The Two Towers vs Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Middle Earth, English Fantasy fiction, Fiction
The Two Towers
“ARAGORN sped on up the hill.”
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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…
Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth
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Unfinished Tales is a collection of narratives ranging in time from the Elder Days of Middle-earth to the end of the War of the Ring, and provides those who have read The Lord of the Rings with a whole collection of…
Side by side
The verdict
- Readers rate The Two Towers highest: The Two Towers 4.5 · Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth 4.0.
- Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth has the widest readership — 45725 ratings behind its score.
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How to choose
Scores by source
| The Two Towers | Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | — | 4.0 (45725) |
| Hardcover | 4.5 (3229) | 3.9 (152) |
| Google Books | 5.0 (10) | — |
| Apple Books | 5.0 (367) | 4.0 (24) |
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Reception
| The Two Towers | Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 3229 | 45725 |
| Editions | 288 | 62 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | — | 60559 |
| Reading it now | — | 5572 |
| Written reviews | — | 1748 |
| Wikipedia attention | 8525 | 6429 |
| Pages | 450 | 512 |
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Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: The Two Towers or Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth?
The Two Towers has the higher combined reader rating across sources (The Two Towers 4.5/5, Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth 4.0/5).
Which is shorter to read: The Two Towers or Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth?
The Two Towers is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: The Two Towers (450 pages, ≈ 8 h 20 m); Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth (512 pages, ≈ 9 h 29 m).
Which is harder to read: The Two Towers or Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — The Two Towers: Moderate; Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth: Moderate.
Have both books been made into films?
The Two Towers: 3 film adaptations; Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth: no film adaptation on record.