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The Two Towers
(The Lord of the Rings #2)
by
In celebration of The Hobbit's fiftieth anniversary, the authoratative edition of its stirring sequel, The Lord of the Rings, is elegantly presented in hardcover, uniform edition. In the First Part of The Lord of the Rings, 111-year-old Bilbo Baggins (hero of The Hobbit) passed along his magical ring to his orphaned nephew, Frodo - unwittingly setting its original owner, t
...more
Hardcover, Second Edition, 352 pages
Published
March 3rd 1988
by Houghton Mifflin Company
(first published November 11th 1954)
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Start your review of The Two Towers (The Lord of the Rings, #2)

Another Tolkien review? Yep, I’m putting out another Tolkien review. I’m on a mission, a mission to review everything written by Tolkien. And I literally mean everything. I’ve read most of his works, so I’m starting with those first before I move on to the few I haven’t read (there’s not many).This is all preparation, and a readdress of his writings, before I delve into Christopher Tolkien’s twelve book The History of Middle-Earth later on this year. Yep, I’m that much of a Tolkien nerd.
I’ve be ...more
I’ve be ...more

The Two Towers (Lord of the Rings,#2) by J.R.R. Tolkien

As usual, Tolkien’s writing is superb. He creates such a complex and detailed world that is so entertaining. In this book, the Fellowship of the Ring, which was formed in the first book, has fallen apart. Now, Frodo and Sam, as a companion, try to pass the gates of Mordor with the Ring. Merry and Pippin meet the oldest race in Middle-earth. Meanwhile, Aragorn, Gimli and, Legolas-prepare for the final battle. And that will determine the fate ...more

As usual, Tolkien’s writing is superb. He creates such a complex and detailed world that is so entertaining. In this book, the Fellowship of the Ring, which was formed in the first book, has fallen apart. Now, Frodo and Sam, as a companion, try to pass the gates of Mordor with the Ring. Merry and Pippin meet the oldest race in Middle-earth. Meanwhile, Aragorn, Gimli and, Legolas-prepare for the final battle. And that will determine the fate ...more

(494 From 1001 Books) - The Two Towers (The Lord of The Rings, #2), J.R.R. (John Ronald Reuel) Tolkien
The Two Towers is the second volume of J.R.R. Tolkien's high fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings. It is preceded by The Fellowship of the Ring and followed by The Return of the King.
Awakening from a dream of Gandalf the Grey battling the Balrog, Frodo Baggins and his friend Samwise Gamgee find themselves lost in the Emyn Muil near Mordor and soon become aware that they are being stalked by Goll ...more
The Two Towers is the second volume of J.R.R. Tolkien's high fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings. It is preceded by The Fellowship of the Ring and followed by The Return of the King.
Awakening from a dream of Gandalf the Grey battling the Balrog, Frodo Baggins and his friend Samwise Gamgee find themselves lost in the Emyn Muil near Mordor and soon become aware that they are being stalked by Goll ...more

“It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end… because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it’s only a passing thing… this shadow. Even darkness must pass.”
Friendship, hope, resilience, faith, justice, and bravery; these days, good-hearted with no grey morality characters are much easie ...more

The hope for saving Middle-Earth continues!
THE FELLOWSHIP IS BROKEN
There is some good in this world, and it's worth fighting for.
So much for the fellowship made of representative of the races of good in the Middle-Earth with the task of destroying The One Ring in the hellish fires of Mount Doom, located right inside of Sauron’s domains.
Members fell, member got tempted by The One Ring, members got trapped, the journey now has two roads and it’s not certain which way is the right one. ...more
THE FELLOWSHIP IS BROKEN
There is some good in this world, and it's worth fighting for.
So much for the fellowship made of representative of the races of good in the Middle-Earth with the task of destroying The One Ring in the hellish fires of Mount Doom, located right inside of Sauron’s domains.
Members fell, member got tempted by The One Ring, members got trapped, the journey now has two roads and it’s not certain which way is the right one. ...more

