Book Review: The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien (The Lord of the Rings #2)

 

Keeping this one short and sweet. Spoilers ahead for this 50+ years old book.

The Fellowship has broken. Both Gandalf and Boromir are dead, and the remaining seven are now split into three groups. Frodo and Sam are taking the journey to Mordor alone now, Pippin and Merry have been kidnapped by orcs, and Legolas, Gimli and Aragorn go after them in hopes of rescuing them. The latter five end up in the realm of Rohan, where they'll have to find a way to counter Saruman's forces. Meanwhile, Frodo and Sam are struggling to find their road to Mordor and turn to an unlikely guide: Gollum, one of the previous bearers of the Ring.

I'm still very much in love with this trilogy. Tolkien's world is just so expertly crafted and there is such a lore and lively description to literally every aspect you can imagine. I once more really loved the story crafted here, however I do like it just a tad less than The Fellowship of the Ring, which just had me a tiny bit more engaged for whatever reason.

Fellowship was also a bit more straightforward: it's just this company of nine setting out to destroy a the One Ring. Meanwhile, in this book, things get more complicated. We get many different POVs, locations, plot points and the like. While Frodo's and Sam's goal is still to get to Mordor, the Three Hunters now go after Merry and Pippin, before they end up tangled up in a war at the kingdom of Rohan. Merry and Pippin befriend the Ents, a race of tree-like beings, and they go to war to destroy Isengard as it was under Saruman's rule. 

It's still very well written and this book is expertly crafted. I just liked Fellowship a tiny bit more. Of course, there's also some elements of this book that haven't aged as well. Such as some of the only characters of color featured in this book (and series as a whole) being on the enemy's side. Also, there are like only two-three female characters in this, one of this is a giant spider trying to kill our heroes. The other two (Galadriel and Eowyn) don't really do much of anything here. 

I get that this is a product of its time, but it still should at least be acknowledged if you ask me. However, this is still a fantastic installment in a fantastic series. I can't wait until I get to re-read Return of the King.

Rating: 4.5/5