Komm mit und tauch ein in die Welt Mittelerde!: Die Gemeinschaft des Rings ist zerbrochen und Frodo und Sam machen sich auf zur mühsamen Überquerung es Emyn Muil - dicht gefolgt von Gollum.
Merry und Pippin werden von den Uruk-hai Sarumans gen Westen nach Isengard getragen. Aragorn, Legolas und Gimli verfolgen sie zu Fuss. Durch Glück können Merry und Pippin sich während des Angriffs der Reiter von Rohan in den dunklen Wald Fangorn retten. Dort treffen sie auf Baumbart, einen Ent, der sie mit sich nimmt.
Aragorn, Legolas und Gimli erfahren von Eómer, dem Anführer der Reiter Rohans von ihrem Kampf mit den Uruk-hai und können so die Spuren der Hobbits im Fangornwald wieder aufnehmen. Doch dort treffen sie auf den weißen Zauberer - Gandalf! Er ist zurückgekehrt!
Zusammen begeben sie sich nach Edoras zu König Theoden, der durch Grima Schlangenzunge unter Sarumans Einfluss steht. Gandalf befreit ihn und Theoden kommt wieder zu sich.
Doch die Lage scheint aussichtslos!
Sam und Frodo nehmen Gollum gefangen und machen ihn zu ihrem Führer durch die Emin Muil zu den Totensümpfen. Dort bringt er sie über geheime Pfade zum schwarzen Tor Morannon, im Norden Mordors. Doch das Tor ist für den Ringträger unpassierbar - zu gut bewacht. Gollum kennt einen anderen Weg und Sam und Frodo folgen ihm in Richtung Süden nach Minas Morgul. Dort müssen sie durch Ithilien, dass am Fuss der Berge zu Mordor liegt. Sie werden von Faramir, Boromirs jüngerem Bruder und Heermeister Gondors, gefangen genommen. Ihre Reise scheint am Ende zu sein! Doch Faramir scheint weitaus stärker zu sein als sein älterer Bruder Boromir. Er lässt Frodo und Sam ziehen, denn er ahnt um den schrecklichen Auftrag der Hobbits. Gollum führt sie dicht an Minas Morgul vorbei zum Cirith Ungol. Dort verrät er Frodo und Sam und liefert sie Kankra aus, denn er will seinen Schatz zurück. Was wird aus den beiden Hobbits? Kann Sam seinen Herrn beschützen?
Theoden zieht mit seinem Volk nach Helms Klamm, einer Festung im Westen und ihrer letzten Zuflucht um sich gegen die gewaltige Armee Sarumans zu behaupten. Doch sie stehen einer Übermacht gegenüber! Ihr Ende scheint gekommen! Werden sie überleben? Werden sie Hilfe bekommen? Und welche Hilfe können Merry und Pippin bei den Ents gegen Saruman finden?

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... ( )

what can be said, the whole series is perfect. ( )

A classic. ( )

As much as it pains me to say it, I was not thrilled with this book. The first half (Aragorn, Legolas, etc) was fascinating and engaging and I sped through it. The second half (Frodo & Sam), however, was long-winded and boring, I thought. It would have been more exciting (and suspenseful) if the two stories had alternated, instead of devoting one book to each group. I've found I have a tendency to enjoy the middle book in a trilogy the least. ( )

As with previous books in The Lord of the Rings series that I've read, there's not much more I can say about The Two Towers that hasn't been said before. It reads very much as the bridge between Fellowship and The Return of the King, and just that. Nothing else. I always get the impression that this volume could have been trimmed down a little, but I don't think it would carry the same scope at that point. ( )

First time I'v read the books since the movies came out. PJ certainly took license with the events in this book. It was nice to visit a Middle Earth where elves were not at Helm's Deep (and I didn't have to sit through 30 minutes of frightened kids in the sewer), Faramir is not an a$$hole and Sam is once again a ring-bearer.

