So the fellowship has broken. Frodo is in a boat and the rest are looking for him. Oh and Gandalf is so so dead. All is lost! Possibly…Its time to face The Two Towers!

Chapter 1 - The Death of Boromir aka Oops Lost Another One

I was a little puzzled starting this volume to realise the orcs have now attacked and pretty much killed Boromir. There is no action scene here so while many a book kills a main character without warning. Here it feels a little too understated and again I don’t really feel much for this version of Boromir. Tolkien instead focuses more on the funeral boat than the death - it is a neat idea that the boat too become a future myth.

Fascinating to see Aragorn turn into Holmes reading the battle scene and we get the idea of two factions of orcs.

Chapter 2 - The Riders of Rohan aka The Orcathon

I have mentioned more than once the huge amount of walking to places this book does. But to be fair in this chapter we actually get some purpose and urgency at a mere 40 miles a day push for four days solid! The fate of poor Pippin and Merry hangs in the balance and this chapter also opens up the rest of this volume. We get a focus on Rohan and its ambiguous nature as everyone sees it. Whose side are these horse people on? Saruman is being built up as a threat.

We see some interesting dynamics with Gimli’s lack of diplomacy actually being backed up by Legolas (another thawing in dwarf/elf relations. But also Aragorn embraces his royal nature standing up and commanding the Riders. Also fantasy authors take note how to gently explain the plot so far

Chapter 3 - The Uruk-Hai - Back To The Octure

We’ll come back to this but I am often fascinated by the rather weird approach to time this novel has. Two chapters on Team Aragorn so lets go back to Chapter 1. There is a fairly skimpy death or Boromir and then follow the Hobbits kidnapped by orcs. We get to see what these orcs are like and while interesting to see Sauron Vs Saruman rivalries there is overall a lack of nuance these are the bad guys. Also conveniently cannon ok spear fodder. Its a bit lightweight

Chapter 4 - Treebeard aka Aliens on Middle-Earth

But this one really worked for me. We start with yet another eerie forest but then we meet our first Ent and Treebeard feels more than a human with leaves on. They have a unusual concept of time and very little interest in the battle going on outside the forest. Until Saruman attacks their forest. There is a sense that the Ents are starting to sleep as if Middle Earth’s magic is fading away - one that this book will return to.

Also really liked the way Saruman is described with eyes of shutters and a mind of metal and wheels. Another theme is developing of nature versus technology.

Chapter 5 - The White Rider aka Gandalfs Alive!?!!!

Yes - its a fake death! But to be fair this is a chapter that manages to make it deserving. It builds up the threat of Saruman who seems to be hovering around Team Aragorn and then the big reveal who the follower is. Gandalf’s ressurection though does feel a bit more mythic and ethereal with mentions of Endless Stairs, epic Balrog mountain fights and falling out of time and space. But it is all like Boromir’s death being told after the event. A scene that you’d love to actually feel as if you were there..

Chapter 6 - The King of the Golden Hall aka Theoden’s Makeover

Back rto the Rohan plot in this chaopter and I did like that this is another environment with a different ancient horse feel to it. I do admit I have long had a soft spot for the scene where the Fellowship drop off all these special weapns and name drop a lot. Its a rare moment of comedy in the book.

Then we get into a little intrigue with the reveal that Saruman is pulling strings via a corrupt counsellor and asllows Gandalf version 2 to how off his new powers. Theoden gets quickly cured but we lack really seeing him do much under the influence.

We meet a second woman in Eowyn (a mere hundred pages later after Galadriel) and then set off to battle

After a bonus chapter last week I’ll call that a week and next week we visit Helm’s Deep!