Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Dramatised)  By  cover art

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Dramatised)

By: J. R. R. Tolkien
Narrated by: Ian Holm, Michael Hordern, Robert Stephens, full cast
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $20.33

Buy for $20.33

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

The second instalment of Tolkien's epic tale, adapted from the original BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation. Having fled the Shire in their escape from Sauron's Dark Riders, Frodo and the Fellowship of the Ring have journeyed to Rivendell and beyond. Their mission is to reach the Mountain of Fire in Mordor, where the Ruling Ring can be destroyed, but already their campaign is in jeopardy. Gandalf has fallen into an abyss, and Boromir has fatally succumbed to the power of the Ring. The others are besieged by an army of orcs - save for Frodo and Sam, whose journey down the River Anduin is being watched by a dark and shadowy figure....

Widely regarded as a broadcasting classic, the BBC Radio dramatisation of 'The Lord of the Rings' stars Ian Holm, Michael Hordern, Robert Stephens, John Le Mesurier and Peter Woodthorpe.

©2018 BBC Worldwide Ltd trading as BBC Studios (P)2018 BBC Worldwide Ltd trading as BBC Studios

Featured Article: When Does The Rings of Power Take Place? Tolkien's Second Age, Explained


The Prime Video streaming series The Rings of Power is set thousands of years before the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Rooted in J.R.R. Tolkien's history of Middle-earth, the series is expected to cover all of the major events of the fictional world's Second Age. But what is the Second Age, and how does this period of time factor into the rest of Tolkien's world? Read on to find out.

Continue Your Journey Through Middle earth

Continue Your Journey
Through Middle-earth

What listeners say about The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Dramatised)

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,453
  • 4 Stars
    264
  • 3 Stars
    92
  • 2 Stars
    41
  • 1 Stars
    39
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,152
  • 4 Stars
    175
  • 3 Stars
    73
  • 2 Stars
    21
  • 1 Stars
    35
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,252
  • 4 Stars
    129
  • 3 Stars
    46
  • 2 Stars
    10
  • 1 Stars
    22

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The quality continues.

As I said I wasn't made aware of the BBC's dramatization of Lord of the Rings until 2001, twenty years after its initial release. And even then I wasn't aware of the anniversary edition which added the opening and closing narrations by Frodo. But as I said it was a much better version than the NPR Playhouse version. Granted I do still somewhat enjoy that one, but after hearing this one I must conclude that it' is far superior. And of course it's far better than the films, as good as those admittedly were.
One thing I like about this version is that it stays more or less true to the characters as described in the book, which the films didn't always do.. A notable example is Treebeard. In the NPR playhouse version he was voiced by Tom Luce with a rather annoying echo effect added. Needless to say it made hm sound rather campy. In the films he was hostile towards the Hobbits at first and made them aware of Gandalf's survival long before they learned of it in the book. Here, actor Steven Thorn gives him a commanding yet somewat mischievous quality that I always did perceive in the character. And the Ents have a cool marching song which I'm sure was in the novel but here is excellently presented.
In short I don't think I stopped listening to this any longer than was absolutely necessary, such as for meal and bathroom breaks. But then back to it I went. And now that Audible has them I can carry them with me on my IPod anytime, which should come in useful particularly for long trips in the car. And tense or scary parts of the story really come off as tense or scary here, which is definitely a good thing! Excellent music and SFX combined with an excellent cast bring this tale fabulously to life. It's definitely worth the credits or the money.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

16 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

NOT THE BOOK!

they shortened a 17hr book into a 4hour audio play. absolutely do not recommend. get the one narrated by Inglis.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

flies through the book

A wonderful dramatization, but confusing if you aren't very familiar with the book. Mostly dialogue, it gleans over the descriptions and details of place and time. nonetheless it captures a literary feel and language that do the novels justice, often when the movies do not.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Classic Story Well Dramatized

What made the experience of listening to The Lord Of The Rings the most enjoyable?

Had these on tape. Decided to upgrade to digital audio on my players. Reminds me of when I read these as a teenager. Still one of the best stories ever written.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Sam. In the middle book of the trilogy you learn the value of Sam and his strength. Like Bean was to Ender, Sam is to Frodo.

Have you listened to any of the narrators???s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Well produced ensemble cast. Easy to listen and understand who is talking. Very high production value.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Just relax and enjoy an amazing book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great job

Absolutely love this set, One of my favorite series done with amazing narrators, Excellent purchase

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant for light listening

Once again I enjoyed listening to The Two Towers in dramatization. I think the story is always so much more enriched when the different characters are spoken by different people.
If you want heaps of detail to the story line then don't buy this, there is only so much detail that can be added while incorperating sound effects and music. But overall I found that it contained enough plot line to get the major gist of the story without being waffly and boring to listen to. I really love the LOTR trilogy over the full book anyway. The book, (though I'm sure is amazing once you get into it) is very waffly at the start and I could not read it, so having this to listen to gave me the chance to picture the whole Tolkein world with very little effort.
This Is great to have in the car to listen to on long, and otherwise boring, journeys.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Nicely Dramatised

I've read the triligy several times and love the unabridged work, however this dramatised version has very good voices and pace. I don't care for the singing, but I tend to fast forward through that and it's just part of the story.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Hard to follow / Story Great tho

The fight scenes are incredibly hard to follow, just a bunch of grunts and screams, and then the fight is over, very hard to figure out what’s even going on. As well as many of the characters have semi generic voices, making it hard to understand who is actually speaking.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

it's a pity it's the only version available.

Naturally, the performance itself is good, but if I wanted a dramatised, abridged version of the book I'd have listened to the movie with my eyes closed. it's just a pity that there's no other version available, like for the first book, which was much more enjoyable and easier to listen to without the sound effects.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I expected so much more from the BBC

Would you try another book from J. R. R Tolkien and/or the narrators?

First of all I'm a fan of the books and the movies. Get any other version.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful