Book description
Building the story begun in The Hobbit and continuing the adventures of
The Fellowship of the Ring, this is the second part of Tolkien's epic
masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings, featuring the definitive text,
hyperlinked footnotes and page references, and a detailed map of Middle-earth.
Frodo and the Companions of the Ring have been beset by danger during
their quest to prevent the Ruling Ring from falling into the hands of
the Dark Lord by destroying it in the Cracks of Doom. They have lost the
wizard, Gandalf, in the battle with an evil spirit in the Mines of
Moria; and at the Falls of Rauros, Boromir, seduced by the power of the
Ring, tried to seize it by force. While Frodo and Sam made their escape
the rest of the company were attacked by Orcs.
Now they continue their journey alone down the great River Anduin -
alone, that is, save for the mysterious creeping figure that follows
wherever they go.
JRR Tolkien's great work of imaginative fiction has been labelled both
a heroic romance and a classic fantasy fiction. By turns comic and
homely, epic and diabolic, the narrative moves through countless changes
of scene and character in an imaginary world which is totally convincing
in its detail. 'An extraordinary book. It deals with a stupendous
theme. It leads us through a succession of strange and astonishing
episodes, some of them magnificent, in a region where everything is
invented, forest, moor, river, wilderness, town and the races which
inhabit them.'
The Observer
'Among the greatest works of imaginative fiction of the twentieth century.'
Sunday Telegraph J. R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973) was a distinguished
academic, though he is best known for writing The Hobbit, The Lord of
the Rings, The Silmarillion and The Children of Hurin, plus other
stories and essays. His books have been translated into over 50
languages and have sold many millions of copies worldwide.
