Which Two Towers recording should you buy?
The same choice as The Fellowship of the Ring, one volume on: two complete readings recorded years apart, and the BBC radio dramatisation listed under a longer title.
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J.R.R. Tolkien · 3 Audible UK recordings compared
Short answer
Stay with whoever read you The Fellowship of the Ring. Andy Serkis and Rob Inglis both read all three volumes, and both recordings of this one are complete, so the only real mistake is switching voices halfway through the story. If you are starting here for some reason, Serkis is the newer and more performed of the two. The listing called The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, with Ian Holm, Bill Nighy and Michael Hordern in the cast, is the BBC radio dramatisation — good, and not the book.
The recordings, compared
| Narrator | Length | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andy Serkis Our pick | 20 hrs 47 mins | Unabridged | Complete and solo; its description calls it unabridged. Released 2021, and the same reader as the Serkis Fellowship and Return of the King. |
| Rob Inglis | 16 hrs 36 mins | Unabridged | The long-standing reading, and complete: Audible's listing data marks it unabridged. The same reader as the Inglis Fellowship and Return of the King. |
| Ian Holm, Bill Nighy, Robert Stephens, Michael Hordern and a full cast | 4 hrs 29 mins | BBC full-cast dramatisation | The BBC Radio 4 dramatisation, in Audible's own description. Listed as The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and a cast rather than a reading. |
