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The Two Towers: Being the Second Part of The Lord of the Rings
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Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
Author: J.R.R. Tolkien
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
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Our Price: $8.76
You Save: $ 2.19 ( 20% )
Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
Author: J.R.R. Tolkien
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Average Customer Rating:
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The Two Towers: Being the Second Part of The Lord of the Rings Description
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.912
EAN: 9780618574957
ISBN: 0618574956
Label: Houghton Mifflin
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 448
Publication Date: 2005-06-01
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Studio: Houghton Mifflin
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.912
EAN: 9780618574957
ISBN: 0618574956
Label: Houghton Mifflin
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 448
Publication Date: 2005-06-01
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Studio: Houghton Mifflin
Editorial Review of The Two Towers: Being the Second Part of The Lord of the Rings
For over fifty years, J.R.R. Tolkien's peerless fantasy has accumulated
worldwide acclaim as the greatest adventure tale ever written.
No other writer has created a world as distinct as Middle-earth, complete
with its own geography, history, languages, and legends. And
no one has created characters as endearing as Tolkien's large-hearted,
hairy-footed hobbits. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings continues to
seize the imaginations of readers of all ages, and this new three-volume
paperback edition is designed to appeal to the youngest of them.
In ancient times the Rings of Power were crafted by the Elvensmiths,
and Sauron, the Dark Lord, forged the One Ring, filling it with
his own power so that he could rule all others. But the One Ring was
taken from him, and though he sought it throughout Middle-earth, still
it remained lost to him . . .
worldwide acclaim as the greatest adventure tale ever written.
No other writer has created a world as distinct as Middle-earth, complete
with its own geography, history, languages, and legends. And
no one has created characters as endearing as Tolkien's large-hearted,
hairy-footed hobbits. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings continues to
seize the imaginations of readers of all ages, and this new three-volume
paperback edition is designed to appeal to the youngest of them.
In ancient times the Rings of Power were crafted by the Elvensmiths,
and Sauron, the Dark Lord, forged the One Ring, filling it with
his own power so that he could rule all others. But the One Ring was
taken from him, and though he sought it throughout Middle-earth, still
it remained lost to him . . .
Customer Reviews of The Two Towers: Being the Second Part of The Lord of the Rings
Customer Rating: 
Review Summary: The Fellowship is officially broken
Review:
NOTE: This review contains major spoilers. So if you haven't read the book or haven't seen the film, then don't read what's below this sentence.
-----------------------------------------
It's fairly obvious that there are differences between the film and the book. And it's safe to say that there are some (but not all) improvements that were made for the film.
First off, this second volume of Lord of the Rings contains two parts. The Fellowship of the Ring has separated: the first part deals with Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, the return of Gandalf, and the people of Rohan. It also contains Merry and Pippin finding themselves in Fangorn Forest, home of the ancient Ents. These two plots are connected with Isengard in both its rise and fall from grace. Then the second part deals with Frodo, Sam, and the creature Gollum as they journey to the land of Mordor, where Mount Doom and Barad-Dur stand with the shadows. Before I read Two Towers, I knew that this book separated Frodo and Sam's adventures away from the Rohan/Isengard storyline. And having watched the (Extended) film many times, I went ahead and read the book as if I watched the film. For example, I read the chapter "The Black Gate is Closed" as soon as I finished reading "Treebeard" and "The White Rider". It may not be what Tolkien intended, but I enjoyed it this way. I still don't understand why Tolkien didn't have all three main adventures integrated in with each other, instead of segregating Frodo/Sam's adventures away from the journeys of Pippin/Merry & Aragorn/Gimli/Legolas/Rohan. Maybe in the 50's, that way of storytelling never occured to anybody. Oh well.
Anyway, "The Two Towers" is far more exciting than "Fellowship of the Ring". For one thing, you have The people of Rohan. Their bonding with horses fascinates me: they're vikings, but with mammals instead of ships. Then, you have the Dead Marshes, which is probably THE scariest setting in the fantasy genre. You also have the dark and gloomy lair of Shelob: the sequence is so intense that the goosebumps are a must. Now in the film, I found Gollum to be a bit too exaggerated and very annoying at times. But in the book, his schizophrenic personality really works. And finally, it's nice to see a completely different Faramir in the book, though the film version is much better: Denethor wanting the Ring makes for a big motive when you really want to impress your father.
