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Summary: The original swashbuckling `saved by the eclipse' adventure.
Review: The concept of a swashbucking adventure where the heroes escape death at the hands of threatening natives by appealing to an eclipse as evidence of their divine power over the sun and moon is hardly a new one. But to my knowledge, in "King Solomon's Mines" Henry Rider Haggard (1856-1925) offers no clone of this legend. He offers the original idea that spawned the copies. Haggard's story is such a good one, it's not hard to see why it's been often imitated and reworked with varying degrees of success. Here's a case where you should read the original and find out where all the cliches came from.The story-line is full of adventure, revolving around the journey of three Englishman accompanied with a native into the heart of Africa. They are in search of king Solomon's legendary treasure of diamonds, a lost brother, and adventure. The prospect of buried treasure is an age-old theme that arouses excitement today as it did in Haggard's day, and is combined with Haggard's contemporary fascination with the mysteries of Africa. Haggard employs Allan Quatermain as his narrator. Quatermain is far from the bravest of characters, and his sense of fear adds to the tension in times of conflict. His companions, however, are bolder: the native Umbopa and the Englishmen Sir Henry Curtis and Captain John Good. The first part of the story is somewhat slow, relating the preparations for their adventure, as they venture into the desert wilderness and face the elements. But persevere through the desert, because if you can make it through the perils of the dry desert with Quartermain and company, even greater adventures lie on the other side. The area where Solomon's legendary treasure is hidden is inhabited by a lost civilization of primitive and barbarian natives, ruled by an evil leader who proves to be a usurper. King Twala and his sorceress are not too quickly persuaded by the marvels of European technology. In the style of typical colonistic arrogance, Haggard ensures that his characters survive by pretending to be gods from the stars, their credentials including the use of guns, Good's false teeth, half shaved face, and white legs (the result of which being that Good has to continue walking around without trousers to preserve his image, offering delightful comic relief!). In the process important questions about colonization are raised, for many of Haggard's contemporaries viewed Africa as a paradise inhabited by barbarians, whose wealth could freely taken over by the "superior" European colonists. The identity of the rightful king turns out to be rather surprising, and the adventurers pledge to help him overthrow the usurper Twala. It is at this point that they call on a lunar eclipse to escape death by the skin of their teeth. Several battle scenes ensure, with truth and justice prevailing. Even though there seems to be some misplaced colonistic arrogance typical of the time, Haggard shows sympathy for the blacks by having his adventurers establish an indigenous government. More importantly, he shows the follow of paganism and defends important virtues such as justice and truth. The cause that the adventurers fight for is to overcome evil and maintain a proper king who defends justice, a king with Messianic overtones, and with virtues worth pursuing in our own lives. Their zeal for the right cause is unforgettable: "Never before had I seen such an absolute devotion to the idea of duty, and such a complete indifference to its bitter fruits." (p198) Only then does the diamond hunt continue, but when the elusive treasure trove is finally discovered, the adventurers find themselves trapped, giving new meaning to the expression "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die." (p258). The irony of being buried with immense wealth is carefully portrayed: "There around us lay treasures enough to pay off a moderate national debt, or to build a fleet of ironclads, and yet we would gladly have bartered them all for the faintest chance of escape ... Truly wealth, which men spend all their lives in acquiring, is a valueless thing at the last." (p262). At the resolution, the adventurers have a renewed perspective on wealth "Oh! hang the diamonds! I hope that I may never see another." (p267). It is ironic that at the outset the adventures left in search of wealth, but they return in the end with the wisdom that wealth is valueless. They have learned the lesson of Solomon, who was offered wealth by God, but instead correctly chose wisdom (1 Kings 3). By journeying to Solomon's Mines in search of treasure, both adventurers and readers return with the treasure of wisdom, and learn something about the fleeting value of earthly wealth. So although this is a great adventure novel, it isn't only about adventure. Even if you return from King Solomon's Mines without Solomon's diamonds, you may return with some of Solomon's wisdom. And read a great adventure story in the process.
