The Two Towers, the second volume of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, is comprised of two “books.” These are Books III and IV, of six books in total. At some point in the novel’s evolution, each of these books were also titled. Book III was “The Treason of Isengard.”
This post is a review of Book III, not the entire volume.
When I saw the Peter Jackson movie in the theater, I didn’t recall reading most of this part of the volume. I did recall the Ents and Treebeard, as talking trees if not by name. But, the rest of what was going on on-screen seemed so new to me that I was almost certain that Jackson had taken great liberties with this part of the novel. You can imagine my surprise when, during this reading, I discovered that the movie version was pretty faithful to the source material. At this point, I’ve probably forgotten a lot of the movie as well, so I’ll accept the criticism if I’m wrong.
After the Fellowship of the Ring was broken when Frodo and Sam struck out on their own towards Mordor, the narrative remains for the length of this book with the other members of the company. Boromir, who had been overcome with his desire for the One Ring, which convinced Frodo that he must leave to save his friends, manages to redeem himself during an orc attack. He dies during the battle, however. The hobbits Merry and Pippin are kidnapped by orc-soldiers and are being taken to Isengard. These aren’t the hobbits Saruman wants (that would be Frodo), but no one knows that yet. The Fellowship has been further broken by the death of Boromir and the kidnapping of the hobbits.
Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas attempt to track the hobbits, running into the Riders of Rohan, led by Éomer. Gandalf returns to the group as Gandalf the White, or the White Rider. He managed to survive his tussle with the Balrog and emerge stronger than ever. They then travel to the Golden Hall of King Théoden, the king of Rohan. The king is under the spell of his counselor, known as Wormtongue, who is, in turn, a servant of Saruman. Gandalf manages to break the spell, returning the king to good health and frame-of-mind while Wormtongue runs off to join up with Saruman. Gandalf receives the horse Shadowfax as a gift for his deeds. Then there is a great battle at Helm’s Deep, in which our fractured fellowship and the people of Rohan emerge victorious.
Meanwhile, Merry and Pippin manage to escape the orcs and soon find themselves in the company of an Ent named Fangorn, also known as Treebeard. Treebeard manages to rouse all of the slow-to-action Ents and, together, with our two younger hobbits in tow, attack and defeat Saruman at Isengard.
When Gandalf and the rest arrive at Isengard following the Battle of Helm’s Deep, Saruman is already defeated, although he is untouchable, barricaded in his tower, Orthanc. Saruman attempts to use the power of his voice to enspell the listeners, but it doesn’t work. Gandalf uses his own powers to break Saruman’s staff. By taking on the title of “the White,” Gandalf has usurped Saruman’s position in the wizard hierarchy. When Saruman falls down, Wormtongue throws an object out of the tower, meant to be a projectile weapon. It turns out to be one of the palantír, seven ancient seeing stones. Saruman is not happy to have lost it. While not evil in themselves, these crystal balls, if you will, have also been perverted to evil use by Sauron. When Pippin picks up the sphere, he inadvertently falls under its foul influence. This influence causes him to try to steal the object from Gandalf while the wizard sleeps. Fortunately, it does no great harm to Pippin at the moment, but as the book ends, Gandalf gives the palantír to Aragorn for safekeeping while the group is divided yet again.
Gandalf takes Pippin with him, headed for Minas Tirith in Gondor to prepare for the war against Mordor. Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas and Merry remain behind with King Théoden to prepare the muster of Rohan to come to the aid of Gondor. As Book III ends, a great war is brewing.
The back half of this volume is concerned with Frodo and Sam’s journey to Mordor, which is a memorable one.
I enjoyed this reading of Book III much more than I apparently did the first time. I’m sure watching the movies have helped me to visualize the events better, and to avoid the Saruman/Sauron confusion I remember experiencing as a child. This section of the novel has whetted my appetite for more battle scenes. I guess that will have to be put on hold as we deal with Gollum/Smeagol, the Ring-bearer and his traveling companion.
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