Review: The Two Towers - J. R. R. Tolkien

I'm not sure this merits it's own review, as the Lord of the Rings is just one continued journey, and each book continues on where the other left off, but it's what I read, so I'm reviewing it! :)
What I noticed about this book, in contrast to The Fellowship, is that there are far fewer songs. Perhaps it gets darker as Frodo travels closer to Mordor, or maybe Tolkien just ran out of rhymes, either way I miss the merry songs.
The company has also broken apart in this book, so there is a lot more to follow, and more regions of Middle-Earth are expired. Whether it is the lonely barren landscapes around Mordor, or the Ents of Fangorn Forest.
Overall, as I have said before, the Lord of the Rings is a must read. Truly fantastic detail. The only thing I would fault is that it focuses more on characters and scenes, rather than emotions, so deaths and sorrow don't have as true an impact as I would like.

Review: The Fellowship of the Ring - J. R. R. Tolkien

This book really needs no introduction. Odds are, you've seen the films, or at least know the basic storyline. The Fellowship of the Ring, is of course, the first in the Lord of The Rings Trilogy.
For those who don't know, this is an epic fantasy novel. It really is the start of the whole fantasy genre, and a must read.
This series is essentially a Good Vs. Evil tale. Frodo must destroy the Ring, or all of Middle-Earth will fall under the reign of Sauron, and everything he knows will be lost. But Frodo is a mere hobbit, insignificant in the lands of Middle-Earth, forgotten to many. How much difference can one person make? How much inner strength can one person have? This novel is but the first leg of his journey.
If you like detail, this is the book for you. Middle-Earth is beautifully brought to life by Tolkien. How he thought of so many different scenes puzzles me. Each character has an intricate backstory, and individual traits. Not to mention all the songs, poems and Elvish language he created.
To me, this story starts slowly, but it is engrossing, and the writing is superb. Truly, if you don't know The Lord of the Rings, you don't know fantasy.

Writing is difficult...

Don't you think words are powerful? With a single perfectly constructed phrase you can make someone break done in tears, or smile quietly to themselves. The problem is structuring that phrase. Do I use this verb? I used that noun before. This adjective isn't working... etcetera, etcetera.
With words alone you can walk through the forests of Middle Earth with the elves, or though Hogwarts castle, or any manner of impossible things. It's too easy to mess up though. A simple slip of mind, or straying too far off the path of your story can be the undoing of it. Or the simple fear that your characters are too weak, or don't have enough flaws. That's my problem. I know their flaws, but I still try to trip them up in every chapter...
So maybe it's just me, but writing is a great undertaking. But hey, if a story is worth telling, it's worth telling write. (Ha ha, get it? write? Yeah... stupid pun...)