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Summary: Captures the spirit of the 19th Century like no other novel
Review: The dates and events portrayed by Ed Gibbon in his review tell you at once that this was not just some novel of the time but actually could have happened. Doctor Livingstone really could have appeared at any moment and not been out of place. Everything the modern mind knows about the times and events of the period are in evidence in this book. What is perhaps so amazing is that such a ripping yarn could so easily have happened to real people. I have watched a film called "Mountains of the Moon" which is the tail of Richard Burton and John Hanning Speke's search for the source of the Nile. Occurrances in that film tie in almost exactly with events in the book, particularly the strange and hostile tribes that both Allan Quartemain and Burton and Speke meet along their travels. Whether you read this as a grand and exciting journey through a strange land or as a text that evokes attitudes and events of Imperial Britain in Africa during the last century is up to you. It is written so well by Rider Haggard, however, that it is equally good as either.
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Summary: Wonderful reading.
Review: The greatest adventure novel ever written. Great reading for adults young and old. This is a novel you'll read until the wee hours of the morning. Highly recommended as a present for teenage boys. Quatermain is a great role model.
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Summary: dark continent, white legs
Review: The most remarkable thing about King Solomon's Mines is that -- well over a hundred years after it was first written, and with so many books, movies, and TV shows recycling the ideas -- it remains fresh and exciting. The Africa depicted here is a mysterious, vast place, essentially another world, and the reader is carried along on Quatermain's awed and vivid descriptions of the landscape. Quatermain himself is a great character, being a sometimes-fearful participant rather than a superhero, which makes him more appealing. In terms of pacing, Haggard never puts a foot wrong, and the whole tale is polished off with plenty of humour.
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Summary: A really great, classic, adventure book
Review: This book is a really good book for people who like adventures. I really liked this book because it was so exciting and it is a real page-turner. I was always anticipated to figure out what happens next. I would recommend this book to everyone who wants to read a very fun book.
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Summary: Good distraction
Review: This book is entertaining, but stay away from the gateway movie classics edition which is teeming with typos. The worst editing I have ever seen.
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Summary: A flawness romantic gem of imperial adventure
Review: This book is the perfect adventure of Victorian derring-do and is faultless as an example of the genre. Many of the storyline tricks that have been used many times over by more recent authors come from this classic story. Most readers also learn a good deal about an intelligent Victorian gentlemen's view of Africa. Haggard himself was involved intimately with African imperialism (having personally hauled up the Union Flag annexing the Transvaal in the late 1870s) and he writes about what he knows. Although his characters are to some extent typical adventure story heroes (don't look for a tortured inner life, or complicated ethics) they ring true, and in fact they can be considered to be archetypes of "good" imperialists. The Africans are depicted in a convincing fashion - with good and bad attributes and the two monsters of Twala and Gagool are splendid creations. Clearly Kukuanaland is a kind of Zululand or Matabeleland gone even more extreme and Twala seems to be based on a sort of distorted Chaka the Zulu king, but this is precisely what makes this story so real and gripping. The only other story that I think approaches this is written by a finer writer and is based on the imperial adventure in India: The Man Who Would be King. Alas and alack though there has never been a film version of King Solomon's Mines that even approaches the power of the novel, unlike The Man Who Would be King that was so brilliantly presented for the screen by John Houston.
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Summary: Beautiful
Review: This book is, I would have to say, is one of the best works of fiction that I have ever read. It starts a bit grindingly but once they enter Kukuanaland the story rolls into motion. GET THIS BOOK
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Summary: A really great, classic, adventure book
Review: This is the first in a series of several Allan Quatermain stories, and a classic of late 1800s adventure. The plot involves our hero, an aging elephant hunter, leading a party into deep dark Africa in search of wealth and mystery. Boys are certainly the target age for this genre, but be cautious with young readers, as glorified violence and racial stereotypes could use a mature approach when reading.. I found it a short entertaining page-turner, but ultimately it made little lasting impact on me, and I don't plan to read the rest of the Quatermain stories.
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Summary: Classic 1880s adventure story
Review: This is the first in a series of several Allan Quatermain stories, and a classic of late 1800s adventure. The plot involves our hero, an aging elephant hunter, leading a party into deep dark Africa in search of wealth and mystery. Boys are certainly the target age for this genre, but be cautious with young readers, as glorified violence and racial stereotypes could use a mature approach when reading.. I found it a short entertaining page-turner, but ultimately it made little lasting impact on me, and I don't plan to read the rest of the Quatermain stories.
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