The Two Towers

Being the Second Part of The Lord of the Rings

Hardcover, 352 pages

English language

Published March 8, 1988 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

OCLC Number:
466392241

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4 stars (1 review)

In celebration of The Hobbit's fiftieth anniversary, the authoratative edition of its stirring sequel, The Lord of the Rings, is elegantly presented in hardcover, uniform edition. In the First Part of The Lord of the Rings, 111-year-old Bilbo Baggins (hero of The Hobbit) passed along his magical ring to his orphaned nephew, Frodo - unwittingly setting its original owner, the hrrible Gollum, on his trail). Lest the ring fall into evil hands, Frodo sought to destroy it at the Mountain of Fire in the enemy land of Mordor. He convened the Companions of the Ring to carry out this perilous mission, but his brave band has been scattered, beset by orc soldiers, and in the Second Part, as "the great Darkness" descends, Frodo himself has mysteriously disappeared.

--back cover

75 editions

reviewed The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien (Lord of the Rings, part 2)

Review of 'The Two Towers' on Goodreads

4 stars

"The Two Towers" by J.R.R. Tolkien continues the rich, epic journey of "The Fellowship of the Ring," raising the stakes and plunging the heroes deeper into the fight for the fate of Middle Earth. This second volume is filled with memorable characters, rich landscapes, and poetic passages that shines through a somewhat odd and disjointed structure.

In this volume, the Fellowship splits into two parts. Book Three follows Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli as they chase after Merry and Pippin, kidnapped by Orcs and Urukai from Isengard, into Rohan, a fiercely independent kingdom under attack from Saurman. Book Four follows on parallel the story of Frodo and Sam as they move closer to Mordor to destroy the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom and along the way, they encounter a malevolent character lurking the shadows.

In a previous review of "The Fellowship of the Ring" I commented on the …

Subjects

  • Baggins, Frodo (Fictitious character) -- Fiction
  • Middle Earth (Imaginary place) -- Fiction