BOOK REVIEW
LOTR - The Two Towers - J.R.R Tolkien (released 1954)
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The third stage of my LOTR journey (The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring being parts one and two). I picked this up from the library the week after I finished The Fellowship of the Ring but did hit pause to read a few more pacy palette cleansers before cracking this one open. I was captivated by the story but had found the pace and cadence tricky to get into, so I hoped this one would be easier to immerse myself in!
BLURB
The second part of Tolkien's epic masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings.
Impossible to describe in a few words, JRR Tolkien's great work of imaginative fiction has been labelled both a heroic romance and a classic fantasy fiction. By turns comic and homely, epic and diabolic, the narrative moves through countless changes of scene and character in an imaginary world which is totally convincing in its detail. Tolkien created a vast new mythology in an invented world which has proved timeless in its appeal.
The second of which, The Two Towers, in which the Fellowship is sundered. While Arargorn, Legolas and Gimli attempt to rescue the hobbits, Merry and Pippin, Frodo and Sam must journey into Sauron's desolate land of Mordor unprotected and alone.
AUTHOR
PLOT/STORYLINE
While I still found it a little slow to get going, I discovered that it was a much easier story to fall into. Perhaps being more familiar with Tolkien's cadence, or with the lore in general, helped me to avoid confusion and backtracking.
The storytelling was also slightly different. As the fellowship has separated into small groups, the story was divided between a few threads, giving a bit more variety and helping things to move forward. I much preferred this style, as it avoided some of the lengthy dialogue that I hadn't enjoyed in the previous books. This was much more in line with my preferred reading style, my prayers were answered with this one!
CHARACTERS
The slightly different way of presenting the story, with the intertwining threads, also allowed for some fantastic character development. With less of a specific focus on Frodo, I felt like I really got to know the other members of the fellowship.
I particularly enjoyed the banterful bromance between Legolas and Gimli. They are clearly very different and a friendship between their characters would have been very unexpected, which made it all the more wonderful to read. Their little competition on the number of foes they had slain was hilarious, even in the gravity of the battles, I loved to see the little glimpses of a true, loyal friendship developing.
Sam was also developed brilliantly in this book, I related to him in so many ways. His slight cantankerous streak, his inner monologue, his flutters of jealousy. In my view, Sam is also very much in love with Frodo and while I doubt this is the direction that Tolkien is going to take me on in the final book, I'd have been in favour of them having a little romance!
Another character who gained more depth in this book was Gollum, a few nuggets of information about his past and a little more personality shining through. I was really starting to warm to him. Until. Well. If you know, you know!
I mentioned after reading Fellowship that I was getting confused between Sauron and Saruman, that continued to happen, though not quite as often. The story was definitely more focussed on one than the other, which may explain why. It could also be, similar to my feelings about pace, I'm getting used to the characters too!
One thing I did notice though was how many names/titles and personas Aragorn has. He was even given a new one at some point in this one, I don’t know if he is just known under different names by different peoples in the land, but he seems to change personality too, maybe I’m reading too much into it. There was one comment that confused me... “there’s the Strider I know and love, I thought we had lost him" or something to that effect, which made me think maybe he does act differently depending on who he "was" at the time.
I definitely felt more connected to the characters this time around, both as individuals and as a group. Some small interactions resonated perfectly with me, like when Merry and Pippin are lying around, a little high and a little drunk, getting a dressing down from Gimli, in the way that brothers would infuriate one another while still being happy to be in each others' company!
Perfection!
OVERALL REVIEW
RATING: ⭐⭐⭐
SPICE: 🆒
From what I have read and been told, I may be out on a limb here but I thought this was better than The Fellowship of the Ring. Perhaps not prose-wise, but in terms of my own enjoyability factor, this one felt like it flowed more evenly, it’s still very slow-paced in parts and to start with I found it hard to get fully INTO it, but things are really starting to make more sense, now that my background knowledge is more in tune, it felt, just easier.
This one was 4 stars for me and was a much more enjoyable reading experience. I’ve already picked up the third and final book from the library and started it a few days ago. I'm invested now, and am excited to get to the story's climax!
WHO SHOULD READ THIS BOOK?
Honestly, it's a classic of literature that is almost a right of passage for book lovers everywhere! Even if, like me, you were a little intimidated by the pace or depth of prose in the first book, I definitely think it's worth continuing with the series. I am glad that I didn't give up and am really starting to enjoy the series!
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