The Two Towers - Book Review

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 Here is book two of Lord Of The Rings. Without any Adieu, let's get into it. 


We pick up with the rest of the fellowship, starting with Aragorn finding Boromir. Peter Jackson put some of this in the first movie and not the second. Knowing that, you have to read The Fellowship Of The Ring before you read The Two Towers. 

The Overview

We turn the camera back to the rest of the fellowship. After focusing on Frodo, we now know Boromir died to protect the last two hobbits (Merry and Pippin). You have to read the previous book to understand what is going on. They don't know where Frodo and Sam are until they see the boats. The remaining fellowship go after Merry and Pippin. The fellowship all end up at Rohan. From here, we take down Saruman and the trees go to battle (The Ents, you'll understand when you read it). Close to the end we tune back in to see where Sam and Frodo are. They tame Gollum/Smeagol to get a guide across the swamp. That lasts only so long before Gollum/Smeagol tries to feed them to Shelob the spider. We end with Sam taking the ring and trying to save Frodo from orcs. 


Overall Thoughts

Okay, so we all know Eowyn is awesome in the film, but she only has one scene in The Two Towers. I assume she gets more of a moment later, but it shocked me how little she speaks, how little we see of her, and how focused we are on the men. I suppose the fellowship and the pair with the ring are the main point, yet I wanted more of Eowyn. The fact we see her stare after the men as she is left in charge of the castle is significant. It speaks volumes in one sentence. It is also typical of Scottish women in history to defend castles, so I absolutely believe she is built of that same cloth. All the people get to Helms Deep somehow and you don't see the men worried about the castle at all. She's amazing. Yet one scene? Just one? She runs that whole dang castle. She deserved much more. 

I also forgot how weird Gollum/Smeagol could be. I was visibly cringing. He is nightmare fuel and the movies didn't make him creepy enough. He's crawling on cliffs like a spider with sticky hands. He's following Sam and Frodo across miles of land and cliffs, over mountains. His slappy little walk is distinct and they are trying to lose him. Until they need him. Then he tries to strangle Sam while Frodo gets attacked by a spider. 

What sticks out is that Frodo is shocking Sam by communicating with Gollum clearly. Sam is starting to see Frodo change. The words Frodo speaks (and his tone) are not what Sam expects to hear. He's also allowing Gollum to come with them and has pity on Gollum - because the burden of the ring is horrible. Frodo is not the same Frodo from the Shire. 

Another amazing tidbit is the hobbits, the hobbits that kept to themselves so much that Rohan thought they were urban legends or myth. Gondor couldn't identify their race at a glance. They literally managed to remain hidden by keeping to themselves. Hobbits are a thing of fascination. Some groups knew of them, while others sang of them in legends and songs. Yet, Rohan thought they weren't real and Faramir didn't know their race upon meeting them. 

My favorite conversation by far is Sam and Frodo talking about what stories people will tell of them, and that the stories of old continue on long after the legends pass away. It's sweet. Sam says Frodo will be the focus, then Frodo says he forgot to mention Sam and how Frodo wouldn't have gotten far without him. It's adorable. The idea that the history of the world is also one long story, where people come and go as their parts begin and end, is beautiful. 

Conclusion

Fives stars! I will read the next one. I love this trilogy. The next book is Return Of The King. Stay tuned for that review. I will compare this to the movie in another post. 

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Morrow is released! This novella is the story of two women writing a family history for the Morrow family. They find a nasty secret while researching. Will they survive their internship? 

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