The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

⭐ 10.0/10

(Originally written by Joseph)

#summeroftolkien is going strong! I admit I lost a little steam going through this one, but the wily Professor once again had me falling in love by the end (and then I went through half of ROTK in one day).

This book will be a ten for me for all time, but I think it was a testament to just how important the hobbits are to this tale. When the book shifts perspective to greater people and greater deeds, it loses a bit of what makes it special to me. Experiencing things through the eyes of the hobbits lets us experience the magic of the universe alongside them, marveling at the people and places that make middle-earth the genre defining world that it is. I really wasn't super into Helm's Deep this time around, though it does introduce my faves Theoden and Eyowyn (though both have their best moments in the next book). Battles are usually not that great in print, and I'm glad the movies are there to bring it to life (and become the life of the movies).

Most of the chapters are told from the hobbits perspective though, and these again are just so terrific. The Ents are as fun as ever, and the audiobook gives you some incredible songs from them. I wish Merry and Pippin had more of a roll in their war like in the movies, but it gets made up for in ROTK.

The Frodo and Sam chapters are the highlight here though. The introduction of Gollum is just as good as in the movies, and then Faramir is even better. It brings it back to more similar to book one, with hobbits trying to make it through a perilous journey, finding friends and horrors along the way. I really appreciate just how much Tolkien embraces creepiness throughout the series, with the dead marshes being just as horrifying as the barrow wights.

Anyways, yeah, probably third place in the series for me, but that still makes it my third favorite book of all time. Only one more movie and book to go!