Reviews tagging 'Torture'

The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien

13 reviews

gvstyris's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I wonder if people will ever say, "Let's hear about Frodo and the Ring." And they'll say, "Yes, that's one of my favorite stories. Frodo was really courageous, wasn't he, Dad?" "Yes, m'boy, the most famousest of hobbits. And that's saying a lot.”

Definitely a tougher read than Fellowship, primarily because of long passages with little action. Tolkien’s nature descriptions remain beautiful, though, and I really enjoyed learning about Rohan. The last chapter in particular was such a highlight — I have a newfound appreciation for Sam from the novels.

Honestly, from a reader’s POV, I would argue that this volume in particular is hindered by its structure: Aragorn/Legolas/Gimli follow a relatively archetypical adventure arc in Towers, which is definitely more ‘engaging’ than Sam/Frodo’s emotional journey. The adaptation is pretty aware of this juxtaposition and wisely changed the sequencing. 

Also, side note, but I was surprised to find this Treebeard much more endearing (and bearable 😭) than his film counterpart. Same goes for Pippin and Merry, Peter Jackson really did them dirty. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: War and Violence

Moderate: Torture, Xenophobia, Racism, Death, and Grief

Minor: Alcohol

inirac's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Xenophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Murder, and Violence

Minor: Animal death

i_write_on_occasion's review against another edition

adventurous dark inspiring mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The second half was better than the first half, however, that does not make up for the slow, mostly uneventuful pacing and the tedious amounts of exposition.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Violence, and Death

Minor: Torture and Racism

judassilver's review against another edition

adventurous challenging hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Violence, and War

Moderate: Xenophobia and Torture

Minor: Animal death

parenthesis_enjoyer's review against another edition

adventurous slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: War and Violence

Moderate: Xenophobia, Grief, Animal death, and Death

Minor: Torture and Alcohol

parenthesis_enjoyer's review against another edition

adventurous dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: War and Violence

Moderate: Grief, Xenophobia, and Death

Minor: Alcohol and Torture

pearicareads's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: War

Minor: War, Death, Kidnapping, and Torture

manu_k's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Amazingly written, and beautifully immersive. So much better than the first one, where I was constantly frustrated with Frodo. Finally everyone is using their braincells, and the story is moving faster. Love that this book gives more dimension to the 'side-characters' and shows us how every person has something to contribute.

Special shoutout to Sam, who is so gloriously in love, and is honestly one of the more intelligent characters in the story.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, War, Kidnapping, and Confinement

Minor: Alcohol, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, and Animal death

orchidlilly's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Violence, Kidnapping, Stalking, War, Blood, and Death

Minor: Alcohol, Drug use, Racism, Antisemitism, and Torture

usually_sleep_deprived's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Torture, Death, and Violence