Good as a read aloud, but we skip the Elvish and the poems. ( )

I read 250/325 pages of this book. In this book it goes from where it left off and that is when the fellowship has broken up. One half leaves to finish their journey and the other half goes to find the kidnapped hobbits from their captures where they will meet an old friend. The main character is Frodo who was just an ordianary person but then later was given the task to destroy a powerful ring. I think I can relate to how he has to do a task that seems impossible, I can relate because there are sometimes things in my life that I may think are impossible things to do like doing a huge project or a big test. I would recommend this book to kids who are just starting to get into young adult books. ( )

In the second installment of the LotR trilogy, Frodo and Sam continue on their journey while the rest of the now-broken Fellowship of the Ring try to stop the spread of Sauron's evil.

Decent middle part of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. ( )

The tensions escalate in this book, as the nine companions are separated and must find their own paths. Though the outlook is gloomy almost beyond hope, yet there is hope. Unexpected help comes to each so that they can continue their quest.

Many people do not like this second book because it is so dark, but I like it very much because it shows that even though we might not be able to see hope, it can arrive when we least expect it. I also love the many new characters introduced in this volume, both good and evil. Excuse me, I have to go start the third book now. ( )

Another excellent lord of the rings book. They're all really, really great. ( )

Basic Reason for Beginning: Wanted to reread LotR for the first time in a long time. I used to love these books as a child, so I was curious how they held up.
Basic Reason for Finishing: Merry and Pippin.
Texture: Stuffy. I can’t help it, Tolkien’s prose makes me dizzy and headachey like a stuffy room stayed in too long.

Full review here.

Rereadability: Honestly? For me this time around? Maybe I’ll reread the sections that deal with Merry, Pippin, Aragorn and company again. Beyond that, though? Eh.
Recommendation: LotR is not the first fantasy book/series ever written, but it’s the one that shot to fame and is a staple of fantasy literature. Quest fantasy goes back to this. Leastwise, it did last I checked. The narrative is not for everyone, however, so have a care if you don’t like more formal phrasings. ( )

The second chapter follows several different groups of characters which meet in the ends. This really gets into the allegiances within the world and what it to be expected on a more global level. ( )

Being the second part f the Lord of the Rings trilogy, containing books 3 and 4 as originally written. This is quite important because it explains one of the great weaknesses of the Two Towers - the focus. Book 3 relates solely to the remaining company, the fate of Merry and Pippin carried off by orcs, the chase by Strider, Gimili and Legolas, their arrival at Edoras and the meeting at Fangorn. Book 4 is the long and dreary quest of Frodo and Sam from the River to the edge of Mordor and there dealings with Gollum. In a more normal fantasy book these characters would be interleaved between chapters which although breaking up the narrative flow would allow a more careful understanding of the timelines and much more importantly it wouldrelieve the boredom of reading about Frodo and Sam moaning their way up and down mountains, rocks and swamps.

Treebeard is by far an away the most exciting character and it is a shame that he only appears for a while in book 3. There are many exciting battles although somtimes overly descriptive like much of Tolkien's writings - particularly when it gets to Frodo in the swamp. However book 4 should not be skipped entirely as is sometimes wished because there comes relief in the woods and herbs of Ithillian and more importantly one of the best monsters in the genre - Shelob, last unloved child of Ungoliant. Eowyn makes her apperance as the only other female character with depth. In this instance she is relegated to serving Aragorn some wine and swooning at him.

Shorter than the Fellowship, Two Towers has many less songs - and fewer Elves - but still takes it time. Relax and enjoy the Quest is progrressing and the cliffhanger ending will leave you desperate to read the final installments. ( )

The worst book of the triolgy, but still good stuff. ( )

The second book in the trilogy is another masterful work of art, just as rich and fulfilling as the hobbit and the fellowship before it. As with his previous works I highly recommend you give this a try, you will love it. ( )

I literally could not put his trilogy down.. ( )

Many find this book too dark, but I find it a perfect bridge between the other two. Which makes sense, since they were written to be one book, not three. :) The more I get involved in Middle Earth, the more I want to stay there. It is fascinating. ( )

The best fantasy series ever written. The second book picks up where the first left off, as the companions must continue their desperate quest. In this book, both the action and the fantasy aspects of the book come into play more, as we are introduced to more fantastic (and heroic) parts of Middle-Earth. ( )

See other reviews. ( )