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Anne's Reviews > The Two Towers
The Two Towers (The Lord of the Rings, #2)
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Not one tower, but TWO towers.
You are definitely getting your money's worth here, my friend.
Also, less singing here than in the 1st book.
But still plenty of singing. <--don't you worry your crusty Hobbit feet about it if that was your jam last time around.
Ok, so this one surprised me. I thought it was going to be an absolute chore to get through. Boring walks, long-ass songs, and nothing much in the way of forward plot movement. <--is what I thought this whole book would be like.
But NO!
Once this thing got going it really got going.
There were all kinds of battles and shit! People popping up from the dead! Big fuckin' trees walking all around!
And there was some actually before-his-time girl power here!
Honestly, I'm not used to reading shit like that coming out of a female character's mouth from a book that was written at the same time James Bond was talking about the sweet tang of rape in Casino Royale.
You get an extra fucking star from me for that one line, Mr. Tolkien.
Alright. Just so you don't think I've turned over an entirely new leaf and can now somehow get excited over books that ramble, this one definitely had its moments. Moments that tested my patience.
Like the part where we've just been on a whole long walking adventure with Pippin, Merry, and the Ents, and then they meet up with all the other LotR dudes. You would think all that would be necessary would be a line about how Merry & Pippin told the other dudes what they had been through.
And Lo! Merry and Pippin caught everyone up on the shenanigans with the Ents.
And yet...they gave a full recap.
But this was such (for me) an easier read than the 1st book. I'm (dare I say it?) almost looking forward to The Return of the King!
Recommended!
You are definitely getting your money's worth here, my friend.
Also, less singing here than in the 1st book.
But still plenty of singing. <--don't you worry your crusty Hobbit feet about it if that was your jam last time around.
Ok, so this one surprised me. I thought it was going to be an absolute chore to get through. Boring walks, long-ass songs, and nothing much in the way of forward plot movement. <--is what I thought this whole book would be like.
But NO!
Once this thing got going it really got going.
There were all kinds of battles and shit! People popping up from the dead! Big fuckin' trees walking all around!
And there was some actually before-his-time girl power here!
Honestly, I'm not used to reading shit like that coming out of a female character's mouth from a book that was written at the same time James Bond was talking about the sweet tang of rape in Casino Royale.
You get an extra fucking star from me for that one line, Mr. Tolkien.
Alright. Just so you don't think I've turned over an entirely new leaf and can now somehow get excited over books that ramble, this one definitely had its moments. Moments that tested my patience.
Like the part where we've just been on a whole long walking adventure with Pippin, Merry, and the Ents, and then they meet up with all the other LotR dudes. You would think all that would be necessary would be a line about how Merry & Pippin told the other dudes what they had been through.
And Lo! Merry and Pippin caught everyone up on the shenanigans with the Ents.
And yet...they gave a full recap.
But this was such (for me) an easier read than the 1st book. I'm (dare I say it?) almost looking forward to The Return of the King!
Recommended!
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Reading Progress
November 30, 2022
–
Started Reading
November 30, 2022
– Shelved
December 2, 2022
–
41.0%
"I don't know if I'm going to make it. I keep zoning out from boredom. At one point I realized that I wasn't actually hearing words, just a wahwahwah Charlie Brown noise. In fact, I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to back it up an hour or so and relisten. Pray for me."
December 18, 2022
–
Finished Reading
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Pat of Rocks
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Dec 02, 2022 08:58AM
Not surprising. Even the movie dragged along. Good luck!
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The return of the king in my view is better. Well the halfway point is. Let's talk about that when your done. Enjoy the ride!
Anne wrote: “And there was some actually before-his-time girl power here!”Amen.
Eowyn is an all-time favourite character. (And don’t forget Galadriel in Fellowship of the Ring.) Wait until you come back to her in Return of the King. And the movie did that moment to perfection, in my opinion.
Then, the love story in the House of Healing. Beautiful. Completely bypassed by the movie and perhaps the most essential chapter in the entire trilogy (not plot-wise, but thematically).
Tolkien was my introduction to reading. So much better for me than Ian Fleming.
I completely owe my boring, singing, walking nature to Tolkien. But there were also more precious things reading his books helped give me.
