This book (yes I know that link is for the whole trilogy condensed into one book whereas this post is only going to talk about the first half of the Two Towers, but deal with it mate) is the third instalment of J. R. R. Tolkien's classic (virtually myth-status) fantastical trilogy. I have a lot to say about this trilogy, but I'm reading it all in one go, so I'm saving my reflections and my recommendations until the final post, and here will simply outline in brief the specific plot of this instalment. Spoilers, obviously.
It's a mess, guys. Boromir has been killed by orcs, trying to defend Merry and Pippin, who themselves have been taken captive by aforementioned orcs, and with Frodo & Sam gone off on their own it falls to Aragorn to figure out what to do with the remainder of the fellowship. Along with Legolas and Gimli, he decides to pursue the orcs to rescue the hobbits. They soon run into men of Rohan, the horse-based civilisation, who are also pursuing the orcs. The men of Rohan in fact meet and battle and defeat the orcs holding Merry & Pippin prisoner - and the hobbits escape into the forest where they meet an ent (sentient tree basically) called Treebeard (sigh, yes, top marks to Tolkien for this character name despite the fact that ents have a language all of their own). Aragorn, Legolas & Gimli find the ruin from this battle and follow the tracks into the forest, where SURPRISE they meet a resurrected new-and-improved Gandalf - who tells them that much is afoot. The four of them travel to the capital of Rohan to talk with King Theoden, who is under a spell from the evil wizard Saruman: fortunately Gandalf is able to break the spell and they talk some sense into Theoden about all the orcs running amok. The men of Rohan muster at a keep called Helm's Deep, where there is a massive battle against Saruman's orcs (okay I know they're called uruk-hai technically but I'm trying to keep this summary as accessible to non-LOTR-fans as I can), which the forces of good manage to win. Afterward they travel to Isengard, where Saruman lives, and discover that Merry & Pippin are already there - not to mention the fact that it's flooded and ruined, because the hobbits managed to convince the ents to destroy it. Saruman tries to sway the good guys with his magical voice but fails. Pippin finds a magical seeing-ball (called a Palantir) in the wreckage and is intrigued by it - he looks into it (against Gandalf's warnings) and has a brief moment of connection with Sauron, who was on the other end.
And that's where book three leaves off...
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