Rating: 
Summary: In it's class, five stars!
Review: I formerly rated this one at only four stars since it lacks "gravitas" and is basically a pure, escapist tale. I thought that made it too light for the heady draught of five star-ism. But on reflection I think I was too harsh. The book does have staying power in my memory. So here goes. Surely a classic, this was Haggard's first foray into the literary field -- to prove he could do it better than some of his contemporaries. Having spent time in South Africa as a minor civil servant, he drew on his experiences of that land to impart a feel for the country in this short, but by no means small, tale of treasure hunting and adventure among unknown and exotic peoples. This is the story of an over the hill "white hunter" taken into the service of two English gentlemen seeking the brother of one of them, who had disappeared years before on the edge of a great desert in vain (or perhaps not so vain) pursuit of the fabled mines of King Solomon. Along the way they are joined by an enigmatic native guide who is much more than what he seems as they stumble across previously unexplored (at least by Europeans) tracts of Africa and into a lost nation related, apparently, to the Zulus of southern Africa whom the English of that day so feared and respected. Drawn at once into the internal politics of these people and overawing them w/their European technology, they are soon in deadly peril from the cruel king of that country and the evil sorceress who conspires behind his throne. But there's no use telling too much of a tale like this in a review -- the interested reader is urged to read it for him or herself. It's adventure in strange parts, for those with a taste to see how the great ones, like Haggard, did it.
Rating:
Summary: The Great Adventure (S.S. at olsos)
Review: I grew up on the movie so it was quit a shocker to read the book. As stated in the beginning there are no petticoated women in this book. It is a men's adventure written by a man for men. You can not miss the hand of H. Rider Haggard as he has a unique sense of humor that pops up at the strangest times. He may be a little verbose but every word has a use. And as with written stories this one is much more intricate than the movie adaptations. You will find many assumptions of the time such as any complex construction must have been built by white people and natives on their own may turn savage. The story is told first person by Allan Quartermain. Nevil is off to make his fortune by finding King Solomon's lost diamond mines. Allan sends him a map to help. This is the last anyone heard from Nevil. Turns out that Nevil is really the estranged brother of Henry Curtis. Sir Henry Curtis now wants to make amends and he with his friend Captain John Good, bribe Allan Quartermain to take them across an endless desert and trough impassible mountains to an adventure that will hold you to the very end. Along with them is their self imposed helper Umbopa who carries a secret of his own. If you get a chance to also hear the recording, an added plus is narration by John Richmond; He brings the characters to life and adds to the mystique that this story has been passed down.
Rating:
Summary: If you are thinking Debra Kerr you will be shocked.
Review: I grew up on the movie so it was quit a shocker to read the book. As stated in the beginning there are no petticoated women in this book. It is a men's adventure written by a man for men. You can not miss the hand of H. Rider Haggard as he has a unique sense of humor that pops up at the strangest times. He may be a little verbose but every word has a use. And as with written stories this one is much more intricate than the movie adaptations. You will find many assumptions of the time such as any complex construction must have been built by white people and natives on their own may turn savage. The story is told first person by Allan Quartermain. Nevil is off to make his fortune by finding King Solomon's lost diamond mines. Allan sends him a map to help. This is the last anyone heard from Nevil. Turns out that Nevil is really the estranged brother of Henry Curtis. Sir Henry Curtis now wants to make amends and he with his friend Captain John Good, bribe Allan Quartermain to take them across an endless desert and trough impassible mountains to an adventure that will hold you to the very end. Along with them is their self imposed helper Umbopa who carries a secret of his own. If you get a chance to also hear the recording, an added plus is narration by John Richmond; He brings the characters to life and adds to the mystique that this story has been passed down.
Rating: 
Summary: Solid Adventure Story, and a 19th Century Classic
Review: I picked up Haggard's "King Solomon's Mines" to read on the train, knowing that it would be entertaining, and I wasn't disappointed. Moving quickly but without forsaking the kinds of detailed narration that bring a story to life, Haggard's novel is an engaging treasure hunt of the Indiana Jones variety. The book is styled as a long chronicle written by safari-leader Allan Quatermain to his son, describing a hunt for the lost diamond mines of King Solomon in the heart of Africa. Haggard peppers the tale with nods to real life that go out of their way to convince us that everything we are reading is true--editorial comments purportedly added later, for example--and the result is a compellingly detailed read. It is clear that Haggard knew Africa well, and his framing of this knowledge within a focused and nicely spun-out plot pulls you right through the book to its climactic finale, which I should probably allow you, after you've traipsed across deserts and tamed native unrest with the narrator and his companions, to discover for yourself. So, "King Solomon's Mines" is a well-constructed read, but another of its strong points, the humor that is so central to the story, forces a look at the bigger context. Haggard takes solid jokes (like Good's pasty white legs, for which he is assumed to be a god by the natives) and, like David Letterman, returns to them at intervals in a manner that always uses them in a new way but lets the reader think that he or she is on the inside, slyly being chucked on the shoulder by the narrator. It's this penchant for humor that gets a little uncomfortable once you think about it, because you can't help but compare Haggard's novel here to another journey to the center of Africa written two decades later, Conrad's "Heart of Darkness," which is conspicuously devoid of laughter unless it's the very evil kind. Haggard's novel is immensely entertaining--I don't want to deny that for a second--but it glosses over some very real problems that Conrad is more careful about: imperialism and its disastrous universe of consequences. I probably shouldn't stand in judgment of Haggard for his take on and his playing to the racial politics of his day, but I'm going to do it anyway because Haggard was, in his day, one of the most widely read writers writing. Adventures like "King Solomon's Mines" set the bar for the British male for decades and, if it taught him to be a gentleman and fair-player, it also grounded this ethos in the belief that he was superior both socially and racially. Thus is it the gentlemanly westerners who manage to import due process into African law in this novel, and thus does Captain Good's native love-interest ultimately recuse herself from his affections because, as a white man, he is like the sun. And what can possibly be good enough to mate with the sun?, she asks. Disturbing, in retrospect. This gripping adventure story gets four stars by virtue of its great plot and skillful spinning-out of that plot. It misses the fifth star because it buys wholeheartedly into the myths on which centuries of imperial violence were founded. And no matter how enjoyable this novel is, it's hard to chase those ghosts away.
