The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers by J. R. R. Tolkien is the sequel to The Fellowship of the Ring. Actually a better description would be that The Two Towers is part two of three to the best fantasy story ever told and one of the greatest works of fiction in the work of mankind.
Because not everyone has seen the movie or read the books, I will have a "Spoiler" warning before any small spoilers. Additionally, if you have only seen the movie and not read the book, there is nothing that would be considered spoilers.
I would have to say that I enjoyed it even more than The Fellowship of the Ring. Everything was excellent, the Two Towers was faster paced, more epic, and overall even more involving, although The Fellowship of the Ring is still currently my second favorite book of all-time.
The story of the Two Towers continues directly were the previous book ended. The narrative structure of the Two Towers is unlike any other book I have read. It is split-up into two different parts, the first part focuses on two different groups. The first group being
*Spoiler* Aragorn and the surviving company on their journey, excluding Frodo and Sam, who are the focus of the second part of the book.
*End Spoiler* Surprisingly, there were many similarities with the movie but that will be discussed in a later post.
All of the characters in the story are more developed and given more depth, especially the ones that were given a more minor role in the previous book. Unlike the previous book, Frodo is not the main character of the story, the material is more evenly distributed among the many fascinating character throughout the story. Also there were almost no poems or songs throughout the book, which was great. Although that is not to say I disliked what was in the first book, it did become distracting at times. The ending of the book really made me love the book that much more,
*Spoiler* it was one of the saddest ending to a book I have ever read, even though I know how it is going to end.
*End Spoiler*
Author: J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Epic
Release Date: November 11, 1954
Plot: Because the plot starts directly were the previous book ended, it would be pointless to have a plot summary.
Plot: 10/10- As with the Fellowship of the Ring, I already love the story. The Two Towers film is one of my favorite movies of all-time, it is just that amazing. The pacing was improved, although the slower pacing was necessary to set up the plot in the first installment, it featured more material of my favorite characters and introduced many other memorable characters that were never developed as much in the films.
Audiobook: 9.5/10- The audiobook was made by the same fan that recorded the previous one I listened to. However, it was vastly improved compared to his previous work (except for the "White Rider" chapter) with better use of music and voice work. His Treebeard impression sounds exactly like the movie and his ability to mimic the other various characters' voices is great. Only Legolas, Aragorn and a few other minor do tend to sound alike at various points. Other than that minor flaw, it was overall excellent and better than any other Lord of the Rings audiobook I have listened to before.
Overall: +10/10- I am giving The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers a special rating of +10 to signify that is better than the other books that I have given a ten rating. Everything in the book was basically perfect, and I cannot wait to read the Return of the King.
Closing Comments: The Two Towers is the epic middle chapter in one of the best stories ever told. What more do I need to say, watch the movies or read the books, either way they are both excellent.