The second act of the classic Lord Of The Rings saga is divided into two halves; the second half focussing on Frodo, Sam and Gollum and the first half focussing on the rest of the divided fellowship.
To be honest, I love this book so much, it's virtually impossible for me to write a balanced review. If you're also a fan, you know exactly what I mean, so I'll leave it there. :-D
Buddy read with Sunshine Seaspray.
-----------------------------------------------
Re-read in 2017: If anything, I love it ...more
To be honest, I love this book so much, it's virtually impossible for me to write a balanced review. If you're also a fan, you know exactly what I mean, so I'll leave it there. :-D
Buddy read with Sunshine Seaspray.
-----------------------------------------------
Re-read in 2017: If anything, I love it ...more

Click here to watch a video review of this book on my channel, From Beginning to Bookend.
...more


A review of Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers by Sauron
After my review of the Fellowship of the Ring, my agent BBMed me and said that people still thought I was a bitter a-hole. He suggested that I learn to deal with my situation by talking with some likeminded people who have faced similar frustration. So he signed me up for Dark Lords and Villains Anonymous. At least that’s what it's called on the website. When I send out a FB invite to my peeps I usually use the subject line "Hatas Beware". B ...more
After my review of the Fellowship of the Ring, my agent BBMed me and said that people still thought I was a bitter a-hole. He suggested that I learn to deal with my situation by talking with some likeminded people who have faced similar frustration. So he signed me up for Dark Lords and Villains Anonymous. At least that’s what it's called on the website. When I send out a FB invite to my peeps I usually use the subject line "Hatas Beware". B ...more

Book Review
For as long as I can remember, I have loved serial fiction and saga stories. The Lord of the Rings trilogy and associated books by J.R.R. Tolkien are a treasure. I first found the books when I was 14 and had to re-read again when the movies came out in the last decade or so. The second book, The Two Towers, was a worth follow-up, enhancing every original love I had with the story. I'm generally not a fan of the fantasy genre, and have only read perhaps 20 books in total, l ...more
For as long as I can remember, I have loved serial fiction and saga stories. The Lord of the Rings trilogy and associated books by J.R.R. Tolkien are a treasure. I first found the books when I was 14 and had to re-read again when the movies came out in the last decade or so. The second book, The Two Towers, was a worth follow-up, enhancing every original love I had with the story. I'm generally not a fan of the fantasy genre, and have only read perhaps 20 books in total, l ...more

I'm one of very few people in the world that actually really hate the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and 'The Hobbit' as well. I've read 'The Hobbit' twice, trying to capture the second time what I was sure I must have missed the first time round... but no. And then I read The Fellowship of the Ring and found Frodo's story to be as drab and long-winded as that of Bilbo. I would have stopped there but my friends told me that I should definitely read this book, promising me great adventure and well-wr ...more

One of my favorite books with extraordinary battles and wonderful writing.
The two towers are the symbols of religious and political malfeasance both affronted by Bilbo and the Fellowship of the Ring along with their allies in some of the most visual scenes of battle ever written.
Tolkien switches the storytelling technique of the Quest which served him so well in The Hobbit, or There and Back Again and The Fellowship of the Ring. Following Boromir's temporary insanity at the end of the previous ...more
The two towers are the symbols of religious and political malfeasance both affronted by Bilbo and the Fellowship of the Ring along with their allies in some of the most visual scenes of battle ever written.
Tolkien switches the storytelling technique of the Quest which served him so well in The Hobbit, or There and Back Again and The Fellowship of the Ring. Following Boromir's temporary insanity at the end of the previous ...more

Herewith Some Notes On My Inaugural Journey Through The Second Volume Of Tolkien's The Lord Of The Rings
Me after staying up all night reading The Two Towers
I liked The Fellowship Of The Ring , but this book made me love Tolkien’s Middle-Earth epic. Some of the writing is astonishing (see quotes below). The author handles various storylines – the fellowship has scattered, after all – gracefully. And after having two of its main characters (and their slimy guide) spend a lot of time climbi ...more

I liked The Fellowship Of The Ring , but this book made me love Tolkien’s Middle-Earth epic. Some of the writing is astonishing (see quotes below). The author handles various storylines – the fellowship has scattered, after all – gracefully. And after having two of its main characters (and their slimy guide) spend a lot of time climbi ...more

