The Two Towers

Coming at these books as someone who enjoyed D&D as a kid, and whose exposure to Lord Of The Rings has (until now) been almost entirely conjured from the Jackson and Bakshi films, I was amazed by how closely I recognized the world and characters of The Fellowship Of The Ring in the novel. Everything felt familiar. With The Two Towers, however, even though I could recognize many of the core events, I felt the world was much more lush and the characters were much more nuanced than I had in mind. This is where the narrative element of the written word upends the visual medium, more so than with the first book. The other note I have is in regards to the language used by Tolkien, which is so wonderfully delicate and poetic. It really feels anachronistic to the 30's and 40's era it rose up from. Now onward, to The Return Of The King!