The Two Towers by J.R.R Tolkien

This is the second book in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolkien. The first book really peaked my interest and was very interesting. This book was a bit dryer, and I actually had a hard time getting into the story and connecting to the characters like I did in the first one.

This book continues the story of Frodo and his journey with Sam to take the ring to Mordor to destroy it. Along the way, they meet up with Gollum, a being who was once in possession and is still under the spell of the ring. He refers to the ring as his "precious" and its power over him is apparent in his conversations with himself. He has a split personality; one personality is his former being before he found the ring, Smeagol, and the other, Gollum, the creature he became once the ring had exerted its power over him. I feel very sorry for this creature, since he represents the power of the ring itself. His character contrasts with Frodo's, representing how weaker people will give into the power of the ring, and stronger people will continue to fight against it. This book presents Frodo's character as that hero who doesn't realize that he's a hero, and that is exactly why he is the only peoson who can complete the task of ridding the world of the ring's evil for good. Sam, then, is the faithful, honorable, simple friend who will stop at nothing to serve his master. He shows bravery in his unending committment to Frodo, suffering with him through a horrible journey of pain and hardship, not leaving Frodo's side for anything.

The parts of this book that were challening for me were the parts dealing with the larger fight at hand: the gathering of good forces against the evil ones. Gandolf, the "good wizard" has to travel around convincing people to fight against the evil forces that are changing the world around them. Unfortunately, it takes a while to gather these foreces, and as a reader, I began to lose interest in the story iteslf. While I was interested in Frodo and Sam's journey, I was not so interested in the other parts of the book.

Most series books lose my interest, but I can say that I am excited to continue the series with the third book. While a good part of the second book failed to capture my immediate interest, I can tell that once I decide to reread the series, I will get more out of the second book than I did the first read through. I can tell that this series is one that I will read and reread again and again.