The Two Towers
by J.R.R. Tolkien · first published 1954
17% recommend67% neutral17% critical
The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien's three-volume epic, is set in the imaginary world of Middle-earth -- home to many strange beings, and most notably hobbits, a peace-loving "little people," cheerful and shy. Since its original British publication in 1954-55, the saga has entranced readers of all ages. It is at once a classic myth and a modern fairy tale. Critic Michael Straight has hailed it as one of the "very few works of genius in recent literature." Middle-earth is a world receptive to poets, scholars, children, and all other people of good will. Donald Barr has described it as "a scr
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Such lovely, whimsical paintings. Tolkien's work is such a gift to the rest of us. I recall picking up The Two Towers in 6th grade and was totally hooked by the first sentence. My 6th grade teacher had been reading "The Hobbit" to the class a page at a time, and was shocked to discover me reading TTT. Of course, I didn't…
on “Rarely Seen Paintings by J.R.R. Tolkien” ↗…favorite sci-fi book, Pandora's Star is in the middle of a void in the center of a large sci-fi cluster. It explains why I couldn't find anything like it. Also very explanatory the fact the Tolkien's The Two Towers is right by its side, because I also love that book. And now I'm already downloading the other "outliers" close to Pandora's Star.
on “A Visual Book Recommender” ↗…against the purpose of their existence in the story. They're a manifestation of the evil of Morgoth. In contrast, bad men are handled quite differently. Shortly after Frodo and Sam meet Faramir in The Two Towers they find themselves on the edges of a battle between the Rangers and a company of Haradrim (supposedly "evil" men from the East): > Sam, eager to see more, went now and joined the guards. He scrambled…
on “How Tolkien created Middle-earth” ↗…Jackson only barely managed to hang the two main plotlines together. They didn't need a connection in the books, but it's much more challenging in a movie format. It might have been worth it to split The Two Towers into two films in order to give each its room. (Frodo and Sam from the Breaking to the escape from Cirith Ungol in Film 2; Aragorn and Gandalf's contests with Theoden, Saruman, and Denethor as a very…
on “My Father's "Eviscerated" work - Son of J.R.R. Tolkien finally speaks out” ↗…was originally named Trotter, and he was a hobbit that wore wooden shoes. This type of slowly building story, where layer upon layer of idea built on top of each other is not really present for most of Two Towers and Return of the King. It was almost like Tolkien was a train that gained momentum as it went forward.
on “How Tolkien created Middle-earth” ↗…far more welcome - I personally had been looking forward to the Elvish songs they were supposed to be greeted with, and did NOT like seeing a bad repeat of the meeting between Aragorn and Èomer in The Two Towers. Gandalf should leave Rivendell with the party. The white council should not meet while the dwarves are there, nor in the book is there any hint of romance between Gandalf and Galadriel. (Useless trivia,…
on “My Father's "Eviscerated" work - Son of J.R.R. Tolkien finally speaks out” ↗There is a chapter in The Two Towers called "The Voice of Saruman". Saruman is defeated, but is still powerfully persuasive. At one point he calls to Gandalf and invites him into Orthanc. Those who hear the invitation believe that Gandalf…
on “UN Experts Say TPP and Fast Track Threaten Human Rights” ↗They have access to: Fellowship of the ring, the two towers, return of the king, appendices, and the hobbit. They cannot even accidentally make a Tolkien-accurate story in the universe unless it’s directly depicted in one of the sources I listed above. My assumption…
on “Why the Rings of Power Show Is Not Good (Part #7934)” ↗The other books reviewed in the NY Times: * The Two Towers, by Donald Barr (I don't know of an Auden review): http://movies2.nytimes.com/books/01/02/11/specials/tolkien-t... * The Return of the King by Auden: https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/01/02/11/s...…
on “W. H. Auden’s 1954 review of The Fellowship of the Ring” ↗"The Algorithm Design Manual" by Skiena to prep for algo interviews, in case hiring picks up again. "The Two Towers" by Tolkien, I last read them in high school and wanted to revisit Middle-earth. "Python Distilled" by Beazley - I'm using it to iron out some of my knowledge gaps with the language. It's well-written…
on “Ask HN: What are you reading Feb 2024” ↗…to Algernon Swinburne’s The Triumph of Time-and from there I discovered I liked many more of his poems When I was 11, I read a large chunk of The Lord of the Rings - I got bored near the start of The Two Towers, switched to reading the chapters of The Return of the King in reverse order, then gave up and to this day have never finished it. But I fell in love with the Appendices
on “Ask HN: What book had a big impact on you as a child or teenager?” ↗…arms. According to the appendices, they managed to eliminate nearly two-thirds of Saruman’s invading force , displaying both tactical coordination and surprising courage. (Treebeard also notes this in The two towers) It’s a powerful reminder that, in Tolkien’s world, even the humblest people are capable of heroism when defending their home. 1. https://lotr.fandom.com/wiki/Battle_of_the_Green_Fields
on “The Department of War just shot the accountants and opted for speed” ↗