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4.53 AVERAGE
4.53 AVERAGE
Sam and Aragorn are the real protagonists of this book (okay, they may just be my favorite characters, but a lot of focus is still out on them and their perspectives). I’m so glad I’ve finally committed to reading these. The Two Towers was an excellent read and had far fewer dull parts than the first book.
3.5
Sam Gamgee and his undying love for Frodo and potatoes? 10/10
but the weird racist subtext???
Sam Gamgee and his undying love for Frodo and potatoes? 10/10
but the weird racist subtext???
Very exciting! But left on the edge. Will pick the next one up maybe this weekend.
As the LOTR books were described to me as "more trees than women", I'm keeping a tally.
Fellowship of the Ring
Named Women:4 (3 of whom speak) Sentient Trees: 1
The Two Towers
Named Women: 1 (who gets to speak) Sentient Trees: A lot. Many. Multitudes. (particularly if counting huorns), 2 who speak.
Bonus points – all the sentient trees we have encountered since book 1 are explicitly revealed to be male.
And no, Shelob does not count.
(As expected, I think we have perhaps reached peak Tolkien.)
So, the COMPLETE LACK OF WOMEN aside,The Two Towerswas actually.....somewhat enjoyable??!
It’s still Tolkien, still longwinded, and still sexist (with a good additional dose of racism in its allusion to the East and South, and also an unexpected bout of classism as we hear our first orcs speak like they hail from working class East London.) But this was so, so much better than Fellowship.
The plotting is stronger, with continuous action throughout, a far less meandering beginning, and a strong cliffhanger ending, as opposed to an abrupt break in the action. I know that this is not intentional on Tolkien’s part, as the division is an artificial product of its publishers, but this actually feels like a strong middle book – so well done to the publisher, if nothing else. The story telling at this point is just generally stronger. I found it really interesting and unexpected to follow each narrative to its conclusion rather than have multiple perspectives interspersed between each other as more recent high fantasy would opt to do.
(It was freaking! wild! that the Battle of Helmsdeep was less than halfway through the book.)
Even the extra lore we get in this book is interesting – the history of Gondor as delivered by Faramir, the loss of the Entwives - as opposed to, say, Tom Bombadil of Book One.
The characters of this book also feel like characters rather than plot archetypes: they have somewhat more personality, and that makes me feel more invested. This applies to both the characters that are carried over from the first book - which makes sense as they have more time to feel developed on page - and new characters like Treebeard, who felt like they had a unique ‘voice’ when they spoke.
The bromance between Legolas and Gimli was as adorable as advertised to me by my friends. I got to see ma girl Eowyn for all of like, three pages.
I also really *love* Faramir. The movies are clearly Aragorn propaganda, making you think he's worthy of the throne because they reduce the role of the Only Other Competent Man in Gondor to a miniscule fraction of what we see in this book. Faramir is amazing!! Honourable, intelligent and pragmatic, interesting, kind, fair even to the people he distrusts. He literally only wants peace for his home and his country, but realises almost immediately that the Ring would be a wrong, stupid, and dangerous of trying to secure it. I'm now officially Team Faramir - Eowyn will definitely be getting a better deal than the movies make out in Return of the King, just sayin'.
Fellowship of the Ring
Named Women:4 (3 of whom speak) Sentient Trees: 1
The Two Towers
Named Women: 1 (who gets to speak) Sentient Trees: A lot. Many. Multitudes. (particularly if counting huorns), 2 who speak.
Bonus points – all the sentient trees we have encountered since book 1 are explicitly revealed to be male.
And no, Shelob does not count.
(As expected, I think we have perhaps reached peak Tolkien.)
So, the COMPLETE LACK OF WOMEN aside,The Two Towerswas actually.....somewhat enjoyable??!
It’s still Tolkien, still longwinded, and still sexist (with a good additional dose of racism in its allusion to the East and South, and also an unexpected bout of classism as we hear our first orcs speak like they hail from working class East London.) But this was so, so much better than Fellowship.
The plotting is stronger, with continuous action throughout, a far less meandering beginning, and a strong cliffhanger ending, as opposed to an abrupt break in the action. I know that this is not intentional on Tolkien’s part, as the division is an artificial product of its publishers, but this actually feels like a strong middle book – so well done to the publisher, if nothing else. The story telling at this point is just generally stronger. I found it really interesting and unexpected to follow each narrative to its conclusion rather than have multiple perspectives interspersed between each other as more recent high fantasy would opt to do.
(It was freaking! wild! that the Battle of Helmsdeep was less than halfway through the book.)
Even the extra lore we get in this book is interesting – the history of Gondor as delivered by Faramir, the loss of the Entwives - as opposed to, say, Tom Bombadil of Book One.
The characters of this book also feel like characters rather than plot archetypes: they have somewhat more personality, and that makes me feel more invested. This applies to both the characters that are carried over from the first book - which makes sense as they have more time to feel developed on page - and new characters like Treebeard, who felt like they had a unique ‘voice’ when they spoke.
The bromance between Legolas and Gimli was as adorable as advertised to me by my friends. I got to see ma girl Eowyn for all of like, three pages.
I also really *love* Faramir. The movies are clearly Aragorn propaganda, making you think he's worthy of the throne because they reduce the role of the Only Other Competent Man in Gondor to a miniscule fraction of what we see in this book. Faramir is amazing!! Honourable, intelligent and pragmatic, interesting, kind, fair even to the people he distrusts. He literally only wants peace for his home and his country, but realises almost immediately that the Ring would be a wrong, stupid, and dangerous of trying to secure it. I'm now officially Team Faramir - Eowyn will definitely be getting a better deal than the movies make out in Return of the King, just sayin'.
“Epic” is a valid descriptor for both of the trilogy books I’ve read so far. Tolkien is a master world builder. I didn’t realize there that many unique ways to describe what a sunrise/sunset looks like.
Great Book! The friendships are amazing! I love the way they split up the action. Can’t say more good things people already say about this book!
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated