This review is for the audiobook edition of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, read by Rob Inglis for Recorded Books.

The middle volume of the The Lord of the Rings is far more than a placeholder between the two halves of the action. The stage is set in the first volume, the map flung out and the players introduced. The thrilling climax comes in the last volume, with the final struggle and ensuing events giving closure on the tale. But what of the middle book, the obligatory filler between the beginning and end?

Tolkien never even thinks of the story as a three-part work with the problematic middle volume to fill up. Rather than just getting us to the third volume, The Two Towers continues the world-building of the first book and spins some new complications and cultures that get caught up in the War of the Ring. There's Rohan, a whole new country with a distinct history of its own. There are the Ents, the tree-herders, whose role in the conflict proves invaluable. Tolkien's imagination never flags, and he takes us right along with him.

A friend who is also currently reading this pointed out the wonderful relationship between Gimli the Dwarf and Legolas the Elf. The Dwarves and the Elves are estranged, each blaming the other for various ills, and both Gimli and Legolas carry that prejudice with them into the Fellowship. Tolkien does not go into details about how Gimli and Legolas began to change their opinions of one another; presumably it happens during the Fellowship's journey in the first volume. But in the second volume where we end up with three distinct narratives following the characters' different journeys, Tolkien is able to lavish more time on this unusual friendship, and it is very satisfying.

In the same way, The Two Towers sees Merry and Pippin becoming stronger, more defined characters. Out of the context of the Fellowship, they are forced to make decisions for themselves, and Tolkien begins to round out their characters.

Book Four is dedicated to the journey of Frodo, Sam, and Gollum, and every time I read this section I marvel at the complex relationships within it. Sam and Gollum create a "good servant/bad servant" dynamic, and while it can be very funny at times, it is also extremely sad. Sam and Gollum are more alike than Sam would care to admit; Tolkien often describes both of them using animal similes, and both hold interior dialogues with themselves at some point.

Gollum has to be one of the most fascinating characters ever written. Tolkien takes the pyschology of a modern junkie and imports it into his medieval fantasy world — and the effect is stunning. Gollum is pathetic, sneaky, deceptive, mournful, even hilarious at times. You never know what he is going to do next, and neither do Sam and Frodo. It sounds dull, an entire sixth of the book being devoted to this one leg of the slow journey to Mordor, but it isn't at all. The psychological studies are enough to keep me riveted, even apart from the events that push the plot forward.

Rob Inglis again does a very nice job reading this work. My only quibble is that sometimes after giving a line of dialogue in character, he will say the "he said" tag in that same character voice, though "he said" should technically be in the narrative voice. This trick annoyed me slightly when I noticed it, but not not enough to interfere with my overall enjoyment of the book. Inglis' voice for Gollum is brilliant — slightly different from Andy Serkis', of course, but just as good. He also does a very good job with the Orc voices, reaching down DEEP in his register to growl a bit.

I feel it impossible to do justice to Tolkien's genius in a short review. It's just amazing. Often as I listened, I knew what particular perfect phrase would be spoken next, because of my familiarity with the printed book! Tolkien's writing is just that memorable. And Rob Inglis' performance never distracts from the work itself. Listening to Tolkien on audiobook is one more way to enjoy his incredible creation. Recommended! ( )

Book Three, with all the characters except Frodo and Sam, is active, brightly coloured, full of trees and movement, with a large cast of characters. Book Four is quite a contrast - black, brown and red; the feeling is heavy and doom-laden. This contrast is genius in itself.

I am in awe of my own stupidity, in that the other time I read this book, I thought Shelob was random and silly. How infinitely idiotic I was then. That scene is the most amazing in the entire book, and the description of the monster is a grotesque kind of poetry. And Sam, dear Sam, fighting valiantly for his master, what a wonderful scene. Take this quote:

No onslaught more fierce was ever seen in the savage world of beasts, where some desperate small creature armed with little teeth, alone, will spring upon a tower of horn and hide that stands above its fallen mate.

*happy sigh*

As I've said elsewhere, the friendship between Gimli and Legolas, along with the character development of Merry and Pippin are the things that made Book Three for me.

I also love the part in Book Four when Frodo and Sam talk about their journey as a story - a small part of the ongoing tale of the Silmaril. You could start pontificating about postmodernism and meta-fiction here, but really, the beauty of it is that we get a wonderful wider context of their quest, and it also somehow makes the fantasy element of the story become more real. And I love how they wonder if Gollum thinks of himself as the hero or the villain of the tale.

The quest to destroy the ring of power is continued in Tolkien's The Two Towers. In the very beggining of the book, the compan splits. Sam and Frodo go east to Mordor, Merry and Pippin go to Fangorn forest (not by their own choice though) and Legolas, Gimli and Aragorn pursue them, but go to Rohan instead of following them through Fangorn. The five of them eventually meet up again at Isengard. In the middle of the book, we switch from their story to Sam's and Frodo's. The character of Gollum is formerly introuduced in this part (finally!).
Any fanstasy fan will love this book. I reccomend it to readers who loved the movies, of course. It's just as thrilling as it's cinema counterpart, and we all know that the books are always better anyway. ( )

What can you add in a review of this classic? A pity that five stars are the limit here... ( )