all, Baggins' always stay at Bag End, always. However, Gandalf devises a plan to trick Bilbo into hosting a dinner party for a band of Dwarves. The group spins a tale of a vast treasure hoarded by a Dragon in the Lonely Mountain. Gandalf tells the group that Bilbo is to be their Burglar of the Dragon's gold, that is, if he accepts. Bilbo, awed by their tale, ultimately agrees. Little does he know, however, that this will be the journey of a lifetime that will test his honor, moral fiber and the very caliber of his soul. A complex story filled with memorable characters including: Goblins, Orcs, Trolls, Elves, and of course, Rings of Power. The Hobbit is the stunning prequel to the greatest fantasy epic of all time.

The Hobbit is a truly great book and the first part of a truly amazing series. I personally love the Game of Thrones. However, nothing, not even Game of Thrones, can compare to the action, magic, suspense, and power struggles of this, Tolkien's Masterpiece. 

Ironhand (Book Two, Stoneheart Trilogy)

In the second installment of the Stoneheart Trilogy, author Charlie Fletcher has raised the stakes. George has discovered that he is a Maker, a person who can alter or truly destroy a statue, and create anything out of stone and metal. Through his journey, he has met Edie, a young girl and one of the supposedly extinct Glints, a person who can see the past, and all of un-London. However, in the first book, the Gunner who protected George was captured by the Walker, a human servant of the Stone who is now hunting George and Edie. As the two friends set out to find their captured companion, George is snatched by a Taint, a statue that has no soul, that George names Spout. George is saved from Spout by an 'Agent of Fate' called Ariel who has come to ensure that George takes 'the Hard Way.' Brought by Ariel to a statue known only as The Last Knight, George is challenged to a duel and escapes certain death at the Knight's hand by Spout, who brakes his wing in the process. George uses his maker powers to heal the Taint's wing and the two, George and Spout, form a friendship. George's escape comes with a price, however. Three veins of marble, bronze, and an unknown stone are slowly making their way up George's arm. If they reach George's heart, he will die. Each represents a duel he must fight on land, on water, and in air. For each time George wins a duel, one vein will disappear. Will George and Edie save the Gunner from the mysterious Walker? What will George do with the Last Knight pursuing him? Will he survive to right his wrong and save the world? Find out in Ironhand!

Ironhand is my favorite of the Stoneheart Trilogy because we meet my favorite character of the entire series, The Last Knight. He is the cover character of this book, a villain with noble intentions that you will never forget. I highly recommend you read the series and this book.

Stoneheart (Book One, Stoneheart Trilogy)

During a trip to the Natural History Museum in London, twelve-year-old George Chapman breaks off the head of a dragon statue in an act of rebellion. This tiny act will have massive consequences, as George will soon find out. Almost immediately after desecrating the statue, a large stone pterodactyl peels itself off of the museum and launches himself at George. George does the one thing he can, he runs. As he runs for his life, more statues animate and chase him. At the Royal Artillery Memorial, as George attempts to hide from his pursuers, yet another statue animates. This one destroys the others, saving George's life. This statue, known only as The Gunner, explains that George has been transported to an alternate version of London that no one can see, called un-London. In un-London the inhabitants are all statues of two very different types. First, there are the Spits who were created with a piece of their sculptor's essence (the spitting image). The other, more dangerous, type are known as Taints, statues without essence, without a soul. Flung into a warring world of stone and metal, George must right his wrong before an ancient evil is released and the world itself is crushed.

I loved Stoneheart, the first of Charlie Fletcher's Stoneheart Trilogy. In truth, I loved the whole series. Fletcher has created wonderfully crafted characters who are turned from inanimate sculptures into living believable breathing people, and an amazingly complex world I still remember vividly.