Middle books in trilogies are often somewhat annoying - they don't have the novelty of the original set-up, the characters often don't develop much, and you're so invested in the story by then that the cliffhanger is doubly frustrating! But The Two Towers - which was probably the first of its kind - is an exception I think. (Not sure the same is true for the movie... but some of that was down to the original frustration of having to wait a year for the next one, aaaagh...). In fact, I'd forgotten just how fast moving it is and how much new material it introduces. And the story lines remain gripping.
One track follows Aragorn and co, introduces the Rohirrim, and spends time with wizards old and new (with the Palantir thrown in as a twist). The growing friendship between Legolas and Gimli is wonderful, and we really see Aragorn start to come into his own and build his alliances. The second track follows Frodo and Sam - we get properly acquainted with Gollum, meet the delightful Faramir, and get a real sense of the horrors of Mordor. The cliffhanger is also heart-in-mouth stuff.
I do like how this book is in two halves, spending decent time with each set of characters (rather than switching back and forth between the different tracks), and I think that suits the 'middle book' where the pace isn't as frenetic as it is in the final volume of a series. I also like how there aren't too many tracks - large numbers of POVs can be a good story-telling technique but there are inevitably some that are more successful or that you're a lot more interested in than others and it's a slog until you get back to the better ones (GRRM, I'm looking at you, boyo). The only issue for me is that it's harder to keep track of the relative passage of time - where are Aragorn and friends while Frodo and Sam are slogging through the Dead Marshes for instance? There are a few time indicators in the text (time since Boromir blew his horn when attacked by the Uruk Hai, for instance), but it's hard to keep the stories running in proper parallel in my head, which is a bit of an issue when you're building towards a conclusion that needs to bring both tracks together. Ah well, it's a minor thing.
One track follows Aragorn and co, introduces the Rohirrim, and spends time with wizards old and new (with the Palantir thrown in as a twist). The growing friendship between Legolas and Gimli is wonderful, and we really see Aragorn start to come into his own and build his alliances. The second track follows Frodo and Sam - we get properly acquainted with Gollum, meet the delightful Faramir, and get a real sense of the horrors of Mordor. The cliffhanger is also heart-in-mouth stuff.
I do like how this book is in two halves, spending decent time with each set of characters (rather than switching back and forth between the different tracks), and I think that suits the 'middle book' where the pace isn't as frenetic as it is in the final volume of a series. I also like how there aren't too many tracks - large numbers of POVs can be a good story-telling technique but there are inevitably some that are more successful or that you're a lot more interested in than others and it's a slog until you get back to the better ones (GRRM, I'm looking at you, boyo). The only issue for me is that it's harder to keep track of the relative passage of time - where are Aragorn and friends while Frodo and Sam are slogging through the Dead Marshes for instance? There are a few time indicators in the text (time since Boromir blew his horn when attacked by the Uruk Hai, for instance), but it's hard to keep the stories running in proper parallel in my head, which is a bit of an issue when you're building towards a conclusion that needs to bring both tracks together. Ah well, it's a minor thing.