The Two Towers

The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The second entry of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy opens where its precursor left off, with a certain character gravely injured and sent off in a funeral boat, after which the survivors of the fellowship agree to pursue the lost hobbits from whom they separated. They ultimately encounter the Riders of Rohan, who bear concern over the wizard Saruman's alliance with Mordor (the sequel's title referring to the alliance of his and Sauron's respective towers). Meanwhile, hobbits Pippin and Merry find themselves captive by Orcs, hellbent on keeping the halflings prisoner.

They soon find themselves free and wander into the woods, where they meet the Ent Treebeard, who relays Middle-earth backstory and transports them to the Valley of Saruman, where he and fellow tree-shepherds agree to go to war given the wizard's decimation of their woodlands. The fate of Gandalf is resolved, with the hobbit-seekers meeting King Théoden of Rohan, who finds himself captive through the advice of Saruman's servant Gríma Wormtongue. A battle with Mordor's forces at Helm's Deep arises after which comes a trip to Isengard and a reunion with hobbits Merry and Pippin.

Meanwhile, the other halflings Frodo and Sam are en route to Mordor to destroy the One Ring, with Gollum in pursuit, consequentially being "tamed" so that he can serve as a guide into the Land of Shadow. A trip to the Black Gate of Mordor yields negative results, so Gollum agrees to lead the hobbits to a secret path into the desolate land, although, along the way, they find themselves captive by Men led by Faramir. An encounter with the giant spider Shelob rounds out the second book, along with a cliffhanger in between western Middle-earth and Mordor.

All in all, the second Lord of the Rings entry is, like its precursor, an enjoyable and straightforward fantasy novel that has plenty of action and twists, although like its predecessor and The Hobbit, Tolkien continues to depict specific races as black and white, with there being a dearth of "good" Orcs, though the humans are more "gray", given the presence of some who ally with Mordor whom Frodo, Sam, and Gollum encounter. Like Tolkien's other work, it’s definitely essential reading for fantasy enthusiasts and was well ahead of its time in the previous century.

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Birthday Art for Leo the Tiger

As a continued part of my "Furs Across America" series since the recipient lives in Missouri.

Hump Day

I had today off as my comp day since I work this forthcoming Saturday, although I do get Sunday and Martin Luther King, Jr. Day off. Work on Monday was among the best days I've ever had, although Tuesday had a bit of slippage, since just even thinking about my parents irks me, and it still feels like I have no control over my train of thought. I mentioned it to my new psychiatrist, but I forgot to mention my excoriation, and he didn't change my medication dosages, and I see him again in a fortnight. I've managed to tune out my bickering parents by using earbuds when playing my games. Physical therapy is going okay, and I've been able to figure a few of my rehab exercises into the downtime at work.

Gaming-wise, I'm making steady progress through Persona 5 Royal, where I've completed the outer space Palace and may get another team member soon due to certain scenes that preceded my sending the calling card to the corporate CEO. I'm also a few hours into Pokémon Violet and have gotten a few evolutions thus far, and I've swapped a few of my 'Mons out to get their evolutions eventually and gradually fill my Pokédex. I've also played a smidgeon of Torchlight on my Steam Deck, although it's really hard to do so with a controller on my television through the dock, so I've resorted to playing it portably, and I can luckily map functions to the unused buttons.