[Amnorix]

Originally Posted by WV

Are the appendices included in the book Return of the King? I don't remember and I didn't see them on Amazon to buy. I'm rereading the Hobbit now in anticipation of seeing the movie.

Originally Posted by O.city

When is that talked about?

I figured, putting two and two together when reading the Hobbit that the Necro was Sauron.

I'm also curious if Sauromon knew what was going on when he is at the meeting with Gandalf at Rivendale.

The Appendices come "standard" at the end of any version of Return of the King that you buy. Appendix A is where all the good stuff is, by and large.

Appendix B can also be helpful, as it contains a timeline which includes some substantive stuff which answers your questions above (keeping in mind that Peter Jackson has played substantially with the timeline and even with some character motivations (Saruman, especially) in the movies versus the books, such as:

Spoiler!

"2850 [Third Age]: Gandalf again enters Dol Guldur, and discovers that its master is indeed Sauron."

"2851: The White Council meets. Gandalf urges an attack on Dol Guldur. Saruman overrules him. (Footnote 1). Saruman begins to search near the Gladden Fields." [for the One Ring]

"Footnote 1: It afterwards became clear that Saruman had then begun to desire to possess the One Ring himself, and he hoped that it might reveal itself, seeking its master, if Sauron were let be for a time."

[note, fast forward 88 years!]

"2939: Saruman discovers that Sauron's servants are searching the Anduin near Gladden Fields, and that Sauron therefore has learned of Isildur's end. He is alarmed, but says nothing to the Council."

2941: [all the events relayed in The Hobbit transpire] Included are one key sentence relating to Saruman: "The White Council meets; Saruman agrees on an attack on Dol Guldur, since he now wishes to prevent Sauron from searching the river."