The Two Towers

Andy Serkis is a fine actor but his reading of these books is just awful. His voice is too gravelly and the accents he does are uncomfortable parodies of the actors in the film versions. He is also tone deaf with no sense of rhythm so his 'singing' of the poems and songs in the book is appalling. I've loved the LOTR for over 50 years but I hate what he's done to it and I've had to uninstall these versions and buy it again with Rob Inglis narrating - much better

This review is for the performance/presentation of the Audiobook as read by Andy Serkis only, and NOT for the content of that reading. Serkis does a wonderfully dramatic reading, and truly gets into character for each and every character within the book; a huge accomplishment, considering how many there are. The only other official, unabridged audio version is that which is read by Rob Inglis, and I am very familiar with it. There are elements of Serkis' I far prefer to Inglis'. For example, Serkis' Gandalf is vastly superior to Inglis', in my opinion. But, subjectively, I prefer Rob Inglis' version, when considered as a whole. I suppose it's the difference between a tight, somewhat more sterile reading (Inglis) and a warmer, more character-driven and dramatic reading (Serkis). Both are excellent and both have their place. But readers should sample both and decide for themselves which they prefer.

My low rating reveiw is definitely not for the story or narration, it's the amazon logo plastered over the cover. Please return to the original cover.