The Two Towers: Being the Second Part of The Lord of the Rings [Paperback]

J.R.R. Tolkien (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2005 | Series: The Lord of the Rings

For over fifty years, J.R.R. Tolkien’s peerless fantasy has accumulated worldwide acclaim as the greatest adventure tale ever written.
No other writer has created a world as distinct as Middle-earth, complete with its own geography, history, languages, and legends. And no one has created characters as endearing as Tolkien’s large-hearted, hairy-footed hobbits. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings continues to seize the imaginations of readers of all ages, and this new three-volume paperback edition is designed to appeal to the youngest of them.
In ancient times the Rings of Power were crafted by the Elvensmiths, and Sauron, the Dark Lord, forged the One Ring, filling it with his own power so that he could rule all others. But the One Ring was taken from him, and though he sought it throughout Middle-earth, still it remained lost to him . . .

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

New Line Cinema will be releasing "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy in three separate installments, and Houghton Mifflin Tolkien's U.S. publisher since the release of The Hobbit in 1938 will be re-releasing each volume of the trilogy separately and in a boxed set (ISBN 0-618-15397-7. $22; pap. ISBN 0-618-15396-9. $12).
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

'An extraordinary book. It deals with a stupendous theme. It leads us through a succession of strange and astonishing episodes, some of them magnificent, in a region where everything is invented, forest, moor, river, wilderness, town and the races which inhabit them.' The Observer 'Among the greatest works of imaginative fiction of the twentieth century.' Sunday Telegraph 'Extraordinarily imaginative, and wholly exciting' The Times 'The story itself is superb' Observer 'A most remarkable feat' Guardian 'Masterpiece? Oh yes' Evening Standard 'An astonishing imaginative tour de force' Daily Telegraph --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books (June 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618574956
• ISBN-13: 978-0618574957
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (492 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #108,893 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

J.R.R. Tolkien (1892.1973), beloved throughout the world as the creator of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, was a professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford, a fellow of Pembroke College, and a fellow of Merton College until his retirement in 1959. His chief interest was the linguistic aspects of the early English written tradition, but even as he studied these classics he was creating a set of his own.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#48 Overall (See top 100 authors)

#2 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Classics

#4 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy

#5 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy

#11 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Fantasy

#27 in Books > Teens

#2 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Classics

#4 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy

#5 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy

#11 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Fantasy

#27 in Books > Teens

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

84 of 95 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars At Last. August 23, 2001

By "joeyc923"

Format:Audio CD

The magnificence of Rob Inglis' dramatization, both with respect to its place in the Tolkien Legend and in comparision to the present state of the spoken theatre, is quite simply ineffible. Here presented is THE ONLY completely unabriged reading of the Lord of the Rings to be found, and to commuters like me, it represents a long awaited opportunity to become aquianted with the work of a genius without fear of losing precious shards of his masterpiece to the whim of an editor. Worth every moment of the 20 hour listening time, from the endearing character voices to the hearty singing of songs and chanting of poetry that is sure to linger in your mind throughout the day. A purely wonderful experience for both Tolkien Veterans and the uninitiated alike.

30 of 34 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Word for Word a True Delight September 4, 2001

By C. Williams

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

By all means, choose this unabridged cassette version whether you are "reading" LOTR for the first time or for the umpteenth time! I debated whether to go with this cassette version of LOTR or the newly-released BBC CD set with Sir Ian Holm. Thank goodness for Amazon reviews because after reading that the CD set was NOT truly unabridged (how could they leave out Tom Bombadil?!), it simplified my decision. Rob Inglis is outstanding reader and does a fine job selecting an appropriate voice for each of the characters. I personally find it much more pleasing than a host of voices (of course if Sir Ian had done the entire CD version, I'd be back to a difficult decision). The point for me when listening to a book is to hear the story and use my imagination; too many voices or sound effects can be distracting.

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Tolkien + Inglis + Unabridged + Perfect Sound = Excellence! December 27, 2001

By Just Bill

Format:Audio CD

In my reviews of The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring, both read by British Shakesperean actor Rob Inglis, I wrote that the sound quality on these audio books is crystal clear (neither too high, too low or distorted in any way), Inglis's characterizations are spot-on and the story itself (presented here in the only unabridged version available) is engrossing.

The Two Towers continues the story begun in The Fellowship of the Ring but introduces new characters, more battle scenes and a nearly palpable feeling of impending doom as Sauron and Saruman search for the ring.

Speaking of new characters, I don't think you'll ever find characters more fascinating than Ents. Ents are walking, talking trees found in Fanghorn Forest. Treebeard (a most "unhasty" Ent) is their leader. He's the oldest living thing in Middle Earth. As Inglis read these passages, I could almost picture the unhasty trees talking to Merry and Pippin. And I longed to look into their very old, wise eyes as they did.

The bottom line: The Two Towers (part two of the Lord of the Rings "trilogy") is equal to the previous books in every way.

Which means there really isn't much more that needs to be written. This is, without doubt, the best audio books edition of The Lord of the Rings available.

How do you know if The Two Towers read by Rob Inglis is right for you? Well, if you...

1. Love Tolkien's stories.
2. Have drive time on your hands.
3. Enjoy hearing a British voice.
4. Don't want to here a "dramatized," multi-voiced version.
5. Have already listened to (or are familiar with) The Fellowship of the Ring.
6. Have a cat you'd like to keep company during the day while you're at work (simply load up your CD changer, push "Play" and "Repeat All" and let Rob Inglis serenade your feline)

THEN...

This unabridged audio books edition of Tokien's masterpiece read by Rob Inglis is exactly what you need.