The Two Towers
August 7, 2016 7:43 AM - by J. R. R. Tolkien - Subscribe
Frodo and the Companions of the Ring have been beset by danger during their quest to prevent the Ruling Ring from falling into the hands of the Dark Lord by destroying it in the Cracks of Doom. They have lost the wizard, Gandalf, in the battle with an evil spirit in the Mines of Moria; and at the Falls of Rauros, Boromir, seduced by the power of the Ring, tried to seize it by force. While Frodo and Sam made their escape the rest of the company were attacked by Orcs. Now they continue their journey alone down the great River Anduin – alone, that is, save for the mysterious creeping figure that follows wherever they go.
I feel like I owe it to the Two Towers to comment in its thread too since I kind of made the other two books' threads all about me. And a few of my favorite moments in the trilogy are from this book; Gandalf's return and his sunrise appearance at Helm's Deep, the ents fragging Orthanc, and that moment when most of the fellowship shows up at the ruin to find Merry and Pippin smoking Saruman's pipe-weed and chilling in the wreckage. But it does kind of feel like Tolkien planned to spend half the book on everyone else and the other half on Frodo and Sam and realized too late that he didn't have enough action planned for Frodo and Sam. Most of the people I know who stopped reading the trilogy before the end either washed out in the first 50 pages or made it to the second half of TTT and couldn't deal with the endless squabbling between Sam and Gollum and the long slog through depressing, featureless landscapes.
posted by town of cats at 11:18 PM on August 9, 2016
posted by town of cats at 11:18 PM on August 9, 2016
One of my favorite parts is what we overhear about Orc culture.
posted by idb at 9:16 AM on August 10, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by idb at 9:16 AM on August 10, 2016 [2 favorites]
Taking these in a second time with your kid is
.. a different experience.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 7:34 PM on January 5, 2019 [1 favorite]
.. a different experience.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 7:34 PM on January 5, 2019 [1 favorite]
How is that? I only experienced it from the other side. My father read the Hobbit and LOR to my sister and I at least a couple of times when we were kids. He had a decade's worth of old Tolkein calendars that we used as illustrations, it was fantastic. I have always associated Tolkein with my father and LOR has always been a very cosy memory. I hope your kids are loving it.
posted by ActingTheGoat at 11:45 AM on January 6, 2019
posted by ActingTheGoat at 11:45 AM on January 6, 2019
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posted by Chrysostom at 8:14 AM on August 7, 2016