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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,
...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 ...more
I’ve ...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. Maybe ...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. Maybe ...more
494. 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 Gollum, the former ...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 Gollum, the former ...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.
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, less than ...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, less than ...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". ...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". ...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 climbing ...more
Me after staying up all night reading The Two TowersI 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 climbing ...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
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)
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
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 ...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 ...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 ...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
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 ...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 ...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
2019 Update:
Seventh Read. Reading the history of Numenor this year, and reading about the wraiths, how they were fallen kings, stood out to me. Seven reads, and the magic remains. Such a spiritual masterpiece. I consider Tolkien my literary father, or grandfather. I realized this as I listened to him read his work on YouTube. The feeling came to me then. I also realized Frodo believed his companions had all failed, along with Gandalf, and he had resolved to do it alone, to rely on his strength ...more
Seventh Read. Reading the history of Numenor this year, and reading about the wraiths, how they were fallen kings, stood out to me. Seven reads, and the magic remains. Such a spiritual masterpiece. I consider Tolkien my literary father, or grandfather. I realized this as I listened to him read his work on YouTube. The feeling came to me then. I also realized Frodo believed his companions had all failed, along with Gandalf, and he had resolved to do it alone, to rely on his strength ...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
...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
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.
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.
“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
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
May 07, 2018
Dannii Elle
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
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
AUDIO REREAD #2
Actual reread probably #6
2018 Reading Challenge: book made into a movie I’ve already seen
I want to start a list of every book that includes a "Dark Lord"
Wormtongue vs Worm Tail
I can't help it. Every time Sam says " master! Master!" I break into Master of Puppets
What is it about companions on a journey to conquer evil that strikes the heart of us readers?
I totally forgot about the abrupt ending!!! I'm never prepared for that. I feel like Towers is a bridge book, but it sets the ...more
Actual reread probably #6
2018 Reading Challenge: book made into a movie I’ve already seen
I want to start a list of every book that includes a "Dark Lord"
Wormtongue vs Worm Tail
I can't help it. Every time Sam says " master! Master!" I break into Master of Puppets
What is it about companions on a journey to conquer evil that strikes the heart of us readers?
I totally forgot about the abrupt ending!!! I'm never prepared for that. I feel like Towers is a bridge book, but it sets the ...more
Dec 20, 2013
Lazaros
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
epic/high fantasy lovers
“The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater.”
The quote above is just one reason to get yourself to read this. This was the second part in one of the most-beloved series of every fantasy lover. If you're a person who loves a good adventure, with twists, surprises, great characters, fun & drama then you cannot continue living on this earth ...more
“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.”
4 Stars
Sooooo I originally said I’d have this review up on the day that I finished it. And I basically did. But like I typed up literally 75% of what was a decently long review, all nicely formatted, only to have my computer glitch out on me, and I lost it ...more
Quickie review:
-This book contains my favorite non-fellowship character: Faramir. His family situation is dealt with more in the next book, but the fact that he turned out so good and fair, as shown in this book, makes me just love him. He is badass when necessary and wise when that is necessary, and generally gets to the point with only a minimum of the usual plethora of talk first.
- There's one single named woman in this book, and that's Eowyn. She got short shrift in this book, much like ...more
-This book contains my favorite non-fellowship character: Faramir. His family situation is dealt with more in the next book, but the fact that he turned out so good and fair, as shown in this book, makes me just love him. He is badass when necessary and wise when that is necessary, and generally gets to the point with only a minimum of the usual plethora of talk first.
- There's one single named woman in this book, and that's Eowyn. She got short shrift in this book, much like ...more
Writers who inspire a genre are usually misunderstood. Tolkien's reasons for writing were completely unlike those of the authors he inspired. He didn't have an audience, a genre, and scores of contemporaries. There was a tradition of high adventure fairy tales, as represented by Eddison, Dunsany, Morris, MacDonald, Haggard, and Kipling, but this was only part of what inspired Tolkien.
His writing was chiefly influenced by his familiarity with the mythological traditions of the Norse and Welsh ...more
His writing was chiefly influenced by his familiarity with the mythological traditions of the Norse and Welsh ...more
I'm not sure why it took me so long to finally pick up Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings; I love fantasy and this is such a godfather read in that genre, as with its sub-genres. Every time a movie would come out a distant clonk would crash about in my head as a reminder that I should dive into the books at some point but our paths just never crossed at the right time. Either I was reading something else or I took a moment to stand in front of the books at the library, quietly intimidated with
...more
Jun 30, 2016
Johann (jobis89)
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
favorites
"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."
The second volume in The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers focuses on the disintegration of the Fellowship, as Frodo and Sam go off on their ...more
The second volume in The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers focuses on the disintegration of the Fellowship, as Frodo and Sam go off on their ...more
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| If you could chose a book world to become real which book would it be? | 88 | 334 | Dec 01, 2019 04:46PM | |
| Viga Plus France | 1 | 1 | Oct 11, 2019 11:44PM | |
| Fantasy Buddy Reads: The Two Towers [Oct 1, 2019] | 8 | 23 | Oct 10, 2019 11:15AM | |
| Will Jesus return before I finish TTT? | 6 | 36 | Aug 24, 2019 08:36AM | |
| Goodreads Librari...: Page Count Wrong - paperback edition "The Two Towers" | 14 | 232 | Jun 27, 2019 05:02PM |
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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.”
—
3895 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.”
—
1189 likes
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