Aug 23, 2009
K.D. Absolutely
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommended to K.D. by:
Time 100, 501 Must Read Books, Modern Library, Metalist, 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (2006-2010)
Shelves:
1001-core,
drama,
501,
action,
book-club,
with-movie,
environment,
adventure,
british,
fantasy
Tolkien did not design The Lord of the Rings to be read as three separate books. However, since the book is flawless, there is just no boring moment. Even if you chop it further to 6, 12 or 24 books, I think all of them deserve 5 stars. I am not a big fan of fantasy genre but this one is just over the top. It is about good vs. evil and the nature of evil. With a universal theme like that, the non-stop action, the memorable characters, the extricate design of the fictional world, Middle-Earth and
...more

2020: I noticed the two curses placed on Gollum, from Frodo and Faramir, foreshadowing the end, and wonder if Tolkien intended this as prophecy or irony. Also, Sam asks Frodo about Gollum, hero or foe. It's an interesting question: evil but he accomplished the task that saved Middle Earth. The energy and ecstasy, the desire to never leave this world, the reality of the characters. Overwhelmed again, like reading from a different mind. The descriptions of evil horrified me, so vivid and pure, una
...more

'I was going to find a way into Mordor,’ he said faintly. ‘I was going to Gorgoroth. I must find the Mountain of Fire and cast the thing into the gulf of Doom. Gandalf said so. I do not think I shall ever get there.’

The second movie was my introduction to Lord of the Rings: sometime in my teens, I wanted to watch 'Braveheart‘ on TV, and I ended up watching 'The Two Towers' instead – right in the middle of the Battle of Helm‘s Deep. I don’t remember the year, but it was Easter, and the next ...more

The Two Towers suffers from the Jan syndrome. It's the middle child, and one that wasn't even meant to exist. Tolkien didn't intend The Lord of the Rings to be a trilogy, but rather one whole book, so inevitably the second volume was doomed to have no true beginning nor a satisfying finish.
When I first read it as a teen I didn't enjoy it much at all, and it's still not my favorite of the three, but having read it again recently I warmed to it. It provides an admirably strong bridge between the f ...more
When I first read it as a teen I didn't enjoy it much at all, and it's still not my favorite of the three, but having read it again recently I warmed to it. It provides an admirably strong bridge between the f ...more

I have to say, this one drags a little more than Fellowship, but it's still a heck of a ride.
It's split clean down the middle: Book 3 deals with Aragorn and friends as they journey in pursuit of the orcs, encountering many new friends along the way, while Book 4 continues Frodo's journey towards the Cracks of Doom.
What I love most about this installment is all the new characters. Finally we learn a little more of Rohan and Gondor and the people that inhabit those lands. Eomer is one of my favour ...more
It's split clean down the middle: Book 3 deals with Aragorn and friends as they journey in pursuit of the orcs, encountering many new friends along the way, while Book 4 continues Frodo's journey towards the Cracks of Doom.
What I love most about this installment is all the new characters. Finally we learn a little more of Rohan and Gondor and the people that inhabit those lands. Eomer is one of my favour ...more

Rereading The Lord of the Rings in German is an interesting exercise; as usual, not knowing the language well and being forced to go slowly makes me notice aspects I missed or skipped over on earlier visits. Two things in particular stood out. First, and I guess this comes from first being exposed to Tolkien at age 10, I had somehow managed to block out the fact that Frodo is obviously gay. I outlined this theory for my friend E, who shares my passion for Scandinavian languages and Middle Earth
...more

Nov 29, 2020
Ashleigh (a frolic through fiction)
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
physically-own
I just felt overwhelmingly ambivalent about this book and I’m sad about it ok

