It is impossible to read the Two Towers without looking back at the Fellowship with a profound sense of loss and gratitude -- loss for the great hollow place that was previously filled with the simple wondrous beauty of the Shire and the unaffected hobbits; gratitude that Tolkien thought it right to tarry in that place for a while in the beginning. It seems almost as though, knowing the horrors and irreversible hurt he was about to impose on his small heroes, he would show the reader that they were once happy and unburdened folk. In the beginning of the Fellowship, Frodo and his companions are afraid because they should be. Gandalf and the elves have told them that their business is serious and they have some foreboding of the task ahead. Still, their journey is filled with song and the (relatively) small worries of getting lost in the woods. I think, had they the foresight of knowing their future troubles, they would have preferred to hang a hammock from Old Man Willow and camp.

In the Two Towers, there are fewer of those sweet, reassuring pleasantries such as Tom Bombadil and bath songs and mushrooms with bacon. They are replaced with the gnawing thought that, even should this quest end well, our heroes will be irreparably damaged. Still, since Tolkien never has the arrogance to say that all hope and beauty are lost, he lets the reader grow with his characters into the larger and sadder yet magnificent and wistful world outside of innocence.

Tolkien's stories are full of sadness and loss and longing. But the sadness accompanying the loss of beautiful things is separated (not always distinctly) from the acute despair of hopelessness. Some of our heroes fall into the latter's desolation and become bitter, but those who feel the former are what make this tale so profoundly personal. They mirror our longing for that old home, perfect in memory and ever unattainable. But they, and by extension, we, learn the necessity and unexpected wonder of continuing to live.

This collection of books hold a special place in my heart and this is an excellent presentation.

Absolutely...this classic tale is brought well to life through Inglis's performance. This is a great way to absorb Tolkin's work. A top-quality performance of this unabridged masterpiece.

The depth of the story...it became more interesting as the "pages" turned.

LIFE! The voices and vocal interpretations, plus the ennunciiations of the ancient languages, made for an excellent experience.

Yes. It's one of my favorite books.

Treebeard. He's just so Entish.

Treebeard

The last march of the Ents.

I enjoyed using the whisper sync. feature.

It is one of the better ones. Not the best but very good.

When the Ents woke up.

The time with the Ents.

Really this is all originally one book so you might as well get all three and the Hobbit too. The Books (Story) themselves are beyond reproach, Seriously. Unless you hate the “Fantasy” genera.
Rob Inglis is extremly good. Even the songs sounded like they might have in a far off time somewhere quite removed from our world.

If you don't know the story by now then you will never know it. The movie and the books I cut my teeth on these. As a young man. I have been disappointed many time by people that say this suits the book. I was happy with the films finally. Now we have the story read by a great narrator.
I have been a member oif Audio books for a long time and i discovered quite early that the narrator can make of break a book.

We all know the story so there are too many place to comment on I do dislike the marching though Mordor. Sam and Fordo hot, parched hungry and all the rest but old JRR was a wordy guy so you have to take the bad with the good.

He go Treebeard down very well.

This is a classic story that can be listened to over and over.

The Hobbit, The Return of the King, The Fellowship of the Ring. They are from the same author and have the same narrator.

Not that I am aware of.

Not sure

None