The Return of the King vs The Two Towers: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Hobbits, The Lord of the Rings, Middle Earth, English Fantasy fiction, Magic, Fantasy
The Return of the King
“Pippin looked out from the shelter of Gandalf's cloak.”
THE RETURN OF THE KING, which brings to a close the great epic of war and adventure begun in The Fellowship of the Ring and continued in The Two Towers, is the third and final part of J. R. R. Tolkien's masterpiece,…
1 film adaptation
vs
The Two Towers
“ARAGORN sped on up the hill.”
The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien's three-volume epic, is set in the imaginary world of Middle-earth -- home to many strange beings, and most notably hobbits, a peace-loving "little people," cheerful and shy. Since…
1 film adaptation
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- The Two Towers is the quickest read — about 8 hours vs 11 for The Return of the King.
- The Return of the King has the widest readership — 1084551 ratings behind its score.
How to choose
Scores by source
| The Return of the King | The Two Towers | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 4.6 (1084551) | — |
| Hardcover | 4.6 (1896) | 4.5 (3229) |
| Google Books | 5.0 (24) | 5.0 (10) |
| Apple Books | 5.0 (280) | 5.0 (367) |
Reception
| The Return of the King | The Two Towers | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 1084551 | 3229 |
| Editions | 285 | 288 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 435394 | — |
| Written reviews | 28222 | — |
| Wikipedia attention | 8777 | 8525 |
| Pages | 603 | 450 |