The Two Towers, J.R.R. Tolkien

Aragorn sped on up the hill. Every now and again he bent to the ground. Hobbits go light, and their footprints are not easy even for a Ranger to read, but not far from the top a spring crossed the path, and in the wet earth he saw what he was seeking.

The Two Towers is the second book in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. "The Company of the Ring is sundered. Frodo and Sam continue their journey alone down the great River Anduin - alone that is, save for a mysterious creeping figure that follows wherever they go..." Meanwhile, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli are having their own adventures. I bet you can guess who "the mysterious creeping figure" is. In The Two Towers, we are also introduced to the mysterious Ents and their even more mysterious Entwives. 

I still definitely prefer The Hobbit, but I enjoyed The Two Towers. Epic fantasy! I actually liked it better than The Fellowship of the Ring; it wasn't told in a lighthearted fashion like The Hobbit, but there were less bogged-down sequences. In The Fellowship of the Ring, the council of Elrond was not a very entertaining part. But there are no councils in this book, except for the council of the Ents, which was very interesting. The Ents are fascinating creatures.  

We don't get to follow Frodo and Sam's adventures until more than halfway through the book; instead, we hear of what Legolas, Gimli and Aragorn are up to, and also Merry and Pippin. I was pleasantly surprised by this one; I was expecting to like it, but not as much as I actually did.

I raced through The Two Towers at a very fast speed. It's a pretty suspenseful book, full of battles and wild rides and surprises and much more. In The Two Towers, we meet Shadowfax, Gandalf's horse, the most amazing steed ever! He's so fast and magical.

The second part of The Two Towers tells of Frodo and Sam's journey. They eventually meet up with the slippery Gollum, who guides them through Mordor. This section is less action-packed, but just as interesting. Gollum is such a fascinating character; twisted and conflicted. He's also a bit bi-polar; there's the Smeagol side of him and the Gollum side of him, neither of which is very appealing. Gollum tends to have internal arguments with himself. There's an okay side of him, and a really bad side of him. 

The description of She-lob towards the end of the book is really chilling and amazing. Those maniacal black eyes in that dark, dark cave. Also, she's very mysterious; "How Shelob came there, flying from ruin, no tale tells..." (pg. 332).

I loved The Two Towers even more than The Fellowship of the Ring and would highly recommend it. It introduces more twists, and new characters, good and evil.

Read The Two Towers:

• if you liked The Fellowship of the Ring
• if you like J.R.R. Tolkien
• if you like fantasy

352 pages.

 

Outstanding Book That Will Stay On My Bookshelf For Rereading (jf I own it)!