Rating:
Summary: An entertaining tale about lost treasures and exotic places
Review: I read this book shortly after returning from a six week stay in Africa, so I may have felt a little more enthusiasm for the story than I ordinarily would. Years later, though, I still think it a good tale of adventure, with travel to what was then still an exotic place, and filled with mystery and speculation about lost treasure, just the sorts of things we still enjoy reading today. It's not the best novel I've ever read, but it is better than average. I think it would make a good Christmas or birthday gift.
Rating:
Summary: Great Adventure Tale, Surpisingly Not Dated
Review: I really enjoyed reading King Solomon's Mines. I really love those swashbuckling adventure stories like The Prisoner of Zenda, Scaramouche, and The Scarlet Pimpernel, but it's really difficult to find books like those which have managed to age really well. Fortunately, I have now happened onto another which I can return to. King Solomon's Mines is the story of Sir Henry Curtis, Captain John Good and the narrator, Allan Quatermain. Curtis's younger brother has recently disappeared in Southern Africa in search of King Solomon's legendary mines. He is very worried, and he engages Good and Quatermain, a hunter, to help him find his brother. The three hire an African, Umbopa, to travel with them and they set out. What follows is there always exciting adventure in which they confront an tyrant king and an evil, sort-of-immortal woman (that will make sense after reading). The novel has just about everything - adventure, women, evil villains, humor, mixed identities, treasure, and an exotic local. It's entertaining stuff. There's not much to complain about in King Solomon's Mines. The pace is quick. There is a lot of action and humor. I was very pleasantly surprised to find that it wasn't dated. The language isn't archaic and the jokes are still funny. The novel, first published in 1885, won't even offend by being overtly politically incorrect like many novels of that time. Really, this is a totally worthy read for anyone who likes a good adventure.
Rating:
Summary: yhe most amazing advanture book has ever written
Review: I trhink this is the best adverture book. no matter what age you are you can enjoy thid book
Rating:
Summary: A true classic
Review: I was required to read King Solomon's Mines at school (about three thousand years ago), and was delighted to see that there's a new edition in the Oxford World's Classics series. And indeed this is a true classic adventure, somewhere between Treasure Island and Around The World in Eighty Days. Though some of the language may now seem a little stereotyped and cliched, it was certainly not that way when it was written over 100 years ago, and the real cliches are resident with modern imitations, like Indiana Jones. However, since imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, I guess we shouldn't complain. Sir Henry Rider Haggard (1856-1925) is best known for his African adventure novels, notably King Solomon's Mines and She (1886). Their strengths are that they are not only undeniably amongst the most exciting and thrilling adventures ever written, but that they capture the very essence of the colonial empires - an attitude that is stubbornly maintained today by American imperialism - of treating the natives fondly, but with a certain superiority and disdain. The essence of the story is the adventure of an elephant hunter as his safari heads into the interior of South Africa in search of a fabled diamond mine, and to rescue the missing brother of an English gentleman who accompanies him. They are aided by an enigmatic native guide who is more than he seems. As they stumble into Zulu territory, they are drawn into the local politics and discover that their European methods are less effective here, and that they need to learn new tricks. Quickly, they find themselves in deadly peril from a merciless king and a malevolence sorceress who conspires against them. In the end, King Solomon's Mines is more than just the sum of all its parts because Haggard's intelligent and observant characterizations give him the opportunity to put together a revealing social commentary about race and class, while still telling a captivating story. Against the conventional wisdom of the time, Haggard treats his black characters sympathetically, and even dares to suggest that English society might be less than perfect (an audacious heresy in Victoria's reign). So, like Gulliver's Travels, King Solomon's Mines not only tells a great adventure story, it leaves the reader with something more robust to think about.
Rating:
Summary: For boys, both little and big.
Review: I'm sure the other reviews cover much of the book's plot, so let me just get to the meat of the reason I loved this book. ADVENTURE and ACTION! DIAMOND MINES and BATTLES! This is the book that millions of others try to copy. A journey into a desert, into a remote part of Africa, searching for a lost brother and a legend. Mystery and magic adds spice to what is, already, a perfect story.
Mr. Haggard knew what boys, both young and old, want in a story.
Rating:
Summary: For boys, both little and big.
Review: I'm sure the other reviews cover much of the book's plot, so let me just get to the meat of the reason I loved this book. ADVENTURE and ACTION! DIAMOND MINES and BATTLES! This is the book that millions of others try to copy. A journey into a desert, into a remote part of Africa, searching for a lost brother and a legend. Mystery and magic adds spice to what is, already, a perfect story.
Mr. Haggard knew what boys, both young and old, want in a story.
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