Shelob is also a powerful female figure with all sorts of people writing at length about how (view spoiler)
The gif of Frodo following the “full recap” is priceless. Well played. 😂
Enjoy Return of the King!
The road goes ever onward…hey-dilly-do-bee-bop-boo
About ten days ago you didn’t think you were going to finish it. Great job and review!!
Elvenc wrote: "The return of the king in my view is better. Well the halfway point is. Let's talk about that when your done. Enjoy the ride!"I can't wait!
Gary wrote: "About ten days ago you didn’t think you were going to finish it. Great job and review!!"I actually ended up listening to it twice because I re-listened to the beginning then went back and listened from the middle on again to find the part about the elf chick handing them all of these tools.
Then my (LotR-loving) son explains that THAT happened in the first book. What? I don't even remember that. She must have given them stuff while Sam and Frodo were singing about food or something because I totally forgot all about it.
Dave wrote: "Anne wrote: “And there was some actually before-his-time girl power here!”Amen.
Eowyn is an all-time favourite character. (And don’t forget Galadriel in Fellowship of the Ring.) Wait until you c..."
I don't know if Tolkien was better than Flemming but he definitely did women better.
I want to read this romance-y stuff in the next book!!!
Eowyn is awesome, both in the books and the movie. :)
This one definitely moved on much faster, i tried reading fellowship five times and gave up, was able to finish with audiobook much easier. But i did fly through two towers like a marathon.
'All kinds of battles and sh!t' - I am CRYING laughing in my office right now. I need to re-read this series with that kind of energy/frame of mind lol
Very glad it worked for you! I didn't have hope for it after the review of The fellowship of the ring, but it's nice to see me proved wrong.I will not bet a hand on it, but Return is much more dinamic and I think you will enjoy it.
Anne wrote: "Then my (LotR-loving) son explains that THAT happened in the first book. What? I don't even remember that. She must have given them stuff while Sam and Frodo were singing about food or something because I totally forgot all about it."I like your son more and more. You raised him right. Now, you two can play out that Darth Vader-Ben Kenobi dialogue in the landing bay of the original Death Star.
Frodo doesn’t sing much. That’s more of a Samwise thing to do. Nervous habit (hobbit?). Rose and Elanor.
The gifts of Galadriel are essential. Such a poignant chapter. The gift to Samwise becomes so important near the end of the trilogy. The movies skipped that near-end chapter, too, which was also one of the more important parts of the story.
Anne wrote: "I don't know if Tolkien was better than Flemming but he definitely did women better.”I don’t know either for others. For me, no contest.
Tolkien >>>>>>>>>>>>>> Fleming
“I want to read this romance-y stuff in the next book"
Um. I wouldn’t get your hopes up too much. There is no bodice ripping (if Eowyn even wore a rippable bodice).
(view spoiler)
Melindam wrote: "Eowyn is awesome, both in the books and the movie. :)"I'm going to watch the movies when I get done!
Carmen wrote: "Great review."Thank you, Carmen!
Saif wrote: "This one definitely moved on much faster, i tried reading fellowship five times and gave up, was able to finish with audiobook much easier. But i did fly through two towers like a marathon."It flew! You're right about that. Was the last book this easy for you?
Southern Lady Reads wrote: "'All kinds of battles and sh!t' - I am CRYING laughing in my office right now. I need to re-read this series with that kind of energy/frame of mind lol"Ha! I hope you enjoy it if you do!
Dave wrote: "Anne wrote: "I don't know if Tolkien was better than Flemming but he definitely did women better.”I don’t know either for others. For me, no contest.
Tolkien >>>>>>>>>>>>>> Fleming
“I want to r..."
I'm not so sure about this...LOL
Marcos wrote: "Very glad it worked for you! I didn't have hope for it after the review of The fellowship of the ring, but it's nice to see me proved wrong.I will not bet a hand on it, but Return is much more din..."
Fair. Because I didn't think I'd really keep going, either. Looking forward to tucking this last one away.
Anne, I still laugh when I think of your review of The Fellowship of the Ring! Thank you for another fun review, I am glad you enjoyed the second book.
Thanks, Roberta! You made my day. :)
Anne! I finally tackled this one! Had I just pushed through the chapter with the ents a decade ago (which in the Andy Serkis audio took two hours), I would have probably finished this series ages ago.
