The amazing thing, I guess, is that the writing does, in fact, hold up. I can see myself coming back to this again. A fire has rekindled in my heart, as JRR himself might have it. The Two Towers, of course, is where the narrative splits, and splits again. On average, the point of view is more Hobbit than not, and the language remains true to their down-to-earth common-sense mode, while the more formal, old-fashioned epic style is used for the adventures of Aragorn and company, with, of course, the odd bit of mingling, and anyone who tried such a thing today would get laughed out of the bookshop. There are some advantages to been a distinguished professor of linguistics.

Furthermore a LOT happens in a relatively short space without feeling terrible rushed. Pippin and Merry captured! Aragorn's Gang race after! Battle! Forest! Saruman? No! Gandalf! Ents! Edoras! Helm's Flipping Deep! The first full-scale battle of the series! WE'RE BARELY HALFWAY THROUGH THE FIRST PART! 

But through it all the one thing that never relents is Tolkien's endless detailing of the landscape. Moreso that language or history or customs, Tolkein builds his world from the ground up. The sreams, the fields, the trees, the hills: take out the action and you have a vivid, thoughtful, highly observant travelogue. You always know where you are, be it Rohan or Gondor or Mordor. The Fellowship never travels over a blank canvas.

One of the best part of Two Towers, though, is Merry and Pippin's aplomb at the gates of Isengard, greeting the King and his retinue. They've been through a lot, and they're soon to be parted and changed, but right then, they're the most hobbity of hobbits.

Jan 2022 - listened to the audio - really brings it to life, and there's a quaintness about the reader that suits it entirely.

Dec 2023 - listened again. Still not tired of it.