But of course, this book does have its disadvantages. Having Boromir die in the very first chapter seems a bit too improper. The son of Denethor dies and it all turns exciting, but then in the next chapter, all Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli do are run across the river Entwash and in the fields of Rohan. That slows the whole book down, unfortunately. SEcondly, the return of Gandalf wasn't really at all shocking: when you bring back a character that's presumed dead, that's more like a typical Hollywood moment. Maybe it's just me and that I've seen way too much mature films and TV shows.
Then, we have Eowyn. To tell you the truth, I have to thank P. Jackson, F. Walsh, and P. Boyens for making her more of a central supporting character in the film. In the book, she's almost pushed aside (though, in "Return of the King," she gets her chance with what she has to say and do). It's arguable whether Tolkien was a sexist (or even a racist), because there are hardly any female characters about. The Fellowship is consisted of only males. I know that LOTR is a trilogy for males, but the author could've at least make one of the four hobbits female, or maybe Legolas. Luckily, Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time" series gets a point for giving females a chance at breaking the female cliche found in fantasy.
Theodin as the good and noble king is also a tired old cliche. The character's way too nice; again, the film version improves on this very greatly. Here, he's much praised by his people and he makes all the right decisions and yadda yadda yadda. Makes me want to read George R.R. Martin's "Song of Ice and Fire" series immediately after finishing LOTR.
With all the things that got me down while reading "Towers", I still enjoyed the book nonetheless. There are plenty of action, humor, drama, thrills, chills, and huge spiders. Memorable characters and interesting races make it all the more compelling.
And I have to give credit to Tolkien and his LOTR trilogy, because without LOTR, there wouldn't have been The Wheel of Time, A Song of Ice and Fire, The Farseer Trilogy, etc.
Grade: B
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: The series continues
Review: I recently reviewed Recorded Books Incorporated's unabridged rendition of Fellowship of the Ring. I return now to review the second installment of the trilogy, The Two Towers. The Two Towers pics up right where Fellowship left off. Frodo and Sam have left to find a way into Mordor, while Merri and Pippin have gone in search of them. Aragorn, drawn away from his search for Frodo by the urgent call of Boromir's horn, finds the man mortally wounded in a clearing, surrounded by the bodies of many Orcs. With his last breath, Boromir confesses his attempt to take the ring from Frodo and warns that Pippin and Merri have been captured by the Orcs. After a simple ceremony in which the body of Boromir is laid to rest in one of the three Elven-made boats in which they travelled and sent down the river to the falls of Rauros, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimley resolve to hunt down the Orcs and rescue the captive Hobbits.
Thus begins the second installment of Lord of the Rings. As before Rob Englis delivers a top notch performance. He continues his trend of actually singing the songs in his good tenor rather than just reciting them as other narrators have done. He portrays each new character very well as far as I'm concerned, which makes for a great listen. From the opening lines to the end, this book should keep you under its spell, even if you've read it many times before.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Magical
Review: Tolkien's creativity soars in this second installment as he introduces monsters galore, both good and evil. The adventure is as tangible as always, and we still continue to cheer for our heroes in this classic tale of good vs. evil in a magical land that is as real as anything on a nowaday map.
Characters return and characters die, we meet new ones and our blown away by their realism and depth.
Plus, this book is just a lot of fun.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: One of the best editions of an amazing book.
Review: This book is amazing. The story is wonder and it draws you in. It takes you to a whole other world and allows you to live in it as an observer of amazing and epic events.
This is edition is one of the best editions. The maps in the back are excellent and it's quality is superior to a lot of other books that I have seen. It has a glossed cover and the ink is dark. Even at the price of $12 this book is WELL worth the money.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: The Story of the Tricksy Little Hobbitses Continues...
Review: With this book, the second installment in "The Lord of the Rings" (a single extremely long novel, not a trilogy), things start to fall into place. The Fellowship of the Ring was great, but it felt like it was basically build-up for bigger things to come. Well, by the time "The Two Towers" starts, the ball is rolling, and fast.
I was weary about the decision to split the book into two halves, one half dealing with Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Merry, and Pippin, and the other half dealing with Frodo, Sam, and Gollum, because I thought it might have been a wiser decision to mix it up a bit; have one chapter deal with Aragorn and company, the next with Frodo and company, and so on. However, the way it is set up is probably for the better. Each half read very well, advancing this classic story in big ways.
