We focus exclusively on the Tall Folk of the fellowship this weeek, and I have several points to make on the subject.
First, holy smokes are we moving at lightning speed. The pace of this book is so much faster than Fellowship, I almost feel like its going too fast. I knew about Grima beforehand, so I was able to follow along, but I fear that without that foreknowledge I would have thought Gandalf was acting quite out of character. I am grateful that we had a few pages explaining Grima's actions and his motivations, but it felt very rushed compared to how things had felt previously. I suspect this is the new normal, and shall gird myself for Shadowfax level speed.

This is the first time since Moria that we are seeing spring sparking through, with the fields of green as they approach Eodoras. Its a nice touch to keep track of the seasons from Frodo's birthday in September to now. march-april ish.

Gandalf in counseling Theoden: "If we fail, we fall. If we succeed, then we move on to the next task." This is something that resonated quite well with me personally. Learning medicine was a slog of doing one task after another after another, learning one organ then the next and the next without time to rest. Now in my post-graduate life I also see periods where there is just one problem after another and that failure isn't an option, but success only provides more problems.

In the movies, so much more tension is built up, But here, Helm's deep falls in out on itself much like the fighting, with chaos and missing dwarves and desperate charges. It ends almost too fast. I was surprised by the forest appearing. In the movie that is added in the extended cut, but I can see why Jackson made the changes he did. I'm not sure if I like this more fast paced (what book am I talking about, fast paced) approach is good, but I believe it leans that way here.

What the hell is the mist monster/darkness that creeps upon them in The Road to Isengard that Gandalf tells them to leave it alone? Shortly afteward the trees depart and the orc bodies are buried, but what is it?

Next week is Chapters 9-11, and the week after is 1-3. I'll be out of the country for both of those sundays, so I intend to post a double hit when I come back, but if someone else wants to post, I will happily reply when I am back at a computer.

 

I enjoy the change of speed. I like Grima as a character, and was very tense that he would bring Théoden back to his side.

What I did not like about the Théoden arc is that I felt that it implied old/frail = stagnant/passive and proud/strong = active/good. The change in his demeanour helps to make the story epic, but for me, looks and blood lines are emphasized too often in these books (so far). This also holds true with Éowyn who is - of course - beautiful. I dislike the love-at-first-sight trope anyway.

Turns out I'm too judgemental on the way women are shown in the books, though: I was already thinking about how Éowyn is only there to look good, and then she does get lines and even holds the town while the king is away!

I realized that one reason I do not like the songs is that I just cannot imagine people breaking out into songs in these moments and it takes me out of the story. I guess I'll just have to accept that the culture in LOTR is that different.

Surprisingly, I really liked the way Gimli talked about the caves. It went on for about a page, but I thought it really nice and poetic. Overall, I feel I finally get to know Gimli and Legolas a bit more.

The enemy counting took me by surprise. I knew it as a meme from the movies, but did not expect it at all in the books. And there it is, with precise numbers and all. I do not think it fits with the general writing style, but I found it fun.

Orcs tend to run or at least need a re-grouping once there is an actual backlash. This has now happened numerous times, but I still haven't internalized it.

Chapter 8 contains a lot more magic than we have seen before, and it is ancient magic at that. We also get some more background on Saruman and Grima.

After the first description, I imagine Saruman's valley looking like a coal mine. It is sad to see how these books denounce environmental destruction in the person of Saruman and here we go 50+ years later.

On a lighter note, I loved how Merry and Pippin re-joined the Fellowship. The image of these two hobbits eating among all the destruction is great. Then Merry goes and lectures Théoden on hobbit history. Awesome.

Didn't even think about this. Interesting. Speaking of Frodo, I wonder when we'll see him again. Maybe in the next 'book'? I start to miss him. And especially Sam.

 

Chapter 6: The King of the Golden Hall

• Okay so I rebooted my browser and thus lost my draft of my notes since I didn't explicitly save it I guess. But three things jump out in my memory:
  1. Hama being the second one man of the Mark who goes against orders/the law to do what they think is right and I'm a fan
  2. And Wormtongue's smiting being more dramatic paired with Theoden's restoration being less vs the movie. Also Saruman isn't explicitly involved in it.
  3. Oh, and that once again ppl are more down to go to war than in the movies. It's really becoming a pattern at this point

Chapter 7: Helm's Deep

• So I got to where Gandalf goes off and some soldiers are chatting about it and it really is interesting that Wormtongue is trusted, even now. Like come on with a name like that?
• Small note, but they use 'captain' to refer to the leader of the orcs, and vague memories say it's used generally as a leader more in the way we'd use 'general'. I wonder at what point the terminology changed or if it's a LotR thing only
• "Most of them have seen too many winters, as I have, or too few, as my son's son here." explicitly calling out he's a grandpa and this is his grandson and yes they're both fighting hit me hard. Good way to show how hard pressed they are
• "But we have taught them not to carry torches" is such a fun little line.
• Damn Gimli saving Éomer's life is a great moment. Also seeing that the competition about kill count is also in the book delighted me
• Honestly seeing a dark forest prop up where there used to be open fields would be the scariest shit. Can't wait to catch up with the Ents.

Chapter 8: The Road to Isengard

• 42 vs 41 is the final count, with victory going to Gimli, proud of him
• Also occurs to me that while in most books I'd doubt Gimli would die off-screen, Boromir died off-screen in this one so it's definitely in the cards
• Also, Gandalf doesn't make a promise on the time in here vs the movie, another interesting difference
• Oh fuck poor Háma fell
• Hot damn Gandalf leads the ride into the forest. That's some real trust to follow him in
• Ugh Gimli makes me want to visit the caves that don't exist the asshole
• Oh my god having the forest move past you as a shadow while you're sitting there obeying Gandalf's order to not move would be stressful
• I adore the intro Theoden gets to Merry and Pippin, what a perfect way to introduce hobbits. The Rohirrim having some tales of their existence was another delightful bit of worldbuilding
• "So that is the King of Rohan!" said Pippin in an undertone. "A fine old fellow. Very polite." I love the hobbits.

Reading through the above posts, I'll agree the pace is moving a lot faster but I'm also a fan. To this q @Shouldabeenadog:

I took that to be the trees moving back to their former homes.

 

I must concur, the caves sounded so cool. I've gone to see some glittering caves before in California or Oregon, and I felt like Gimli was describing them, but in a more beautiful, perfect way.
Makes me want to go back.

The Huorns, as we will learn the shadow creatures are called, are fucking terrifying. They aren't the trees, they are the things behind the trees that you can't see.
Nope, nope nope nope. If i Isekai into Middle Earth I'm living on a beach and staying as far from any forest as I possibly can.

 

Hmm? Wait where are you getting that from? Fully agree on them being beyond terrifying, but what we're told about them is this:

So my reading is that every single tree in that forest is a 'dead' Ent. One that retreated to the heart of the forest and lost itself just watching the trees. Takes a lot to rouse them, but once they do, everyone is fucked. I'm honestly not sure which I'd like after me less, the Huorns or the Ents. Both are terrifying.

 

No, you had the right of it. I was misunderstanding.
And to answer your question, the Ents you can at least see coming before they rip you limb from limb like a rotten sapling. The Huorns though, blink and you are surrounded, blink again and you are mulch. They didn't just kill the orcs, they decomposed the bodies to nothing, or ate them, or something worse. Hard to say, hard to stomach.