Aug 12, 2018
Iryna *Book and Sword*
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
adult-fantasy,
favorites
“War must be, while we defend our lives against a destroyer who would devour all; but I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend.”
This second installment (or the middle of the book to be more correct) is phenomenal. If you had some trouble trudging thought the songs and the first and second breakfasts in the first book, this book is your reward. The story, the characters, the sass! The Two T ...more
This second installment (or the middle of the book to be more correct) is phenomenal. If you had some trouble trudging thought the songs and the first and second breakfasts in the first book, this book is your reward. The story, the characters, the sass! The Two T ...more

Anish: This book is a vast, VAST improvement on the last one!
People: Really? And yet you rated it 4 stars while you rated the last one 5 stars!
Anish: Yeah well, for me this book had a couple of problems...
People: Really? Are you even serious? Do you not know what you have just read? Who you've read?
Anish: I do know that and it has nothing to do with penmenship but...
People: For shame, Anish, for shame! What do you have to say for yourself?
Anish: This is what I have to say...
First ...more
People: Really? And yet you rated it 4 stars while you rated the last one 5 stars!
Anish: Yeah well, for me this book had a couple of problems...
People: Really? Are you even serious? Do you not know what you have just read? Who you've read?
Anish: I do know that and it has nothing to do with penmenship but...
People: For shame, Anish, for shame! What do you have to say for yourself?
Anish: This is what I have to say...
First ...more

Nov 16, 2020
Tharindu Dissanayake
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
favorites-fiction
"The wise speak only of what they know,"
"Dawn is ever the hope of men,"
That settles it. I'm going to stop watching any more movies, not until I've read the book. It's not that I have anything against the movie, for I love it, it's just that I couldn't help but picture most scenes as they appeared in the movie. How different it would've been if I were to read this first, I wonder.
"Few can foresee whither their road will lead them, till they come to its end."
As the lay of the land for middle earth ...more
"Dawn is ever the hope of men,"
That settles it. I'm going to stop watching any more movies, not until I've read the book. It's not that I have anything against the movie, for I love it, it's just that I couldn't help but picture most scenes as they appeared in the movie. How different it would've been if I were to read this first, I wonder.
"Few can foresee whither their road will lead them, till they come to its end."
As the lay of the land for middle earth ...more

As this is my third reread of this book, so I'm not going to write a long-winded review, as I think I've said most of what needs to be said about this book in a previous review.
This book is still as amazingly beautiful, as the first time I read it. The only thing I am certain of, is that Tolkien's works never tire in your mind, and they somehow become even better, each time you read them. I just love this trilogy. ...more
This book is still as amazingly beautiful, as the first time I read it. The only thing I am certain of, is that Tolkien's works never tire in your mind, and they somehow become even better, each time you read them. I just love this trilogy. ...more

Well two down and one to go. One of the first things I have to say about this book is WOW the battle of Helm's Deep was short. Since I saw the movies before reading the books, so much of what I saw is superimposed over the words I'm reading. This is probably the first book series I've read, after seeing the movies, where I feel like seeing the movies helped. I tip my hat to Peter Jackson, personally, after reading the first two parts of the Lord of the Rings, I think he did a fantastic job with
...more

I feel guilty rating this book because I kid you not, I just BARELY absorbed anything in this book. I listened to it on audio, and I was maybe only attentive for 50% of that experience. It doesn't help that my professor gets so off track during class that we never actually discuss what we've read, so I don't have any incentive to read what we've been assigned. This series is definitely something I want to revisit in the future when I'm not skim-reading it out of a 10-pound series bindup and I do
...more

It is with great sadness that I begin this review, as whilst I was in the process of reading this book, I found out the the son of J.R.R Tolkien and the person who edited much of his father’s work has passed. Christopher Tolkien is undoubtedly a legend in the fantasy community and even in the larger literary world. This is very disheartening news for fantasy community as the way that he has continued his father’s work was astounding. So RIP Christopher Tolkien.
Now here’s the review.
I think what ...more
Now here’s the review.
I think what ...more