Again, as I mentioned in my review for "Fellowship," Tolkien's work isn't for the impatient reader. His beefy sentences demand that you comb through them, soaking in the language and appreciating the intensely thought-out sub-creation of Tolkien's Middle-earth. Thing is, that kind of writing isn't for everyone. I've read pompous reviewers insulting those who don't appreciate Tolkien's style, but the "get on with the story, Tolkien" complaints are not without merit. I thoroughly enjoyed "The Two Towers" and consider the overall arc of The Lord of the Rings to be a classic and timeless story, but the style of writing can, at times, grate against one's patience.
So I'll end my review for this book by including something I said in my review for "Fellowship," which very much applies here: "Pour a cup of tea. Heck, sit it on a tea cozy. Turn off your phone, and absorb the writing. Visualize the mountains, rivers, all of the scenery. Feel what is happening, don't just read it. True, there is a lot of back story that could have been taken out, but it wasn't. So deal, and read it--most of it, if not all, is interesting."
PS: The character arc of Gollum (and his dialogue!) alone is worth reading this book. We loves it, my precious!
10/10 Classic.
Review Summary: The Fellowship is officially broken
Review:
NOTE: This review contains major spoilers. So if you haven't read the book or haven't seen the film, then don't read what's below this sentence.
-----------------------------------------
It's fairly obvious that there are differences between the film and the book. And it's safe to say that there are some (but not all) improvements that were made for the film.
First off, this second volume of Lord of the Rings contains two parts. The Fellowship of the Ring has separated: the first part deals with Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, the return of Gandalf, and the people of Rohan. It also contains Merry and Pippin finding themselves in Fangorn Forest, home of the ancient Ents. These two plots are connected with Isengard in both its rise and fall from grace. Then the second part deals with Frodo, Sam, and the creature Gollum as they journey to the land of Mordor, where Mount Doom and Barad-Dur stand with the shadows. Before I read Two Towers, I knew that this book separated Frodo and Sam's adventures away from the Rohan/Isengard storyline. And having watched the (Extended) film many times, I went ahead and read the book as if I watched the film. For example, I read the chapter "The Black Gate is Closed" as soon as I finished reading "Treebeard" and "The White Rider". It may not be what Tolkien intended, but I enjoyed it this way. I still don't understand why Tolkien didn't have all three main adventures integrated in with each other, instead of segregating Frodo/Sam's adventures away from the journeys of Pippin/Merry & Aragorn/Gimli/Legolas/Rohan. Maybe in the 50's, that way of storytelling never occured to anybody. Oh well.
Anyway, "The Two Towers" is far more exciting than "Fellowship of the Ring". For one thing, you have The people of Rohan. Their bonding with horses fascinates me: they're vikings, but with mammals instead of ships. Then, you have the Dead Marshes, which is probably THE scariest setting in the fantasy genre. You also have the dark and gloomy lair of Shelob: the sequence is so intense that the goosebumps are a must. Now in the film, I found Gollum to be a bit too exaggerated and very annoying at times. But in the book, his schizophrenic personality really works. And finally, it's nice to see a completely different Faramir in the book, though the film version is much better: Denethor wanting the Ring makes for a big motive when you really want to impress your father.
But of course, this book does have its disadvantages. Having Boromir die in the very first chapter seems a bit too improper. The son of Denethor dies and it all turns exciting, but then in the next chapter, all Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli do are run across the river Entwash and in the fields of Rohan. That slows the whole book down, unfortunately. SEcondly, the return of Gandalf wasn't really at all shocking: when you bring back a character that's presumed dead, that's more like a typical Hollywood moment. Maybe it's just me and that I've seen way too much mature films and TV shows.
Then, we have Eowyn. To tell you the truth, I have to thank P. Jackson, F. Walsh, and P. Boyens for making her more of a central supporting character in the film. In the book, she's almost pushed aside (though, in "Return of the King," she gets her chance with what she has to say and do). It's arguable whether Tolkien was a sexist (or even a racist), because there are hardly any female characters about. The Fellowship is consisted of only males. I know that LOTR is a trilogy for males, but the author could've at least make one of the four hobbits female, or maybe Legolas. Luckily, Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time" series gets a point for giving females a chance at breaking the female cliche found in fantasy.
