The Two Tower Book Review
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The middle of anything tends to be the build up installation to an end point. Lord of the Rings The Two Towers does not in any way give a feeling of this, but at the same time accomplishes setting up an epic conclusion. So let’s talk about why you should read the Two Towers.
Lord of the Rings and the Two Towers was first published back in 1954 and was written by J.R.R Tolkien. This book marks the midway point in the trilogy for the Lord of the Rings series with Fellowship of the Ring coming before and Return of the King coming after this installment. The novel is split between two parts in which Tolkien calls books. One of these parts follows the broken up fellowship members Arragon, Gimli and Legolas. Part two of the book follows the continued adventure of Frodo and Sam as they work to make their way into Mordor.
One thing that was really clever about the setup for this installation was the separation of the two portions of the book. It’s because of this that the reader wonders along with the characters in the book if Frodo and Sam are ok and continuing on their journey.
This adds a dimension to the book that would otherwise be just a chapter by chapter switch from one scene to the other.
Another thing that this method allows for is the addition of new characters without them getting lost to the story and existing characters already set up by Tolkien.
This plays out really well with the second half of the book in learning and following the characters of Golum and Faramir.
Rohan and the Broken Fellowship
The entire first half of the Two Towers follows the Fellowship as mentioned earlier. They are attempting to track down and rescue the hobbits, this journey leads them to a new task assigned by Gandalf the white, who has come back to the fellowship after falling in the Mines of Moria.
This new task is the main event of this side of the story and it covers the liberation of Rohan, a human country that borders the lands of Gondor. They work to fend off the evil forces of both Sauron and Saruman.
Frodo and Sam Journey On
The other half of the book that covers the journey with Frodo and Sam carries them a good motion of the way through the story more than one would expect based on the cut from the movies.
Frodo and Sam utilize Golum as their guide who had been following them since Moria. They eventually get captured by Faramir who acts substantially different and more noble than he was in the movies.
This seems like a stark contrast to me that I have to point out as Aragon in the books is not a bashful, “I don’t want it” power reaching character in the movies but is in the books. On the other hand. Faramir in the books is a selfless well caring character than in the movies was unwilling to loosen his grip on the ring until the end.
I do enjoy the book version of the Two Towers quite a lot more than I was expecting to. Each part of the book does not overstay its welcome and it feels very fresh throughout.
The plot is building to the final confrontation, but this sequel to the Fellowship of the Ring does not feel so much as a middle book, but more of a continuation of the first book.
That could be one of the strengths to the series as a whole, not only does it feel like a cohesive story that offers just enough of a resolution per book to make the book feel complete, but mainly focuses on the overall journey. This series does not feel episodic.
We also cannot forget that this series is extremely relatable and creative for the time and has spawned so many like minded stories after the fact from other fantasy tropes and genres.
Two Towers is worth the read. It should be without question a must read and should not be skipped just because it’s a middle book to a trilogy if anyone ever gets the idea to do so.
I have provided affiliate links to each book in the series including the hobbit which is a prequel to the Lord of the Rings but can also be read as a stand alone book.
We will be returning for the final installation to this review series with Return of the King. We will also explore the lore of middle earth deeper soon with the Silmarillion. So be sure to check back here for more soon!
