The Two Towers
- Author: J.R.R. Tolkien
- Title: The Two Towers
- Published: 1954
- Trivia #20BooksOfSummer List
- Trivia: #HLOTRreadalong2017
- Trivia: hosted by Brona’s Books
- Brona’s review of The Two Towers!
Introduction:
- The Hobbit in February – READ
- The Fellowship of the Ring in March – April – READ
- The Two Towers in May – June …oops August – READ
- The Return of the King in July – August (...a race against the clock!)
14 August : finally finished The Two Towers
I need a lot of ‘nudging’ from Brona’s Books to keep on schedule
- I pushed, pushed and pushed myself today to finish the book.
- The storyline still feels simple filled with references to fog, sun, dark forests.
- It seems the mist is always a version of…
- …moves slowy, lay thick on the world, rise and curl, like ragged shadows.
- If I skim the parts of treebeards, ents, hobbits,
- …elves and orcs trampsing through
- ..the countryside and just read the plot
- ….the book could be read in a few hours.
- Yet it is the nature and the adventure of following
- …the characters on a map of Gondor, Rohan, Edoras, Isengard etc
- that excites and delights the Tolkien fans.
- I am not one of them.
- This book just felt like hard work.
- I had to figure out who was Sauron,
- remember that the Nazgûl, Sauron’s deadliest servants are also called
- Ringwaiths, Ringwraiths, Ring-wraiths,
- Black Riders, Dark Riders, the Nine Riders, or simply the Nine
- …and constantly looking out for eagles who were
- Tolkien’s deus ex machina to save some heroes!
- Just when I thought I was understanding the book
- …along comes palantír of Minas Ithil, one of the seven seeing stones.
- I told Brona this review was going to be a rant…
- …and she was ok with that!
Very…last thoughts:
I am reading all the books Tolkien
but I am not a fan of this genre.
Therefore my score for each book will be average 3 stars.
Of course there are others that give Tolkien 5 stars…and I’m
sure J.R.R. Tolkien deserves it!
After a marathon reading day….13 and 14 August..
We lose Boromir (and his horn), laugh with Treebeards and ents
Gandalf breaks the staff of Saruman the White, an Istar (wizard)
and end this gruesome day with a battle through
cobwebbed tunnels and the vicious spider Shelob!
Brona, I did my best….and have just one more book to read!
- I am fulfilling my commitment to #HLOTRreadalong2017
- and will be glad when I have reached the end of
- The Return of the King!
- Ah, yes…. at times I am laying by the wayside and cannot get up!
- Good news, when I look up I see the stars!
- Because….
- I did it for you, Brona!
7 Comments
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NancyElin 
I’m sorry you’re not enjoying this as much as I am Nancy, but I do applaud your dedication and determination. The world building that Tolkien excels at, is not for everyone.
I am one of those that love following along, with the map at hand, tracing the path of the fellowship through Middle Earth.
But the thing I love about this book is the, well, the fellowship. The loyalty, the togetherness, the sticking by each other through thick and thin, the hope for better times and the idea that it’s the small things that can make a big difference….all these appeal to me.
And that’s what I see you doing with this readalong – you’re sticking it out for me. I feel humbled by the depth of your fellowship.
Thank you Nancy xoxo
Yes, fellowship….that is it.
I am most impressed by the quote ‘not all who wander are lost’.
It gives me hope that even it I stumble in my journey through Middle-Earth
…I will be a better person because of it.
I can finally say after the last read-along-day: I did it, I read all of Tolkien’s books about the ring…thanks to Brona.
PS: I deserve a Tolkien Cocktail tonight
…..but have to find a substitute for that horribly sweet mead!
I’m with you, Nancy. I have never been able to get into this…. I used to try at the urging of others, but I quit.
I read them as a chapeau au bas to all those who do love Tolkien. There are many.
I found the writing average. You can almost predict when Tolkien goes into his ‘ nature walk’ describing ad nauseam mist, stars, hills mountaintops rivulet, waterfalls etc.
I’m with you Louise, these books just don’t click with me either.