It's sometimes hard to complain about one of your favorite books, but here I go, comparing it to the damn movie and making my complaints. :)
... the movie has much better pacing. I mean, damn, I love how it improved on the book by switching between PoV's like that! No sticking with Aragorn and company and THEN sticking with Merry and Pippin, etc. And then the battles were all pretty much superior in the movies, but we're spoiled. Super spoiled.
BUT I really really HATE how the movie adds freaking ...more
... the movie has much better pacing. I mean, damn, I love how it improved on the book by switching between PoV's like that! No sticking with Aragorn and company and THEN sticking with Merry and Pippin, etc. And then the battles were all pretty much superior in the movies, but we're spoiled. Super spoiled.
BUT I really really HATE how the movie adds freaking ...more

“The cold hard lands,
they bites our hands,
they gnaws our feet.
The rocks and stones
are like old bones
all bare of meat.
But stream and pool
is wet and cool:
so nice for feet!
Get Down!”
Yesss, we love rock ‘n’ roll, don’t we, Precious? The nassty hobbitses they hates it. Dust and ashes! Those nassty thieving disco dancing hobbitses, we hates them!
I often heard that the LOTR trilogy is one book published as three, I have always thought it was some kind of hyperbole, but no, having just read The ...more
they bites our hands,
they gnaws our feet.
The rocks and stones
are like old bones
all bare of meat.
But stream and pool
is wet and cool:
so nice for feet!
Get Down!”
Yesss, we love rock ‘n’ roll, don’t we, Precious? The nassty hobbitses they hates it. Dust and ashes! Those nassty thieving disco dancing hobbitses, we hates them!
I often heard that the LOTR trilogy is one book published as three, I have always thought it was some kind of hyperbole, but no, having just read The ...more

Arachnophobes’ least favourite part of the story… Then again, there are scarier forces than the giant spider, Shelob, and gianter(!) creatures than her - Treebeard, the gentle ent, for instance. Sidenote: apparently, there’s no autumn in his bit of Middle Earth:
...more
Ent:
When spring unfolds the beechen-leaf and sap is in the bough,
When light is on the wild-wood stream, and wind is on the brow,
When stride is long, and breath is deep, and keen the mountain air,
Come back to me! Come back to me, and say m

May 07, 2018
Dannii Elle
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2021-tbr,
fantastic-fabrications
My final read of 2018 and it was a full five stars and a new favourite! I'm looking forward to completing this infamous trilogy but I'm putting it off as I seem to be unable to say goodbye to these beloved characters.
On my review for The Fellowship of the Ring I stated that my familiarity with the film acted as a barrier, in some areas, when it differed from these books it was based upon. However, it also helped me to bond with all the many elves and dwarves and hobbits, and it is now impossible ...more
On my review for The Fellowship of the Ring I stated that my familiarity with the film acted as a barrier, in some areas, when it differed from these books it was based upon. However, it also helped me to bond with all the many elves and dwarves and hobbits, and it is now impossible ...more
topics | posts | views | last activity | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Goodreads Librari...: Two versions of book need to be combined | 3 | 90 | Jan 11, 2021 05:16PM | |
If you could chose a book world to become real which book would it be? | 90 | 349 | Nov 26, 2020 10:43AM | |
Why Gandalf does not have power there? | 1 | 4 | Nov 05, 2020 01:41PM | |
Goodreads Librari...: Add page count | 2 | 10 | Oct 29, 2020 02:16AM | |
Fantasy Buddy Reads: The Two Towers [September 1, 2020] | 65 | 35 | Sep 27, 2020 02:29PM | |
Lord of the Reada...: Book 4 Chapters 6-10 | 7 | 23 | Jun 29, 2020 09:16AM | |
Lord of the Reada...: Book 4 Chapters 1-5 | 5 | 23 | Jun 29, 2020 09:12AM |
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, WWI veteran (a First Lieutenant in the Lancashire Fusiliers, British Army), philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the high fantasy classic works
The Hobbit
and
The Lord of the Rings
.
Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford from 1925 to 1945, and Merton Professor of English ...more
Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford from 1925 to 1945, and Merton Professor of English ...more
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The Lord of the Rings
(3 books)
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“War must be, while we defend our lives against a destroyer who would devour all; but I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend.”
—
4034 likes
“It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end… because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it’s only a passing thing… this shadow. Even darkness must pass.”
—
1322 likes
More quotes…