Theodin as the good and noble king is also a tired old cliche. The character's way too nice; again, the film version improves on this very greatly. Here, he's much praised by his people and he makes all the right decisions and yadda yadda yadda. Makes me want to read George R.R. Martin's "Song of Ice and Fire" series immediately after finishing LOTR.
With all the things that got me down while reading "Towers", I still enjoyed the book nonetheless. There are plenty of action, humor, drama, thrills, chills, and huge spiders. Memorable characters and interesting races make it all the more compelling.
And I have to give credit to Tolkien and his LOTR trilogy, because without LOTR, there wouldn't have been The Wheel of Time, A Song of Ice and Fire, The Farseer Trilogy, etc.
Grade: B
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: The series continues
Review: I recently reviewed Recorded Books Incorporated's unabridged rendition of Fellowship of the Ring. I return now to review the second installment of the trilogy, The Two Towers. The Two Towers pics up right where Fellowship left off. Frodo and Sam have left to find a way into Mordor, while Merri and Pippin have gone in search of them. Aragorn, drawn away from his search for Frodo by the urgent call of Boromir's horn, finds the man mortally wounded in a clearing, surrounded by the bodies of many Orcs. With his last breath, Boromir confesses his attempt to take the ring from Frodo and warns that Pippin and Merri have been captured by the Orcs. After a simple ceremony in which the body of Boromir is laid to rest in one of the three Elven-made boats in which they travelled and sent down the river to the falls of Rauros, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimley resolve to hunt down the Orcs and rescue the captive Hobbits.
Thus begins the second installment of Lord of the Rings. As before Rob Englis delivers a top notch performance. He continues his trend of actually singing the songs in his good tenor rather than just reciting them as other narrators have done. He portrays each new character very well as far as I'm concerned, which makes for a great listen. From the opening lines to the end, this book should keep you under its spell, even if you've read it many times before.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Magical
Review: Tolkien's creativity soars in this second installment as he introduces monsters galore, both good and evil. The adventure is as tangible as always, and we still continue to cheer for our heroes in this classic tale of good vs. evil in a magical land that is as real as anything on a nowaday map.
Characters return and characters die, we meet new ones and our blown away by their realism and depth.
Plus, this book is just a lot of fun.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: One of the best editions of an amazing book.
Review: This book is amazing. The story is wonder and it draws you in. It takes you to a whole other world and allows you to live in it as an observer of amazing and epic events.
This is edition is one of the best editions. The maps in the back are excellent and it's quality is superior to a lot of other books that I have seen. It has a glossed cover and the ink is dark. Even at the price of $12 this book is WELL worth the money.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: The Story of the Tricksy Little Hobbitses Continues...
Review: With this book, the second installment in "The Lord of the Rings" (a single extremely long novel, not a trilogy), things start to fall into place. The Fellowship of the Ring was great, but it felt like it was basically build-up for bigger things to come. Well, by the time "The Two Towers" starts, the ball is rolling, and fast.
I was weary about the decision to split the book into two halves, one half dealing with Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Merry, and Pippin, and the other half dealing with Frodo, Sam, and Gollum, because I thought it might have been a wiser decision to mix it up a bit; have one chapter deal with Aragorn and company, the next with Frodo and company, and so on. However, the way it is set up is probably for the better. Each half read very well, advancing this classic story in big ways.
Again, as I mentioned in my review for "Fellowship," Tolkien's work isn't for the impatient reader. His beefy sentences demand that you comb through them, soaking in the language and appreciating the intensely thought-out sub-creation of Tolkien's Middle-earth. Thing is, that kind of writing isn't for everyone. I've read pompous reviewers insulting those who don't appreciate Tolkien's style, but the "get on with the story, Tolkien" complaints are not without merit. I thoroughly enjoyed "The Two Towers" and consider the overall arc of The Lord of the Rings to be a classic and timeless story, but the style of writing can, at times, grate against one's patience.
So I'll end my review for this book by including something I said in my review for "Fellowship," which very much applies here: "Pour a cup of tea. Heck, sit it on a tea cozy. Turn off your phone, and absorb the writing. Visualize the mountains, rivers, all of the scenery. Feel what is happening, don't just read it. True, there is a lot of back story that could have been taken out, but it wasn't. So deal, and read it--most of it, if not all, is interesting."
PS: The character arc of Gollum (and his dialogue!) alone is worth reading this book. We loves it, my precious!
10/10 Classic.